I think I remember that picture, but I don’t remember the story at all.
I forgot the details of the story, but wikipedia helped refresh my recollection!
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, 1939 (ISBN 0-590-75803-9) is a classic children’s book by Virginia Lee Burton, the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Medal-winning The Little House. First published in 1939, it features Mike Mulligan, a steam shovel operator, and his steam shovel “Mary Anne” (whose name was based on Marion Steam Shovels).
After many years of working successfully together, the two face competition from modern, diesel-powered shovels. Seeking an area of the country where his less modern steam shovel can still find work, Mike finds a small town that is about to build a new town hall. The authorities react with disbelief when Mike makes the claim that he and his steam shovel Mary Anne can dig the cellar in a single day; they protest that it would take a hundred men a week. Mike insists that Mary Anne can indeed finish the job in one day, though he has some private doubts.
At sun-up the next day, Mike and Mary Anne begin work and manage to complete the task—barely—by sundown. However, they have neglected to dig themselves a ramp so they can drive out. A child who had been watching makes the suggestion that Mike take the job of janitor for the town hall, and that Mary Anne should become the boiler for the town hall’s heating system.