LeRoy Pennysaver & News

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - NOVEMBER 8, 2020 by Lynne Belluscio A post came across my computer that caught my eye. It was a story about the huge “Snow Cruiser” that was built for Admiral Byrd’s expedition to Antarctica in 1939. The article was written by Alan Taylor and appeared in the Atlantic in 2016. It was an update on an article he wrote the year before. He had finally found photos in an archive in Maryland of the Snow Cruiser in Antarctica and wanted to add those to his original story. The reason why it caught my attention was because thirty years ago, Seely Pratt brought in some snap shots of the Snow Cruiser taken in 1939, when the Snow Cruiser stopped in Texaco Town on Route 20 south of LeRoy. I wrote two articles about it in the Pennysaver. The Snow Cr u i s e r, k n o w n a l s o a s t h e “Penguin 1”, was a huge 37 ton vehicle that was designed by Thomas Poulter and built in Chicago. It was to be shipped to Antarctica from Boston and had to be driven from Chicago to Boston. It was a slow trip, since the Penguin could only travel 30 miles per hour. Apparently, it wasn’t the easiest vehicle to maneuver, and bumped into bridges and embankments along the way. In Gomer, Ohio it ended up in a creek. It took three days to get it out and in the meantime, it became a sightseeing attraction. Farmers charged 25 cents to park on their fields. Food stands were hastily erected. In 2014, the folks in Gomer erected a historic marker on the spot of the crash. There were a few folks – well into their eighties – who remembered the event, and stood out in the rain to tell their stories and pass around photos. When thePenguin arrived in New York it stopped in Westfield and was recorded on film. The color movie has been posted on youTube and is worth the search to find it. Then the Penguin stopped at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg to refuel, taking on 500 gallons of diesel fuel which was enough to reach Boston. It was scheduled for a ten-minute stop in Texaco Town and was scheduled to reach Auburn by nightfall, but when it left Texaco Town the right front wheel locked because of an oil- filling pipe connected to the inner gear case of the wheel. Thousands of folks flocked to see the huge machine with the ten foot wheels. To keep people from getting too close, a snow fence was hastily thrown up around the disabled Penguin. According to one story, someone set up a peanut stand to make a little money. It was reported that the diner at the crossroads did a brisk business too. It took 19 hours to make the repairs and eventually the Penguin was on its way to Boston and ultimately landed in Antarctica in January 1940. Once again, the ill-fated Penguin encountered trouble. In their haste to drive it off the ship, a wooden ramp had to be built. As the Penguin was driven down the ramp, the extreme weight of the huge 55,000 pound machine, broke through and were it not for a quick move at the last second, the Penguin would have crashed again. The ma s s i ve Snow Cruiser failedtodowhat itwas designed to do. The diesel- electric hybrid powertrain was underpowered, and the huge Goodyear rubber 10- foot tires were smooth and provided no traction in the snow. The crew even put chains on the tires, and that failed to solve the problem. It did successfully travel 90 miles - - backwards, because it had better traction going in reverse, but it was eventually abandoned and only used as stationary quarters for the crew. Funding was cut when the United States entered World War II and Perry was called back into active service after Pearl Harbor. In 1946, an expeditionary force found the Penguin and discovered it only needed air in the tires and some servicing to make it operational, but nothing was done to it. In 1958, it was dug out again near the site known as “LittleAmerica.” It was buried under several feet of snow and ice and marked by a long bamboo pole. Once inside the Snow Cruiser, they discovered it was much like it was when it was abandoned with magazines, papers, and cigarettes lying around. Later expeditions could find no trace of the machine, although there were unsubstantiated stories that it was taken by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In any event, it was situated on the Ross Ice Shelf which has been in constant motion. In the 1960s, a huge chunk broke off and drifted away. The break occurred right through Little America and there is a photograph that shows exposed buildings and a tall bamboo pole, which some speculate marked the location of the ill-fated Penguin. So, indeed, it may be at the bottom of the ocean, or under a mountain of ice and snow or somewhere in a scrap heap in Russia. Who knows? But here’s a thought, perhaps a historic marker could be placed in Texaco Town where the Penguin stopped on its way to Boston. An obscure history that is fascinating. Admiral Byrd’s Snow Cruiser in Texaco Town