Repairing a 1950 Cable Shovel, Sitting 20+ Years!!! 

A new Saturday morning Diesel Creek vlog reminds me of early morning cartoons as a child. I get to go to a place where I don’t have any responsibilities and enjoy what entertains me. Thanks Matt!

Ray Beighley died in 1974 but Beighley Construction is still in operation. Thanks for the video Matt! Good stuff as usual.

I don't get to watch Matt very often, but when I watch you tube he's numero uno on list, what a fountain of knowledge, just down to earth no nonsense proper mechanic,

This may come off as cheesy, but you honestly inspire me. My Dad and younger brother and I always worked as a team on almost every task, usually dealing with older tractors or old trucks and cars. But within the last 3 years I’ve lost my baby brother and my Dad. It has sorta mentally paralyzed me. That’s how I wound up watching all these RU-vid videos in the first place. But watching you tackle most of you challenges alone got me to thinking how I can go forward and get back to getting things done. It just takes alot more thinking with only two hands. Thanks man. Sorry for getting sappy.

Seeing the trap door hanging open and the old girl grinning reminded me of a book from my childhood, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. Thanks for reviving a pleasant memory Matt! 😊

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this old girl come back to life. So glad there are people like you out there who doesnt give up on these relics. Wile most would just say scrap it, you see them as a challenge and a chance to bring them back to working condition. Been following you for many years and the content just keeps getting better... Great job Matt...

Wonderfully interesting, entertaining in the best way, and no theatricals, a superb presentation style, so natural and engaging...thank you so much.

Watching you pull on your wire can be interesting and fun for everybody!!

My grandfather worked for Bucyrus Erie in the 50's and early 60's at the Erie plant. That a machine built 70 years ago and abandoned to the elements for 30 years can still work as intended with a minimum of service and repair is a testament to the engineering and workmanship of the old Erie manufacturing ethos.

Not a minute to late “it’s Diesel Creek time”.

Hands-on experience is the best teacher. Having friends that help is a huge help in the learning process. We'll done Matt. Can't wait to see the old semi restoration kick in.

Buddies like Sam are rare indeed. You're so fortunate he was there to smooth out the bumps.

Chillin in a boat, got a cold beer, missus and son sleeping, sun shining. New Diesel Creek hour long episode. Life is good 😎

I love seeing the old iron up and working again. Most operators have no idea the struggles of the past. Thank you Matt for breathing new life into her.

Never understood why people leave negative comments? This is your passion and I appreciate your love for old equipment!!! Let the haters hate and know that 99% of your subscribers love what you do!!!

I love seeing those old equipment operating

A 65 minute marathon video from Diesel Creek on a Saturday morning and a hot cup of Coffee , well it just does not get any better! 👍👍👍👍

As a Technology teacher here in Australia, Matt I can honestly say that I would rank your abilities as first in class. Your capacity to navigate through problems is extraordinary. You have much to feel proud of. It is a privilege to watch you work. Thank you, Matt.

Wow that's incredible that you can refurbish these old machines and bring them back running and working again🙏♥️👍🇺🇲😃

It's one of those "If Only" things for me but if only I had a way to get a crane like this to surprise my Dad.. He's 65 and newly retired.. He's been on his feet and working since he was in his teens and now has finally got the chance to relax and retire. He's a definite tinkerer and loves his old machinery. Get Mom to take him someplace for the day... Park this ol girl out by the pond with a giant bow on it.. I've only saw my Dad cry once in 43 years.. I think this would do it again..

Man, I love the lines on that shovel and the shape of the door of the house is so cool! Operators back in the day must have been all deaf after working with these rigs. I think Matt should take this on his lowboy trailer with his Autocar tractor to some shows.

I LOVED Sam's description of the routing and function of the crowd cables. I watched that portion of the video 3 or 4 times and laughed through it each time. Just the way he described things that I had never seen using words and phrases that I had never heard in such a way that sounds like it's just a normal natural thing to him was amazing.

seen ya bring old machines back to life brings me joy

I grew up right down the street in Erie where they made these beasts, and would always see them in their yard. Takes me back.

Diesel creek Saturdays are the best!

I'm proud that you don't hesitate to ask for help when you get in a bind. And you did learn fast when you got it together. Thumbs up !

YOU BROUGHT BACK MEMORIES OF CHANGING CABLES ON THE R&T ENGINES ON THE CAT ON THE CARRIER !

So glad for this channel. It feeds the hearts and minds of those who come from or "belong" to simpler/better times.

These cable driven machines are poetry in motion compared to the modern hydraulic ones.

As an old railroad machine operator, i love seeing these old gems back in service. Thanks for the memories!

Hey Matt. The shovel, she, is a beauty. Spray her with a 60/40 mix of diesel and oil to keep the rust away. Keep the old machines alive and functional. Great video and channel.

Love it and A BIG THINK YOU once again. Makes my old heart full with joy to see another one live again.

Matt thank you for rescuing this piece of old iron. It's guys like you that keep these old work horses that built our roads towns and cities alive for generations to come.

In todays throw it away world it’s good to see that old iron up and running. It might not have all the bells and whistles as a new excavator, but it’s a solid hard working machine that’s for the most part easy to fix. These are the machines that built this country. It’s good to see it won’t be forgotten.

A real mans channel on RU-vid? Well even the intro shots and especially the music says a lot 👍

I watched some of that auction on the hill across from where that sat. I used to sample the water from the well that was in front of that machine. It may have sat for a long time but they would start it every so often until he passed away. It was music to my ears when it came to life. Glad to see it in a new home.

This is exactly what someone coming off nightshift needed before going to sleep. Perfect timing.

She purrs like a kitten, just did my first first wash, lube, and cable restring, on a 1950 B.E . CABLE SHOVEL! Thanks Matt!❤

It's always good to see old machinery brought back to life and actually put to work.

I think it’s awesome how not to long ago it was essentially a paperweight and now your loading dirt with it. I like that you’re keeping the old iron alive

Reminds me of starting work in 74; we had an old crane like this only it was a Bantam! Once in the early 80's had a crane operator nearly lost my life he fell asleep and hit the cable up about 10 feet ..I had my head under neath an I beam I was welding, I came back in the basket to put another welding rod in when he hit the cable up lever,back then you didn't think about it too much,but as the years pass you think of what could have been!! Love your videos can't get enough!

My late wife's Great grandfather worked for Ruston Bucyrus in Lincoln U.K. from the end of world war 1. Till retirement in the late 1960's . He died in the late 1980's . A machine like yours is on his long service lapel badge. Thanks for showing one in the flesh!

This is one of the best videos you've made Matt! I love you're down to Earth approach "45 miles of thread and 70 years of grease" -- you had me giggling a minute on that one! I'm amazed at how you know the technical terms for the inner components of each of these machines...... It's like you've been working with them your entire life.

Man those old Machines have a Language of their own.

I can't believe how quiet that motor runs. The bucket and boom make louder noises.

Mr Sam is the man of Great Wisdoms..!!

Aloha Matt. Once again you have cleaned up and serviced this old gal and have her back on line and ready to make you some bucks on a job. This video reminds me of running hydraulic cables in the big ME-16 tracking telescope I used to track rocket launches from the Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii for many years. It too is a throwback tool from the mid-50's that did some extraordinary work tracking things that flew through the sky with outstanding precision. Way to go getting this nice machine back in operation.

You got that right about classroom learning. I teach middle school shop class, and some of the most brilliant kids sit in the back and flunk out because what the classroom has is not what they need or want. The more we push them to learn what we (teachers and admin) think they need, the more they check their heads at the door. We need to bring back the shop classes that teach unconventional kids how to have skills to make a life for themselves rather than going on the dole, dependent on govt. largess for survival.

One of my first jobs while in high school was driving dump truck for a local excavating company near Leechburg, Pa. We were hauling fill for the building of a golf course. The machine used for loading the trucks was exactly like the one you just rescued. Brings back some memories.

This guy from Scrappy Industries makes the hard or impossible look easy. Think he needs a steak dinner somewhere. Having a neighbor like that makes life so much easier.😊

Way to go, Matt! It's great to see you rescuing those old machines from abandonment and/or the scrap yard! I love how you are getting these Ole "hunks of iron" back to functional order, and preserving history at the same time! Well done, Matt!

Whoever said that shovel was a piece of junk is way off. That thing is a piece of art! What a one of a kind find!!!

Ever since I was very young wanted to know how things worked. Almost 70 now, still do. I found it fascinating how the cables worked. Good work Matt.

Just pull it right out of here. I laughed as soon as you said it then almost spit out my beer when you were pulling and said it again. I love how you show ALL, even when things don't go as expected. I love the content keep up the good work.

Not always mentioned but shout out to the soundtrack of your videos! So much better than 99% of YT.

Its so nice to see these old machines find new life! The notion that this machine was nothing but scrap is absurd. I’m planning to head over to National Pike for the August show, so I hope to see it then!

How anyone could say you should scrap that, I just don't understand. The fact that it starts and functions as well as it does, is a testament to how well things were made. Thank you for your content.

Learning something new every day keeps the Oldtimer's away.

Excellent, I thought that was all faded paint! So cool, that are REVIVING these old machines!!!!!

Awesome, love watching these old machines still able to function.

She cleaned up very nicely! Another beautiful diamond in the rough. Thank you Sam for the assist!

That was cool as heck.. When you dropped that first bucket into the truck I smiled like a 10 year old.

I love seeing all those old machines. Keep it up. 👍❤.

Every time you stick your hands in to an old machine like this and clean it up, I wanna scream "GET SOME RUBBER GLOVES". You must have heard me this time! Love these videos, you are a true natural.

On the wire rope, when we used to charge them on cat 586 side booms you had to be careful to make sure it was spooled on correctly, depending on the wire rope being either right hand lay or left hand lay, I noticed you had it going the same as it was before you started. Great machine and your tenacity to get her back in shape.

That machine has outlived alot of its operators and maintainers! Amazing to see it swinging again!

Best DC video in a while, great job Matt.

Thanks for sharing the journey - I’m really diggin the shovel

The self control to have just hit that little spot with a pressure washer is impressive. If I’d seen how nice that spot looked I’d be compelled to do the whole thing.

It is so cool to see a machine like this back in action. Learning how to keep all this equipment running and restored is awesome. Never stop learning. Waiting for the next video on your problem solving journey.

Love to see her all cleaned up and working! Way to go Matt! ❤

Around 1975 I was working for a timber company in western Washington, they had several contractors building roads for them. One of them used a Bucyrus Erie almost identical to yours. He built the entire road prism cut bank, ditch, road bed and fills, and grubing stumps all while sitting on top of 3 timber pads that he walked up the the road grade to avoid bogging down in the mud. I don't recall how many feet a day he could do but it was considerable. All that remained to be done was rocking the grade after it had dried out for a mounth or two. Until I saw this I had no idea what those old machines were capable of. Most of the other contractors and the company itself used dozers for road construction and going from staked grade to finished grade in one pass like that old shovel was not possible.

Wow Matt, you have surpassed yourself this time. Amazing and well done 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

An hour and some minutes of DC goodness. 👌😄👍 Awesome sauce.

That is AWsome!! Love seeing Her revived! Great Job, Matt!!

What a beauty! This old girl is earning her keep once again! Thank you for showing us how you are bringing her back to life with some cable and tlc. I'm sure that with time and practice, you'll be making her dance, too. 😊

It must be so cool to learn on a machine that you restored like this. Not only learning it, but really getting to know it. Love your work Matt, great seeing old iron like this being loved on !!

One needs friends like Sam for difficult jobs like that. You're very lucky to have such good friends.

Ive always loved the old stuff. Especially old equipment, and the weirder, the better. Nothing better than having something like this fire up and work for the 1st time in YEARS. Love it.

Very, very good, you and your young friends seem to have a natural talent, and have found a way to acquire the old machinery that needs to be saved. I once needed to replace cables on an old sign crane. I learned about different types of cable, deep plow, different cable winds for example and different uses. There is always more than what first meets the eye. Again. good work, good to watch. It is so good that you younger guys want to preserve our industrious American past. Thanks.

Left school in year 10 and went into the Army as a Sapper (equivalent of USACE). I few years after I got out, decided I wanted to get a science degree and did well because I wanted to be there and didn't HAVE to be there. Once in that learning headspace went to TAFE and did every subject in the engineering department bar one. Point is - find what you are interested in and its not learning for learning sake, but increasing your knowledge about what you are interested in. Great job as always Mat and from half a world away never underestimate with influence and enjoyment you provide.

Once you get the hang of these machines they are hypnotic to watch. We had one at work, steam powered, that put a cutting in for use to run a new line on out narrow guage railway. Its was a great weekend 👌. We have a pretty huge one that was working when parked but had a bit of an issue with soft ground became stuck it hasn't moved for 40 years now unfortunately.

I love watching you work on this old machine's I learned a lot by watching you and your good at it

Seeing this beauty at work again was a treat. Thank-you Matt for bringing this baby back to life. I can almost imagine what would happen if you took her to a job - you'd probably have a crowd of people wondering what magic you were using to move the bucket.

Anyone who said this was a POC is not a subscriber, not a fan of DC/Matt, and is surely in the wrong place.... Beautiful machine, I'm so thrilled there are people like you Matt to save this stuff.

Thanks for the memories again! Started out on dozers and loaders when I was 15. Just before we were married I started work for Bird Inc operating a 1946 Northwest Model 6 Shovel, I was 23. Those Old Rigs were American Built and Tuff as Nails! And would do a lot of work in a 12 hour shift

Watching you at the end moving that dirt certainly shows the skill of the operators and why they should be respected. These old machines were fully manual with no electronics to mix the controls and movements, it was all done by the operator. I reckon you did pretty damn good, Matt.

Cleaned up really nicely with the pressure washer! I thought the cable looked off when you first assembled the becket. Great to see sam again, I'm sure he'll gain another 5k subs from his appearance. Deservedly so. Another great video!

My grandfather was a shovel operator in coal mines around Masontown West Virginia. The brings back memories of when I was a kid, watching him strip mining coal. This will just be a warm up for the dragline project. Many thanks and Good Luck.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Don't let others gaslight you into changing your perception. For its age that shovel is in good shape.

Your hard work is paying off.

Matt , you and I learn the same way .I've learned so much more out of school , than I ever did in school . I love to see you saving this old iron and sharing with us .take care and stay safe . All The Best Terry

Shoveling that pile of dirt into the dump truck looked like alot of fun, kinda reminded me of playing with my cousins and our Tonka construction fleet as kids😊😊 Please keep making these videos, they really make my day!!

Glad to see that people still take great pride in their work.

Matt, enjoyed watching the cable shovel revived. The designers, assemblers of this vintage cable shovel is a great example of the craftsmanship in heavy equipment!

I love that the bucket always looks like it just gave the punchline of a dad joke.

I had an old wrecker from the 60s that had 100 yds. of 5/8" cable that was getting rusty and had a hemp core. The hemp core retains oil and I used a half steel drum for a trough with oil in it and every two years would pay out the cable and run it through the oil. The winch is now mounted on a skidder and the cable still looks like new. The new owner oils it the same way I did.

I can’t imagine how America was built by this. Much respect for the machine operators back then 🫡 Thanks for a great video DC 👍

She's not junk... she just was WAY overdue for some love. It's always great to see old iron brought back to productive life!!

Looks like a real workout just running it. No gym subscription needed. Good Vlog Matt.