Lombard Steam Log Hauler

The Lombard Steam Log Hauler, patented 21 May 1901, was the first successful commercial application of a continuous track for vehicle propulsion.

[4] These log haulers resembled a saddle-tank steam locomotive with a small platform in front of the boiler where the cowcatcher might be expected.

A set of tracked vehicle treads occupied the space beneath the boiler where driving wheels might be expected.

[4] The greatest operational difficulty was on downhill grades where ice allowed the sleds to accelerate faster than the engine.

Sparks flying out of the boiler stack above him would sometimes set his clothing on fire as avoidance of trees required his full attention and effort turning the large iron steering wheel.

Some log haulers had a small roofed shelter built on the steering platform, but the shelter limited the steersman's ability to jump clear when collision became inevitable, and he would require luck to avoid injury from the following trainload of logs.

The company maintained a single 6-mile-long (10 km) iced haul road in Stetson, Maine, by nightly application of water from a sprinkler sled, and strung a telephone line with frequent call boxes to dispatch sled trains over that road.