Sno-Freighter
The Sno-Freighter is a one-of-a-kind land vehicle designed by LeTourneau Technologies (now part of Cameron International) for Alaska Freight Lines in the 1950s. During that decade, Alaska Freight Lines won the contract to transport construction material to build the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW) in far northern Alaska and Canada. At the time, no roads crossed the Arctic Circle in North America, there were almost no runways for air transportation, and the polar ice cap prevented seaborne transport.
LeTourneau had built a series of prototype "land trains" for use in roadless environments, and Alaska Freight Lines contracted the company to build a special model for cold-climate transportation on January 5, 1955. The contract called for an off-road vehicle capable of transporting 150 short tons (140,000 kg) of cargo in −68 °F (−56 °C) temperatures, through 4-foot (1.2 m) deep streams, and deep snowdrifts.[1]
Using parts from its previous land trains, LeTourneau manufactured the Model VC-22 Sno-Freighter by mid-February and shipped it to Alaska. The "locomotive" of the Sno-Freighter contained two Cummins diesel engines with 800 combined horsepower. These engines drove 24 electric motors (one for each wheel on the locomotive and trailing cars).[2]
The Sno-Freighter proved a success in Alaska, becoming one of the first wheeled vehicles to drive from Fairbanks, Alaska to the Arctic Ocean.[2] Its cost prevented further models from being deployed, but the original model moved goods to DEW sites across Alaska and Canada until they were completed. After that, it transported supplies for the early exploration of the North Slope's oil reserves. Rising maintenance caused it to be replaced by the slower but more reliable Cat trains—sleds or sledges drawn by one or more tractors.
Today, the Sno-Freighter is abandoned and lies next to the Steese Highway in Fox, Alaska.
See also
Notes
References
- Orlemann, Eric C. LeTourneau Earthmovers. MBI Publishing Company, 2001. ISBN 0-7603-0840-3