general-history – R. G. LeTourneau's Overland Trains

LeTourneau Builds Electric Panama Canal Tugs in 1957

In late 1956, the Panama Canal Company awarded R.G. LeTourneau, Inc. a contract to significantly modernize how ships are pulled through the Panama Canal. This is the first major modernization…

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Building the Firestone 120x48x68 Tire Molds with a BETTS Vertical Boring Mill

R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. was no stranger to building huge machinery. However, it wasn’t until 1952 that R. G.’s son, Ben LeTourneau built the tire mold that would help shape…

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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…

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Man Inside Firestone 120x48x68 Tire

Every once in a while I find archival images on the internet for sale. While, I already had this particular image, the descriptions on the back can sometime provide some…

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R. G. LeTourneau’s Last Remaining Tournalaid Homes Face Demolition

Tournalaid homes were made in the hundreds during the WWII-era. These cement homes were prefabricated by a machine called the Tournalayer, designed and built by R. G. LeTourneau. The first…

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Received LeTourneau NOW Newsletters 1953-1966

I received a cache of gently read LeTourneau NOW newsletters in the mail yesterday. These company newsletters were published by R. G. LeTourneau. Inc. and mailed to whomever wanted to…

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Presenting at the Alaska Historical Society Annual Conference – October 15, 2022

On October 15, 2022, I will virtually present at the Alaska Historical Society Annual Conference. The presentation track is called “Conflicts Over Transportation.” If you would like to view any…

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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…

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South Ural State University is Building an “Overland Train”

South Ural State University is engineering an Overland Train. It’s purpose is multi-faceted. A one-page slide describes it as an “Arctic road train with transportable functional module.” It will include…

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Tentative Book Pre-Release Date – September 14, 2022

I have been working on the Overland Trains story for the past two and a half years. It has taken me hundreds of hours, if not thousands to complete the…

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Alaska Historical Society 2022 Annual Conference Proposal Acceptance

My proposal to speak about R. G. LeTourneau’s Overland Trains was accepted for the Alaska Historical Society’s (AHS) Annual Conference. We are still ironing out the details on the date.…

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Camp Century Groundwater

Camp Century, Greenland was an American Cold War era under-ice base designed for research and development. It hosted the first nuclear reactor used for energy production and part of the…

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