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BIGGEST SNOW MACHINE EVER BUILT!

bill w

Member
well,anything they get turns into gold as far as they are concerned...he buys almost every track rig that comes off the slope,and as soon as he does...he wants top dollar for every part.i tried to buy a used set of sprockets for my tucker from them and was able to send mine to fallline and return ship them foralmost half what they wanted.....so i don't hold much faith in them turning loose of the train for as-is price.it'll probably sit in their yard off the hwy with most of the tuckers and rot to the ground,sadly........bill w
 

Lyndon

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
One of the Karls was Old Pete's worst enemy. Another was a good friend. I have contact, I'll find out. The "War" between Bernie Karl and Old Pete is a saga in itself. I'm just trying out my new 'stand-up' computer installation, have to bear/bare with me. Seems to be better on the back. As I was involved with both the Karls and Old Pete, I'll have to take the time to tell the stories of the war between the two scrappers. Their rivalry was legendary! More soon.
 

JIMMY66

New member
g,day fellas still plugging away on this one will post some progress shots of my build soon.. even at such a small scale this thing is huge ,but the holy graile still illudes me i need some engine room pictures ,but its good to know that it (the one at old Pete's) has not BEEN scrapped

so if anyone can jump the fence and snap a few shots in there of the engine room boy o boy that would be great

JAMIE
 

bill w

Member
i drove past it today and it's still sitting there.they got some big dogs there so i wouldn't jump the fence with a backpack of steaks for them...lol if i ever see the guys working there i'll stop and ask...i ALWAYS carry my camera.the karl bros are mad at me and the company i work for because we cleaned up the flood control canal that borders their property last year and the borough(who we were doing the job for)found out they had old equip leaking fuel and oil into the canal.they were ordered to clean it up,but as of this post it is still a mess back there.i was going to go back there and take pics of the old bombi's just rotting into the ground and post them here....but may just want to stay away from that area..they are the old ones with the ski's in the front..way cool old sno-cats...Bill w
 

JIMMY66

New member
thanks heaps there Bill ...... i so would love to see this thing just to appreciate the full size of it , must be awesome ...keep that camera handy for me wont ya JAMIE
 

Lyndon

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Though I don't like to admit it, and definately don't list it on my Resume, I worked for Bernie Karl, the Karl Brothers, and K & K Recycling. I was also good friends with "Old Pete", which put me in a dicy position between 2 "arch rivals". I'd visit with Old Pete and loved to listen to his geat "war stories" as well as his antics with his fellow scrappers. Pete actually worked on building the famed "ALCAN", better known as the Alaska Highway. He even had an operational Cat Dozer that was actually used in the construction of the ALCAN. Of the 14 Karl's, only Bernie was at odds with Old Pete. The other Karl's were in good stead with him. Tony Karl was actually good friends with Old Pete, they palled around at auctions together and were always betting on how much something would sell for, the looser generally buying coffee.
As of last week Tony was unaware of K & K owning Old Pete's place. I'll be there this summer and make some pictures, as well as look for that famed serial number one Thiokol(Frandie Sea Wolf Serial #ONE) for those interested.
I've been following the history of the LeTourneau Overland Train now since roughly 1968 when I procured (2) sales announcements for the last one built, from the Department of Defense. A close and lifelong associate of mine was an engineering student at LeTourneau's engineering school in Longview Texas and worked on building a full size plywood mock-up prior to the construction of the first machine(the one the locomotive is sitting at Old Pete's junk yard). Years later(1994), when I first started working on the Trans Alaska Pipeline I spotted the cars and locomotive and that's how I came to be frineds with Old Pete. He had the original service manuals at his place there and I poured thru them in an attempt to get the electrical steering stuff to work.
The Army once hired Old Pete, along with his Letourneau Locomotive, to go up and drag another later model Overland Train home that had broken down. Kind of a tow Truck/Rescue.
Old Pete's junk yard was originally a part of Ft. Wainwright where they refirbished trucks, tanks and heavy equipment. The millitary used some form of toxic cleaning agent that poluted the water table for miles around. I believe it was Toluline, anyway water from nearby wells was leathelly toxic and would take your skin off. Many houses had to be condemed and the government made the entire area a Superfund Hazardous waste clean-up-site. Then when Old Pete was away on vacation in Washington one time they came in and fenced-off the whole site and fenced him out of his house. This resulted in a long running leagle battle between Old Pete and the State. Old Pete was a sharp man and won various of the leagle battles and the state basically 'gave-up' figguring that he would die off soon and that that would be the end of it. But Pete defied them by living another 20 years! Pete moved into a little out-house of a shack, maybe 10 by 15 feet, heated by a wood stove. It had a phone, and one outlet, no sink, no water, no closets, just about nothing. He managed to survive there for another 14 years. It was a real testament to how tough he was. North Pole Alaska, the town next to Fairbanks regularly goes to 50 below, and has particularly brutal winters. If you want to see the real Arctic Stuff just try hanging out in North Pole or Fairbanks in the winter.
I was once the liaison for a materials purchase between Bernie and Old Pete. so this summer when I'm there I'll see what I can find out about the status of the Overland Train.
I know a dozen other great stories about Old Pete Peterson, but frankly I'm getting tired of typing and I need to get back to work.
The Guiness book of worlds records list the Overland Train as the worlds longest vehicle.
Various magazines like Popular Mechanics ran detailed articles which would be a collectors item today.
It had a "Quarter Mile Turning Radius".
 

moosebgy

Member
Drove by the yard yesterday and they were loading the onto a flatbed tractor trailer. Looks like it's going away. What a shame.
 

alaska120

Mayor McCheese
SUPER Site Supporter
Lynden, let me know if you're in the area and I'll buy you a cup of coffee. Would love to chat about ole' Pete. Met him back in 1992 - I used to live right off Badger and passed his place every day...Heck, you get around Nenana and I'll buy ya dinner over at Roughwoods' place. Even round up foggy...
 

Lyndon

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just called K & K, they didn't buy Pete's place and don't know what the "story" is. Someone in Fairbanks will have to inquire around. When I started this thread I had no Idea it would generate so much interest, or that it would end this way.
 

bill w

Member
three days left and only 5000.00............i don't think it will sell there..hopefully it generates interest with a museum..i've been chatting with the university of alaska fairbanks about having it displayed at their museum of the north display...but it would have to be donated..Bill w
 

Mtn-Track

Member
The $5K is just the starting bid, I would suspect. The reserve is probably higher than that. I'd be all over it if I didn't think the cost of moving the entire thing would be equivelent to the national debt.:ermm:
 

Bulldog1401

Anybody seen my marbles?
SUPER Site Supporter
F*cker better not! Thats a piece of history. I never wanted to win the lottery so bad in my life.....

If I could colllect machines just because ..I would own this, the antartic snow cruiser, and howard hughes's sea plane. pretty cool machinery!
 

JIMMY66

New member
it really is a shame that the US goverment or the transport museums have'nt got on board to save this incredible piece of transporting history
A BLOODY DAMN SHAME.................................:neutral::neutral:
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
it really is a shame that the US goverment or the transport museums have'nt got on board to save this incredible piece of transporting history
A BLOODY DAMN SHAME.................................:neutral::neutral:
the alaska transportation musem should have snatched it up as for any thing federal given the current administration i did not vote for if it dosn't give out free helth care or rid the enviroment of harmful green house gasses don't expect them to preserve it.
 

bill w

Member
we came by it last night and it is still there....we also found one missing trailer in tok while on the way out to the mining claims...Bill w they must be working at night in that yard,noone is ever there but stuff is moved around in the am...
 

NorthernRedneck

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
Just watching this weeks new episode of "Ice road truckers" They showed a few short clips of the overland train.
 

Lyndon

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
As of 2 days ago, 6/6/10 the locomotive of Old Pete's Overland train was still sitting off Badger road where it has resided for the last 20 years.
While in Fairbnks I also looked for the serial Number One Frandie Sea Wolf(predacessor to Thiokol) and there was no sign of it. They had taken a dozer and pushed it up into a big pile of scrap. Lost forever!
 

alaska120

Mayor McCheese
SUPER Site Supporter
FYI...the Overland was purchased for $15,000 and is being sent to Edmonton to be put on display at a transportation museum. I wanted to bid it but couldn't afford the cost + shipping down the highway. Ended up being $5,500 for 75 miles!
At least it's being saved.
 

Mtn-Track

Member
That's good to know the Overland is being saved (for now?) and not headed for the scrap pile. I didn't bid on it either due to the transport cost alone...

What's a Frandie Sea Wolf?
 

weatherby

Member
That's good to know the Overland is being saved (for now?) and not headed for the scrap pile. I didn't bid on it either due to the transport cost alone...

What's a Frandie Sea Wolf?

I believe this is, and the last pic (color) is it with the tracks missing.
 

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