{{refimprove|date=May 2010}}
[[Image:Bagger-garzweiler.jpg|thumb|500px|Image of the Bagger 288 bucket-wheel excavator]]

The '''Bagger 288''' (Excavator 288), built by the German company [[Krupp]] for the energy and mining firm [[Rheinbraun]], is a [[bucket-wheel excavator]] or mobile [[strip mining]] machine. When its construction was completed in 1978, Bagger 288 superseded [[NASA]]'s [[Crawler-Transporter]], used to carry the [[Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle]] and [[Project Apollo|Apollo]] Saturn V launch vehicle, as the largest land vehicle in the world at 13,500 tons.

== Objective ==
The Bagger 288 was built for the job of removing [[overburden]] prior to coal mining in [[Tagebau Hambach]] (stripmine Hambach), [[Germany]]. It can excavate 240,000 tons of coal or 240,000 cubic metres of overburden daily – the equivalent of a [[Association_football#Pitch|football field (soccer)]] dug to {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} deep. The coal produced in one day fills 2400 coal wagons. The excavator is up to 220 m (721 ft) long and approximately 96 m (315 ft) high. The Bagger's operation requires 16.56 [[megawatts]] of externally supplied [[electricity]].<ref name="bagger">[http://www.oih.rwth-aachen.de/~hendrik/bagger.html Die grössten Bagger der Welt (The biggest excavators in the world)] {{de icon}}</ref> It can travel {{convert|2|to|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} per minute (0.1 to 0.6 km/h). The chassis of the main section is {{convert|46|m|abbr=on}} wide and sits on 3 rows of 4 [[caterpillar track]] assemblies, each {{convert|3.8|m|abbr=on}} wide. The large surface area of the tracks means the [[ground pressure]] of the Bagger 288 is very small (17.1 N/cm2 or 24.8 psi); this allows the excavator to travel over gravel, earth and even grass without leaving a significant track. It has a minimum turning radius of approximately 100 meters, and can climb a maximum gradient of 1:18.

The excavating head itself is 21.6 m in diameter and has 18 buckets each holding 6.6 cubic meters (7.9 yd³) of overburden.

By February 2001, the excavator had completely exposed the coal source at the Tagebau Hambach mine and was no longer needed there. In three weeks it made a 22 kilometer (14 mile) trip to the [[Tagebau Garzweiler]], traveling across Autobahn 61, the river [[Erft]], a railroad line, and several roads. The move cost nearly 150 million [[German mark]]s and required a team of seventy workers. Rivers were crossed by placing large steel pipes for the water to flow through and providing a smooth surface over the pipes with rocks and gravel. Special grass was seeded to smooth its passage over valuable terrain. Moving Bagger 288 in one piece was more economical than disassembling the excavator and moving it piece by piece.

The Bagger 288 is one of a group of similar sized and built vehicles, such as Bagger 281 (built in 1958), Bagger 285 (1975), Bagger 287 (1976), [[Bagger 293]] (1995), etc.<ref name="bagger" />

==See also==

* [[Takraf RB293]]

== Notes ==
<references />

== External links ==
*Additional pictures [http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/11/biggest-and-hungriest-machines.html 1] and [http://www.olivepixel.com/misc/beast/beast.htm 2]
*[http://www.oih.rwth-aachen.de/~hendrik/bagger.html RWTH Aachen: Die grössten Bagger der Welt (The biggest excavators in the world)] {{de icon}}
*[http://www.wisoveg.de/rheinbraun/rb-bg-17022001lnk.html Bagger 288 crossing the river Erft during the 2001 move] (pictures)
*[http://www.tk-mining.com/hme.html Manufacturer's homepage]

{{coord|51.050274|6.518052|display=title}}

[[Category:Engineering vehicles]]
[[Category:Mining in Germany]]
[[Category:Mining equipment]]
[[Category:Tracked vehicles]]

[[cs:Bagger 288]]
[[el:Bagger 288]]
[[fr:Bagger 288]]
[[he:באגר 288]]
[[ja:バケットホイールエクスカベーター#Bagger 288]]
[[pl:Bagger 288]]
[[ru:Bagger 288]]
[[sk:Bagger 288]]
[[fi:Bagger 288]]
[[sv:Bagger 288]]
[[uk:Bagger 288]]

Bagger 288

2010-11-08T15:27:50Z

Herr Gruber: -weaselry.

{{refimprove|date=May 2010}}
[[Image:Bagger-garzweiler.jpg|thumb|500px|Image of the Bagger 288 bucket-wheel excavator]]

The '''Bagger 288''' (Excavator 288), built by the German company [[Krupp]] for the energy and mining firm [[Rheinbraun]], is a [[bucket-wheel excavator]] or mobile [[strip mining]] machine. When its construction was completed in 1978, Bagger 288 superseded [[NASA]]'s [[Crawler-Transporter]], used to carry the [[Space Shuttle program|Space Shuttle]] and [[Project Apollo|Apollo]] Saturn V launch vehicle, as the largest tracked vehicle in the world at 13,500 tons.

== Objective ==
The Bagger 288 was built for the job of removing [[overburden]] prior to coal mining in [[Tagebau Hambach]] (stripmine Hambach), [[Germany]]. It can excavate 240,000 tons of coal or 240,000 cubic metres of overburden daily – the equivalent of a [[Association_football#Pitch|football field(soccer)]] dug to {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} deep. The coal produced in one day fills 2400 coal wagons. The excavator is up to 220 m (721 ft) long and approximately 96 m (315 ft) high. The Bagger's operation requires 16.56 [[megawatts]] of externally supplied [[electricity]].<ref name="bagger">[http://www.oih.rwth-aachen.de/~hendrik/bagger.html Die grössten Bagger der Welt (The biggest excavators in the world)] {{de icon}}</ref> It can travel {{convert|2|to|10|m|ft|abbr=on}} per minute (0.1 to 0.6 km/h). The chassis of the main section is {{convert|46|m|abbr=on}} wide and sits on 3 rows of 4 [[caterpillar track]] assemblies, each {{convert|3.8|m|abbr=on}} wide. The large surface area of the tracks means the [[ground pressure]] of the Bagger 288 is very small (17.1 N/cm2 or 24.8 psi); this allows the excavator to travel over gravel, earth and even grass without leaving a significant track. It has a minimum turning radius of approximately 100 meters, and can climb a maximum gradient of 1:18.

The excavating head itself is 21.6 m in diameter and has 18 buckets each holding 6.6 cubic meters (7.9 yd³) of overburden.

By February 2001, the excavator had completely exposed the coal source at the Tagebau Hambach mine and was no longer needed there. In three weeks it made a 22 kilometer (14 mile) trip to the [[Tagebau Garzweiler]], traveling across Autobahn 61, the river [[Erft]], a railroad line, and several roads. The move cost nearly 150 million [[German mark]]s and required a team of seventy workers. Rivers were crossed by placing large steel pipes for the water to flow through and providing a smooth surface over the pipes with rocks and gravel. Special grass was seeded to smooth its passage over valuable terrain. Moving Bagger 288 in one piece was more economical than disassembling the excavator and moving it piece by piece.

The Bagger 288 is one of a group of similar sized and built vehicles, such as Bagger 281 (built in 1958), Bagger 285 (1975), Bagger 287 (1976), [[Bagger 293]] (1995), etc.<ref name="bagger" />

== Bagger 288 in culture ==
British group [http://www.rathergood.com/ RatherGood.com] has the song "Bagger 288"<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azEvfD4C6ow Video for the song "Bagger 288"]</ref> in their album ''Spongs In The Key Of Life'' (2009)<ref>[http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0032UO0Q0?ie=UTF8&tag=rathergoodcom-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B0032UO0Q0 The album ''Spongs In The Key Of Life'' by rathergood.com on Amazon]</ref>.

==See also==

* [[Takraf RB293]]

== Notes ==
<references />

== External links ==
*Additional pictures [http://thrillingwonder.blogspot.com/2006/11/biggest-and-hungriest-machines.html 1] and [http://www.olivepixel.com/misc/beast/beast.htm 2]
*[http://www.oih.rwth-aachen.de/~hendrik/bagger.html RWTH Aachen: Die grössten Bagger der Welt (The biggest excavators in the world)] {{de icon}}
*[http://www.wisoveg.de/rheinbraun/rb-bg-17022001lnk.html Bagger 288 crossing the river Erft during the 2001 move] (pictures)
*[http://www.tk-mining.com/hme.html Manufacturer's homepage]

{{coord|51.050274|6.518052|display=title}}

[[Category:Engineering vehicles]]
[[Category:Mining in Germany]]
[[Category:Mining equipment]]
[[Category:Tracked vehicles]]

[[cs:Bagger 288]]
[[el:Bagger 288]]
[[fr:Bagger 288]]
[[he:באגר 288]]
[[pl:Bagger 288]]
[[ru:Bagger 288]]
[[sk:Bagger 288]]
[[sv:Bagger 288]]
[[uk:Bagger 288]]