On August 3, 1977 the US Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement was created with the purpose of ensuring any land disturbed for mining purposes, other than coal and gas, was reclaimed. Or in their words “Since 1977, OSMRE has protected the environment and people while regulating surface coal mining in the United States, and funded the restoration of abandoned coal mines.”

One of the ways identified to reclaim surface mined land is called “ripping.” In ripping a site, a dozer drags a blade through the hard ground, turning up the soil in the same manner that a plow would in a farm field. However, the depth of the ripping is much deeper than

in a normal farm field. Since the volume of land being moved is much larger and deeper, a solution needed to be found.

The solution came in the form of a custom-built Balderson angle blade that measured just shy of 50 feet wide weighing in at 27,000 pounds or 12.25 tons. With a capacity to move up to 14,180 cubic yards of soil per hour, this blade was so impressive in size that it required two Cat tractors working in tandem at 820hp to push it – aptly earning it the nickname of “Double Dude.” The twin dozers were linked together in the rear with a tubular tie bar and air controls so both tractors could be controlled by a single operator to push the blade at a 45° blade angle.

This configuration proved to be highly effective in the amount of land moved but also in terms of manpower. It reduced earth moving costs by up to 40% in comparison with two tractors with single blades and cut cost of labor in half since only one operator was needed. At the time the “Double Dude” held the Guinness World Record for the largest tractor U-blade ever built.

The “Double Dude” blade was donated by Russell and Sons Construction Company out of Longview, Texas, formerly located in Eureka, Kansas. It was designed by Russell and Sons Construction and used in reclamation work on coal mines in Southeast Kansas, Arkansas, Texas and Arizona.