It’s a little bit of a thriller why we haven’t accomplished a deep dive on the LeTourneau TC-497. After all, no 5 phrases within the English language can get a coronary heart beating quiet like Nuclear-Powered, Trackless, Overland Train.
But absolutely all trains go overland, I hear you saying. Well you’re fallacious. These are a completely totally different breed of tires-to-the-dirt trains. It was meant to function a provide chain resolution for the U.S. Army in laborious to succeed in locations with out railways or roads.
Today, solely the lead management automotive stays of the 600-foot lengthy semi parked on the United States Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. One of my favourite YouTube channels dedicated to huge machines, Calum, checked it out in actual life and rattling, is it cool.
This isn’t even Calum’s first trackless prepare video! He’s acquired an much more detailed retelling of those behemoths right here:
The automotive itself is 46 ft lengthy and towers over single-floor buildings. Each one in all its six, over 1o-foot-tall Firestone tires weighs one ton. Inside every of these wheels was additionally an electrical motor and all six labored in tandem to propel the prepare, very like electrical vehicles at this time. In truth, the mechanical drive connection meant all 34 of the TC-497’s wheels may very well be powered and the TC-497 even employed regenerative braking.
Powered by 4 Saturn 10MC engines weighing greater than 1,150 kilos producing 1,170 horsepower every paired with AC and DC mills making the TC-497 far more train-like than say, only a actually huge semi truck. One engine could be within the management automotive, whereas the opposite three could be positioned alongside the size of the prepare to help in powering the hooked up vehicles. These highly effective engines sucked up gasoline at a clip of 30 to 60 gallons per minute whereas off-road, in keeping with Overland Trains. That’s loads of go-juice, so the U.S. authorities as early as 1955 started toying with the thought of a nuclear powered engine for the overland trains. The inventor of the TC-497 RG Letourneau, particularly said the gasoline turbine engines had been solely a stop-gap measure till the correct atomic energy supply may very well be produced.
Inside the LeTourneau has extra of the texture of a submarine than a semi — a full kitchenette, a toilet and 6 bunks meant this large automobile may harbor a crew of six on lengthy haul journey throughout the bleakest terrain in snow or deserts.
Following over 500 hours of testing over just a few years within the Arizona desert, your entire challenge was scrapped. Cargo helicopters simply proved a way more environment friendly type of transportation to get provides to distant areas.
Check out Calum and his different glorious movies right here.
Source: jalopnik.com