In the Moscow region there is a White Mountain with continuous bucket loaders working on it all day long. Finding the area is not easy, coming close to the excavators is even more difficult due to lack of any identification signs in nearby villages. In spite of all the difficulties the path to the open pit was found and pictures are presented below.
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The first German excavator Tarkaf Ers 710 is very impressive in size though this bucket loader is the smallest one among those that used to be available.

The machine has 5 floors. The first one is motionless and contains a tube in its base.

‘The dining room’.

Lubrication room.

The communication panel provides connection with other working spaces.

The chain consists of 38 buckets (710 liters each).

The machine was used first to mine ore then only sand which is taken to the second floor along the chain. The circular feeder is located right there.

Sand goes to the band conveyor.

Then it is loaded onto the train. Tarkaf ERS 710 needs 15 minutes to load 12-13 wagons with capacity of 60 tons each. This is a loading point. Connector communicates with the engine driver and controls the loading process to avoid sand spilling.

The sand piles were formed in the result of spillage.

Main control console.

Power control room.

The input voltage box which transforms 6000 V into 380 V is not allowed to touch as waves can be produced due to that.

According to the instruction, a continuous bucket loader is operated by 5 people such as an engine driver, his attendant, electrician, chief foreman and ladle-man.

The bucket works from May till November and never in winter. Due to a large number of projectors it can operate 24 hours a day. Now it loads 4 trains in the morning and 4 trains at night.

Another walking excavator made in the USSR.

It separates sand from stones, clay and has one bucket.

The teeth are changed every month.

The excavator is produced at Soviet times and is decorated with a flag which states ‘We’ll reach the victory of communistic labor’.

Its high voltage cable is distributed manually, the resonance is felt in the adjacent villages.

Climb the stairs and get the view of the neighborhood.

The wagon shifts the rails as soon as excavators has done its job and moves to another territory.

One jack elevates the rail whereas the other one shifts it aside.

Last sight of the ‘monster’.

The White Mountain with excavators working on it.

The entrance to the Mountain is closed for common people.

Only excavators are allowed to reach it.

Location: Voskresensk

via mikeseryakov