Here is a picture I saw on the net. It's good that I decided to ask what kind of unit it was, I learned a lot of new things. And the photo is a child of the paranoia of the American military department of the 1950s, invented in case Soviet atomic bombs destroyed the US railroad network. Payload 400 tons. Dimensions: 173 m long, 9 m high cab, 54 wheels. The cockpit has a radar antenna.
Let's take a closer look at the history of this car.
Empty TS-497 is ready for testing. The cockpit has a radar antenna.
As fate willed, the American company LeTourneau, known for its earth-moving machines, in the early 50s of the last century "received an outfit" from the US Army to create a vehicle for supplying troops in remote regions of North America, as well as for servicing a military base in … Antarctica.
Design research in this direction gradually led RG LeTourneau-Westinghouse to create in 1961 a self-propelled monster named LeTourneau Overland Train MkII / LCC1 (TC-497), which was destined to become the longest car in history, and perhaps one of the most expensive - the cost was $ 3.7 million in "that money" (for reference: $ 1 in 1960 = $ 4.75 in 2000). Unless, of course, the concept of "car" is applicable to this transport with a length of almost 200 meters and a height of more than 9).
By the way, various sources give figures from 175 to 197 meters. I believe this is due both to errors in the conversion of units of measurement (from feet to meters), and to the fact that the road train was designed for use with a different number of links.
A road train with a payload at the Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona. On the second trailer, among other things, there is an army jeep, on the 3rd and 7th - standard containers for 5 - tracked armored personnel carrier М113. Locking trailers - power links.
Promotional video:
From a technical point of view, it was the traditional "serial hybrid" for the company - each of its 54 wheels with a diameter of 3.5 meters, "shod" in special Firestone tires, was driven by an individual electric motor, but unlike previous prototypes, a gas turbine served as a drive unit for the generator set. engine (GTE). More precisely, four gas turbine engines Solar 10MC with a capacity of 873 kW each. There were from 8 to 12 trailers in total.
They were intended to accommodate equipment and cargo with a total weight of up to 150 tons, while the total mass of the road train itself was about 450. It was also provided for the comfortable accommodation of a crew of six people in living quarters with a place for sleeping, eating, sewerage and even an automatic laundry.
The captain's bridge of the land train. At the management of the serviceman Hendrickson, apparently - captain.
The main problem faced by the TC-497 developers was handling in the broadest sense of the word, which, however, is not surprising. This problem was solved by installing an electronic control system (e … control). We can say - easier than ever, if you do not remember that it was 1961 in the yard) Commands from the tractor control panel were transmitted to the actuators at all links in such a way that each link began to perform the maneuver at the same point at which the leading tractor did it.
The result was maneuverability, which allowed the long whopper to go around rectangular obstacles and pose for an impressive photo in the "snake" pose. From the memoirs of one of the participants in the creation of the TC-497 Bonnie Duncan: “The peculiarity of the road train was its course“like on rails”. Where he walked on the sand, his tracks looked as if they were made with just two wheels, even in a curve."
There is something in the TS-497 that subtly reminds of Star Wars. Or maybe the Arizona landscapes inspired by & hellip;
Tests of the TC-497, codenamed Project OTTER (Overland Train Terrain Evaluation Research), began in 1962 at the Yuma test site in the Arizona desert (where else ?!) and presumably continued until 1969. The road train showed a power reserve of 600 km (nothing is known about its specific consumption, which would be very curious), the maximum speed reached was 35 km / h.
It is curious that rare eyewitnesses of the tests, usually military personnel, believed that a vehicle with a mobile nuclear reactor as a power plant was being tested. Information about this can be found in Tyrnet today). Perhaps this impression was also facilitated by the sound from four gas turbine engines with a total power of almost 5000 hp.
As with any test, breakdowns occurred.
It is generally accepted that the "cross" on the TC-497 was put even before the start of its tests, when in 1962 the Sikorsky CH-54 Tarhe heavy transport helicopter entered service with the US Army - it did not need roads at all. And the spending on the campaign in Vietnam drained the US military budget.
At the end of the tests, the road train was put up for sale for $ 1.4 million. But, oddly enough, there were no buyers for it. The trailers were scrapped back in 1971, and the tractor unit has been restored and is now on display at the Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center.
And what is the man in the white chaoat doing next to the road train? The answer is in the next photo.
It's a cook! In the photo: a room for eating.
Firestone tires. Fit in inches!
Now let's go over the history of the company and its creations
The legendary fame of the LeTourneau company has been brought by unique samples of the world's largest off-road vehicles, intended primarily for military purposes. In 1919 it was founded by engineer Robert Gilmour LeTourneau (1888-1969).
Four years later, he developed a self-propelled scraper with an articulated frame and a gasoline engine that rotated a generator, from which current was supplied to electric motors mounted in wide metal wheels, later called motor wheels, and the whole scheme became known as an electromechanical or electric transmission. Subsequently, it became the basis for most of the LeTourneau cars.
In 1943, LeTourneau began production of the Tournapull series of versatile vehicles, which included the Tournatractor, a single-axle 275-horsepower tractor that operated with various trailed units. In 1947-53. 800 of these machines were delivered to the US armed forces. The first special military vehicle "LeTourneau" in 1944 was an experienced 40-ton transporter T4 (4 × 4), which consisted of two single-axle tractors with 220-horsepower Cadillac engines, between which a platform was suspended for transporting the main M4 tanks …
Tank transporter LeTourneau T4, 4 × 4, 1944
Selling a substantial stake in Westinghouse Air Break Co. (Westinghouse Air Brake Company), better known as VEBCO (WABCO), on May 1, 1953 the firm was named "Ar. Gee. LeTourneauWestinghouse "(RG LeTourneauWestinghouse). The influx of funds allowed her to complete long experiments with electric transmission and start mass production of all-terrain vehicles with motor-wheels. The first military vehicle in this series in 1954 was a gigantic 400-horsepower snowmobile-tractor Sno-Buggy TC264 ″ (Sno-Buggy) 4 × 4 with a gross weight of 21 tons, designed to serve the US military base in Antarctica.
The car had 4 dual-pitch wheels with built-in electric motors and 3-meter low-pressure tires measuring 48.00-68. They were also used on two gigantic 600-strong airfield evacuators "Crash Pusher CP1 / CP2" (Crash Pusher) 6 × 6 weighing 67 tons each, built in 1955-56. With the help of two dumps, they were able to quickly free the runway from damaged heavy bombers. One of the world's largest single vehicles was the Landing Craft Retriever LCR (Landing Craft Retriever) with a length of 22.5 m and a gross weight of 100 tons. It was a giant U-shaped tubular structure on four driving wheels, under which it was possible to hang and evacuate the damaged us ashore. On the front cross-member were two diesel engines with a capacity of 230 hp. and a generating station.
Snowmobile tractor LeTurno-Westinghouse Sno-Buggy TS264, 1954
The Thurnapull scheme has also found wide application in the military field. Built in the early 50s. the mine clearing knife (plow) trawl consisted of a single-axle pusher and a telescopic front end with a V-shaped blade for “rooting out” mines from the ground. The same principle was used in the creation of mast cranes SC5, SC10 and SC240 (4 × 4/6 × 6) with a lifting capacity of 20-50 tons and drilling rigs MB1A "Big Bertha" used in military construction. In 1953–55, the company built an experimental XM1 (4 × 4) chassis with a single-axle tractor equipped with an air-cooled 375-horsepower Continental boxer engine and a single-axle trailer with a Corporal rocket system. Several of these installations under the M1 and M2 indexes entered service with NATO forces in Western Europe. In 1957, the firm introduced a 35 tonne tactical truck 6 × 6 with a single axle front end and a 335 hp Cummins diesel engine.
Extensive experience in the creation of articulated machines allowed the company in 1956 to get involved in the work on the creation of heavy 4 × 4 transporters, known under the abbreviation GOER and the unofficial name "Gower". In 1959-60. prototypes of the 15-ton transport version XM437 and the tanker XM438 with a capacity of 19 thousand liters were built at LeTurno. Their front section housed a Detroit Diesel V8 two-stroke engine (9.3 liters, 274 hp), a 5-speed manual gearbox and a drive axle with planetary gears. The energy to drive the wheel motors of the rear cargo section was generated by a three-phase electric generator. All wheels were equipped with disc brakes and 25-inch low-pressure tires, which made it possible to do without suspension. On the highway, the cars developed a speed of 48 km / h, afloat due to the rotation of the wheels - up to 5.6 km / h. They turned out to be too heavy and expensive, so a light 8-ton series of Caterpillar was adopted for serial production, which also manufactured experimental 16-ton trucks XM437E1, tanks XM438E2 and a 20-ton tow truck XM554 developed at LeTourno …
The unique 95-ton "tactical floating crusher" TTC (Transphibian Tactical Crusher) or "LeTro-Crusher" for making passages for American troops in the jungle of Vietnam, built in 1967 in two copies, stands apart in the LeTourneau program. It was equipped with a massive front beam for felling trees, an armored cabin and three leading hollow steel drums with a diameter of 3.7 m with sharp cutting edges (two front and one rear steerable), which served to crush wood and provide the vehicle with buoyancy.
Each was equipped with an electric motor, which received energy from a generator, which rotated the Detroit Diesel V12 engine (14.0 liters, 475 hp). In the 60s. one of the LeTurno divisions also produced 5-ton military amphibians LARC-5 (LARC).
The LeTourno company is best known for its active multi-section road trains, built by order of the military department for the delivery of goods and weapons in the hard-to-reach snow-covered and desert regions of the United States. They consisted of a tractor unit with a diesel-electric station, towing up to 12 trailers with all drive wheels. The first in 1954 for the development of Alaska was built a 125-ton road train "Tournatrain VC12" (Tournatrain), consisting of a 4 × 4 tractor and five 2-axle 25-ton trailers.
In 1955-57. the company has developed the Sno-Train LCC1 (Sno-Train), Overland Train Mk-I / LCC1 (Overland Train) and Sno-Freighter VC22 (SnoFreighter) with 2- and 3-axle tractors. The most famous was the world's largest 150-ton road train "Overland Train Mk-II / LCC1" (TC497) 175 m long, which consisted of a 6 × 6 tractor and 8-12 two-axle trailers with 68-inch wheels. The tractor and one or two last trailers were equipped with Solar gas turbines with a capacity of 1170 hp each. to drive generating stations that supplied current to all wheels of the road train. It was tested in the Arizona desert, where it was abandoned for many years.
Tow trucks "LeTurno-Westinghouse Crash Pusher CP1 / CP2", 1956
Landing craft rescuer "LeTurno-Westinghouse LCR", 1955
Rocket launcher "LeTurno-Westinghouse M1", 4 × 4, 1955
In 1968, with the transfer to the VEBKO company of the main branch of LeTourno for the production of wheeled vehicles, the company lost financial support and military orders. Two years later, shortly after the death of Robert LeTourneau, she was bought by the construction group Marathon, which closed the military branch of LeTourneau.