civilian halftrack

[Bob Phillips]

Check out the photo of the Shell Oil delivery truck. I believe its from the Township of Joly near Sundridge and it appears to say Leo Landry on the door. Can anyone identify the truck cab and vintage or the type of half track mechanism?
shellhalftrack#2.jpg

[Robert Bergeron]

Wow ! Unbelievable setup !

[Tony Smith]

I think the township painted on the door is "Mont Joli", not "Joly"

[Richard Farrant]

The track system looks very much like the Kegresse design.

[Bob Phillips]

I think Tony is correct, on extreme magnification and with my best glasses on, it certainly seems to read Mont Joli, which is along the south St Lawrence river shore in Quebec. I got this photo from an Almaguin area history page (Sundridge area) and assumed incorrectly it was a local photo. It also appears to be a non link style track, but not one I am familiar with. I always thought that the only common civilian half tracks in this part of the world were Linn tractors. There was also the early Ford half track conversion (now at the CWM) that came out of the Charlie Laister auction in 1971. And I believe one of our contributors on this forum (Huntsville area)has the remains of some odd half track drive in one of his sheds.

Linn.jpg linn3.jpg

linn2.jpg

[David Herbert]

The tracks in the photo in post #1 are rubber belts moulded over transverse bars that are linked by flexible steel cables. As Richard has said this was a system developed by Kegresse in France and heavily developed for the WW2 American half tracks. The last photo in the last post shows an intermediate Ford based design shortly before the standard M3 armoured half track design became set in stone for the duration of the war.

The basic concept of cable reinforced rubber tracks with centre guide horns fixed to steel cross bars is of course universal in mini excavators today !

David

[GJG]

The first halftrack is a 1937 GMC Maple Leaf modified by J.Adalbert Landry, a Buick-McLaughlin dealer of Mont-Joli, QC. He was the first to use the name "Auto Neige" as he invented a rubber track to transform cars and trucks in snowmobile (name patented by Virgil White for his snow attatchment kit for Ford model T before it was used for a sled or "motoneige"). Landry modified over 100 vehicles between 1919-1948. The other halfrack is a Linn.
http://flinflonheritageproject.com/w...67/1038957.pdf
Landry was also a distributor of Shell products; on the door of the truck you see J. A. Landry, Mont-Joli and the phone number of his business.

[Bob Phillips]

Great information and photos, thanks for posting. I remember that back in the 80s (?) that noted collector Bill Gregg arranged a purchase that included a very large, big old bulldozer (maybe Holt?) and a Linn halftrack. I dont recall where they ended up, but I recall the dozer in the shed behind his home.