These gigantic land trains conquered the Arctic, then they vanished

At 570 feet long with 54 driven wheels, the colossal TC-497 off-road land train is one of the most incredible vehicles ever made. But why? Who built it? And what happened to the largest overland rig the world has ever seen?

Back in the 1950s, America wanted to build a line of remote radar stations above the Arctic Circle to guard against Soviet bombers. Problem was, without any existing roads or airstrips or seaports, there was no obvious way to get all the materials and supplies up there. So the U.S. Army called up a brilliant inventor named R.G. LeTourneau to see if he had any bright ideas.

And he did. LeTourneau’s company designed earthmovers and other heavy construction vehicles, and he was already hard at work on a concept that could do the job: a trackless overland train. Using a hybrid diesel-electric powertrain with hub motors, giant wheels, and self-propelled trailers, LeTourneau’s giant land train could punch through the Arctic wilderness while carrying just as much as an actual train.

Over the next eight years, LeTourneau perfected the idea and built four different land trains, each larger, more complex, and technologically advanced than the last. In 1962, he delivered his masterpiece to a U.S. Army proving ground in Arizona: the TC-497, nearly 600 feet long with 54 drive wheels and rudimentary computer-controlled steering.

But that same year, the only thing that could defeat a land train was entering the picture. And it wouldn’t be long before his incredible machines were scrapped, sold off, and in one case, abandoned on the side of the road.

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