Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

I was accepted and nearly went to school at LeTourneau University located across Longview from the plant. Amazing place and a wonderful thing to know there are still things like that being designed, built, and used here in the US. The company has one of the best reputations that I know of for both its products and work environments. Wish the Air Force would find a need for them to build us something just to know we have one around but I think the Treaties keep us from putting the ICBMs on the road anymore.

[65RHDEER]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

And they have made this extrordinary Snow Train in the fifties for the army.Its big wheels were later used for one of the Big Foots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvmnc0TJFto&feature=related

That Snow Train deserves a "Motorized Freak of the Week" installment itself.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

Yeah, I only have two pictures of the L-1800. I'll have to take some of the L-1850 when I go to work. Or at least browse the network for some pictures.

This picture is of it loading a Komatsu Haulpak. It also has smaller than usual tires on it.


Here it is loading a Cat793, the standard tires are on it with chains.


For scale on the trucks, for those who haven't seen this picture, That's a Cat793, and I'm 6'2".

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

So it's the junior model...we're still up for a ride!

Goes for about any one, give me at least a week's notice and I can arraign a mine tour, that pending work load and maintence can include going up onto equipment. Of course that is also pending if we are open :P

I'm going to look for some pictures.

[Blazerteam]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

Big great giant machines.Searching for a vid of it,i found this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJBF7Hbggoo&feature=related

And they have made this extrordinary Snow Train in the fifties for the army.Its big wheels were later used for one of the Big Foots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvmnc0TJFto&feature=related

[Weldangrind]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

I'm quite humbled. The utility trailer I built a few years ago holds one yard...

[Freiburger]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

So it's the junior model...we're still up for a ride!

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Motorized Freak of the Week: The LeTourneau L-2350

Ours is a paltry L1850 :'( I think our's has a 40 or 45 cubic yard bucket. Loads the 250 ton haul trucks with our average rock density is about 40 tons per bucket load. I haven't looked it up, but I was told that our L-1850's bucket will lift 120,000lbs. I asked because we used the loader once to pull 25' of drill pipe out of the ground. The drill rig got it stuck, and has a lifting force of 30,000lbs and the pipe wasn't budging. So we got a strap cable designed to tow 250-ton haul trucks around with and attached it to the top of the pipe with a threaded cap, hooked the other end of the strap onto one of the bucket teeth, stood way back and watched. It compressed the tires just a bit, but the pipe finally popped free, lifting the bucket up around 40' height pulled the pipe completely free. It was cool to watch because it was a ridiculously large piece of equipment to use for the job, hehe.

BTW, the tire size you wrote down, 60x57 inches is just the rim size, the tires are around 12' tall! We put chains on them too, more to protect the rubber than for traction. I'll see about loading up some pictures, I may only have some of our old L-1800 though, which is only a tad smaller.

*In addition* They are diesel electric driven. There are electric motors on each wheel. And our's will burn 800 gallons of diesel every shift (two shifts a day!)

[cjforumadmin]

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