Frozen for 50 Years The 1912 Tractor Found in Alaska Still Starts скачать в хорошем качестве

Frozen for 50 Years The 1912 Tractor Found in Alaska Still Starts

May 17, 1962. A mechanic's shovel strikes metal in the Alaskan permafrost. What emerges changes everything we thought we knew about mechanical preservation. This is the story of a 1912 Hart-Parr tractor that spent 50 years frozen underground and still started. THE IMPOSSIBLE DISCOVERY Walter Brennan was salvaging scrap metal near Fairbanks when he uncovered something extraordinary: a 12,000-pound Hart-Parr 30-60 tractor completely entombed in permafrost. Abandoned in 1913, buried by hillside collapse, frozen solid for half a century. Nobody believed it could ever run again. THE BEAST FROM 1912 Hart Parr 30-60: two massive horizontal cylinders, 30 drawbar horsepower, 60 brake horsepower, 6-foot tall rear wheels, 300-pound flywheel. This wasn't just a tractor it was one of the largest agricultural machines built in 1912, representing the dawn of American farm mechanization. FROZEN IN TIME Gold miner Jacob Sorensen brought this machine to Alaska in August 1912 for $750 plus $300 shipping. When his mine failed in 1913, he did something that saved this tractor: he winterized it properly, draining the cooling system and pouring oil down the cylinders. Then he walked away. Nature did the rest, burying it under permafrost collapse. THE RESURRECTION Brennan spent months methodically rebuilding what permafrost had preserved. Corroded carburetors, seized pistons, destroyed magnetos every component fought back. But Sorensen's 1913 oil treatment had protected the cylinder walls through 50 freeze-thaw cycles. On August 3, 1962, after eight attempts spinning the 300-pound flywheel, the impossible happened: the engine fired, caught, and ran. SEE IT TODAY The Hart-Parr lives at University of Alaska Fairbanks, started annually during Heritage Days. A living testament to American engineering, one man's foresight, and another man's determination. TRACTOR SPECIFICATIONS Make: Hart Parr Company, Charles City, Iowa Model: 30-60 (30 drawbar HP / 60 belt HP) Year: 1912 Weight: 12,000 lbs Engine: Twin horizontal cylinders, 9"x12" bore/stroke Displacement: 1,527 cubic inches Fuel: Kerosene Wheel Diameter: 72" (rear), 36" (front) Production Years: 1907-1918 Survivors: 20 worldwide Only One Buried 50 Years: This one WHY THIS MATTERS This story transcends tractors. It's about preservation vs. decay, human ingenuity vs. time, Alaska's brutal climate vs. American steel. The Hart Parr 30-60 represents the exact moment when American agriculture shifted from horse-powered to mechanized farming and this specific machine survived impossible odds to tell that story. YOUR STORIES WANTED Ever seen equipment come back from the dead? Rescued something everyone said was junk? Share your resurrection stories below we read every comment. SUPPORT TRACTOR JUNKIE USA LIKE if this mechanical miracle amazed you SUBSCRIBE for more forgotten tractor histories COMMENT with your thoughts on 50-year preservation SHARE with fellow machinery enthusiasts #TractorRestoration #VintageTractors #HartParr #AlaskaHistory #1912Tractor #PermafrostPreservation #AntiqueFarmEquipment #MechanicalRestoration #AgriculturalHistory #TractorJunkieUSA #FrozenDiscovery #KeroseneEngine #TwoCylinderTractor #FairbanksAlaska #UniversityOfAlaska