Trucking story/s of Alaska and the Arctic North

This is the start of a brand new blog relating to Alaska trucking and the book which I wrote, Eighteen Wheels North To Alaska, we will be talking about the book and some of the story's in it, also other tales of Alaska's historic past and additional incidents that I have experienced in my many years of working and living in the Alaskan North. The first subject that comes to mind is the historic trip that was made in the winter's of 1954,55 and 1955,56. This project known as the distant early warning system was born from a decision by our military leaders to install a radar shield totally across the Arctic Ocean shoreline to give warning of a possible sneak attack by Russian bombers over the North Pole, these journeys were made over thousands of miles of never before traveled areas of Alaska and the Arctic North and I doubt that there has ever been or ever will be another ice road trip to match this historic undertaking, truly a journey that could be hailed as the "Mother Of All Ice Road Trips". This task was headed up by a company called Alaska Frieght Lines owned by Al Ghezzi who in my opinion was the greatest innovator of Alaska and Arctic transportation of our time, Al Ghezzi was a man who had the fore sight, imagination and guts to put together this massive undertaking of transporting hundreds of tons of materials across this forbidding and difficult terrain. I suppose the Jap attack on Pearl Harbor had a lot to do with their thinking as both the US and Russia were dealing with very heavy issues during this so called cold war that many thought could erupt into a full blown conflict. The first trip left from Fairbanks, Alaska after being outfitted and loaded up in the fall and in the winter of 1954&55 they struck out from Fairbanks and proceeded cross country north and east over frozen tundra,lakes, rivers and mountains,through country that had never before or since seen the likes of this gathering of men and machines bent on reaching their goal on the Arctic Ocean shoreline, this ice road trip was lead by a team of bulldozers and followed by 32 conventional diesel trucks and trailers plus a huge machine called a snow train, it consisted of a locomotive type power unit and 5 - 40 foot pull trailers behind it , this unit was capable of hauling 150 tons on it's 24 electric powered wheels with tires over 7 feet tall, this unit was ordered and special built by the R.G. LeTourneau company for Al Ghezzi, This machine was 264 feet long and over 17 feet tall truly a monster. They made slow but steady progress towards the Arctic Ocean and after many difficult miles of travel and mechanical problems they reached their destination, unloaded and returned back south to Eagle, Alaska on the Yukon River. The following winter of 1955-56 they resupplyed the snow machine and brought in huge Mack and Kenworth trucks and trailers and departed for a much longer trip much farther north and east. Will post this and continue later.