This concise color history packs a wide assortment of the mighty machines that provide the muscle for America's construction and mining industries. Haulers, loaders, excavators, dozers, and stripping shovels are just some of the classes featured. 80 color photos.

This awe-inspiring collection covers the largest, top-of-the-line mining equipment in each of the manufacturer's five major classes; haulers, wheel loaders, hydraulic shovels, graders, and bulldozers. Design, development, and production histories are accompanied by the stories of these gargantuan machines in service, as well as details of the Herculean efforts required for their assembly. Incredible modern color photography from both the author and the Caterpillar archives provide shots of the equipment in action and production, not to mention detail shots to help explain their working componentry.

Introduces the parts and functions of different kinds of earthmoving machinery.

CATERPILLAR CHRONICLE tells the whole Caterpillar story--from 1870 to the present. More than 200 color and 50 black-and-white phtographs reveal these heavy-metal monsters in their true grandeur, from prototype testing to on the job service.

Bucyrus International Inc., formerly Bucyrus-Erie Company, celebrates 125 years of building heavy excavating machinery, including the largest earthmovers ever to roam the planet. Founded in 1880 by Daniel P. Eells and a group of business associates, the company built a diverse range of machines and grew to become the leading supplier of walking draglines, shovels, and drills to the surface mining industry. With its acquired companies, such as Marion Power Shovel and Ransomes & Rapier, Bucyrus built the entire roster of giant stripping shovels in the western world, and the record-breaking "Big Muskie" walking dragline. Over 90 percent of the giant walking draglines working today have been built by the Bucyrus companies.

British Opencast Coal is an illustrated history of coal mining by surface methods from 1942 to 1985. Written by Keith Haddock, a leading authority on the subject, this book details the origins of the industry and documents the types of earthmoving machines employed during the first 40 years. The book highlights the importance of surface coal mining operations and site restoration and their necessity for the British economy.Meticulously researched, the facts, figures and data covered are taken from Keith's extensive collection of magazine articles, newspaper cuttings and manufacturers' machine brochures and specifications. They are also drawn from publications by the National Coal Board Opencast Executive and Keith's own research conducted on numerous site visits. The sites included represent a cross section of geologically different locations in England, Scotland and Wales, and those employing the most interesting variety of earthmoving machines, such as Maesgwyn in South Wales, Newman Spinney in Derbyshire, Radar North in Northumberland and Ox-Bow in Yorkshire.The book's 364 historical photographs, many taken for the National Coal Board or British Coal Opencast, provide a nostalgic look at obsolete earthmoving and heavy construction equipment, and form an excellent historical resource for the student, researcher or enthusiast.