Bucyrus-Erie

Bucyrus-Erie, like some other companies, acquired "builder's rights" to various machines such as one invented by Henry Kelly in 1867.  The Kelly horse-powered rig was first built in Iowa by Kelly, Morgan and Company.  Presumably the rig was later advanced to the portable type.  Beginning in 1891 the Kelly rig passed to a string of owners which included the Armstrong Manufacturing Company (Armstrong rig) and ended (?) with the Bucyrus-Erie Company.  This was only one of the Bucyrus-Erie acquisitions, but it gave a long history to this manufacturer of trailer and truck-mounted drilling rigs.

In the early 1960's Bucyrus-Erie had four popular spudder models all of which could be mounted on a semi-trailer.  The power for the rigs was gasoline, LPG or diesel as ordered (gasoline power was considered standard).  The particulars of these models were as follows:

The hoists for the masts were power driven.  The bull wheels and calf reel were gear driven and the sand reel was chain driven except for the 22-W model sand reel which was friction driven.  Models 22-W and 60-S were favorites of operators in the shallow oil fields such as Bradford, Venango and elsewhere where depths were from less than 1000 to 2500 feet.

Bucyrus-Erie made a special, five unit, steel tripod derrick for use with model 36-L when heavy casing loads were expected.  Model 36-L could drill to over 4500 feet, quite a jump in depth over most of the older rig sizes and makes discussed in this chapter.

The Bucyrus-Erie rigs went everywhere the truck could go.  They were the epitome of portable cable tool rigs in their day.  Some rigs of the 1950's-60's and younger are still at work.

A skid-mounted Bucyrus-Erie workover rig in the Bradford field, McKean County, Pennsylvania.  Probably a model 28-L.  It is in working position at the well.

A Bucyrus-Erie rig stacked alongside a road.  This rig was probably picked up by a crane and carried by trailer to the well location.  Venango County, Pa.

A truck-mounted Bucyrus-Erie rig in the Emerald Oil Company yard, Pleasantville, Pa

This Bucyrus-Erie rig as photographed in a pipe and equipment yard in Crawford County, Pa., would be lifted and transported by truck to the drilling site.

This is a 1960 Bucyrus-Erie model 22-W spudder made for shallow well work (1000 feet).  It can be mounted on either a truck (as shown) or a semi-trailer.  It is small, economical and highly portable.  The mast (only partly shown) is 40' (extended).  Illustration from Bucyrus-Erie's own write-up in equipment catalog assembled by World Oil for 1960-61.

This is model 36-L, a relatively deep drill spudder, mounted on a semi-trailer and ready to move to a well location in the late 1950's.  Illustration from Brantly, 1971.