On the way out of Nederland, Zeb and Eider stopped at the Nederland Mining Museum.   The humans wanted to see and show us a 1923 Panama Canal Steam Shovel.

Zeb and Eider are on the shovel

This shovel is huge compared to small rubber ducks.

Twenty-five of these 1923 Panama Canal Steam Shovels, Bucyrus Model 50-B were sent to the Panama Canal to build bridges, roads and drains.   Also to remove massive amounts of dirt and rock cut from the canal bed.

This shovel can move lots of stuff

In Panama, after the jobs were completed, 24 of these steam shovels were destroyed.   This lone survivor was shipped to California and then brought to Denver.   Early in the 1950s, Roy and Russell Durand transported this steam shovel to Rollinsville.   They operated the Lump Gulch Placer, 6 miles south of Nederland.   This shovel was used there until 1978.   This Steam Shovel weighs 130,000 pounds and is rated at 75 tons.

October 21, 2005 the shovel was moved from Lump Gulch to the Nederland Mining Museum.

At Mining Museum in Nederland, Colorado

Steve and Laurel Higgins donated the shovel.   Today it is the largest operating steam shovel in the United States.

The museum also has a smaller version of the huge shovel.

Large shovels are needed for mining

Even this smaller one is so big for little ducks.   This is a great museum.   Look at this other cool stuff we found.

Heavy cables

The Colorado Mountains supported many mines in the earlier years.

Gears

We find lots of mining museums and equipment as we travel around Colorado.

Mining Museum in Nederland. Colorado has many mining museums

We know you would like to see some of this stuff also.   We hope you will visit many of these former mining towns in Colorado.   This is the way to make history fun.