Cycle tour through the Leipziger Land - No.2

Part 2 of my cycle tour. On the photo you can see the remains of the open-cast mining: a Bucket-wheel excavator (BWE) and the coal-fired power plant Lippendorf (still operating).

BWEs are among the largest vehicles ever constructed. They have been used in mining to move and mine massive amounts of overburden (waste). They have reached sizes as large as 96 meters (314.9 feet) tall, 225 meters (738.2 feet) long, and as heavy as 14,200 tons (31.3 million lb)! The bucket-wheel itself can be over 70 feet in diameter. The largest BWE ever constructed is TAKRAF's Bagger 293, which is capable of moving 240,000 cubic meters of overburden every day.

In the red circle is San, so you imagine the size difference. This photo (and the next) was taken last summer.

San again ... she marveled at the outstanding engineering.

Chris