A steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. Steam shovels played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads and the Panama Canal. The development of simpler, cheaper diesel, gasoline and electric shovels caused steam shovels to fall out of favor in the 1930s.
A Marion Power Shovel Company steam shovel excavating the Panama Canal in 1908.
Otis excavator. 1841
A steam shovel excavating for the San Diego and Arizona Railway line, circa 1919.
100-ton steam shovel mounted on railroad tracks, cc. 1919
Excavators are heavy construction equipment primarily consisting of a boom, dipper, bucket and cab on a rotating platform known as the "house" - although the largest form ever, the dragline excavator, eliminated the dipper in favor of a line and winch.
An excavator in Alicante, Spain
House demolition by an excavator in Invermere, British Columbia
A cable-operated excavator under the Northwest (now Terex) name at the Pageant of Steam grounds
Liebherr 314 wheeled excavator