Something you don’t see every day.
Someone should model this.
Could someone embed this, please. Until I figure out how to do it.
I think that loader was designed to go from point A to point B in a straight line (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)Thanks for sharing, John.
These things are pretty cool! I think the museum has two steamers and a gas powered lombard. I think that this Bangor Maine company got the pattent for crawler tracks and later sold it to catapliller. I have yet to see this thing run. It only does so on special occasions. If youmwant to visit Maine to see it, contact the museum first, it is not regularly open, though you can walk around any time.
Someone made a steam operated working model of the LLL, series of articles in Live Steam and Outdoor Railroading mag not too long ago.
I saw a working model at Cabin Fever maybe 3 (?) years ago. Not our scales, of course bigger, but so impressive. I can not seem to find a photo, darn.
Do you remember that Eric?
Jerry
Dan Hilyer said:
I think that loader was designed to go from point A to point B in a straight line (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)Thanks for sharing, John.
I rather suspect you could brake one track and not the other, like most tracked vehicles. And it does have a pair of front wheels that steer.
The Lombard and the Phoenix log haulers were designed to pull sleds loaded with logs in the snow on ice roads. Where the front wheels are on the one in the video there was a very large set of skies. That steeresman had to have a set of brass ones back then as there was no shelter or any brakes on those beasts.
Just think about going down hill on an ice road sitting out front with a huge locomotive and sleds loades with tons of logs skateing along behind you, how far can you jump?
Rick Marty said:
The Lombard and the Phoenix log haulers were designed to pull sleds loaded with logs in the snow on ice roads. Where the front wheels are on the one in the video there was a very large set of skies. That steeresman had to have a set of brass ones back then as there was no shelter or any brakes on those beasts.
Just think about going down hill on an ice road sitting out front with a huge locomotive and sleds loades with tons of logs skateing along behind you, how far can you jump?
It’d be one helluva ride … right up 'till it wasn’t (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Jerry, i did take a photo of that model, really impressive. That may be the on in the article. The fellow working on the coach witb me knows that guy.
Rick, yes these were used like off track locomotives pulling trains of log “cars” running on skids called bob sleds. Typically in the winter at least they used skids on the front rather than wheels, so these were like steam powered ski mobiles. I guess there must have been some sort of universal between the right and left tracks but i dont know about independent brakes.
I think the Lombard company licenced the design to pheonix which built theirs with twin vertical steam engines geared to the tracks. Kind of like a shay vs the climaxike layout of the Lombard.
Eric Schade said:
I think the Lombard company licenced the design to pheonix which built theirs with twin vertical steam engines geared to the tracks. Kind of like a shay vs the climaxike layout of the Lombard.
Yes Exactly, Phoenix paid Lombard a royality for each machine produced. Phoenix did improve the design, as you said vertical cylinders for each set of tracks but the big advantage to this was each engine and track were seperatly reversable thus helping with steering and some braking.
In the late 20s to early 30’s Lombard produced a more truck like machine powered by a Fairbanks-Morris diesel engine, but still using the tracks and the sled steering but the steeresman was moved back and inside a cab, bet they appreciated that a lot. This Logging Tractor rated at 10 tons was capable of handling 250 tons of loaded sleds over an ice road, Wow.
A piece of information I found quite interesting about the worth of these machines is as follows, slightly edited.
Maine, 1907 between January and March. One machine, two crews running day and night.
Lenght of road 7.5 miles
total miles traveled 2850
speeds 4-6 mph
total sleds hauled 551
Sleds in one train 5
Size of sleds 12’ X 12’ X 12’
Fuel used - 250 cords of hardwood
Elapsed days, 65
Lost time 6 days
Total scale 3,430,322 board feet
Scale per turn 18,052 board feet
Largest train 37,710 board feet.
250 cords of wood seems like a lot of expense and work but here is the comparison they did to horse team logging.
Estimated number of horses to haul 3,430,000 board feet: team 12 turns daily + 3,000 feet to turn for 56 days = 13.6 teams + 2 extra 4 horse teams = 62 horses.
Now think about the cost of feeding and caring for those 62 horses for 56 days. Maybe those cords of wood weren’t so expensive at that.
Fun stuff, learning about any of these old logging machnes.
That is AMAZING. It is incredible what was done back in the day in order to fulfill a need and get the job done.
Cool. Way cool.
Certainly won’t be sneaking off anywhere in the middle of the night with that!
(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)
I can just imagine an old timer saying, “If it doesn’t sound like it’s falling apart it ain’t working right.”
No ditch lites or HEP cabling so no interest!
Here’s more info,
A Dutch modeler named Loek Proper has tons of videos of the live steam items he’s built from scratch, including this Lombard. He posted his build threads on another site, not sure if he does that still. But I was always left in a pool of drool when I saw his work. He used to have a web site called www.depuffendeschoorsteen.com, but I can’t get to it now. However, all his videos are on YT.
They are beautiful works of art.!
He still does videos and releases them on YT. I get them whenever he does one.
Jason