I had heard the name before but that was it, I had no idea it was a tape recorder...and yes, somewhat of a monster!
But I will say that sep-mag (separate magnetic) or sound follower machines used in the movie industry were often around the same size. They could well still be in use. I installed a new one at the BBC White City sometime in the mid 80s. Here's a Wikipedia entry...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_followerHere's a similar one to the version I installed, it's about two metres tall...
Steve A.