Peabody Coal Company - Sinclair Surface Mine

10 minutes of video from a video made by one of the miners at the mine that is over 1 hour long. John Prine sang about this mine in the song "Paradise" and the shovel that worked there. At the time, it was the World's Largest Shovel, but was only that for a couple of years after it's construction. This mine served as a mine mouth for the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) Paradise Fossil Plant next door. It was all located outside Central City, Kentucky in Muhlenberg County along the Green River of Western Kentucky. At one time, no place in the world produced more coal than Muhlenberg County but those days are long gone. This was one of two world record holding shovels located in the county at the time this video was shot (early 1980's). The largest shovel on here is the Bucyrus Erie 3850-B and is the shovel that was famously buried after finishing its work at this mine. I had a Grandfather and an Aunt that worked at this mine and retired from there. My aunt actually ran the large BE 3850-B shovel from time to time. The bucket on the 3850-B is 115 cubic yards in size. Big enough for two pickup trucks to park in easily with room to move around them! This was the original home of the giants in coal mining!!! Welcome to Muhlenberg County, my home!