McCoy & Sons had 660's and some 666's working in Gillette, Wyoming in 2004. It was a big spread of about 11 or 12 660's, all with 24" or 30" sideboards. They were being pushed by a D11R and a D10R. The machines were working right along side a 657E spread. It was impressive to watch such old machines working in such a high performance setting and performing so well.
The 666's McCoy had were a CAT Custom Product badged 666EB. The "EB" standing for "extended bowl." They had a 25" deeper can than a standard 666, with the necessary lengthened ejector cylinder to compensate. The machines had been ordered by Union Carbide Corporation in the mid 1960's to work in Shirley Basin Wyoming on some of the huge uranium mines that were opening at the time. They were pushed by quad D9H's. Dirt contracts were 1-2 million cubic yards/month for many of the mines, and the scrapers at the time simply needed more capacity, resulting in the trial run of the 666EB. Due to the nature of the stripping and oberburden removal in uranium mines, extracting pockets of uranium at specific grades, draglines couldn't strip accurately enough so scrapers were the backbone of the operations. I was told, that at one time more than half of all the 660's and 666's produced were in Shirley Basin and the Gas Hills of Wyoming during the uranium boom.
I'd been told from a push-cat hand I know who works for McCoy that their 660's were parked in 2006 due to parts availability. They were replaced with 651E's.
All the iron should hit the auction block soon. McCoy & Sons filed chapter 11 three weeks ago.
The 666's McCoy had were a CAT Custom Product badged 666EB. The "EB" standing for "extended bowl." They had a 25" deeper can than a standard 666, with the necessary lengthened ejector cylinder to compensate. The machines had been ordered by Union Carbide Corporation in the mid 1960's to work in Shirley Basin Wyoming on some of the huge uranium mines that were opening at the time. They were pushed by quad D9H's. Dirt contracts were 1-2 million cubic yards/month for many of the mines, and the scrapers at the time simply needed more capacity, resulting in the trial run of the 666EB. Due to the nature of the stripping and oberburden removal in uranium mines, extracting pockets of uranium at specific grades, draglines couldn't strip accurately enough so scrapers were the backbone of the operations. I was told, that at one time more than half of all the 660's and 666's produced were in Shirley Basin and the Gas Hills of Wyoming during the uranium boom.
I'd been told from a push-cat hand I know who works for McCoy that their 660's were parked in 2006 due to parts availability. They were replaced with 651E's.
All the iron should hit the auction block soon. McCoy & Sons filed chapter 11 three weeks ago.
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