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desert train?


Okie96
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I don't know that this will go anywhere but I was wondering if anyone might have a picture of a prototype engine from the 30s to the 50s. I was told by a family member who worked for Allis Chalmers that somewhere around the 30s to the 50s Allis Chalmers developed a prototype for the army of what they called a train as it pulled cars for moving equipment and cargo across the desert. It was powered by a gas turbine and had large rubber tires for going through the sand. He had a picture of it from an old news paper but gave it to a co-worker when the subject was brought up in a conversation. I've looked some on the computer for a picture of this odd sounding machine but got nothing and thought someone here may have heard of it or have a picture.

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  • 4 weeks later...

The wheels and tires from the Overland Train were later used by Monster Truck inventor Bob Chandler to construct the Bigfoot 5, the world's biggest Monster Truck.

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There are still pieces and parts of them floating around here in Alaska. I actually rented a house for about 5 years that had two of the trailers for a deck. It sat just across from the Aleyeska Pipeline view point, where all the tour busses stop. I can only guess how many times I ended up getting my picture taken when I walked out on the deck. The house has since been torn down, but the trailers are still there. I can try to get some pictures if anyone is interested. One of the engines used to sit in North Pole, but I heard the owner died, and I believe it has been moved. If memory serves, there is also an engine or at least a trailer, just this side of Tok Alaska.

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I love these Monster Vehicles. There was another that was built in the late 30's for Antarctica but WWII started and they left it in the snow and has never been found since, that one had an airplane attached!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Snow_Cruiser

 

 

LF

 

That machine plays a fictional role in the Clive Cussler novel 'Antarctica'.

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  • 1 month later...

A shame the one was left at the arctic. It wouldn't surprise me if it's been carried out to sea on the ice and wound up on the sea floor. Either that or it went the way of Glacier girls flight.

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  • 1 month later...

From what I understand, they were for mass transport of supplies over areas where there was no rail. Hence the name "land Train". They saw some use here in Alaska, but I have never heard of them actually being used in the desert (other than testing).

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The one that was at the house I lived in was a civilian model from the 50's. It had a massive generator in the "engine" of the train, but each wheel was driven by a separate electric motor. I assume the MPG was actually a lot better than would be expected. Here is the Wikipedia article on them. The Picture of the engine in front of the geodesic dome was taken on the property that I was renting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overland_train

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