2017 July 13: The Last Dragline in Hanna was Demolished
Page by Bob Leathers
It all ended at 7:15 AM on Thursday, July 13, 2017,
Hanna's last dragline came down at Hanna's last coal mine.
Hanna's last dragline came down at Hanna's last coal mine.
Controlled Demolition, Inc. (CDI) of Phoenix, Maryland, USA (acting as Implosion Subcontractor to Main Demolition Contractor, Pacific Steel & Recycling of Rock Springs, Wyoming) performs the successful explosives severance of 10 steel plates (to release eight (8) cables), four (4), 3” diameter cables and one (1), 1” diameter cable resulting in the felling of a dragline crane boom in Hanna, Wyoming at 7:15 AM on Thursday, July 13, 2017. (YouTube, 2017)
Mining Landmarks Disappear
Arch Mineral demolishes/removes mining equipment, buildings from Hanna
Saratoga Sun, August 2, 2017
On July 13, the huge coal dragline that could be seen for miles from US 30 as a driver neared Hanna junction was dismantled. Although Hanna mines have been closed for a few years, the Goliath machine was evidence that at one time these mines supplied much of Wyoming’s coal back in the late 1970s. The Hanna Herald, the town’s now defunct newspaper, released info that Hanna Basin in 1982 had provided only 4.6 percent of Wyoming’s coal production, down from 46 percent in 1978. Cheaper coal produced in northeastern Wyoming’s Powder River Basin was cited as a major reason. The population of the town changed dramatically in conjunction with coal production falling. In 1980, the town’s population was 2,294 and in 2010 the inhabitants numbered 841. Although the population decreased, the dragline reminded all who saw it, how important coal had been in the area. “The skyline of Hanna is very lonely without the dragline,” said Nancy Anderson, recently retired as Hanna Museum director and one of the founders of the Hanna Basin Historical Society formed in 1982. (Saratoga Sun, Aug. 2, 2017)