Inside the LeTourneau SnowFreighter
we uncover the story of the innovative transportation solutions developed during the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line). We explore the remarkable LeTourneau VC-22 vehicle, The Sno-Freighter.

This impressive Land Train, consisting of a locomotive and six cars, was designed to haul 150 tons of equipment, overcoming rivers, snow drifts, and extreme temperatures of -68 f.

A devastating fire during its second season left the locomotive in ruins. We witness the abandoned VC-22 near Fairbanks, Alaska, a testament to its once vital role in supporting the DEW Line construction.

LeTourneau manufactured the Model VC-22 Sno-Freighter, completing it on February 17, 1955. It left the factory in Longview, Texas on March 16. The "locomotive" (serial # 5198) of the Sno-Freighter contained two Cummins NHV-12BI V-12 diesel engines operating at 400 horsepower each. These engines drove 24 electric motors (one for each wheel on the locomotive and trailing cars). Each car (serials # 5199-5203) measured 40-foot (12 m) in length and was 16-foot (4.9 m) wide They carried 30 tons each for a combined payload of 150 tons for the 274-foot (84 m) long Sno-Freighter.




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