NEB&W Guide to Railway CranesThis file is open to website members only
Last Update: 2007-11-15
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According to Robert Rogers, a true steam shovel has a bucket at the end of a boom, so the bucket can be made to "shovel" or scoop up earth, with the bottom hinged to release the load. He said this was the first important piece of mechanical earthmoving equipment, but used mostly in mining after WWII. Other shovel types he identified as the backhoe (the shovel is pulled towards the machine to load and raised by a beam to unload), the