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er Frozen] Uninhabited Terrain of AlaskaBy LOUIS R HUBER j j will then serve £or hauling a muchCIRCLE, Alaska, May I8i-A greater tonnage.w carco route deep into/tie It has long been known that w cargo route .g ^ ^ ^ fQr Wgh-rctic, has been established Jto e distant early warning rajar Jinc. An experiment that wasje-/gun late this winter, it has r~“ •termed a success and will used again next winter. _A trucking project, it dfv-ered around’ 4,000 tons of Instruction materials to the fir-north radar sites. They stdchfrom Point Barrow, Alaska, Isi-ward along the Arctic coa| of Alaska, across the islands *rtn of Canada to Greenland. I.The project was carried olpy Alaska Freight Lines, lncctfcr-ated, a barge-and-truck Jm which has been hauling miliry and civilian goods into Ajka ever since the completion ofne Alaska highway during wld War II. |4Monster* the, Hero /Key to success of jL'-'c fa fas tic Arctic hauling job Hast /inter was “the Monster,”® hifc 24-wheeled vehicle but esjfecially for this job by th©LeT*imeaucompany of Texas. /With tires that nasrfe seven feet, four inches p diameter, the Monster” traced tundraway trucking up north—even though temperatures may fall to 60 and 70 degrees below zero at times.Highways SolidAt 30 to 50 degrees below zero,the highways are always solid and they provide excellent traction. Best of all. in the Alaska winter there is seldom much tire trouble.The route followed by “the Monster” led from here northward to the Porcupine river, and thence northeastward throughthe Brooks range to Aklavik, in Canada's Northwest Territory.After the winter highway was completed, “the Monster” was used for several more trips until regulation truck-trailers took up the burden.“The Monster” is still in use north of the Brooks range, and can keep.on working there until June or possibly into July—when, the spring and summer finally will arrive in the Arctic.Similar Vehicles The idea for “the Monster” came from similar vehicles that frozen 'rivers and J other ob- I were developed for American oilsiacles. It led thejy from this J companies in trucking into thevillage, at the fthern limit J solt-sand desert areas of the Mid- j keep working -until winter clamps_ down—usually about the middleof October.The “DEW” radar stations are a product of the Western Electric company. They are semi-automatic 'in operation, requiring only routine servicing and very few attendants.Their completion -nay require two or possibly three years.When completed, they presumably will give ample warning of the approach f enemy aircraft across the polar basin—in time to alert jet-fighter and guided missile defenses in Alaska and northern Canada.of Alaska's highw system, still j die East.by five truck sections, where cargo is carried—each of these with two aides and four wheels.The cargo that was thus carried to the DEW” line came by rail to Seattle, and thence was carried in truck trailers on barges pulled by tugs to Valdez and Seward, and thence w-nt up theinternal Alaska highways to Circle.A sizable airlift also was used during the past winter to carry construction materials to the “DEW” line. It is believed—although no official comparison has been made—that the surface method proved itself more valuable.No InterruptionOnce the winter highway is established over this never-before-traveled cargo route, the Monster” and its truck-trailer supplements can keep v jrking without interruption.Airlift, on the other hand, Is stepped dead when there is adverse flying weather.Actual construction of the “DEW” radar stations will begin very soon, when temperatures in the far north moderate enough for outdoor work to be carried on.Crews to WorkConstruction crews, to be flown in to the various radar sites, willfarther north to t?'‘LEW” line Over the route^c Monster pioneered, an ice^-snow highway was construed by bulldozers and oth road-working machinery.Truckin’ossibleIt was then that regulation truck-traps, such as are seen on high''8 i*1 the states every dav, -lid travel this snow-man” -jhway.The sprinfsaw, now arrivedin this area as put rn end tolhis winter ,'hway—but it willbe reconsti^d next winter andThe strange vehicle has a central power system at its forward end, in the first of six sections. A diesel engine located there generates electricity, which the operator in the cab can apply to any one or all of twelve axles.With this 24-wheel drive, getting stuck is virtually impossible. Braking on each pair of wheels also is provided and can be applied either selectively or collectively.Five Sections The cab section, with its two axles and four wheels, is followed
Newspaper Details
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Mon, May 16, 1955
Page 9
Full Page
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Anonymous
WA, USA 14 Sep 2020
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