“A towering giant of machinery”
Big Brutus put the oooohs and aaahs in the backyard of the Heartlands!!! Miles before you reach this retired giant — you can see it on the horizon south of West Mineral, Kansas. Standing beside it makes one aware of how fragile he or she is. There is more to Big Brutus than cold steel and long shadows falling across the Mined Land Wildlife Area. Big Brutus is not just a symbol of the past, but an eternal tribute to the mining heritage of Southeast Kansas and to miners all across this nation who toiled to support their families. On July 13, 1985, Big Brutus was dedicated as "a Museum and Memorial Dedicated to the Rich Coal Mining History in Southeast Kansas. "In September 1987 The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) designated Big Brutus a Regional Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark, the 10th since 1971 to be so designated. It is 160 feet (49 m) high and weighs 11 million pounds (4,989,516 kg). The bucket holds 90 cubic yards (69 m3) or 150 tons (136 metric tonnes). Maximum speed is 0.22 MPH (6 metres per minute). It cost $6.5 million in 1962 when it was shipped in 150 railroad cars to be assembled in Kansas. It only was used until 1974 when it no longer became economical to mine coal at the site. At that time it was considered too big to move and so was left in place. Big Brutus, while not the largest electric shovel ever built, is the largest electric shovel still in existence. The Captain, at 28 million pounds, was the largest shovel and one of the two largest land-based mobile machines ever built. It was scrapped in 1992.
Reviews of Big Brutus Museum
8 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on November 15, 2020AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on November 15, 2020T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on July 30, 2021Reviews
If you're a Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel fan, this is for you! I've read that book to my son many times and this trip made it come to life. Take your time to climb inside and look around. Big Brutus is an awesome site to see and worth your time. Walk the self-guided tour read the plaques at each numbered stop. It's a little difficult to see coming in from the east, but it's a welcome surprise when you finally get there.
Big Brutus itself is an awesome site to see, worth the stop. $8 to get in (per adult) seemed a little pricey and there really isn't much history about mining in the museum. Still definitely worth the trip! Cool photo ops!
What a great find. $15 for water and electric with a dump station. 10 spots next to the world’s largest steam shovel. Quiet country setting.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 6
RV Length: 40 ft
RV Type: Toy Hauler Fifth Wheel
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
These are just a few spaces off the parking lot of the Big Brutus Museum (big steam shovel). The area is entirely rural, not in a town and the pavement ends just past the museum. We were there in heavy rains and all the spaces except one were too soft (grass), and no way to hook up to the power outlets without pulling in way off the parking lot surface. But we had the one gravelly spot all to ourselves (it was the sole 50 amp, which we didn't use, but it's $5 more than the basic $20). Dump site, water & electric (didn't check out the bathrooms) and it was absolutely peaceful. No one even drove by on the county road. Museum staff began showing up about 845 am. It's way off the beaten path, but oddly was one of our favorite experiences of our Kansas trek. Big Brutus is really . . . big. We didn't pay the $8.75 to do the tour the next day, as it was still raining. We had good OTA TV and maybe two bars Verizon.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
RV Length: 21 ft
RV Type: Class B
Easy check in at Museum. Assigned site 6 but EMS showed reversed polarity Sites on either side OK so moved. Water, electric, bathroom and dump station. The museum was surprisingly busy until closing. This didn’t create any noise to speak of and absolutely quiet at night. Only myself and a tent camper on the other end of the lot by the end of the day. Arrived during a heat advisory. Disappointed there was no shade unless you were tent camping. The museum was mildly interesting and Big Brutus was indeed big. Enjoyed it nonetheless. Several OTA channels and 3 bars with T-mobile but only by using my cell booster. Overall a very pleasant stop.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 5
Cell Coverage Rating
T-Mobile 4G
I liked how you could go inside Big Brutus and explore. 😃
Ok. This may be out of the way but it is worth the trip! I have never seen a piece of machinery so massive. You get to walk inside it as well. Kids of ALL ages will enjoy. I am bring my three grandsons back.
Awesome piece of history! Saying it is massive is an understatement.once you see it you will understand. Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. My wife and daughters of 6 & 8 even enjoyed our visit. Call ahead and check hours they change with the season.
Be the first to add a review to the Big Brutus Museum.
Big Brutus Museum
Hours
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
-
Parking
-
Pets Allowed
-
Restrooms
-
Wifi
-
Wheelchair Accessible
-
Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- Other public land (TVA, DOD, county parks with campgrounds)
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 40 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 15.0
- Sites Count
- 10
-
Fifty Amp
-
Full Hookup
-
Pull Through
-
Dump Station
-
Big Rigs
-
Open Seasonally
-
Age Restricted
-
Boondock
-
Cabin Sites
-
Dispersed Sites
-
Firewood
-
Fulltime Residents
-
Group Tent Sites
-
Laundry
-
Mobile Homes
-
Permit Required
-
Potable Water
-
Propane
-
Public Water
-
Pull Through RV Sites
-
Sewer Hookup
-
Showers
-
Sites
-
Water Hookup
Campground
Nearby Hotels
Related Trip Guides
Road Trip Down US 83: The Road to Nowhere
- 36 Places
- 34:43
- 1,869 mi
The top things to do on a Route 66 road trip
- 41 Places
- 38:08
- 2,284 mi
Make the most of Kansas' 14 mile stretch of Route 66
- 7 Places
- 00:22
- 12 mi
Road trip along the Oregon Trail: A journey through history
- 31 Places
- 36:24
- 2,114 mi