From the Sterling McGinn Collection
This odd-looking contraption appears to be a cross between a locomotive and a snowmobile. It is a Lombard or Phoenix steam log hauler—an actual patented piece of logging equipment used across the country, particularly in Maine and New Hampshire, and also in Michigan and Wisconsin in the early 1900s.
This postcard view shows a Phoenix (licensed version of a Lombard) steam hauler for the Hudson Lumber Company in Garnet, Michigan. It is pulling seven sleigh loads of logs to the Garnet sawmill at a speed of eight miles per hour.
The log hauler was propelled by two skies in the front and tracks at the rear of the locomotive. Two men were in the cab during operation. One was the engineer, and the other was a fireman who kept the boiler stoked. A conductor rode on the sleighs.
The most difficult and dangerous job was for the wheelsman in the front. He usually wore big fur coats and gloves and was exposed to sub-zero temperatures.
The wheelsmen were also subjected to showers of sparks from the boiler stack. Very few of these steam haulers were used in this area. They were primarily used in the Rexton-Garnet area and in Whitefish Township.
