Completed and commissioned on October 15 1965,[1] it was one of the largest land vehicles ever built,[2] exceeded only by some dragline and bucket-wheel excavators.
[1] It was caused by a burst hydraulic line that was spraying the hot fluids on an electrical relay panel.
[1] This fire caused a great deal of damage to both the lower works and machine house.
[1] Afterwards, engineers from both Arch and Marion Power Shovel surveyed the damage and deemed it too great to repair, and the machine was scrapped one year later in the last pit it dug.
The only Marion shovel that compared (in size and scope) to "The Captain" was the Marion 5960-M Power Shovel that worked at Peabody Coal Company's (Peabody Energy) River Queen Surface Mine in Central City, Kentucky.