A
tracked vehicle (also called: track-type tractor, tractor crawler, or track-laying vehicle) is a vehicle that runs on continuous tracks instead of
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s. Typically used as part of an
Engineering vehicleHeavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for executing construction tasks, most frequently, ones involving earth moving. They are also known as construction equipment, earth movers, engineering vehicles, or just plain equipment. They usually comprise five equipment systems:...
once additional attachments have been added.
The principal design advantages of tracked over wheeled vehicles are that they are in contact with a larger surface area than would generally be the case with a wheeled vehicle, and as a result exert a much lower force per unit area on the ground being traversed than a conventional wheeled vehicle of the same weight.
A
tracked vehicle (also called: track-type tractor, tractor crawler, or track-laying vehicle) is a vehicle that runs on continuous tracks instead of
wheelA wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation whilst supporting a load , or performing labour in machines. Common examples are found in transport applications. A wheel, together with an axle overcomes friction by facilitating motion by...
s. Typically used as part of an
Engineering vehicleHeavy equipment refers to heavy-duty vehicles, specially designed for executing construction tasks, most frequently, ones involving earth moving. They are also known as construction equipment, earth movers, engineering vehicles, or just plain equipment. They usually comprise five equipment systems:...
once additional attachments have been added.
The principal design advantages of tracked over wheeled vehicles are that they are in contact with a larger surface area than would generally be the case with a wheeled vehicle, and as a result exert a much lower force per unit area on the ground being traversed than a conventional wheeled vehicle of the same weight. This makes them suitable for use on soft, low friction and uneven ground such as
mudMud is a liquid or semi-liquid mixture of water and some combination of soil, silt, and clay. Ancient mud deposits harden over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as siltstone or solid, mudrock lutites. When geological deposits of mud are formed in estuaries the resultant layers are...
,
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
and
snowSnow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes...
. The principal disadvantage is that tracks are a more complex mechanism than a wheel, and relatively prone to failure modes such as snapped or derailed tracks.
History
A long line of patents disputes who the "originator" was of this concept.
There were a large number of designs that attempted to achieve a track laying mechanism, although these designs do not generally resemble modern tracked vehicles.
Blinov
In 1878 Russian Fyodor Abramovich Blinov created tracked vehicle called "
wagonA wagon or dray is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle. Wagons were formerly pulled by animals such as horses, mules or oxen. Today farm wagons are pulled by tractors and trucks. Wagons are used for transporting people or goods...
moved on endless rails". He got a patent for his "wagon" the same year. Later, in 1888 he created steam-powered caterpillar-tractor. His self-propelled crawler was successfully tested and showed at farmer's exibition in 1896.
Dinsmoor
According to Scientific American it was
Charles DinsmoorCharles Dinsmoor was an American inventor and lawyer.-Early life:Dinsmoors ancestors came from Ireland, however are from Scottish descent. Dinsmoor was born at Alabama Center, Genesee County, in New York state on September 19, 1834...
of
Warren, PennsylvaniaWarren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,259 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest and the Cornplanter State Forest...
that invented a "vehicle" that was of endless tracks. The article gives a detailed description of the endless tracks and the illustration looks much like today's tracked vehicles. The invention has been patented as No. 351,749 on November 2, 1886.
Lombard
Alvin O. Lombard of
Waterville, MaineWaterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The population was 15,605 at the 2000 census. Home to Colby College and Thomas College, Waterville is the commercial, medical and cultural center of the region.-History:The area now known as...
was issued a patent in 1901 for the
Lombard Steam Log HaulerThe Lombard Steam Log Hauler, patented 29 May 1901, was the first successful commercial application of a continuous track for vehicle propulsion. The concept was later used for military tanks during World War I and for agricultural tractors and construction equipment following the...
that resembles a regular railroad steam
locomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
with sled steerage on front and crawlers in rear for hauling logs in the Northeastern
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The haulers allowed pulp to be taken to rivers in the winter. Prior to then, horses could be used only until snow depths made hauling impossible. Lombard began commercial production which lasted until around 1917 when focus switched entirely to
gasolineGasoline or petrol is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture, primarily used as fuel in internal combustion engines...
powered machines. A gasoline powered hauler is on display at the Maine State Museum in
Augusta, MaineAugusta is the capital of the U.S. state of Maine, county seat of Kennebec County, and center of population for Maine . The city's population was 18,560 at the 2000 census. Located on the Kennebec River at the head of tide, it is home to the University of Maine at Augusta.- History :The area was...
.
Hornsby/Holt/Phoenix
After Lombard began operations,
HornsbyRichard Hornsby & Sons was an engine and machinery manufacturer in Lincolnshire, England from 1828 until 1918.-Formation:The company bearing the name of Richard Hornsby , the agricultural engineer, was founded when Richard opened a blacksmithy in Grantham, Lincolnshire in 1815 with Richard Seaman,...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
manufactured at least two full length "track steer" machines, and their patent was later purchased by Holt in 1913, allowing Holt to be popularly known as the "inventor" of crawler tractors. Since the "tank" was a British concept it is more likely the Hornsby, which had been built and unsuccessfully pitched to their military, was the inspiration.
In a patent dispute involving rival crawler builder Best, testimony was brought in from people including Lombard, that Holt had inspected a Lombard log hauler shipped out to a western state by people who would later build the Phoenix log hauler in Eau Claire, WI, under license from Lombard. The Phoenix Centipeed typically had a fancier wood cab, steering wheel tipped forward at a 45 degree angle and vertical instead of horizontal
cylindersA cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before precision features are machined into it...
.
Linn
In the meantime a gasoline powered motor home was built by Lombard for Holman Harry (Flannery) Linn of
Old Town, MaineOld Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,130 at the 2000 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on a relatively large island, though its boundaries extend beyond that...
to pull the equipment wagon of his dog & pony show, resembling a
trolleyA tram, tramcar, trolley, trolleycar, or streetcar is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a conventional train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks running primarily on streets...
car only with wheels in front and Lombard crawlers in rear. Linn had experimented with gasoline and steam powered vehicles and six wheel drive before this, and at some point entered Lombard's employment as a demonstrator, mechanic and sales agent. This resulted in a question of proprietorship of patent rights after a single rear tracked gasoline powered road engine of tricycle arrangement was built to replace the larger motor home in 1909 on account of problems with the old picturesque wooden bridges. This dispute resulted in Linn departing Maine and relocating to Morris, NY, to build an improved, contour following flexible lag tread or crawler with
independent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked - movement on one side affects...
of halftrack type, gasoline and later
dieselA diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression...
powered. Although several were delivered for military use between 1917 and 1946, Linn never received any large military orders. Most of the production between 1917 and 1952, approximately 2500 units, was sold directly to highway departments and contractors. Steel tracks and payload capacity allowed these machines to work in terrain that would typically cause the poorer quality rubber tires that existed before the mid 1930's to spin uselessly, or shred completely.
Linn was a pioneer in snow removal before the practice was embraced in rural areas, with a nine foot steel v-plow and sixteen foot adjustable leveling wings on either side. Once the highway system became paved, snowplowing could be done by
four wheel driveThe Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive or just FWD, was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin as the Badger Four-Wheel Drive Auto Company by Otto Zachow and William Besserdich....
trucks equipped by improving tire designs, and the Linn became an off highway vehicle, for
loggingLogging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber.In forestry the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage...
,
miningMining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually from an ore body, vein or seam. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock salt and potash...
, dam construction,
arctic explorationArctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. The region that surrounds the North Pole. It refers to the historical period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle...
, etc.
Sloan
Once steel cleats became unpopular on paved roads, in 1938 a limited experiment began to bridge the gap between truck and tractor, a "convertible vehicle" patented by Phillip Sloan, the C5 Catruk, suffered design flaws and limited production before it was finally abandoned.
Fate of pioneer companies
Lombard gasoline production was more limited as they never managed to diversify use away from log hauling; it is believed a diesel built in 1934 was their last unit.
Phoenix, of
Eau Claire, WisconsinEau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 61,704 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County, although a small portion of the city lies in neighboring Chippewa County...
, appears to have built at least one gasoline powered machine before fading into history.
Holt and Best ended up merging. Holt had registered the trademark Caterpillar. The merged company produced a version of the Best 60 tractor, which later became the
Caterpillar 60The Caterpillar Sixty Horsepower tractor crawler of 1919 became the world's first successful bulldozer.Initially developed by the C.L.Best Company of California, it was one of the models carried over when they merged in 1925 with the Holt Company to form the company that would become known as...
. The new corporation took the name
Caterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc. is a United States-based corporation headquartered in Peoria, Illinois. Caterpillar is, according to their corporate website, "the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines."Famous for their...
in approximately 1925, and remains in business today.
Examples
- The crawler tractor was the basis of the first designs of tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
.
- Crawlers equipped with a shovel like blade are called bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler , equipped with a substantial metal plate , used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work...
s, and used for construction and earthmoving projects.
- Crawler design have been intermittently popular for farm
A farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single individual, family, community, corporation...
use.
- Track Marshall
The Field-Marshalls were a range of British farm tractors manufactured by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire.Field-Marshalls were in production from 1945 to 1957, however, the first single-cylinder Marshall came into production in 1930....
- The space shuttle
The Space Shuttle, part of the Space Transportation System , is a spacecraft operated by NASA for orbital human spaceflight missions. It began operations in the 1980s and is scheduled to be retired from service in 2010 after 134 launches...
is transported to its launch site by a large Crawler-TransporterThe crawler-transporters are a pair of tracked vehicles used to transport spacecraft from NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building along the Crawlerway to Launch Complex 39. They were originally used to transport the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets during the Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. ...
.
- One of the largest crawlers in the world is the German bagger 288
The Bagger 288 , built by the German company Krupp for the energy and mining firm Rheinbraun, is a bucket-wheel excavator.More specifically, it is a mobile strip mining machine...
excavatorAn excavator is a heavy equipment consisting of an articulated arm , bucket and cab mounted on a pivot atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels...
.
External links
See also
- Screw-propelled vehicle
- Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler , equipped with a substantial metal plate , used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work...
s
- Snowmobile
A snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, sled, or skimobile , is a land vehicle for travel on snow that is commonly propelled by a continuous track or tracks at the rear and steered by skis at the front....
s
- Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility and tactical offensive and defensive capabilities...
s
- Snow Trac
The Snow Trac is a small personal Snowcat that is roughly the size of a modern compact car.-Origins and description:In 1954, Lars Larsson, the chief design engineer for a Swedish farm equipment...
s
- Kristi Snowcat
KRISTI snowcats were 1950s/1960s tracked vehicles suitable for snow and other terrain and produced originally in Colorado and then later in Washington.-KRISTI - Propeller Drive before Track Drive:...
- Sno-Cat
The Tucker Sno-Cat is a tracked vehicle or a family of tracked vehicles for snow conditions. Different models have been used for expeditions in the Arctic and the Antarctic during the second half of the 20th century...
- Snow coach
A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle, designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to alarge, multi-passenger snowcat that is equipped with bus style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of very large low pressure tires or they may have tracks...
- Bv 202
- Bv 206