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…
TC-497 Overland Train
49 posts
TC-497 Tires in Rubber Magazine
From time to time, I come across some historical gems. I recently purchased a small magazine called Rubber. It appears to be from the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company. The…
Sno-Freighter at LeTourneau’s Longview Factory
More specifically, the TC-497 appears to be at the previously known Red Hill. The photograph is dated February 23, 1962. This date is fairly close to accurate. In early March…
TC-497 Tires Leaving for Yuma Proving Ground
In March 1962, the TC-497 left LeTourneau’s Longview, TX factory for the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground (YPG). The Army had preliminarily accepted the TC-497. However, it needed several more years…
TC-497 Film at Yuma Proving Ground
I have been communicating with the private seller of a new TC-497 8mm film. Even after the sale was complete, he continues to communicate the origins of the digitized film…
Digitizing an 8mm TC-497 Film
I acquired an 8mm film of the TC-497 in the Army’s Proving Ground, Yuma, AZ. The process is extremely slow going, as the digitizing projector captures every.single.frame. Soooo slow. Once…
The Overland Train and Project Mobility
Project Mobility occurred from June 5-10, 1961 at Fort Eustis, Virginia. During the 6 day exercise, The United States Army Transportation Training Command conducted daily demonstrations at Fort Eustis and…
Man on the TC-497’s Radar Unit in Yuma
I was editing the TC-497 chapter early this morning and took a little detour in my video folder. Around three minutes into the video showing the TC-497 just after unloading…
Overland Train Product Card
The Overland Train was the final train vehicle made by R. G. Letourneau. The back of this product card showed the technical specifications including an overall length of 572 feet…
Overland Mark 2 Water System
The Overland Mark 2 (Mark 2) was designed to support a crew of six and operate unsupported for a short period of time. The Mark 2 had a cold and…
Overland Train Mark 2 General Dimensions
R. G. LeTourneau, Inc. and the Army had milestones built into The Overland Train Mark 2 (Mark 2) contract. These were defined as Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, and…
Standing in Front of the Overland Mark 2 Tire
The Sno-Train and the Overland Mark 2 tires garnered a great deal of attention. Why shouldn’t they? the Firestone 120x48x68 tires are 4 feet wide and 10 feet tall. They…