[geeks] Why?

[geeks at sunhelp.org]

~ > Of course, wait until you see a walking dragline. 500K-tons 
~ of walking
~ > earth moving beastie. I watched one for a few days in 
~ Pennsylvania at
~ > a coal strip-mine.
~ > _
~ 
~ Watched it walking, or working?  Those things move what, 5 or 
~ 6 steps an
~ hour?  I read about one that they had to walk across a road, they
~ actually put a 12 foot thick temporary dirt crosswalk across the road,
~ and it still cracked the pavement.  They really stretch the definition
~ of mobile.

Both. One day watching it walk, two more watching it work. Insane shit. The
bucket is so far away from the pivot that it travels at about 60mph and is
big enough to scoop up several large houses. When it walked it mashed
boulders into the ground. Whenever it moved it attracted crowds of
onlookers. It's march was preceeded by surveyors, wheel-loaders and graders
because it has to stay level.

I found a walking dragline for sale at $80M. Since coal sells for
$40.00/ton, its gotta move LOTS of coal to pay for itself.