Working on the Lombard Tractor-Trucks

[Tharper]

I see the big car battery. Electric start or is it for something else? C

Electric start.

 

[Tharper]

How many of these are still out in the wild?

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Vito

Mostly parts and pieces scattered around old logging sites. The World War 2 scrap drives were not friendly to these machines.

 

[Sean Feeney]

If your traveling south for 2.5 hours to get there you must be real close to Canada

 

[Tharper]

If your traveling south for 2.5 hours to get there you must be real close to Canada

You are correct! The border is less than two miles due east of me.

 

[Tharper]

How many of these are still out in the wild?

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Vito

Of the estimated 300 plus tractors made, between 1914 and 1936, there are 12 survivors in museums and private collections. Of these, 6 are in running condition. Out in the wild there are some scattered parts and pieces. Most sites are rather remote.

These are the remains of an early (1915) Lombard “Lag bed” tractor we recovered a few years ago. It had been broken up with sledge hammers.

This is a colorized image of what it looked like:

 

[MARK ROBKE]

This looks like the King of Obsolete's collection. He used to have a website, but I think now he just does you tube. He actually used his for various jobs. Mark.

 

[Tharper]

This looks like the King of Obsolete's collection. He used to have a website, but I think now he just does you tube. He actually used his for various jobs. Mark.

King of Obsolete has two Linn tractors. They are quite similar. H.H. Linn worked for Lombard for a period of time before patenting his own design and going into production in 1916. Linn placed a heavy emphasis on the construction and municipal market. Many were used by local and state highway departments. Lombard concentrated on the logging industry here in the northeast and maritime provinces. Later, in the mid 1920's, they did develop tractors for construction. The 15-ton CS-88 and 8-ton Model T are examples. This focus on specific markets is reflected in the differences in design between a Linn and a Lombard. Lombards were designed for maximum traction on hard-packed snow roads. Their job was to move heavy trains of logging sleds as quickly and efficiently as possible. The record for a 10-ton Lombard Tractor-Truck was 108.5 cord of pulpwood (298 tons) loaded on 22 sleds and moved from the St. John Ponds to Big Bog on the upper Penobscot.

Here is an example of how these machines were used:

Linn's featured an articulated track runner, allowing the track to conform to the rough terrain of a construction site. Lombard's track system was designed to place maximum point load on the grousers. A typical 10-ton Lombard is not a cross-country machine! They were more like a mainline locomotive - moving heavy trains of sleds from point A to Point B. Horses, Cletracs, Holt and Best crawler tractors were used to move the sleds from the cuttings to the main haul road for the Lombards to pick up.

Here is a great illustration of how the track system on a Lombard Tractor-Truck is set up.

Linn produced approximately 2,500 tractors between 1916 and the end of production in 1952. Lombard produced approximately 340 between 1914 and 1936. They also produced 83 steam-powered Lombard Log Haulers between 1900 and 1917.

I mentioned the Lombard CS-88, here is some rare footage of these beasts. None have survived.

 

[Tharper]

We had a great event at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum. We had four Lombard’s out and about including our 1907 steamer, the 1919 and 1934 Lombard Tractor-Trucks and the 1928 Lombard Model T dump truck. We also had the debut of our (new to us) 1927 Ford Model TT with the Virgil White snowmobile conversion.

This was the first time in over a decade we have run the steamer. It was a lot of work but well worth the effort. Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine patented his first track system in late 1900 and went into production the following year. He is credited with developing and putting into production the first practical crawler track system. By 1917 they had made 83 of the steamers and had switched over to gasoline powered tractors which were produced until 1936.

The Model TT snowmobile was a big hit and a lot of fun to drive.

Here is some footage of the 1919 in action. It ran great all day.

A very good day spent with great people!

 

[Powered By IH]

We had a great event at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum. We had four Lombard’s out and about including our 1907 steamer, the 1919 and 1934 Lombard Tractor-Trucks and the 1928 Lombard Model T dump truck. We also had the debut of our (new to us) 1927 Ford Model TT with the Virgil White snowmobile conversion.

This was the first time in over a decade we have run the steamer. It was a lot of work but well worth the effort. Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine patented his first track system in late 1900 and went into production the following year. He is credited with developing and putting into production the first practical crawler track system. By 1917 they had made 83 of the steamers and had switched over to gasoline powered tractors which were produced until 1936.

View attachment 142538
View attachment 142542

The Model TT snowmobile was a big hit and a lot of fun to drive.
View attachment 142539View attachment 142540

Here is some footage of the 1919 in action. It ran great all day.

View attachment 142541



A very good day spent with great people!View attachment 142553

Looks good!
Do the steamers ever have to undergo boiler inspections?

 

[Tharper]

Looks good!
Do the steamers ever have to undergo boiler inspections?

Yes! It has to undergo an annual State boiler inspection. The original boiler was a lap seam design which cannot be operated in public in Maine. It was also well past its prime. We had a new ASME code boiler manufactured and installed in 2014.

 

[Powered By IH]

Yes! It has to undergo an annual State boiler inspection. The original boiler was a lap seam design which cannot be operated in public in Maine. It was also well past its prime. We had a new ASME code boiler manufactured and installed in 2014.

How much did that cost?

 

[Tharper]

How much did that cost?

If I remember correctly that was about $50,000.00. The museum spent 30 years getting this machine running. New cylinder castings, new compensating gear, drive chains, new pistons and rods, etc. it had been last used in 1925.

Steam isn’t cheap!

 

[Dingo3]

I just came across this thread. Amazing stuff! Even better that you keep them going. I wish I would of known about this place when I was up there.

 

[300jk]

We had a great event at the Maine Forest & Logging Museum. We had four Lombard’s out and about including our 1907 steamer, the 1919 and 1934 Lombard Tractor-Trucks and the 1928 Lombard Model T dump truck. We also had the debut of our (new to us) 1927 Ford Model TT with the Virgil White snowmobile conversion.

This was the first time in over a decade we have run the steamer. It was a lot of work but well worth the effort. Alvin Lombard of Waterville, Maine patented his first track system in late 1900 and went into production the following year. He is credited with developing and putting into production the first practical crawler track system. By 1917 they had made 83 of the steamers and had switched over to gasoline powered tractors which were produced until 1936.

View attachment 142538
View attachment 142542

The Model TT snowmobile was a big hit and a lot of fun to drive.
View attachment 142539View attachment 142540

Here is some footage of the 1919 in action. It ran great all day.

View attachment 142541



A very good day spent with great people!View attachment 142553

Looks like a fun time ! How often do you get to take them out ? You said the steamer hadn’t been out in a while. How about the others ?

 

[Tharper]

Looks like a fun time ! How often do you get to take them out ? You said the steamer hadn’t been out in a while. How about the others ?

This is first time we have had it out on the skis since 2015. We have wheels we can swap for the skis so we can demonstrate during the summer months - usually during three of our major summer events. We also have wheels for the 1934 Tractor-Truck and will swap that back over this spring. The 1919 doesn’t have a set so we only run it in winter.

Wheels for the Tractor-Trucks were available from the factory. Often, they were purchased with both skis and wheels. The steamers never had wheels. We had to build a set for it. For the winter event, we towed it outside on the wheels, with the 1934, then swapped to the skis during the steaming up process. At the end of the day, we reversed the process and ran it back into the building on compressed air.

 

[300jk]

This is first time we have had it out on the skis since 2015. We have wheels we can swap for the skis so we can demonstrate during the summer months - usually during three of our major summer events. We also have wheels for the 1934 Tractor-Truck and will swap that back over this spring. The 1919 doesn’t have a set so we only run it in winter.

Wheels for the Tractor-Trucks were available from the factory. Often, they were purchased with both skis and wheels. The steamers never had wheels. We had to build a set for it. For the winter event, we towed it outside on the wheels, with the 1934, then swapped to the skis during the steaming up process. At the end of the day, we reversed the process and ran it back into the building on compressed air.

Very interesting for sure ! Thanks !

 

[Tharper]

A few updates. The herd has been slumbering for almost two months but work has been moving forward.

The steamer is prepped for its annual state boiler inspection. This includes opening all the cleanouts, cleaning the tubes and having the steam dome lid ready to lift off. Once the inspection is complete, we will button it all back up and test for leaks with compressed air. We did notice that the connecting rod big end on the fireman’s side needs to have the wedges adjusted to take up some play.

Surprise, surprise! A look inside the radiator of the 1919 indicates that replacing the radiator hose fixed the leak problem.

On another front, Ryan finished machining the headlight forks for the 1919. Cleaned up and painted they will be ready for installation. Once installed we can wire up the headlights. Unfortunately, with the snow gone we will have to wait until next winter to make a night run.

He had to fabricate a custom fixture to hold them for the milling and drilling operations.

All cool stuff!

 

[Vito]

The steam powered tractor is very impressive. Must have hauled a long train of cars.

Vito

 

[Tharper]

Thursday’s project was swap out the skis for wheels on the Model TT snowmobile. this makes it much easier to move around during the non-winter months. Please excuse the mess. This is the infamous “Gray” building. It was originally built as a temporary work space when they started the steam-powered Lombard Log Hauler restoration back in the 1980’s. Since then it’s become a convenient catch-all. It just happened to be a convenient place to park the TT after it threw a fit. Hopefully, soon it will be on its way to Brian and Tim’s for a new magneto and whatever else it needs.

The drums kind of suck. The skis and the wheels have their own spindle assembly’s so it’s easy to pull the king pins and disconnect the drag links - slide the wheels with attached spindles in place and re-install the pins. Unfortunately those drums won’t allow the pins to be installed so we have to dismount the wheel from the spindle. Not a big deal but something we will need to change. The wheels are not for road use - they are just a set of rollers to move it around aid loading and unloading.

Next up was installing the new cast headlight forks on the 1919 Lombard. I also started wiring them up. We need to gather a few odds and ends then we can complete the job next trip.

Last but not least we “de-winterized” the water system in the caretaker house. Hot and cold running water and a flush toilet… yeah!

 

[Tharper]

Wired the headlights. Just need to install the switch. A few years ago, one of our highly talented volunteers replicated the original style switch. Unfortunately, the hole for it in the dash panel has seen better days so we will need to get a bit creative.

Other big task was swapping the skis for the wheels on the 1934. Since space is at premium in the Lombard Bay, it like playing a game of Tetris to get things positioned where they need to be. To get the dump truck where it needed to be we had to run the 1934 out even though it was on skis.

Then we could move the 1928 out. Here is a nice walk around:

Another great day at the museum!