What Mike Mulligan's Steam Shovel Sounds Like

While visiting the Sycamore Steam Show in 2013, we captured video of a steam shovel that bears an uncanny resemblance to the one in Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel. As my wife is a grade school librarian and shares that story with her students, we thought it would be nice to let them see one in action.

[@kingofthepod5169]

Fun fact, Mary Anne is a play on Marion, a company in Marion Ohio, that produced steam shovels, Draglines, and other powered equipment.

[@kman216]

Thx for that! I always loved the story but that adds to it. 😅

[@benmacsek547]

i hope you know that this bit of information just made my day

[@christopheracosta2043]

Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel, a beautiful red steam shovel. Her name was Mary Anne. Mike Mulligan was proud of Mary Anne. He always said that she could dig much in a day as a hundred men could dig in a week, but he never been quite sure that this was true.

[@robertbecker2910]

The little boy running around sounding so excited was the best part of the video!

[@samanli-tw3id]

There are three dislikers: One gas-powered shovel, one electric-powered shovel and one diesel-powered shovel.

[@3713msg]

I am now 66 years old, and can recall these still in use when I was a child.

[@jamielacourse7578]

My favorite childhood book.....

[@jongibson3375]

Mine too, and now it's one of my boy's favorites

[@richardmaurer9002]

Then along came the new Koehring shovels, the new Lorain shovels, And the new Bucyrus-Erie shovels , and took all the jobs away from the steam shovels.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Not to mention Marion, P&H, and Northwest shovels too.

[@mikeadler2755]

No steam shovels wanted!

[@KeeperofTheMountain]

Steam machines sounded alive. Certainly a sound unique to the technology.

[@pacificcoastpiper3949]

To me, they kind of are, they eat coal or wood, drink water, breathe air, speak (if they have a whistle) and they definitely have personalities

[@DaveC9F]

Loved the book and KT and the Big Snow.
At 60 I still have both copies on my shelf.

[@EddieMillerStudios]

I bet she can dig in one day what a hundred men can dig in a week.

[@rossbryan6102]

LOL LOL
WHEN I WAS IN GRADE SCHOOL
I READ THE STORY!
I ALWAYS FIGURED SHE COULD HAVE DUG A RAMP AND ESCAPED THE BASEMENT!!

[@jeananderson7416]

Yeah I remember that one story and now I am glad that she did escape

[@richardmaurer9002]

That was the best thing for her. All the steam shovels were getting scrapped and they couldn’t get a job. They wanted to do that for the Silver Spade, and historical societies raised the money to buy her and make her into a museum, but Consolidated were an asshole and scrapped her anyway. Bunch of no-hood bastards...

[@MegaThurstonator]

@@jeananderson7416 She may not have escaped the basement, but she did escape the harsher punishment of being scrapped. The story isn't just about serving a purpose, but fulfilling it until you can't anymore, whether it means accepting a new purpose or retiring. Mary Anne and Mike had done both in their case.

[@oldrustycars]

I think that machine could dig as much in a day as 100 men could dig in a week, although I've never been sure.

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

Excavators: "Yeah, but can you do THIS?" *digs a hole lower than their treads*

[@AdmiralBonetoPick]

And what does it sound like if an electric shovel and a couple of diesel shovels then show up and start singing in unison: "No steam shovels wanted"?

[@steveashworth6707]

Outstanding!, I have some of them old books from back in the earl 60's. A long with Digger Dan The Steam Shovel Man!.

[@richardmaurer9002]

Chug, puff, hiss, I like to do this!

[@TheChapelx]

One of my favorite books when I was little

[@monabostrom8357]

Shout-out to MaryAnne2 who's doing heroic work by the Suez Canal right now.

[@farmerbill6855]

I could watch that little dude dig all day long.

[@eh4447]

Hmmm. Sounds & Reminds Me of..........Me as I Age, Joints Creaking, Gas, Fart, Burp, Wheezing lol. Great Book "Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel" by Virginia Lee Burton where little boy finds the solution to the problem fussed up adults can't figure out. Should be a "Must Read" in elementary school to encourage Practicality & Problem Solving in kids. Also, it surprises me that the Steam Shovel's Single (?) Boiler heated by the Furnace can provide enough steam to run the Caterpillar tracks forward or back, Traverse the Cab around 360 degrees, Raise and Lower the Boom or the Bucket. Great Invention!

[@farmerbill6855]

Well, it can't crawl and spin at the same time, so there's that. Consider a steam locomotive. One boiler, four cylinders, and a half mile long train. Steam is very powerful. It's how nuclear fission or coal becomes electricity. It propels aircraft carriers and launches jet aircraft off of them.

[@Servellion]

@@farmerbill6855 Well new carriers use EM rails for launching.

[@mahazkei7709]

@@Servellion They're starting to, anyways, but steam is still a powerful source, and not to be underestimated. We might phase it out in most places, but it will still have a place in the heart of power generation and locomotion, even into the far future.

[@bradjames6748]

Wasn't that a children's book?

[@emmarose4234]

How did Mike Mulligan go to the bathroom when he was digging the basement of the town hall, though? 😉

[@Bad-Idea-Network]

Anyone know what model this is

[@sawboneiomc8809]

My favorite book!

[@saifonlawrence2044]

I "dig" this video man. It is far out (even though it is filmed from up close)

[@MattelTomy]

I miss Ned

[@ButterDog11]

What a beauty, would love to operate her one day.

[@devinwood2713]

hello again Marianne

[@charleskeefer3043]

I love bingo.

[@sara-jg4fl]

nice

[@AnOriginalYouTuber]

SNORT!!!

[@richardmaurer9002]

That’s from “are you my mother”