Oddball - a Bucyrus Erie drag line excavator

Oddball was built in 1948 by the Bucyrus Erie in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the USA. It worked there for 4 years before it was dismantled & shipped to England. It's been dismantled 4 times in the U.K as it worked in Pontyprid, South Wales & Cannock and Staffordshire before it was finally moved to the St Aidans in 1972 where it worked until 1983. It is one of only four remaining drag line excavators still in existence. It weighs 1200 tons and is the size of 60 double decker busses and has a bucket capacity of 20 cubic yards.

It is so called Oddball as with most draglines it was mains powered and ran on a different MHz level than normal British machinery and so certain transformers had to be installed that apparently made various strange noises hence the name Oddball. 

A group called The Friends of the St. Aidens BE 1150 Dragline restored the dragline in 1999 with the help of Beeby Plant Repairs, it walked 49 meters to its final resting place today were it is opened to visitors a few times a year.