1/16 Bucyrus-Monighan Walking Dragline

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by Rvjimd

Steve,

Congrats on the operator station! I want to come try it, let me know when you are going out next and I will try to come out.

Jim

Think about Somerset meet Jim.

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by modelman

Steve-that picture of the retired operator in the seat just makes the point of what a great idea this is. Most old ex-operators probably want nothing to do with a tiny radio with levers, switches and buttons all over it but when they see the chair sitting between those consoles, this looks familiar to them and they get excited about giving it a try. Also, I am not surprised he did a great job. Anyone who did this for 20 years can probably do this in their sleep!! Maybe the word will get out that you have this and more retired operators will come out to the shows and try there hand at this set-up. The down side is the fact that it may cut into your operating time but I think this is a great thing that you have done. Hope you have fun with it!!

That's OK about cutting into my seat time. I get a kick out of it watching the experts in action.

[modelman]

Steve-I think going to Dragline World with some equipment is an excellent idea!! I talk with him 2-3 times a week and he seems to be lonely and is disappointed that no one is coming to D.W. any more. This would be good for him and let him see how R/C models have progressed.

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by modelman

Steve-I think going to Dragline World with some equipment is an excellent idea!! I talk with him 2-3 times a week and he seems to be lonely and is disappointed that no one is coming to D.W. any more. This would be good for him and let him see how R/C models have progressed.

You gonna fly up Tom?

[modelman]

Steve-not this time. I have been trying for 2-years to plan a trip up to see him but something always gets in the way. I still plan to make it though.

[9W Monighan]

Been idle since Labor Day. I decided to get my machine out of the trailer and do some wiring on the control console. Scratched around through my junk pile and came up with these components to wire some of the buttons on the 1:1 Marion controls. Hope to have some of this done for Cabin Fever in two weeks.

[thetractorfan]

RC draglines are rare and this is the biggest one I have seen. this machine looks like it can manoeuvre a lot of dirt. are you using a clutch system for the winches?
looks amazing, you did a really amazing job.

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by thetractorfan

RC draglines are rare and this is the biggest one I have seen. this machine looks like it can manoeuvre a lot of dirt. are you using a clutch system for the winches?
looks amazing, you did a really amazing job.

This machine in somewhat ideal conditions and swinging 90deg it can move a pile of dirt approximately 44" high in about 8-10hrs of steady digging. With damp sand that number would be higher.

There are no clutches, all 3 motors are: 100vdc PM motors individually driven by 4 quadrant regenerative drives.
The only clutch is the jaw clutch that engages from drag to propel motion.
Eventually I will build the brake bands so I can set the brakes when needed.

Thanks for the compliments.

[thetractorfan]

Your welcome. I am a big fan of draglines. This is probably the best RC dragline I have ever seen.

[bigford]

its ok looking in the pics. you need to see it in person to relize
just what a monster it really is..

[Rvjimd]

Ya, it's cool! Just the clanking noise the spreader bar makes hitting the bucket when you slack up too much is neat!

Jim

[modelman]

Any updates before "Cabin Fever" steve?

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by modelman

Any updates before "Cabin Fever" steve?

Look at the Cabin Fever Discussion Thread on the "Up coming Events thread"
As far as I know everything is a go. Wish you could make a trip up this way.

[modelman]

steve-I look at the discussion thread every few days to see what is going on. I meant was there anything new with the dragline. After reading that your machine had spent a long time in the trailer I am guessing you are very busy. And yes, I had always hoped to make a trip to that show but now I doubt it will happen.

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by modelman

steve-I look at the discussion thread every few days to see what is going on. I meant was there anything new with the dragline. After reading that your machine had spent a long time in the trailer I am guessing you are very busy. And yes, I had always hoped to make a trip to that show but now I doubt it will happen.

The machine fared well in the trailer Tom. There is a bunch of surface rust from Labor Day because I forgot to spay her down with some WD40.

I got the incoming power supply wired up pretty well this week. Now I can shut off the power from the operators seat. I don't have the time to wire the radio up better. I want to use the auxiliary switches on the radio and wire them to the switches on the console to set the parking breaks on the 3 functions . I want to try to take all of the guts out of the DX7 and mount them to a board so it is easier to work on the wiring. I plan on having a flip down access panel on the bottom of the right hand console. That way I can make adjustments to the radio easier. Right now as you can see the radio just hangs inside the console with wires hanging out.

[modelman]

Now I understand what you are doing steve-seems like you have a good plan as usual. This will be a really nice set-up when finished. Have you had many ex-operators come around and want to give it a try?

[9W Monighan]

Found an interesting panoramic view of a cab of a 9W while looking for something else.
http://www.panoye.com/panorama/bucyrus-erie-9w

.

[frizzen]

I just read through the whole thread, and this is nothing short of amazing.

If i can make something even 1/100th as awesome as this i'd be more than happy with it.

What made you decide the 9W was 'your' machine to do this epic of a build?

[9W Monighan]

Originally Posted by frizzen

I just read through the whole thread, and this is nothing short of amazing.

If i can make something even 1/100th as awesome as this i'd be more than happy with it.

What made you decide the 9W was 'your' machine to do this epic of a build?

Thanks for the compliment.
It all started in this picture here; the spring of 1994 the day this machine was cut up for scrap. That's my 1998 Ford Ranger sitting next to the 9W. I took about 8 pictures of this machine but ran out of film and didn't take more. Originally I was
going to build a Manitowoc 4600 crawler dragline but didn't want to take the time to machine all the track links. About the year 2000 I think, the coal company sold all of their remaining machines at auction and I went and tried to buy the 1:1 bucket from the 9W but was outbid by someone with deeper pockets. My plan was to take the 9CY bucket to our steam show and set it there as a display. Actually the bucket was supposed to be taken to Station Square here in Pittsburgh to be displayed with some of the old steel mill era relics. This machine was bought new in 1939 by one of the big coal and steel tycoons here in Pittsburgh.
After the auction, A friend of mine who is good friends with the auctioneer, gave my buddy a pickup truck load of old parts books and manuals that wasn't sold. I went through them to see what I wanted and found the parts books from the 9W. From here I was able to figure out a scale that would be appropriate to be able to actually dig with. Being a machinist building this thing isn't all that hard for me but trying to get actual drawings and measurements is hard. I originally was going to wire this directly but it would make it too complicated with all the wiring involved so Radio Control came up. Not knowing anything about RC I went to a local hobby shop to ask some questions, only to find out no real knowledge on what I am attempting to build. The man there told me about a forum called "GardenTrucking" This is where I started to learn more about this hobby and met a lot of nice guys in the process. Since then countless hours have been spent on my hobby when time permits.

[Rvjimd]

Steve,

You going to the lakeside dirt meet in Ohio? It is coming up pretty soon isn't it?

Jim