Aug 19 2008World's Largest Digging Machine Is Huge
The world's largest digger is a giant trencher built a couple years ago by German manufacturer Krupp. It took more than 5 years and $100 million to design and manufacture.
The machine is almost 95 meters (311 ft) high and 215 meters (705 ft) long which is just like almost 2.5 football fields in length with 45,500 tons in weight. Maximum digging speed is 10 meters (32 ft) per minute and it can move more than 76,000 cubic meters (~2,700,000 cubic ft) of coal, rock, and earth per day.
Wow, pretty impressive. You get two of these things working around the clock for a couple days and I could finally bury my girlfriend. Haha! No, but seriously honey, go to the gym.
Hit the jump for several more pictures of the digging behemoth.
What is the "World's Largest Digging Machine"? [readingshouts]
Thanks to Ryan, whose plan to dig a hole to China and steal the Olympics was foiled by a masked superhero.
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Reader Comments
1. James Buchanon XXIV - August 19, 2008 5:12 PM
its looks awfully alot like an evil robot.
2. Inkognito - August 19, 2008 5:15 PM
Aw, common!
This is older then the internet itself, it has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries.
3. bob - August 19, 2008 5:29 PM
it looks like it could kill you but if u get close enough to pet it im sure it won't bite or run you over :p
4. DrNecropolis - August 19, 2008 5:29 PM
Yeah I saw a special on this on modern marvels on the history channel a while ago. However, a giant machine is always awesome news. But this is just proof that man likes to F the S out of the earth with our giant super awesome robo-cock or mecha-cock, take your pick
5. oh no - August 19, 2008 5:37 PM
i have seven of these.
6. StlDragoon - August 19, 2008 5:48 PM
Thats almot as big and destructive as my shlong
B=====D
7. Billy Gates - August 19, 2008 5:55 PM
@ 1 I'm with ya. Hail our new Robot Overlords. I am not worthy. I am not worthy. I am not worthy.
8. NastyBedazzler - August 19, 2008 6:13 PM
I used to own a book about giant machines such of this and it was awesome.
I could give a shit about construction projects but something about seeing a giant machine like this f*** up planet earth is an awe to behold.
9. Jordan - August 19, 2008 6:19 PM
That's a little superfluous.
10. Pierre - August 19, 2008 6:28 PM
martians are laughing or crying in fear at this damn thing
11. BizarroTomek - August 19, 2008 6:45 PM
you should check out the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow, Poland! It is like a dwarven stronghold times like a zillion! it also is a real credit to the vast abilities of man
12. JaC - August 19, 2008 6:45 PM
Ummm, where do you park that thing when it's not in use and how do you move it to where it's needed?
13. getsomestyle - August 19, 2008 6:50 PM
That thing is terrifying.
14. parker - August 19, 2008 7:04 PM
is it weird that I find myself getting an erection over it?
15. Bobo - August 19, 2008 7:10 PM
@12 - You park that thing anywhere you damn well please. What are they going to do tow it away?
16. Marco - August 19, 2008 7:10 PM
The digger is in Garzweiler, near Cologne/Germany... and its really, really huge... From the pictures you don't believe how huge it really is ;) I visited it once :)
Greetings :)
17. notbob - August 19, 2008 7:16 PM
*poke* Thats f*cking huge.
18. Lisa - August 19, 2008 7:35 PM
@12 it's on tracks, baby; as scary as it sounds, it moves itself. Can you imagine driving that thing? I'm gettin' a little tingly just thinking about it.
19. hey idiots - August 19, 2008 7:36 PM
FAKE!! thats totally photoshop. totally. i am right. this is fake.
ok fine, i know that this isnt fake. but i wish it was!!!!!
20. sushikabuki - August 19, 2008 7:52 PM
Someone's been reading Cracked today and running out of ideas to talk about.
http://www.cracked.com/article_16556_15-images-you-wont-believe-arent-photoshopped.html
21. Creampie - August 19, 2008 9:08 PM
This isn't really news. Its been around for a long time.
22. Al - August 19, 2008 9:53 PM
Slap a power meter in the upper right hand corner and this thing is totally a video game boss.
23. guate6 - August 19, 2008 10:18 PM
This is very large!
So it's a building on tracks...nothing new, but the size is impressive.
I just want to see this thing run over a tank or something to see what would happen. :p
24. mahalohalo - August 19, 2008 11:02 PM
you're like two years late with your news...
25. JaC - August 20, 2008 12:02 AM
Yeahhhhh, when I asked about how you move it, I was commenting on the fact that it's bigger than any road I've ever seen. I do wanna drive it though! "You're gonna get hop-ons."
26. iota1 - August 20, 2008 12:54 AM
They use it to rape Mother Earth.
I bet it hurts.
27. Chris - August 20, 2008 3:27 AM
;) My Grandpa worked on it! ;) Really! Visited him often there; he did some welding works there!
28. Uriel - August 20, 2008 3:37 AM
This is nice and all, but the whole "news you may remember from your childhood" thing is getting ridiculous. Next thing, I expect there'll be a report on how "All your base are belong to us" is popular on the internet.
Seriously, there needs to be some sort of vetting process. At least have a couple of random people off the street check that an article actually counts as news.
29. Jonat - August 20, 2008 3:55 AM
Stop bitching about whether it's news or not.
It's still a big machine. That makes it cool.
30. Zoid Elpertclam - August 20, 2008 3:57 AM
I used to have a Tonka truck just like that. It dug sand but never like that piece of hoard! That thing can crush my tonka truck, holy scrabbles!
31. Succubus Divine - August 20, 2008 4:00 AM
That's a waste of gas. What if that thing uses diesel? Goodness fellatio!
32. ikke - August 20, 2008 4:03 AM
@1 http://static.flickr.com/102/301323685_b8770caa20_o.jpg
33. TheLC - August 20, 2008 5:35 AM
News pieces like this make me believe the Geekologie writer is completely f***ing baked out of his mind when he checks his e-mails for worthy stories to post on here. This shit's so old, but I guess HUEG ROBOT really strikes a cord when you're tweaking.
34. Cédric - August 20, 2008 6:32 AM
Related :
http://www.allowe.com/Humor/WhereIsMyDozer.htm
35. SlowMonkey - August 20, 2008 8:03 AM
I could use that on my neighbors. I would use it while they sit on the patio all f***ing night yelling in some garbage language drinking beer that their religion says not to drink and dump them off at the f***ing airport so they can return to their garbage nation and GET SOME HOME TRAINING.
36. whistle - August 20, 2008 8:42 AM
ATTENTION ALL READERS WHO MUST POINT OUT THAT THEY HAVE ALREADY SEEN SOMETHING FEATURED HERE: You are very annoying. Die in a painful way very soon, please.
Here is why it was posted:
A) I didn't know about it
B) it is awesome
C) This blog is free to visit, you are getting your moneys worth
D) shut the f*** up.
37. Momboelitist - August 20, 2008 8:42 AM
Imagine what will happen when Skynet takes control of that thing....
38. poop - August 20, 2008 9:09 AM
i need this thing to scratch my ballsack. i didn't take a shower yesterday. itchy, burny... ..so forth. this looks like what the doctor ordered.
39. poop - August 20, 2008 9:12 AM
oh yeah, and this shit is as old as the internet it's self. old. OLD! stop drinking and get to work.
40. poop - August 20, 2008 9:12 AM
just kidding. it's new.
41. Amaranth - August 20, 2008 9:24 AM
thats not a digger its an earth destroyer aka earth killer
42. TheDogg - August 20, 2008 10:17 AM
Bucket Wheel Excavator (BWE) . Many many of them all over the world, but apparently this one is the biggest. (?) It takes years to assemble on site.
43. LordNAg - August 20, 2008 12:38 PM
Video! Video!!
44. Tenchi059 - August 20, 2008 3:56 PM
"No, but seriously honey, go to the gym. "
LOL
Anyway, I want to drive it. No, no wait! I want another one to be built, so that I could have drive it IN A RACE!! Who's with me?
45. BlightedArt - August 20, 2008 5:17 PM
"Shadow Moses"...
46. johnny k - August 20, 2008 6:01 PM
Now thats the ultimate war machine i always dreamt about!
Put a dozen of rocket lauchers, 50 gattling cannons, 15 flamethrowers, 7 gajilion tons of fuel tanks to make it move, then invade... err... the moon.
47. Oliver - August 21, 2008 10:26 AM
@ 42
"...It takes years to assemble on site..."
Yes, and thus if one spot was cleared of brown coal, the don't 'bring' them somewhere else... they 'DRIVE' them...
Was a big deal some years ago when two of these had to cross motorways, power transmissiones, small rivers and such...
Company website:
http://www.rwe.com/generator.aspx/standorte/braunkohle/baggertransporte/rueckblick-in-bildern/id=56674/
Crossing of Autobahn by night:
http://www.oih.rwth-aachen.de/~hendrik/bagger/432-10-bagger-228-auf-A61-18-02-2001-k.jpg
They even 'move' whole smal cities to make place for mining since the open pit mining is done in populated area. It's cheaper to rebuild the towns than move the excavators...
Searchwords:
"Bagger" and "288" or "259"(The numbers of the two biggest)
or
"Garzweiler" as a very damaged area of the two...
48. JB - September 6, 2008 10:29 PM
Chuck Norris could fold this thing up and put it in his pocket.
:)
49. EPIC - March 24, 2009 8:58 AM
Thats EPIC PWNAGE !
50. 3v1lM1nD - July 18, 2009 2:38 AM
This sucker might be nuclear as well coz it`s big maybe 2 big and i bet those motors from his tracks are electric.
51. louis vuitton - September 27, 2009 8:12 PM
i have seven of these.