Ruston Bucyrus 22-RB dragline cab view

In 1930 Ruston & Hornsby of Lincoln, U.K merged with the American, Bucyrus-Erie to form Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd. The merged company fused existing designs of both companies to create new models that were manufactured on both sides of the Atlantic.
More so than any other British made earthmover, the Ruston Bucyrus 22-RB out sold and stood the test of time over any of it's past, present or future competitors. Even long after Hydraulics had confined the skimmer, and drag shovel to the dustbin of history, the 22-RB's multi use adaptability allowed it to find a work as a crane, drag line or pile driver on major projects, when hydraulic machines would have long ago been retired to farms. I can recall watching one equipped with a wrecking ball demolish a local cinema when I was twelve and then working alongside a pair of 22's in 2005 equipped as pile drivers. Just like a transformer, the 22-RB had a front end attachment to suit any purpose in construction or excavation.

The first 22-RB's rolled off the production line at the Lincoln U.K factory in 1950 and went to well known contractors Balfour Beatty and John Laing. Production got off to a slow start with 16 sold in the ensuing year. Things fared better in 1952 with 133 units shifted. By 1956 things had really picked up, with 22 machines a week being manufactured. An incredible change in the space of 6 years!

Weighing in at just under 25 metric tonnes which varied depending on front end equipment, the 22-RB was right at the limit of what could be moved on British roads without a permit. Standard bucket size was 0.75 cubic yards, roughly 0.5 cubic metres. Length, width and height were 192, 112 and 129 inches respectively. power units available at the beginning were the Ruston 66hp 4YEN diesel engine or 40hp B.T.H single electric motor. In 1963 a 6 cylinder
air cooled diesel engine was offered as an alternative to the 4 cylinder water cooled unit. by 1967 only the 6 cylinder was offered due to its popularity.

Longwood Quarries in Lincoln purchased a brand new 22-RB in April 1963 for £7166 or $9451. Calculating for inflation, that would be £138,000 or $182,000 at todays values. How does that compare to a modern hydraulic machine of the same size like Cat's 323F?

In later years improvements were introduced such as air controls, although some old timers preferred to stick to the manual controls, maintaining they needed to feel the machine. Drag shovel front end equipment, which was the equivalent of todays excavator configuration on hydraulic machines took a leap forward. The old straight boom design which was used to facilitate quick conversion to a skimmer was done away with due to the growth in popularity of loading shovels, thus facilitating the demise of the skimmer. This then led to the adoption of the cambered boom design as used on modern excavators. Hydraulics also featured in later models of the 22-RB dragshovel. In the past only the stick/dipper and the boom were able to be controlled by cables leaving the bucket stuck in one position. This did not allow for filling the bucket at full reach and only allowed for emptying the bucket at full reach unless you had a hinged bottom. A bucket cylinder was added to bring the drag shovel more in line with modern hydraulic machines, although this half breed between cables and hydraulics was always going to be a compromise rather than a solution.

in 1981 the 10,000th 22-RB rolled off the production line in dragline configuration and was delivered to the Office of Public Works in Dublin, Ireland. 10200 would eventually be produced by the time Ruston Bucyrus shut it's doors in 1985. After 1985 Ruston Bucyrus was bought by its management, severing all links with Bucyrus-Erie, resulting in the formation of 'R-B Lincoln'. Production continued of existing models and it's even stated that the last 22-RB shipped in 1994, forty-four years after it's introduction. Incredible in today's market were an iPhone is out of date in year.

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