Extreme Earthmovers at Work (DVD) - Eric Orlemann and Keith Haddock

Extreme Earthmovers  at Work is a compilation of film recorded by Eric Orlemann in  2005-8 at surface mines in the United States. Keith Haddock has  written the script.

He has focused on some  of the largest and most impressive machines of their classes. ‘The  Silver Spade’, a Bucyrus-Erie 1950-B, was one of the biggest  stripping shovels ever constructed, weighing in at 7,200 tons. Eric  captured its 200ft boom and 80 cu m bucket at work before it was  stood down in 2006.

You will also watch  examples of the world’s largest production bulldozer, the Komatsu  575-A, at work as well as the LeTourneau L-2350, the world’s  largest wheel loader.

Other truly big  machines, including scrapers from Caterpillar and a hydraulic shovel  from Liebherr, will add to your excitement.

In his script, Keith  Haddock gives you the full context of the machines and the surface  mining operation in which they are involved. The running time of the  main programme is just over an hour. This is followed by a ten-minute  Extra of more (un-narrated) footage of ‘The Silver Spade’.

The following are  the principal machines in the film:

Bucyrus-Erie 1950-B  Stripping Shovel, ‘The Silver Spade’ Komatsu D575A Super  Ripper Komatsu D575A Super  Dozer LeTourneau L-1850 Wheel  Loader LeTourneau L-2350 Wheel  Loader Caterpillar 994F Wheel  Loader Caterpillar D11R  Bulldozer Caterpillar 657E  Scraper Liebherr R995 Hydraulic  Shovel.

Eric Orlemann, based in  Decatur, Illinois, has written many articles and books on earthmoving  topics. He was co-founder, with Keith Haddock, of the Historical  Construction Equipment association (HCEA) that now has 5,000 members.

Keith Haddock, a  British mining engineer now resident in Canada, prepared the first  two programmes in Old Pond’s successful 'Massive Earthmoving  Machines' series of DVDs. He is the author of earthmoving books and  contributes to earthmoving magazines in the UK and United States.