Lombard Rail Truck

[TRAINS1941]

Gordon you've done it again.  Just superior workmanship.
I can't wait to see the engine.

Jerry

[lab-dad]

Beautiful!
Why are there two tanks? (extended range) or some other liquid other than fuel?
-Marty

[Scratchman]

Marty

The Lombard used 8 gals. per hour at a top speed of 4 miles an hour. The second tank was usually a 55 gal. barrow, I added a factory tank on my model.

Gordon Birrell

[Belg]

Gordon, some more excellent work, I for one really appreciate seeing these step by step shots as it really helps in seeing how you break things down to model them. I have to go and look at the plans in the Gazette and see if I could understand how you come up with your pieces. Thanks for posting the how tos along with the shots some will work in HO but I'm sure most won't but if I get one technique that will its well worth it. Thanks Pat

[Terry Harper]

Great work Gordon,

Marty,
As sold Lombards would have had only one fuel tank. However, Ed Lacroix's Madawaska Company which owned and operated the Eagle Lake & West branch railroad upon which the prototype Lombard rail truck ran, equiped all his tractors with extra tanks. It was not uncommon for them to make a 40 mile round trip from the landings to the cuttings and back - at 4 miles per hour and consuming 8 gallons per hour you can see why the extra tank was needed! Typically this was nothing more than a standard 50 gallon drum mounted on a wood cradle.

Ross McKenney in his book "Language of the Forest" described riding on the back deck of a Lombard as part of a survey crew from Ashland, Maine to Mesquacook Lake. It was a 12 hour trip and as he described it he was half frozen from the bitter cold and deaf from the noise. Those short stacks sounded like a machinegun going off continuously for the whole 12 hours.

Best regards,

Terry Harper

[Belg]

Gordon, the idea of the 55 gallon drum as a second gas tank sure would add some backwoods feel pretty easily, just an idea I know you have probably glued your tank in place already. In a modern vehicle they would have a selector switch in the cab, how would it be done back then? You couldn't really just pipe them together as one tank is much higher than the other and gravity would just drain one into the other? Thanks Pat

[Terry Harper]

Pat,

Thats exactly how it worked. The spare drum was simply piped into the the main tank. When running it was in reality drawing from both tanks. Beyond the main tank was a cock to shut-off fuel and isolate the sedement bowl. Then the line ran to a vacume tank mounted on the fire wall then to the carb. Sometimes the vacume tank was located inside the cab on the righthand side of the firewall othertimes on the engine side of the firewall.

One interesting note in regards to fuel:
Lacroix's Lombard operations in support of the Eagle Lake and West Branch railroad required huge quantities of fuel. (He was running up to 11 Lombards) All this fuel had to be moved by Lombard tractor from the railhead at Lac Frontier P.Q. to Churchill Lake. He built special tank sleds for this purpose. Each sled carried two Large tanks resting crosswise in wooden cradles. At Churchill the sleds were hauled up on a raised platform supported on log cribbing with a ramp at both ends. With the sleds elevated 5 or 6 feet above the ground they could simply drain fuel from the tanks into the tractors. Yet another backwoods engineering marvel!


Gordon,

In the photos I posted earlier (Clark-01B.jpg) note the diagonal brace from the top of the cab to the frame. Those cabs took a heck of a beating and backwoods fixes such as this were very common. Yes, that is a dynamite box sitting in front of the fuel tank.

Best regards,

Terry

[Chuck Doan]

Thanks for posting the model pics Gordon, and thanks Terry for the historical insight!

CD

[Belg]

Terry, thanks for the further explanation but I still the same problem understanding if one flowed into the other tank and gas caps are not liquid tight what stops the fuel from running out of the lower tanks gas cap? Since it ran on vacuum there would be no fuel pump to restrict the flow. Sorry if I'm being thick about getting it but its something I would just like to understand, thanks Pat

[John McGuyer]

I can only guess, but if you sealed the 55 gal. drum, it would work like a bird feeder. The vacuum in the top of the drum vs atmospheric pressure below would control flow. You've seen them, little tray around the bottom with a water supply above.

John

[Terry Harper]

Pat,

I see what you mean. In fact you have me looking a bit deeper into the archives. Luckly next month (if all goes well) I will be spending the day with one of the tractors in my previous posted photos. I will take a closer look.

Terry

[Scratchman]

I have added the front truck, radiator and the detail in front of the radiator. The hood top and fire wall are almost ready for paint. I still have some loose ends to finish up before moving on to the engine. Got the quarter round stock and finished up the trim on the cab windows inside and out.

Gordon Birrell
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77318580@N00/

[finescalerr]

Your latest update is most satisfactory, Gordon. Most satisfactory. -- Russ

[TRAINS1941]

Gordon

Very nicely done beautiful workmanship.

Jerry

[Scratchman]

I still have a few of those loose ends left but I'm going forward with the engine. I am starting at the bottom and working up to the top. The styrene tubes in the corners of the hood are not prototypical. It's a help for this model part. The left side view shows the start to the engine and the two right side views is showing the truck around 95% finished just missing a few things. Still a lot of work left but I hope to finish it up soon.

Gordon Birrell