Starting the Weirdest Steam Tractor Ever Invented

Special Thanks to the Maine Forest and Logging Museum for the help of this video !
In this episode on Tekniq, we will celebrate the age-old technology of the Steam engine used for various harvesting and agricultural purposes around the world.

[@panzerivausfh4938]

"I have a really terrible phobia of trains" "dont worry, as long as you stay away from tracks they won't scare you"

[@mikeloeven]

I would not be surprised if this was unit was originally designed as a small locomotive and the company who made it was lets take these existing steam engines and try putting tracks on them for farm use

[@Leboobs22]

I legit had a girlfriend that had a phobia of trains.

[@bouffant-girl]

It is a Lombard Log Hauler. It was never a railroad locomotive. The majority of steam tractors used horizontal Boilers

[@2ndcomingofFritz]

@@Leboobs22your name muahahahahaha

[@d.s.parentsr6502]

The perfect demonstration of the basic concept of a tracked vehicle. A machine that moves on rails but places its rails ahead and picks them up behind.

[@russwentz3957]

I really enjoyed the filming quality and technique. No talking, no music, just the people doing what they do and demonstrating these great mechanical and historical beauties that helped shape our countries industries. I am so thankful for all the tremendous work and skills of those who have restored and preserved this generation of machines! Thank you.

[@proscriptus]

Could have lived without the obnoxious fake bird and insect noises

[@Quebster]

@@proscriptusI dont think that was fake

[@xaxabogbart]

@@Quebster they are. At the very least they have been tacked on during the edit. You can hear this because the video cuts between scenes, and the sounds of each scene change accordingly, whilst the forest sound effect remains constant, and in fact you can hear bird noises that start just before a scene cuts to another and end in another scene. The echo may well be artificial, too, since an echo that significant would only occur in a deep valley, and even then I don't think it would be so apparent.

[@joshdelyea4835]

it is not the generation it is the creation the Adam and eve of machines the father and mother of what we have today

[@dddnety1186]

Вот это да! Я даже не подозревал о существовании таких монстров на паровой тяге. Конструкторам и создателям этой техники уважение и память!

[@user-xv9ig5tf3x]

Ты ещё посмотри паровой автомобиль братьев дубль 1910 год запускался с ключа и за 10 секунд разгон до 100 , 800 км на одной заправке 70 литров керасина

[@user-mj9rx5xm7f]

Их в это время не убивали.

[@DiDi-lg7ke]

​@@user-xv9ig5tf3xэто уже не то. На керосине разогнаться любой дурак, так сказать, может. Ты вот на дровах и воде попробуй.

[@SenyaBolotin]

​@@DiDi-lg7ke почитай информацию про паровой самолёт.

[@kannaraju502]

​@@user-mj9rx5xm7f😂³q2q😂 3D 😂 hi 😂 AA🎉 q ki 🎉🎉😂³q🎉qqq😂q😂 1 hai na 3q h 😂na 23😊

[@terryharper2024]

The first 7 minutes was shot at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum in Bradley, ME. The opening sequence we are using the 1934, 10 ton Lombard Tractor-Truck to pull our 19 ton, 1907 Lombard steam log hauler out of the bay. In 1900 Alvin Lombard developed and patented the first practical crawler track system. Between 1901 and 1917 his company - The Lombard Traction Engine Co. of Waterville, Maine, built 83 of these machines. They were used for hauling long trains of sleds loaded with timber ( up to 300 tons). Operating over snow/ice roads, steering was via skis. They were never equipped with wheels as shown here. We have swapped out the skis for wheels so we can demonstrate it during the summer. Lombard's steam log haulers are the ancestor to all modern track systems and yes, even snowmobiles. Please note that these were factory built machines - they are NOT converted steam locomotives. Lombard purchased boilers from the Ames Iron Works in Oswego, NY. The various castings were made to order by a local foundry with machining and final assembly performed at the Lombard factory. This Lombard steam log hauler in this video was used on logging operations until 1925 when it was abandoned near Knowles Brook in northwestern Maine. Recovered from the site in the late 1960's it eventually became part of the collection at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum where it underwent a 30 year restoration which was completed in 2014. It currently shares the museum's Lombard bay with a companion machine built in 1914 and also in operating condition. We will have this machine out and about along with the 1928 and 1934 Lombard Tractor-Trucks during our Living History Days event on October 7th & 8th at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum in Bradley, Maine. Please check our website for details. www.maineforestandloggingmuseum.org/events/

[@TheMan1510]

Thank you!

[@user-wd8jo2gi9o]

Вот это машина на пару,2кочегара 2 водителя

[@woodchopinbeekeeper929]

Is the first machine not a linn tractor?

[@LeonidMiklaev]

​@@user-wd8jo2gi9oИ она затопленная Дровами поедет в Лес за дровами и привезёт дрова на дровах. Никаких бензо колонок , ненужных трат. А ещё продаст эти Дрова же, привезенные на Дровах. 😅.

[@johnkoury1116]

Wow!! That is so cool. I have to come up and see this thing in person some time...

[@-Master_Of_Disaster]

I'm always impressed to see what huge power and torque output steam can generate. The last pull with all these plows was very impressive. Not a lot of tractors we use today would be able to do this. I'm glad we have people who keep these beautiful machines alive.

[@wwindsunrain]

Steam is powering your house right now.

[@vincentmueller3717]

Saw the same footage on a different channel. It's a 42 bottom plow.

[@marcusbennetoft5473]

1 raindrop and it cant move forward

[@johnnyhendriksvanwarby-qd3ql]

Has a lot to do with weight, gearing, and low rpm torque Modern tracters are built to do things better and faster

[@mottthehoople693]

@@wwindsunrain not for much longer hopefully

[@joshuarayfield7594]

One thing I find amazing is these machines never really had an “idle”. They were just running and waiting to go like a car when it’s cranked. They were much simpler than that. Yet built the backbone of most developed nations. Machines used to be simple but complicated to use, now their complicated but simple to use.

[@dippst]

the greatest feat of engineering is making things user friendly.

[@danz_w]

*they're

[@CB3ROB-CyberBunker]

what does a steam engine need an 'idle' for anyway. you just turn the steam off and it stops :P the ignition is 'somewhere else' :P

[@mactep1]

They kinda had, you could just reroute the steam somewhere else and keep the boiler going without moving.

[@terryharper2024]

@@mactep1 With the throttle closed it will simply sit and and quietly simmer as long as you supply fuel and water.

[@LeonardRoberts]

Thank you for not over dubbing "music", let us experience both the sights and sounds, we can makeup the smells on our own. 🙂

[@videodistro]

Yes, yes, yes! Thanks!

[@TheMadmanAndre]

I love how some of those late 1800s/early 1900s steam tractors are just rail locomotives they stuck treads and road wheels on.

[@Kolypai]

Великолепный образец технологий того времени! Уважение мастерам, поддерживающим его в рабочем состоянии!

[@terryharper2024]

Thank you!

[@user-it9th8jb1u]

Молодцы старички! Востонавливать и поддерживать в рабочем состоянии ,надо много умения! Здоровья вам и счастья!

[@geraldtrudeau3223]

It's basically a locomotive that doesn't need rails. That's pretty amazing! Definitely not a ''put the key in it and go'', affair.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I recently seen a video where they called it a "road locomotive" it wasn't a tracked one like this, it had conventional steel wheels front and rear.

[@H2Oredfirefox]

I was just thinking that the pretty much looks like a train without the wheels and no tracks I kind of wonder if it was converted from some kind of locomotive🤔😚

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@H2Oredfirefox they built a lot of similar type things, they called some road locomotives, some they just called a tractor, or other names depending on the manufacturer and region. Basically all of them are a giant boiler and a decent sized steam engine that can move under its own power.

[@H2Oredfirefox]

@@goosenotmaverick1156 Still pretty impressive to see them running today

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@H2Oredfirefox oh no doubt! I watch my fair share of stuff like this, never seen one that was equipped with tracks, love this stuff! The fact that it still exists is impressive, the fact that some of these are still operable is an astonishing achievement on behalf of the manufacturers and engineers of the past.

[@SPG69]

Killdozer: finally a worthy opponent, our battle will be legendary

[@gampugv2]

Wired Percy from Thomas the tank engine thing vs killdozer

[@gampugv2]

Weird Percy from Thomas the tank engine thing VS KILLDOZER!!!!!1!11!!!!

[@jashton8710]

That last pull was damn impressive.

[@earllutz2663]

Excellent video. All of my farm tractors, have either been gasoline or diesel. But your video on steam tractors, makes me recall, in 1967, when I was employed as a Stationary Boiler Fireman, in a Steam Engineering plant, at a hospital, in my hometown of Glenn Dale, Maryland. We operated 4 steam generating Boilers, each as big as a two story house.

[@tcolondovich2996]

Lay, off, the, commas.

[@KurtKnispel844]

Класс.💪👍🤙🍸🍾🍷🥂🍻🍺😊

[@timwerner7771]

Machines like this were manufactured in EauClaire Wis. by the Phoenix mfring Co. In winter they could pull huge loads of logs form the woods on frozen -ice "roads" . I always wondered what they looked like! Thank you!

[@terryharper2024]

This is a Lombard. The phoenix machines were built under a license agreement granted by Lombard. Wonderful machines.

[@PaulSikkema]

There's another one Janesville, IA

[@paulalmquist5683]

I live about a mile from the old Phoenix mfg site, now Phoenix Park. There is a working Phoenix Log Hauler in Wabena, WI. It was here last year for Pioneer Days. Cool to see it working. The steering mechanism of the Phoenix is a little different from the Lombard in the video.

[@edilbeneditogomes3190]

Parabéns a esses homens que criaram essas máquinas! O começo da grande revolução que temos hoje!

[@andreblanchard8315]

My great grandfather and his brothers had a Phoenix. It got sent to Germany.

[@howlingbeats2544]

I could've never guessed that half-track steam tractors existed.

[@Roger-hq1yt]

A Locomotive steam half track...i love it too!

[@gazzertrn]

You can really see how labor intensive these engines were .

[@terryharper2024]

Yes they are! It takes us about 3 hours to fire-up the Lombard from cold. In this instance it was the first run of the season and we had just completed the annual boiler inspection so we tend to take extra care. Of course back when these where used on logging operations they were under steam 24/7 unless they needed repairs.

[@BDNeon]

But on the same note, you can see at 13:46 just how much work these engines could accomplish compared to what men without them could do.

[@bigears4014]

Horses weren't easy either

[@crabmannyjoe2]

​@@BDNeonand the engines don't get tired.

[@__-fm5qv]

To be fair, these days if you were to make a steam tractor a lot of the labour could be cut out, you'd just have to change the design drastically to make that a goal.

[@T-bone1950]

That first steam tractor shown was amazing. What a beast ! And the man steering it at the front was getting quite the workout. Power steering was a long way off. I can't imagine why people preferred these gargantuans over mules and horses. What a fun informative video to watch.

[@terryharper2024]

The Lombard (the first steam tractor) was developed to replace horses in the woods of northern New England. Its was not uncommon to to have over 20,000 horses working in the Maine woods during the winter. The practical hauling distance for horses pulling a logging sled was about 4 miles. A lombard, on the other hand, could haul up to 300 tons many miles.

[@agaga2255]

Le modernistes l’évolutions dû travail et de l’hommes et de la machine, départ pour la LUNE, )le cylindre de là loco et de la 🚀

[@EthanPDobbins]

It was not necessarily anything to do with how pleasant it was to run the machine but the efficiency. Mules and horses could only work so many hours a day and could only go so far and pull so much. To feed them through the winter or when working somewhere without forage they had to provide grain, hay, and water. Had to have people who's whole job was to tend the animals. To do the same job as these steam engine you need many horses & be changed out for fresh every so often which requires downtime. With this contraption it could work all day and all night if you wanted it to, and never had the stop it could go for miles and miles with no break. As long as you have wood and water and some oil to oil it every so many hours it would keep going. And to the industry that primarily used such machines the fuel was easy to come by as they were already cutting logs. To the solo farmer much like an Amish man today who has a small team of horses to plow his field, haul logs for the winter, pull his buggy into town, ect a couple horses or mules may be more economical for him because the horse can pull the mower to cut its own hay and it's not being used it will fuel itself by grazing. But for big operations the need for such machinery was dire. At the time these were invented the average person spent half of their money or better on food alone. Food was never so cheap and plentiful as it is today because of the heavy manual labor involved and the fact that farming at-scale for market required large amounts of manpower. Whereas these days a single farmer can as long as he has the right equipment most days without any help run a 200 cow dairy, hundreds of acres of field for planting, multiple chicken barns, or hog barns. Today less than 2% of the population are farmers whereas even just a hundred years ago farming was the most common profession. Logging today is similar because instead of requiring multiple people to tend horses as well as all the other work you just need the cut men, the equipment operator, and someone to haul a tank of fuel.

[@rdewey51]

KZbin at its finest. Wonderful that you could share this with the world.

[@MissingGhost]

I have watched dozens of videos of older men operating older steam machinery and there isn't any where the operators had to speak to each other to do their thing.

[@thedude8046]

They did in the beginning.

[@manitoba-op4jx]

@@thedude8046friendly conversation, morelike

[@HarryMollyNut]

Yep that's what experience will do.

[@paulbutikofer4284]

Didn't you notice that the stoker is a woman?

[@SNIXC]

@@paulbutikofer4284🙄

[@user-jk2om3sh1u]

Первый раз вижу паровоз на гусеничном ходу, да ещё в рабочем состоянии.Мододцы что сохранили.

[@lifehappens2370]

WOW! Be patient when you watch this 15-minute video! Do watch it ‘til the end. Weird, wild and wonderful old steam-powered machines are shown here, which means there’s a lotta history here too.

[@geraldtrudeau3223]

If I saw that creature out on the road, it would make my whole day! Can't help but bring a smile to your face.😄😁😃😂

[@18Pumpguy]

The Lombard Steam Log Hauler patented in 1901 by Alvin Lombard of Waterville Maine. The first tracked vehicle with tracks that worked! The other key to the invention is that it was produced at a price that some companies were willing to pay.

[@C0ttageChees]

Thank you so much!

[@Eg-kq8vn3so5x]

Старинная техника! Уважаю людей которые хранят и ухаживают за такой техникой!

[@Apb1964]

Лично видел паровой подъемный кран на ж/д ходу в рабочем состоянии в 1988г (порт Бальбоа, Панама, 1913 г.выпуска, США, фирмы кажется Pratt& Whitney (не помню точно)) и он ещё реально работал. Позже, уже в 90х его переделали на дизель. Но такого полугусеничного монстра даже и представить себе не мог. Великое уважение специалистам, которые поддерживают его в рабочем состоянии.

[@louiefillet6932]

There is something so satisfying in watching these old steamers start up

[@novakaine127]

Incredible how you need to be a semi-engineer just to run and keep these massive machines running. And I loved hearing the birds chirp. So serene

[@Grandpa82547]

That's why they called those guys "engineers".

[@AlwaysCensored-xp1be]

Well you don't need electronics or batteries.

[@user-lz1hw6bi4j]

С большим уважением отношусь к людям которые сохранили эти чудеса техники.

[@Toni73RU]

Хе-хе, они его сохранили так как купили его в кредит на 60-80 лет! Представляю скока % содрал банк за такую покупки. И даже боюсь представить что за гачи-мучи прописаны в договоре за не соблюдение. Потому и работали на нём до упора.

[@Rufusail]

@@Toni73RU 1-2% годовых максимум. А, как правило и вовсе меньше 1%.

[@Toni73RU]

@@Rufusail , ага - в мечтах XD

[@Rufusail]

@@Toni73RU это реальные проценты на кредиты в США, Европе и Китае. 3% даже в Калифорнии считается дорогим кредитом. Ну и до сво Сбербанк в Европе(у них там были отделения) давал кредиты по 2-3%. Хотя ты же или дурак, которому лень поинтересоваться, либо пригожинская проститутка, отрабатывающая 15 рублей.

[@wolodimirmelnik9007]

@@Toni73RU Раскажу вам как я три дня назад и стоял и смотрел на два дома которые стоят рядом. Один из Красного Кирпича 2 полных этажа крыша двухскатная жилая и полуподвал, квадратов жилых около 300 метра, построен перед 1 Мировой одним хозяйном Крестьяниним. А рядом новый в 2 этажа квадратов на 100. так вот у ногого как раз кредит на 20 лет а тот старый строился без кредита. А знаете почему, 100 лет назад налогов было меньше, строймарериал покупали пару лет до строики один год кирпич другой год древесину. Кредиты это явление этого века потому что всем всего хочется и сразу.

[@DommageCollateral]

its the first time i saw how farming was done in 1900. i never saw a steam powered train on pure soil. this is really informing (like the production of ice in 1880). so thanks for sharing the footage of the events

[@user-yq7wb8fn9k]

Чудо трактора, мужики молодцы . Уважуха ВАМ ВСЕМ.

[@colvinator1611]

Superb machine indeed ! I've never seen anything like this before. Thanks a lot, Colin UK

[@christianmccollum1028]

WOW! ...and I thought my '77 Fleetwood Brougham was a road locomotive. What a machine.

[@manitoba-op4jx]

that's a nice car

[@LeonvanRensburg]

I assume the 'atmospheric' track was added in post? Definitely better than having loud music over everything and better than having nothing. Nice touch, even if the stereo doesn't shift.

[@igotatan1]

Even as old as these machines are, they are still viable.

[@stanleystrycharz2572]

That is a steam train that doesn't need tracks!! Super cool and thanks for keeping history alive!

[@azariusmaxwell383]

I mean it still does use tracks, just a different kind :)

[@agaga2255]

L’idée aurait dû être gardé et mis en fonction avec les autres véhicules et une seule voie de circulations, elles maneouvaie comme un camion d'où l’économie à la places de toutes ces voies ?

[@1978garfield]

Many of those giant steam tractors were called Road Locomotives at the time they were built.

[@andrewyrich6363]

Вот это чудища! А сколько специфических знаний нужно, чтобы их оживить и поддерживать в таком прекрасном состоянии!😮

[@BMW_MAN]

Чудовища.

[@user-yc2er6el1c]

Старинная техника! Уважаю людей которые хранят и ухаживают за такой техникой!. I could've never guessed that half-track steam tractors existed..

[@williamgibb5557]

Wow! Beautiful and beautifully kept. Not a computer or sensor anywhere to be seen. When or rather , if it breaks, no guessing what is wrong.

[@ltva8781]

Well, computers were made with this idea in mind. But later SOMETHING went wrong and now we have bloated slow buggy software and hardware with backdoors me cannot easily diagnose nor repair...

[@true_rivethead9303]

And now I am impressed as a mechanical engineer. How much effort was put to this? A LOT. And this wonderful machines is still working, despite the fact that many of them are over a hundred years old.

[@danielseelye6005]

Never get tired of watching that Case 150 road tractor plowing and rolling smoke (even though I know that's not power efficient.)

[@LeonidMiklaev]

В чем не эффективно то??? В чем?? Он Case тянет 30 плугов за раз. При этом нет бешеных трат на добычу нефти , переработку её, перевозку её, Ничего. Этот же Case 150 , поедет в Лес, привезёт Дрова и на эти Дрова же, вспашет Поле. Где не эффективность?? Вы рассходы наверно считать не умеете.

[@Mirkin1992]

​@@LeonidMiklaev думаю про эффективность тут в том плане, что КПД очень низкий относительно сжигаемого топлива и расхода воды. Если работать часа 2-3, то скорее всего потребуется довольно много дров. В лесу вы их не получите, если не хотите нарушить закон. Не говоря уж о том, что древесину нужно сушить перед сжиганием. А если ее купить, то даже если выйдет дешевле бензина или солярки, ее объемы неудобно перевозить. Тоже самое и с водой, вам потребуется машина, что бы постоянно заправлять данный транспорт, вряд ли вы руками будете таскать сотни литров воды или будете ехать на нем до дома. К тому же для управления подобным аппаратом желательно 2 человека. Так же нужно регулярное обслуживание, ибо ломаться будет часто. Ну и самое главное, данный трактор никуда не поедет за пределы данного поля. Его максимальная скорость вероятно не больше 10-15 км в час. Что бы на нем работать где то чуть дальше дома, вам потребуется вызывать эвакуатор, что бы добраться до места. В конце концов не просто так отказались от паровой тяги.

[@LeonidMiklaev]

@@Mirkin1992 а ты попробуй раздобыть Нефть сначала. Сравни добычу Нефти весь цикл , затраты и сравни Съездить в Лес на дровах же ради Дрова. И да тытакже не знаешь о других методах сжигания дров.

[@LeonidMiklaev]

@@Mirkin1992 Вы бывали на Вахтах ? На бурении скважин? Вы теряли на Вахтах Семьи? Вы легко считаете о КПД, при этом уверен вы не Вахтовик и спите со своей женой и детьми а доме. Вы вот эти Цены посчитайте. Как семьи ругаться Дети растут ради ваших КПД без отцов. Жены живут без мужей апосле уходят к другому. Вы посчитайте в вашем гоебанном КПД Горе мужика вахтовика что на вахте остался без жены детей . Я знаю что считающие КПД спят со своими женами играются с детьми тогда когда Вахтовик пол жизни отдает в Жертву ради вашего гребанного КПД.

[@Mirkin1992]

@@LeonidMiklaev причем тут добыча нефти? Ты же не сам ее добываешь. Важно лишь соотношение твоих личных затрат к производительности данной машины. Но если смотреть на проблему в глобальном масштабе, как вы предлагаете, то получение дров выйдет в много раз дороже нефти. Неужели вы думаете, что дрова так просто получить? Если бы до сих пор транспорт в мире был бы паровым, цена на дрова возросла бы в десятки раз. А количество денег на выращивание деревьев вышло бы астрономическим. Ну и конечно самое главное в транспорте, это удобство. Если вам потребуется хранить вагон древесины и цистерну воды для работы своей машины, о какой эффективности может идти речь.

[@ZephyrusAsmodeus]

Big flywheels, belts, chains, riveted iron plating, puffing smoke, and steam. I have such a respect for this era of technology. The way they developed ways to maximize, store, and transfer the often underappreciated power of steam is amazing. What they might have in archaic and somewhat dangerous design, they make up for in torque, horsepower, and durability. There's just something to be said about that. I love me a loud, purring big block v8, but you just can't go wrong with what's essentially a stream train on treads.

[@JOSEPHDANCE75]

still going strong unlike many vehicles in the scrap heap for recycling.Amazing engineering of quality.

[@sergejv6402]

Вот это мощь ! Какой современный трактор сможет сразу пол поля вспахать ?

[@sergin0v474]

Даже небольшой современный трактор более производителен , чем этот монстр

[@johnnyfreedom3437]

The coolest small boiler use I've ever seen was a video from South America and a guy have a small boiler propelling a tricycle. He would feed it by stopping and picking up some Twigs alongside the road. Now that's good fuel mileage!

[@greymatters2965]

Was watching that video then this one got recommended 😂

[@Betonoszlop]

Operating that train is a teamwork for sure. Most amazing... What a monster

[@superspeederbooster]

I'm always surprised how quiet those steam machines are

[@AndreiTupolev]

I like how he gives the whistle code when crossing the road 😀

[@terryharper2024]

Yes, its a bit of a blind corner for cars entering the parking lot from Government Road so we always give a warning whistle. We actually have a dedicated Lombard log hauler road that is about 85% complete. We just need to ease a couple of the curves and do the final grading.

[@Sohave]

I love how aesthetically speaking this is basically a locomotive put catapillar tracks. Only what needed to be adapted such as gearing and cylinder size is changed from the designs found on the railroad.

[@BenStillDraws]

Bruh it looks like if you got a train, tractor, and tank and mashed em into one! I love it!

[@Slovenskwolk]

Os caras tem o Trator até hoje pra funcionar, mexer e curtir, para manter a história viva.

[@arnenelson4495]

The external combustion engine was sooo labor intensive.

[@allamericantrolling]

This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while, it’s like a train half track

[@scottanno8861]

How do you see where you're going in all the steam though 😅

[@allamericantrolling]

@@scottanno8861 dose not matter steam powered half track.

[@DetroitMicroSound]

That Lombard log hauler, is surprisingly fast!

[@terryharper2024]

Top speed is 4.7 mph which is at 250 rpm

[@DetroitMicroSound]

It makes many of the smaller steam tractors seem slow. 5mph is not bad! @@terryharper2024

[@DetroitMicroSound]

Let me add, that firewoman clearly knows her stuff.@@terryharper2024

[@crabby7668]

Fascinating, I thought the first vehicle only existed in the fevered imagination of mad max! Was that half track a one off or were there many of them back in the day? Nice to see you also have a thriving community of enthusiasts for these machines, across the pond. I was going to ask whether that huge wing was a plough, until I saw the final sequence that confirmed it. Just wow, what a monster! I bet all of the oxen joined a union when they saw that!

[@terryharper2024]

Not a one off. From 1900 through 1917 the Lombard Traction Engine Co. of Waterville, built 83 of the steam powered log haulers. From 1914 through 1936 they produced over 300 of the gasoline powered (Tractor-Truck) machines. (we don't know the exact number) That included 10 ton models (as shown) 8 ton, 15 ton and 20 ton machines.

[@jamesrea8454]

If my history is correct Lombard was the first inventor to successfully use a tracked vehicle. My wife and I actually looked at his house to buy in about 1990 or so. It had its own hydroelectric plant with water supplied by a small mill pond. I remember seeing the Gasoline powered log hauler at a dam on the Allagash River in northern Maine around 1958 or so. Could be the one at the Museum.

[@crabby7668]

@@terryharper2024 very interesting, thanks. An impressive bit of kit

[@terryharper2024]

@@jamesrea8454 Correct! In regards to Lombard's house the recently removed the dam. The Lombard you are thinking of is now in the State Museum in Augusta. The machine we have was bought new by the City of Waterville and used for plowing etc. Later, it was sold to Starbird Lumber in Strong, Maine and eventually sold to a private collector who graciously has placed on long term loan to museum.

[@xXYannuschXx]

See? Now THATS a road train!

[@pizzamangametime9773]

they literally put a train on a half track fricking absolute beast of a machine

[@terryharper2024]

No part of this machine came from a locomotive or from an existing machine. The tracks system on this machine was patented in 1900 by Alvin Lombard who is credited with developing the first practical crawler track system. This one (No. 38) was built new in 1907 by the Lombard Traction Engine Co. of Waterville, Maine. Between 1901 and 1917 they built 83 of these machines. They used boilers purchased new from the Ames Iron Works and the bulk of the castings were provided by a local foundry. They were designed and built to haul long sled trains loaded with logs over snow/ice roads. We have swapped out the skis for wheels so we can demonstrate it during the summer months.

[@CybershamanX]

(13:43) AMAZING. Agriculture took an exponential leap when this tractor technology came onto the scene.

[@amperemam5713]

These machines were designed never to die

[@foxgamerjugadorfox]

this takes 'tank engine' to a whole new level

[@foamer5490]

I like how the tractor you use to pull it out of the barn is only negligibly less ancient.

[@terryharper2024]

Yes, the tow vehicle is a 1934 Lombard tractor-truck. It weighs in at 10 tons. The wheels can be swapped for skis for winter use. Here is a video of these machines in action back in the day: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIGalpmAq9SGb6M

[@foamer5490]

@@terryharper2024 very cool!

[@kinkhorse6672]

Steersmen on the Lombard Log hauler, if they earned a reputation for resisting the temptation to jump off the machine in the face of impending doom became well respected by the loggers as "stay with 'er men". Not that jumping off the machine as it cascaded down an icy slope was much of a choice since then you would have to dodge the following cascade of logs...

[@terryharper2024]

It makes a good story told around the campfire but as with many things the reality was quite different. These machines were very expensive when new. The last thing they wanted was to have them careening out through the trees. Much like a railroad, the haul roads these ran on were laid out to follow the contours and avoid steep hills. Great Northern Paper held a 4% grade against the load as the maximum. Special care was taken to ensure the road was well built and well maintained. A poor road was not only dangerous but inefficient. On average they had only 90 days for the hauling season. Yes, a steam Lombard had no brakes but that didn't mean they couldn't hold it back on a slope. The engineering can use the reverse lever to admit steam into the cylinders in front of the pistons. This works as a brake. Having used the technique myself it is quite effective though Lombard warned "not to lock the tracks" In addition, they spread straw on the hills to create drag. The idea was to pull the sleds down the hill as opposed to being pushed. We have to remember that they had been working with horse drawn sleds for many decades and those didn't have brakes either and could carry a load upwards of 14 tons. Accidents? Sure. They did happen from time to time but it wasn't the white knuckle death ride so popular in the folklore that has grown around these machines.

[@brianrigsby7900]

What’s the power output of that green tractor? Sounds powerful!

[@terryharper2024]

Its only 145 hp at 1,400 rpm but it has tremendous torque. The record for one of these machines (set in 1936) was hauling a sled train carrying 298 ton's of pulpwood. Here is some vintage video footage: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fIGalpmAq9SGb6M kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOom4mkeL9ladU

[@AmericaVoice]

Im sure the day the old machine was built, they would have never dreamed that the old machine majority of parts would be driven like this so many years down the centuries! 😊😊😊😊😊

[@andrejshamin1452]

Какие великолепные машины. Не знаю, репплика или отремонтированные оригиналы, но сама проделанная работа вызывает уважение.

[@mikesmechanical1102]

Starting that old crate was quite the process…. Almost as hard as getting me out of bed in the morning.

[@davidmorrison3697]

WDM in Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada has 2 log haulers. They ran between SPRUCE RIVER FOREST RESERVE (Prince Albert National Park) to The Pas, Manitoba. One was rebuilt and the other is in storage. They also have a live steam Calliope.😊😊😊😊

[@terryharper2024]

Yes, those are Phoenix log haulers built under a license from Lombard. Really neat machines!

[@davidmorrison3697]

@@terryharper2024 《 they were amazing machines - there were 6 or 8 machines used in the forest reserve, there is a photo of a bunch sitting in the bush not being used. The photo either at Western Development Museun or at Prince Albert National Park.

[@terryharper2024]

@@davidmorrison3697 Cool! At the Maine Forest & Logging Museum we have four Lombard's in the collection including the 1907 steam powered Lombard shown in the video, a 1914 Steam powered Lombard. the 1934 Lombard Tractor-Truck (also shown) and a 1928 Lombard Model T dump truck - all are operational and demonstrated on a regular basis. We also have a 1919 Lombard tractor truck due to arrive as soon as the mechanical work is complete. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZK3YnyGbbN_ldk kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOom4mkeL9ladU kzbin.info/www/bejne/lX68ia2rbLJ9e68

[@WTU208]

I can't see battery powered vehicles ever doing this.

[@juhanisoininen2082]

1:30 in Finland , this locomotive has been used in forest work in the winter. Now as a museum in Savukoski. The forest manage of Kemiyhtiö , Hugo Richard Sandberg ( 1849 - 1930 ) " Samperi " , ordered two steam locomotives all the way from America to transport the to the river for floting.

[@lillarry1872]

Yo this is amazing a lot of teamwork right here. It’s also a cool piece of machine history

[@user-ys1jl8nl5d]

😮😅

[@Grubmeister]

That baby is wild !

[@vanderleicirodesousa5559]

Wonderful!...

[@ElementofKindness]

For 1907, I can't believe that the Lombard wasn't better thought out. It would have been so easy to put the drives at the smokestack end, and the steers at the cab end, and the driver and engineer could have all been together.

[@terryharper2024]

The very first few Lombards actually used a horse for steering. They did briefly experiment with steering from the cab but found the steersman up front to be better. From the cab you have very limited view due to the boiler and tank. As the engineering you cannot see directly in front or to the left and your very busy as it is! As for having the crawler tracks up front that would severely limit the available traction. As it is now only 8,000 lbs rest on the front skis with approx. 30,000 lbs on the tracks and when its pulling a heavy sled train even more than that. As it is it works very well. Both the steersman and the engineer and can use the whistle to communicate Forward, reverse and stop.

[@ElementofKindness]

@@terryharper2024 My apologies. I think I wasn't fully clear with my thoughts. The entire tractor would be operated in the opposite direction, making the cab the front.

[@terryharper2024]

@@ElementofKindness Yes, Like a cab forward locomotive. Again, you would have reduced traction with the skis on the drawbar end. The way these machines were used it was all about traction. By our calculations there is approx. 11,000 ft/lbs of torque at the tracks. I know its hard to imagine but the way its setup does work really well. Remember these machines worked on the main haul roads which were well laid out and maintained and had ruts cut into the snow/ice for the sled runners. They were not designed for maneuvering in tight places. Their job was to haul heavy sled trains from the cuttings to the landings and return with the empties. One operation this particular machine was used on (1907-1913) included phone boxes and a dispatcher to control the movements of three of these machines over the haul road. It was not uncommon to have a train made up of 12 or more sleds with each sled carrying up to 20 tons of logs. Just one empty sled could weigh 3,000 lbs or more. Pretty impressive considering it was designed by a man who had practically no formal education and had worked for a good portion of his life as a millwright in the backwoods of Maine.

[@ElementofKindness]

@@terryharper2024 Amazing facts, and makes a lot of sense. I still wouldn't have wanted to be that poor feller on the front, fully exposed to early 20th century winters though! 😅

[@terryharper2024]

@@ElementofKindness often they would build a shelter to protect the steersman. At least their back was toasty from the smokebox.

[@Sebastbean3268]

The guy who built that. "Hold my beer and watch this"

[@josephbrandt6778]

Cool😀👍I remember a big steam tractor abandoned just outside UTICA NY btwn Frankfort and Utica it sat back in the tress for years came by one day and somebody was cutting it out of the trees that grew up around it....sat back in there for years hardly know it was there unless you were real observant...that area was all crop fields back in the day I'm sure to support the city etc...and I'm sure that tractor worked all that land behind the Masonic Temple off Broad st and Center Rd...

[@denissychev4009]

хорошая альтернатива постоянно дорожающему дизельному топливу это дрова

[@robleary3353]

Love seeing old bits of kit like this out and about and not in some museum gathering dust!. Nice one!. Nuff said.🙂

[@CaptainPackrat]

There was an article in the Midwest Messenger in late September 2022 about steam tractors. A 1908 Case tractor could plow 25 acres a day, which required 1 ton of coal and 1700 gallons of water, plus 5 men and two teams of horses to haul the coal and water. It cost $50/day to operate, which is the equivalent of over $1500 today.

[@peterlg501]

Huge inflation.

[@user-rx4yr3oz7t]

Jusqu'à quel âge que l on s amuse la preuve est la bande de vieux fous extraordinaire j aime❤❤❤

[@josedelmarmattos182]

Tudo é muito estranho nesta oficina de inventos 😂😂😂

[@ronalddaub9740]

I've been in the thresherman association and I've been a collector of all types of hitt miss this and other engines but I've never seen anything like that at any show that's amazing

[@poowg2657]

Years ago I had the pleasure of running a Phoenix in Wabeno Wi. It had the mechanical workings of a twin cylinder Shay engine on each side. Like yours it had wheels in place of the skis but it was also possible to use a differential throttle valve to increase the steering response. Cool video, liked it much!

[@terryharper2024]

Yes, Lombard's very first machine (built in 1900) was direct drive to a cranked axle and didn't steer that well. His second version was what Phoenix built under licence. I believe his thought was that the twin cylinders on each side avoided the use of a differential and maintained power to each track at all times. Phoenix, for whatever reason, stuck with this design were as Lombard by 1905 had moved onto the design we see here.

[@poowg2657]

@@terryharper2024 Great info, thanks!

[@SmilingSimian]

The steam log hauler looks like a Road Locomotive. Tracks subbed for rail wheels, and since the engineer never had to steer on tracks, they just stuck on some turning wheels and a driver at the front. I hope the driver's assistant had some way to communicate with the engineer, like semaphores.

[@terryharper2024]

Actually no. Alvin Lombard of Waterville, ME. developed and patented the first practical crawler track system in 1900. Between 1900 and 1917 his company (Lombard Traction Engine Co.) built 83 of these machines. This one was built in 1907 and is only one of three operating examples. These machines were built new - they were not conversions of a locomotive. Just as they did back in the day - we use whistle signals for stop, forward and reverse.

[@gerry343]

How many ploughshares was that Case pulling? Impressive!

[@user-uo9cy2ep2h]

As someone who wears bib overalls almost daily, I appreciate this video.

[@guybeingaguy]

The engineer who made this beast is next level!

[@terryharper2024]

He was. Alvin Lombard was born and raised in the backwoods of Maine. He had practically no formal education. As an adult he worked as a millwright and operated his own sawmill. In 1894, working with his brother Nathaniel, developed the first highly effective waterwheel (turbine) governor that combined hydraulics and mechanical principles to rapidly and accurately control the flow of water. His invention ushered in the age of hydro power as we know it today. He also designed and built two steam automobiles between 1897 and 1901 and a host of equipment used in the pulp and paper industry. In 1900 he developed and patented the first practical crawler track system. Between 1901 and 1917 his company, the Lombard Traction Engine Co. of Waterville, ME. built 83 of the machines shown in this video. They are indeed the ancestor to all modern tracked vehicles.

[@guybeingaguy]

@@terryharper2024 That’s amazing! I designed the cigarette lighter for the Space Shuttle program!

[@terryharper2024]

@@guybeingaguy right.........

[@michaelaltig5519]

That tracked tractor was amazing. Top speed 6 or 7, yet can pull the world off its axis! :)

[@Tutterzoid]

Now that's an SUV(Steam Utility Vehicle) with a difference

[@845SiM]

Back in the days when health and safety meant washing your hands before eating a oil sandwich. Glorious machine

[@terryharper2024]

It also assumed people were smart enough not to stick fingers and hands, etc. in places that could mangle, crush, burn and chop.

[@845SiM]

Yeah, the days when silicone packets didn’t need “do not eat” written on them when getting a new electrical device 🤣🤣🤣

[@LaraCroftCP]

That is one of the coolest things i eher seen! Imagine crossing a railway with this!

[@jackoszuscik6669]

Excruciatingly awesome! Can't get anymore STEAMPUNK then that. Kudos y'all ❤

[@qv81]

Steam tractors are the scartiest machines I've ever seen. The locomotive wins the first place for me. Put red headlights on it in the front and drive it in the night in the forest. I love them!

[@vesa7069]

These tractors were used over here in Finland as well for pulling lumber. 😄

[@rado78231]

This looks like something that came out of a Turner painting... Fire, steam and power!

[@TorCane1]

Amazing video, thanks for sharing the footage of this machinery in operation. As a side note, lol the haulers from archeage.

[@user-ez2ki5tn3n]

That last pull was damn impressive.. coisa linda essa maquina! parabens.

[@bbracing3925]

The little engine that could - commit a war crime & plow your field! 😂 I Love this thing. ❤

[@edsullivan7288]

Time for the next generation to get schooled on this type of equipment

[@aliensuperweapon]

In my LIFE you never would be able to convince me that this has never been a locomotive. It literally has all the bells and whistles. :D

[@terryharper2024]

It was never a locomotive. It was built from all new components in 1907. The boiler was built to order by the Ames Iron Works in Oswego, New York with the drive train components etc. cast, machined and assembled at the Lombard Traction Engine Co. factory in Waterville, Maine. Locomotive style boilers were used in many non-locomotive applications including traction engines, portable boilers and stationary boilers. Just like a locomotive, the whistle and bell are safety features with the whistle also doubling as a means of communication between the steersman and the engineer.