Just read about the biggest dredge ever built and the numbers are wild

I was looking up old dredge specs for a project and stumbled on a page about the 'Marion 6360', built back in the 1960s. The thing was a monster. Its bucket line could dig over 100 feet down, and each bucket held 60 cubic feet of material. That's like a small car's worth of dirt and rock, every single pass. They used it for a massive canal job in Florida. It makes the 8-yard cutter suction dredge I ran on the Mississippi feel like a toy. I always knew the old gear was big, but seeing the actual size of those buckets really puts it in perspective. Has anyone here ever worked on or even seen one of those giant walking draglines in person?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny_lane121mo ago

Can't believe each bucket held that much.

lucas3891mo ago

Those buckets are always deceptively heavy. I filled one with sand last summer and nearly threw my shoulder out. Some things are just built to humble us.

brookeellis1mo ago

Jenny_lane12, I once tried to carry two buckets and spilled everything. My back still hurts from the shame. What's your secret?