steam excavator
steak shovel

Ruston & Hornsby Ltd were the pre-eminent manufactures of Steam excavators at the time, having started in 1874; the merger gave the company access to previously unavailable world markets.

The line involved more earthworks than the Goole and Marshland Light Railway, with major cuttings at Haxey and Epworth, where steam excavators were used, and a swing bridge over the canal at Crowle.