Have you ever seen an interesting vehicle that could go on land ,water well lets go into details shall we.
The 1939 Antarctic Snow Cruiser:
This gargantuan vehicle was built for an expedition by Rear Admiral Richard Byrd to the Antarctic. It was designed to house 4 people, drive 5,000 miles per fill up, have enough food for the 4 for one year, and carried an airplane on its roof. It also carried the fuel for the plane.
Specs:
It was built in the Pullman shops in Chicago IL. and then was driven cross country to Boston to be loaded on a ship and sent to Antarctica. The drive from Chicago to Boston was difficult as the vehicle was huge, and it took several days while power lines needed to raised and obstacles removed.
- Length: 55 Feet 8 Inches
- Wheel Base: 20 Feet
- Height: 16 Feet(max)
- Height: 12 Feet(min)
- Width: 19 Feet 10½ Inches
- Weight: 75,000 Lbs. (loaded)
- Tires: Goodyear 12 ply 120 x 66 x 33½
- Engines: Two Six Cylinder Cummins Diesels 150 Horsepower each
- Drive Motors: Four General Electric 75 Horsepower each
- Speed: 30 mph (Maximum)
- Range: 5,000 Miles
It was built in the Pullman shops in Chicago IL. and then was driven cross country to Boston to be loaded on a ship and sent to Antarctica. The drive from Chicago to Boston was difficult as the vehicle was huge, and it took several days while power lines needed to raised and obstacles removed.
For example when it careened into a creek, fortunately hydraulic jacks built into the machine helped it get back underway
Once in Boston it was found that the vehicle was too long to be put on board so the tail end was cut off and then reattached.
On arrival, it was found that the tires had virtually no traction, that it was woefully under powered and that it was unsuitable for the type of terrain it was meant to traverse. It was put into an "ice garage" (buried), and was later found again decades later. It is suspected that the Snow Cruiser was eventually lost when the glacier it was buried in calved into the sea.
The snow cruiser resurrected and restarted in 1958 after being dug out of its cold resting place.
