Now here is an Ed's Law you don't see this everyday...

[learmoia]

[garethashenden]

Lombards usually had skis on the front as they were intended to pull logs over snow in the winter. Bit hard to drive around a parking lot with skis though.

[Hawghead]

So was the original purpose built or was it cobbled together from an old tank locomotive.  In either case it really begs the question, why?

Scott

[garethashenden]

So was the original purpose built or was it cobbled together from an old tank locomotive.  In either case it really begs the question, why?

Scott

They were purpose built for logging. Mostly in the Maine and New Hampshire woods. Traditionally you pull the logs out of the woods with a team of horses, either to the sawmill or to a river where they could be floated to a sawmill. A Lombard takes the place of the horses and can pull much more.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lombard_Steam_Log_Hauler

[nkalanaga]

Besides replacing the horses, much Maine logging was done in the winter, as transport was easier on snow than summer mud.  The log "cars" were on sled runners, and one Lombard could pull a train of several sleds.  They really were "trackless locomotives"!

[garethashenden]

Here’s footage of one hauling a couple of sleds. It’s a restored one and they’ve only got two sleds, but you get the idea.

[wm3798]

Must be pretty flat terrain.  I imagine a slight miscalculation on a slope and you'd have big trouble either with balance or just losing water off the slope sheet and blowing the damn thing up.
But it could be a cool project for the parts bin!
Lee

[Philip H]

I love the guys sitting up front steering . . . .

[Tristan Ashcroft]

Must be pretty flat terrain.  I imagine a slight miscalculation on a slope and you'd have big trouble either with balance or just losing water off the slope sheet and blowing the damn thing up.
But it could be a cool project for the parts bin!
Lee

Seriously.  Given that they handed these things to loggers and said "here, go use this", it seems like there must have been some tweaks to make them a bit more forgiving than the average horizontal boiler.