Made in England, 1910 in a single copy. Designed for hauling cargo in Alaska - there were bad roads, wheeled tractors did not have the necessary cross-country ability, and horses and dogs could not carry large loads.
But let's talk about everything in order …
The company "Richard Hornsby and Sons" began its business at the beginning of the 19th century, producing various equipment, mainly for agricultural purposes. Over time, the company moved on to the production of steam engines, including those for tractors. In 1904, its lead engineer and concurrently managing director David Roberts patented the device known as the Caterpillar track, a track made up of individual links and is the progenitor of the modern steel track.
Tests in England, February / March 1910.
In mid-1909, Richard Hornsby & Sons, commissioned by Northern Light Power & Coal Co, developed one of the last technically advanced machines of the time, a track-track tractor. The new vehicle was supposed to haul coal 40 miles from the company's Coal Creek mine near Dawson Yukon. The supply of coal was supposed to provide the possibility of launching a thermal power plant in Dawson, as well as meet the needs of city residents in coal to heat their homes. The steam tractor had to run on coal, which he himself was carrying.
The Hornsby tractor was manufactured in England in 1910 in a single copy. Designed for hauling loads in Alaska - there were bad roads, wheeled tractors did not dance, and horses and dogs could not carry large loads. However, the thermal power plant built in the Yukon felt the need for coal, and there was nothing to deliver it in winter when the river was frozen. Therefore, Hornsby, who by this time already had the experience of building a slightly smaller tracked steam tractor (10 tons of its own weight with an engine of only 20hp), created such a land locomotive, which was supposed to carry coal from the sea to the station all winter.
Promotional video:
The giant's mass was 40 tons, and the steam engine developed 80 hp. On a flat road and without load, the tractor could accelerate to 40 km / h, and the total mass of a train from a tractor and eight (!) Trailers weighing 12.5 tons each was, as it is easy to calculate, 140 tons. The result for 1910 is not just good, but fantastic! With its own weight of each trailer about 5 tons, the train delivered, as it is not difficult to calculate, 60 tons of coal in one trip (it is not clear how much it burned at the same time).
The car was delivered to Alaska, but it turned out that the operation in Alaska is very different from the tests in England, but despite this, the unit successfully carried coal until at least 1927.
And even then - the ability to work on solid fuel turned out to be very appropriate where gas stations appeared only in the 60s, and coal, on the contrary, was initially at hand …
In the Yukon, a cab had to be attached to the tractor, which protected important parts of the steam engine and the crew from the terrible frosts.
Mr and Mrs Sibley, the giant's new owners. They bought it in 1927 … Actually, Sibley are interesting only because they stand very well against the background of the car, giving an idea of its size.
Actually Sibley are interesting only because they stand very well against the background of the car, giving an idea of its size.
Nowadays, only the undercarriage remains of this colossal machine.
In August 2005, Hornsby's Mammoth was pulled out of a barn at Seven Hills Golf Course Pt. McNeil BC, where it has been for over 20 years. It took 2 loaders to pull it out and move it onto a trailer for transport to the Reynolds-Albert Museum in Vetaskivin, Alberta, Canada.