"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
06/24/2015 at 10:41 • Filed to: None
3
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
06/24/2015 at 10:41 • Filed to: None | 3
| 11 |
Back in 1939, Chicago’s Armour Institute of Technology built this massive vehicle to aid Rear Admiral Richard Byrd’s expedition to explore Antarctica. For some inexplicable reason, they put slick tires on it, which were less than optimal for moving on snow and ice.
They did put it on a ship and trasnport it to Antarctica, where the unloading of the vehicle almost ended in disaster (see video below). When the Snow Cruiser proved to be pretty bad at cruising on snow, it was parked and used as a heated living quarters. The Snow Cruiser was left behind, and its whereabouts are now unknown. For more photographs of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, head over to !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
HammerheadFistpunch
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 11:46 |
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Nothing wrong with slick tires, per-se (see rolligon for example) but there is no where near enough flotation with those tires to do the job.
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ttyymmnn
> HammerheadFistpunch
06/24/2015 at 11:50 |
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Interestingly, the crew discovered that the tires (or the vehicle itself) had better traction going in reverse, and the longest drive they made, 92 miles, was done entirely in reverse.
I can imagine the conversation:
“Hell, try going backwards. It can’t be any worse.”
“Why the hell not? Here—hold my beer.”
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HammerheadFistpunch
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 11:52 |
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What I like about this design is that the tires are individually retractable so that if one gets bogged in the snow, you can retract is and rest the body on the and then pack material under the tires and raise it again to get back on your feet...so to speak.
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ttyymmnn
> HammerheadFistpunch
06/24/2015 at 11:55 |
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I think it’s cool just for the sheer size and audacity of it. And I’d like to know how they planned to get the airplane off of it when they wanted to go flying. No word on if they ever drove around with the plane, though.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 11:58 |
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Yeah, its a mystery about that plan. I know you probably already know about the letourneau snow train...but its my favorite audacious and grand vehicle to date
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ttyymmnn
> HammerheadFistpunch
06/24/2015 at 12:02 |
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Actually, I had never heard of that. That’s awesome.
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HammerheadFistpunch
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 12:04 |
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well all i can say is that I hope you didn’t have work to get done today...cause it sounds like you aren’t going to get it done. As a benefit you are about to learn about the coolest silliest vehicle ever made.
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ttyymmnn
> HammerheadFistpunch
06/24/2015 at 12:07 |
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I’m home with my boys on summer vacation, and since I’m out of laundry detergent, I’m not getting much done as it is.
You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 15:53 |
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Awesome pics in the Atlantic article. Those are the first high res images I’ve seen of it.
PS9
> ttyymmnn
06/24/2015 at 16:21 |
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That thing looks expensive. Why would they not build an appropriately strong loading/unloading apparatus for it instead of just tying some logs together and praying for good luck?
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ttyymmnn
> PS9
06/24/2015 at 16:32 |
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Because they would have had to transport the ramp as well, and it would be heavy? I don’t know. You think they would have been more careful after all the time and money they spent building and transporting it. There was probably a guy down there who said, “Oh, yeah, it’ll hold. No problem.”