MegaPixel
Monster muncher
What’s astonishing about this
mechanical beast is not so much its
size, it’s the fact that its whopping
14,196 tonnes can be driven. Made
in Germany for shifting earth in open
cast mines, the RB293 excavator
stands 94.5m (310ft) tall – about the
same height as a 26-storey building.
It holds the Guinness World Record as
the largest land vehicle and can move
because huge caterpillar tracks evenly
distribute its weight over a large area.
As you’d expect, it isn’t exactly
nippy. It took over three weeks to
crawl a mere 22km (13.6 miles) when
it was driven to Garzweiler coal mine
in Germany. But what it lacks in speed,
it makes up in excavating prowess.
The giant wheel turns 18 bucket
scoops that eat into the earth before
dumping their load onto a conveyor
belt. In a single day it can shift
240,000m
3
(8.475 million ft
3
) of earth,
almost enough to fi ll 10 Olympic-sized
swimming pools.
CORDS
D RE
ORL
SS W
UINNE
G
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/
RICHARD BRADBUR
6 NoN vembembbereer r 2002200008 wwwwwww..bbbcbbcfof cusmusmagagagazzinziinne.cece comm
FFocus_196_megapixel_7RB.indd 6ocus_196_megapixel_7RB.indd 6 33/10/08 14:26:24/10/08 14:26:24
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