As I prepared to write this column I got a call from an industry friend whom you will know or know of. This fellow is Howard “Porky” Cutter of Virginia Beach, Va. Porky and I had a nice chat and he said he wanted my confirmation of the answer to a question about spudder-type rigs. The question was, “Why are some Bucyrus-Erie rigs given a W designation, such as 1-W, 20-W and 22-W, while other rigs in the Bucyrus-Erie line have an L designation, such as 60-L (not the largest rig but it has the highest model number), 28-L, 36-L and 48-L?”
Now, I happen to have the answer for Porky stored in my head and it is really quite simple. The W designation is for a water well drill and the L designation is for an oil well rig. Why an oil well rig is not designated with an O is something I don’t know, and probably the folks at BE that made this decision have gone to their reward. Not incidentally, you can still buy a brand new BE style machine (in certain models) as manufactured by Buckeye Drill in Ohio. Now you readers have a bit of trivia that, along with $1.95, will get you a coffee at the local shop.