Byrd's Famous Snow Cruiser To Dunes Park $150,000 Craft Will Pass Through Hammond on Its Journey

Admiral Byrd's famous snow cruiser is expected to pass through Hammond late today or tomorrow en route to the Dunes State park for a two-day test period, according to officials of the research foundation of the Armour Institute of Technology, designers of the $150,000 craft. Sand in the Dunes park is expected to be the most practical medium for a test to ascertain the ability of the machine which will be used in exploration and research work at the south pole. Huge Machine The cruiser dwarfs a transcontinental bus, being 55 feet long and 15 feet high. Four rubber tires, each 10 feet in diameter, will enable the machine to cross ice crevasses 15 feet wide. In spite of its bulk, designers claim that special equipment will enable operators to raise and lower the cabin and to turn the cruiser completely around within its own length. It will have a cruising range of 5,000 miles and will have a speed of from 10 to 30 miles depending on the grade, surface conditions and weather. Complete living quarters will accommodate a crew of four men and a specially-built airplane, capable of carrying five passengers, will be carried on top the machine for reconnoitering and emergency use. Can Operate at 50 Below The unit was constructed especially for use at either of the two poles and embodies construction designs calculated to maintain perfect operation at temperatures 50 degrees below zereo. Dr. Thomas C. Poulter, scientific director of the Armour foundation and second in command on the antarctic exploration trip, designed the cruiser to meet conditions experienced on former Byrd expeditions. Dr. Poulter said that ships are of little use past a certain point because of the ice and that airplanes demand too much care and maintenance of landing field to prove feasible for antarctic exploration. No Police Escort Space in the craft will permit storage of food and scientific supplies to last a crew of four for one year and the machine is designed to travel for days at a time without a halt for the preparation of meals of the crew. Chief Martinson of the Hammond police department, said that no arrangements had been made with him at noon today for a police escort for the machine when it is taken to the dunes. It is believed that the route may lay along little-used highways to avoid possibility of accidents or a tie-up of traffic.