Overland Trains

Category: Yukon

  • Augustin “Marty” Martinez and his Ties to LeTourneau’s Overland Trains

    Augustin “Marty” Martinez and his Ties to LeTourneau’s Overland Trains

    Augustin “Marty” Martinez has had more hands-on time with Overland Trains story than any one individual. He was the primary Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in charge of the Sno-Freighter’s recovery after it caught fire and was immobilized deep in the Yukon. His documentation, slides, and personal stories of these events adds significant depth to our events understanding. Aside from his firsthand knowledge, he and his wife are just good human beings.

    How Did we Meet?

    On June 2, 2021, I received an email that said,

    Hello;
    I just stumbled upon your Overland Train website. I wish I had found it sooner than today! Thank you for keeping the history alive. Would you be interested in speaking with my husband? He was the Sergeant in charge of the recovery of the snow train that jackknifed in the Yukon. He has some photos and the Army assessment report of the MKll from 1961-62. It was called “Operation Willow Freeze”. It took place after the Willow Freeze maneuvers that year.
    My husband may be the only one left from that adventure. We tried to find the crew members in Alaska a few years ago but everyone seems to have passed on. If you are interested, let me know.

    The email was from Marty’s wife. As I continued reading her email, I saw that in her signature they were located in Tacoma, WA. I live in Gig Harbor, WA, making this right across the way – 20 minutes or so! When she said that her husband may be the only one left from that adventure, she was likely correct. I am not aware of anyone else alive that could tell the story that you are about to read. As I found out, Marty’s stories, documentation, and slides significantly drive the Sno-Freighter and Sno-Train history.

    Marty’s Beginnings

    Marty was born in Colorado, April 1932. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1950 and retired as an E-8 (First Sergeant) in August 1972. His enlistment took him to Korea, Germany, Vietnam, Fort Belvoir, Fort Eustis, Alaska, Yukon Territories, and others.

    Lead Dog 60

    From May to July 1960, Marty participated in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps Operation Lead Dog 60. The official report was titled, “A Traverse of North Greenland and an Aerial and Surface Exploration of Peary Land and Crowne Prince Christian Land.” Some of his slides from that maneuver are found below. You can read the original report at https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/AD0263548.

    During Lead Dog 60, large unpowered Thompson Trailers were used to haul petroleum, oil, and other liquids to support the mission. These trailers would later incorporate LeTourneau manufactured rims and Firestone 120x48x68 tires, which were used on the Overland Trains. The image below with “Martinez in front of a Thompson Trailer” used the original smooth tread Bridgestone tires and metal spoked rims.

    Martinez in front of a thompson trailer
    martinez filling a rollagon
    thompson trailer shown left with two rollagons trailing

    Since 1952, the United States Army has operated annual exercises and scientific studies to expand military and civilian knowledge of the Greenland icecap and other neighboring land areas. Project Lead Dog 60 is a continuation of those studies from 1952 that includes the Department of Defense and 9 other agencies.

    During this study, PR&DC at Camp Tuto, Greenland provided cached fuel support for the convoy. They also provided support in the way of spare parts, communication, and two support flights. The convoy, or swing, departed Camp Tuto on May 18, 1960. Scientists conducted geologic, geographic, and archeologic studies. The operation lasted 68 days.

    R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. Sno-Train Service Training Course

    When the Sno-Train was sent back to R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. in December 1960, the Army also negotiated a contract for a service training course. Martinez and his crew attended the course to further their knowledge and understanding of the Sno-Train’s systems.

    During the Sno-Train Service Training Course, the factory was building another Overland Train, the TC-497. You can read more about the TC-497 here.

    Martinez and his crew at R. G. LeTourenau’s Service training in Longview, TX (Martinez is second from the left). Image courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    Environmental Operation Willow Freeze

    Operation Willow Freeze was a five phase field exercise designed to understand logistic operations were needed to support independent, disperse armed forces in Artic terrain. The exercises occurred from January 5th to March 8th, 1961. During the exercise, the Sno-Train experienced tire puncture after tire puncture. The machine had performed well and traversed hundreds of miles in the Arctic. However, the current operations took place in marshy and woody terrain in the bitter cold.

    Any time that the Sno-Train would trample over small trees, they would get broken off several feet from the ground level. The snow cowl, which was installed in Camp Tuto, Greenland was used to push the snow to the sides, instead of building up in front of the Sno-Train. However, the snow cowl acted like a large bumper, breaking off these small diameter trees at about waste level.

    The Sno-Train at Operation Willow Freeze; Image courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    These trees acted like spears to the relatively thin 12-ply tires. Puncture after puncture occurred until the Sno-Train was deemed unfit for continuing. The Army called on Martinez to figure out how to replace these tires on site. Martinez would replace the tires from those found on the trailer and another type of non-LeTourneau trailer called the Thompson Trailer.

    Here’s an excerpt from the book “R. G. LeTourneau’s Overland Trains: a complete history.“

    “The Sno-Train traveled three miles before the two passenger-side tires were punctured at the same time – front and rear. The passenger side front tire developed a puncture and subsequently tore an eight-inch gash through the entire tire. The culprit was a broken and frozen Birch tree. The passenger side rear tire also fell victim to a piece of frozen Birch and completely punctured the tire. The Sno-Train did not carry a repair kit or spare wheel assemblies – those were back at [Gulkana Support Base] GSB.
    A Wagner 4-Track Transporter went back to GSB to bring tools, a replacement wheel assembly (rim and tire), and other equipment to repair the tire damage from the Birch trees. The Wagner vehicle made a second trip back to GSB to get a 6,000 pound forklift. Changing the 2,322-pound wheel assemblies was a relatively straightforward task. [Martinez] used the Sno-Train’s rear-mounted jib crane to lift the old wheel assembly away and then lift the new assembly on the hub.
    This process took three hours. Changing the passenger side front tire was much more involved. The operators figured out a creative way to change the passenger front tire using a forklift, the Wagner vehicle, and a jack. The Sno-Train’s jib crane is positioned to the rear of the control car. The jib crane was unable to reach to the front of the Sno-Train, making it useless for changing out the front tires. Operators secured the 6,000-pound forklift to the rear of the Wagner vehicle with chains. Then, cables were attached to the forklift forks, which were attached to the wheel assembly. At the same time, a 20-ton jack was used to lift the Sno-Train’s axle to give clearance and remove ground tension on the tire. The procedure took eight hours to change out the wheel assemblies, with an average temperature of -20F. Unfortunately, they would find problems with the replacement wheel assemblies and have to complete the process all over again.
    The Sno-Train was equipped with original equipment manufactured wheel assemblies. The clearance between the front wheels and the frame was only 3-inches, leaving just enough room for tire deflection. The replacement rims acquired from the GSB were a newly designed rim from TRADCOM that had slightly different measurements, enough to cause incompatibility with the Sno-Train’s front wheel clearances.
    When these new wheel assemblies were mounted on the Sno-Train, they reduced clearance between the frame and tire to zero. Wheel assemblies were removed from one of the Sno-Train’s trailers and mounted on the front of the Sno-Train’s control cars, while the newly designed TRADCOM wheel assemblies were used on the trailer. This time, an M62 5-ton wrecker was used to help expedite the wheel assembly swaps.    “

    Image courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    You can read more about Operation Willow Freeze here.

    Augustin “Marty” Martinez
    Unloading a trailer body at Willow Freeze
    Sno-Train at Operation Willow Freeze
    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    Recovering the Sno-Freighter

    While Martinez was at Willow Freeze with the Sno-Train, he and his team was redirected to recover the Sno-Freighter. Alaska-Canadian Freightways, the owner at the time, contracted with the U.S. Army to recover the machine. The Army would provide recovery equipment, personnel, and supplies for the contingent during their efforts.

    Exiting from Willow Freeze in Galkana, AK, the Sno-Train, Martinez and crew first traveled 137 miles to Fort Greely, AK for resupply and maintenance. The Sno-Train left one of its three trailers at Fort Greely, as it was not needed for recovery operations. The crew left Fort Greely on March 31, 1961.

    Images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    The Sno-Train traveled east to the Yukon Territories, Canada through Tok Junction and to Dawson. From Dawson, the crew made it to Chapman Lake on April 29, 1961. A decision was made to leave one of the two trailers at the lake. It was hauling a spare tire and rim. If it was needed, a small contingent would travel back to retrieve the trailer. The crew continued through Cache Creek Valley and on to the Sno-Freighter’s location, where it had been for nearly five years.

    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    Crew had to seal and repair the Sno-Freighter’s tires using powdered milk, which worked extremely well. A significant amount of electrical work was needed to prepare the Sno-Freighter and Sno-Train for travel. Martinez and his crew used a small generator, which was mounted on the rear of the Sno-Freighter’s control car, to provide electrical energy to release the brakes on each of the wheel motors.

    the small generator is seen at the rear of the sno-freighter, which was used to provide power to release the “brakes.” image courtesy augustin “marty” martinez

    Connecting the Sno-Freighter to the Sno-Train

    sno-train connected to the sno-freighter (right); image courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    The Sno-Train’s electrical system was connected to the Sno-Freighter to power each of the LeTourneau Electric Drives. In short, the Sno-Train’s power generation system was going to work double-time to recover the Sno-Freighter. The Overland Train convoy was largely underpowered. The Sno-Train did not have enough current to move both Overland Trains from a dead stop in the marshy ground. A bulldozer was used to pull the two trains and start the momentum.

    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    Traveling across the melting permafrost was difficult on the machinery. There were breakdowns, electrical generator failures, and bent pushrods… The Overland Train convoy eventually made it back to more civilized terrain after many miles of rough goings. The Army’s recovery contract was terminated on July 5, 1961.

    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    The Sno-Freighter was towed to Bear Creek, where it sat for many years. The Sno-Train was left at the Dawson airport for the winter.

    Sno-Train at the dawson airport, right where martinez left it; image courtesy the millen collection.

    Several months after leaving the Sno-Train at the Dawson airport, Martinez flew back from Fort Eustis and then drove it back to Fort Greely. The Sno-Train was eventually sold at auction to Carl “Pete” Peterson, who owned a salvage yard near the Fort. Several years later, the Sno-Train has a familiar visitor.

    Visiting the Sno-Train and Sno-Freighter in Alaska

    When Marty retired from the military, he worked in Tacoma, WA. He maintained an active tinkering lifestyle, often looking for obscure parts for his creations. One of his frequent salvage yards was found in Roy, WA.

    One day, Marty was looking for a specific part at that Roy yard and started talking to a man named Pete. As Marty and Pete began talking, they made a connection to the Sno-Train. Pete owned the Sno-Train and had it in his Alaska based salvage yard. They stayed in touch over the years until one day Martinez traveled up north for a vist. Years after leaving the Sno-Train behind at Fort Greely, Martinez went back to Alaska, visited Pete at his salvage yard, and became reacquainted with a few old friends.

    martinez inside the sno-freighter
    Martinez inside a Thompson trailer wheel
    martinez in the sno-freighter
    sno-train in pete’s yard
    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    While in Alaska, Marty also had the opportunity to visit the Sno-Freighter outside of its home near Fox, AK. Inside the machine, he found a 3/8″ wrench that was likely leftover from the recovery operations. As Marty said, he likely signed for the wrench in the Army anyways; he still has that wrench today.

    The Sno-Train was in Pete Peterson’s yard for many years prior to his passing. After his death, Pete’s son sold the Sno-Train on eBay – see the original listing.

    Martinez (left) and Pete
    All images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    While in Alaska, Marty also had the opportunity to visit the Sno-Freighter outside of its home near Fox, AK. Inside the machine, he found a 3/8″ wrench that was likely leftover from the recovery operations. As Marty said, he likely signed for the wrench in the Army anyways; he still has that wrench today.

    Martinez visiting the Sno-Freighter at Gold Daughters; Images courtesy Augustin “Marty” Martinez

    Buy the Overland Trains Book

  • R. G. LeTourneau’s Overland Trains: a complete history is now AVAILABLE

    R. G. LeTourneau’s Overland Trains: a complete history is now AVAILABLE

    I started writing this book in February of 2020. Two and a half years later, I have captured the most complete Overland Trains story ever published. Buy the book now on Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFL91FX6).

  • Sno-Freighter at Bear Creek Machine Shop – Then and Now

    Sno-Freighter at Bear Creek Machine Shop – Then and Now

    After the Sno-Freighter jackknifed and caught fire, it sat for several years in a valley east of Eagle. When the Sno-Freighter was recovered, it was moved to the Bear Creek Machine Shop on the Yukon Consolidate Gold Corporation (YCGC) property. It sat for many years until it was finally moved in 1968 by Cliff Bishop and others.

    Bear Creek machine shop and the sno-freighter (left (image credit: the millen collection)) and the same location on google maps (right)

    You can explore the location where the Sno-Freighter called home in its present day on Google Maps with the following link – https://www.google.com/maps/@64.0273694,-139.2429767,2a,75y,231.67h,88.44t,1.95r/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1szmk9SNzf43EO3k4djfcT9w!2e0!7i13312!8i6656.

    Thank you to Dale Hardy for sending me the Google Maps link to explore! If you navigate to the Google Maps link above, you can still see the building sign writing displaying “Bear Creek Machine Shop.”

    The front bumper shows the writing “KEEP OUT PRIVATE PROPERTY Y.C.G.C.”

    Image: The millen collection
  • Sno-Freighter Trailer Ready to Cross the River

    Sno-Freighter Trailer Ready to Cross the River

    In October 1968, the Sno-Freighter and its trailers were being shipped out of the Yukon. The 5 trailers and Control, or Power Car were transported across the International line to Alaska by a local contractor. The equipment sat at Boundary for several years until it made its way to Miller Salvage in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Sno-Freighter and its trailers would reside in Miller Salvage until purchased by two Fairbanks locals.

    One of the Alaska Freight Lines trailers preparing to cross the river. Image: Millen Collection

  • Yukon, Canada: Keeper of the Arctic Circle, Harry Waldron

    Harry Waldron was a grader operator in Eagle Plains, Yukon. In the summer, he would sit at the Arctic Circle and tell stories to the tourists. The pin, seen below, were sold at the gift shop in Eagle. There used to be a man who would park a camper at the Arctic Circle sign on the Dempster Highway. He would greet all of the travelers and give them an Arctic Circle certificate.

    Harry Waldron was Santa Claus in Dawson City, Yukon. Locals left gifts outside and he delivered them to children on Christmas Eve. He is also an accomplished keeper of the Tagish kettle curling rink.

    As quoted from ExploreNorth.com – http://www.explorenorth.com/library/bios/waldron-harry.html

    “Of all the wonderful memories I have from two decades of driving tour bus in the Yukon, meeting Harry Waldron is very high on my list of the best ones. Perhaps “experiencing” Harry Waldron would be a better term, because meeting him in his self-appointed role as “Keeper of the Arctic Circle” on the Dempster Highway was an experience that would be hard to forget.

        Irene Marushko, in an article written for The Pittsburgh Press in 1988, described the usual encounter perfectly:

     As Yukon visitors cross the Arctic Circle – the imaginary northern line marked with a single sign standing in the middle of the barren, windswept tundra – the last thing they expect to see is a man sitting there in a rocking chair.
        A man. Dressed in a tuxedo, topcoat, tophat and holding a cane. And drinking champagne. Who formally and politely welcomes them when they alight from the tour bus to snap photographs of themselves beside the lonely marker.

        Harry had come to the Yukon in the early 1970s to work in placer gold mines, but within a few years he had joined the government as a heavy equipment operator. His usual job became grading the Dempster Highway from a base at Eagle Plains Lodge, which is 36 kilometers (22.4 miles) south of the Arctic Circle. Even by Yukon standards, this is the middle of nowhere – the Arctic Circle is 405.5 km (252 mi) north of the highway’s junction with the North Klondike Highway which runs between Whitehorse and Dawson City.

        It was back in 1983 that Harry discovered that his natural tendency to entertain people, combined with his excellent memory for the poetry of Robert W. Service in particular, could be a lot of fun in the evenings in the lounge at the Eagle Plains Lodge and on his days off. When a tour guide that summer asked Harry to meet him at the Arctic Circle one day to share a glass of champagne with his guests, his new “job” was born.

        I always told my guests as we approached the Arctic Circle that I hoped that “the Keeper” would be on duty, but gave little other information. When we drove up, Harry would be seated in the rocking chair as you see in the first photo, and as he didn’t move, everybody assumed that it was a mannequin – mildly cute. When Harry got up and walked towards the coach in all his finery, a bit rumpled as it might be, the response was always a lot of fun to hear and watch.

        Harry was a wonderful showman, and would share stories, poetry, and champagne with my guests as long as I’d keep the motorcoach there at the Arctic Circle before continuing on to Inuvik. Depending on the weather and the bugs, he’d spend time both on the coach and outside. I shot the photos on this page while he was entertaining one of my groups in July 1991 while I was working for Atlas Tours – click on each to greatly enlarge it.

        In those days, Atlas ran up to a dozen motorcoaches a year up the Dempster as part of their Yukon-Alaska offerings, and it was fairly common to see other companies’ coaches up there as well. In 1991 and ’92, I drove many of the Atlas coaches on the Dempster, as well as a few during other summers. As we all stayed at Eagle Plains Lodge (there was and still is no other place to stay) and Harry was in the lounge most nights, it was easy to arrange with him to meet us at the Arctic Circle the next day. We all came well stocked with champagne to celebrate the crossing, and most tour guides came with some cash as well for a performance that was always very well done and much appreciated.

        Heavy equipment is hard on a person’s body, and by the time I met him in 1990, Harry was having problems that resulted in a lot of pain some days. Yukon Tourism acknowledged his value as a Yukon good-will ambassador with a small stipend, and on July 30, 1987, Tourism minister Dave Porter presented him with a plaque that proclaimed Harry Waldron as “Keeper of the Arctic Circle”. When Harry asked for a real wage so he could get off the grader, however, the request was rejected. In the mid 1990s sometime, the Arctic Circle lost its Keeper when Harry moved to Whitehorse.

        Every long-time Yukoner knows of Harry Waldron even if they never met him. Running into my old friend Jim Robb yesterday made me think about Harry. As well as his wonderful art that usually depicts old buildings, Jim created a series of books starting in 1984 entitled “The Colourful Five Percent“, which honoured the 5% of the people in the Yukon who he thought were particularly interesting. Harry never made it into one of those books, but Jim says that Harry is on his Colourful Five Percent list and will be in a future edition.

    Harry Waldron died on February 26, 2010, at the age of 74. His ashes were apparently spread along the Dempster Highway at the Arctic Circle – very fitting , I think.”