Marion 8400 Dragline Bucket - Elkford, BC
Posted by: 
Bon Echo
N 50° 01.199 W 114° 54.969
11U E 649276 N 5542933
Massive bucket on display in Elkford
Waymark Code: WMZ6RK
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/19/2018
Views: 3
Elkford BC is what it is today because of the large deposits of high-grade coal in the nearby mountains, which for the last several decades have been mined by open pit mines instead of shaft mines. That means moving a lot of rock out of the way, and large machines like draglines were used for that job. This bucket was used in the nearby mine for 30 years, being retired in 2002. It now sits on display in a park, with a sign to provide details about this large iron item:
MARION 8400 WALKING DRAGLINE
This bucket was used on a Marion 8400 Dragline for excavation. The bucket is positioned above the material to be excavated and lowered. The dragrope is then drawn so that the bucket is dragged along the surface of the material by means of a number of ropes and chains. A swing operation is then performed to move the bucket to the place where the material is to be dumped. The dragrope is then released causing the bucket to tilt and empty. This is called a dump operation.
Quick facts:
• Working Weight is 7,120,000 pounds
• 60 cubic yard capacity
• Capable of moving 90-100 tons of rock per load
• Boom length 305 feet
• Maximum digging depth 200 feet
• In use at Fording River Operations from 1972 to 2002
• Primary excavator in moving 2.2 million bank cubic meters of materials to re-establish the Henretta Creek channel in 1998 for the mine reclamation project
Generously donated by Teck's Fording River Operations Bucket painting donated by SMS Equipment
It is interesting to note that while the bucket sits on display, the Marion 8400 dragline itself has been overhauled and put back into service in North Dakota USA (
visit link)
In that article, we read that the 8400 logged about 150,000 hours over the 30 years it was in service in BC.