The Ore Shovel

In the 1930s, iron mining expanded in Iron County and massive shovels were needed to excavate ore. Company delivery records indicate that two Bucyrus-Erie 120-B shovels were delivered to the Utah Construction Company in Cedar City in September 1936 for use in the iron mines. At that time, a shovel operator earned $0.48 per hour. The electric 120-B shovel had a six cubic yard dipper capacity, enough to scoop up six tons of dirt and rock, and AC power reached it through a trailing 23,000-volt electric cable that drove a 275-horsepower motor-generator set. When the shovel was moved from pit to pit, bulldozers were used to keep its huge tracks from slipping down the hill. About 330 of the 120-Bs were sold around the world over nearly three decades. SHE-22 remained in continuous use until the 1970s, after which it stood west of town for many years before being relocated in 2012 to Frontier Homestead State Park through a partnership involving Utah State Parks, Cedar City, Iron County, Gilbert Development, Inc., and Construction Steel, Inc.

Cedar City, Utah · United States