The Antarctic Snow Cruiser
Many of you have seen the vehicles deigned for cruising the ice fields of Iceland. Let’s take it to the extreme. How about a vehicle designed for the Antarctic? Actually we have to take a step back into history, namely the late 1930’s. The vehicle was designed to serve as a base camp for Antarctic expeditions. Once the project was financed, they had eleven weeks to build, test and deliver the completed Snow Cruiser to a ship in Boston. Unfortunately, the Snow Cruiser did not meet the expectations. It simply was too heavy and sank in the snow. The referenced website outlines a detailed history complete with pictures, video and a complete bibliography.
Visit The Antarctic Snow Cruiser page
Another page outlines additional information and is located at http://www.thule.org/snowcruiser.html (there are some strange readings else where on this site).
This page also discusses how the Snow Cruiser was intended to traversed crevasses:
“Poulter’s solution to the crevasse problem was his most daring innovation. The four immense wheels of the cruiser were set close to the center of its body, producing an overhang in front and back of more than seventeen feet. The wheels could be retracted vertically until they were flush with the cruiser’s body. Upon reaching a crevasse, Poulter proposed to retract the front wheels and push the front half of the cruiser across until it rested on the other side of the chasm. Then he would retract the back wheels, extend the front ones, and pull the cruiser the rest of the way across.â€
Interesting tech from long ago.
Tags: antarctic, expedition, vehicle