Marion's scoop

The bucket of the giant excavator named Mario, which dredged the Iijokea in the Raasaka area in the 60s, is located on the Iin Ylirantna. The bucket serves as a monument to power plant construction.

The area is a popular stopover for tourists. Next to the bucket is an information board about the working of the giant machine. The dam of the Raasaka power plant can be found nearby. The area around the location of the bucket is maintained by the Yrilanta village association.

Location: Yli-Iintie and Patosillantie intersection.

The Marion 7400 was the largest backhoe used in Finland

Work on Mario's excavator ended in 1972 after the upper canal was completed, and it was scrapped in 1996. There have been three so-called excavators in Finland. giant walking excavator owned by Oulujoki Oy, Kemijoki Oy and Vesi-Pekka.

Pohjola voia bought Marion from the then land construction company Vesi-Peka for the Maalismaa power plant site. Marion was moved from the Saimaa canal site in 1965 to the bank of the river Iijoki.

44 railroad cars were needed to transport the excavator, the bucket alone weighed 16 tons.
It took two months to dismantle Marion and three months to assemble. Assembly work was done in two shifts at best. 50 men were working in both shifts at the same time.

Marion was a walker. Two pawls moved through the machine with the help of a transverse crankshaft. At the same time, Akseli raised her tail in the air and moved her paws. The movements of the plane were warned by a brass horn on the roof of the cabin. The horn sounded twice when the plane started walking.

Three men were needed to operate the machine, one driver and two greasers who took care of greasing the machine. When moving the machine, more grease was consumed, so the walking joints had to be greased every two meters. A total of 16 kg of fat was consumed per day. 

Pohjolan Voiman's Marion was electric. The machine was running around the clock and work was done in three shifts. The break was only a couple of days a year. During maintenance breaks, the machine was turned off. 

Excavator dimensions
Bucket volume: 10 cubic meters
Bucket weight: 16 tons
Excavator weight: 600 tons
Boom length: 53,4 meters
Made in: USA
Input current: 4000 volts of input current was needed to operate the machine