The Pine Tree State - Bangor

Fast Dash to Bangor, Maine

(in order to make it to a repair appointment in Bangor)

June 25, 2018 - June 29, 2018

We discovered we had a leaking rear axle seal but we couldn't get a timely appointment anywhere near Austerlitz, NY so I made an appointment for the 28th in Bangor Maine then headed out on the 25th so we'd have plenty of time to make it.  Spent one night in Williamstown, VT in a pretty campground right on a lake.  It would have been such a nice place to spend a few days and just chill out.  Maybe next time!  On the way to the campground I stopped at a Ford dealer to get the part numbers for the parts they would need so they would have everything ready to go.  The next night we were in Shelburne, NH.  Not especially pretty but we did get a spot at half price with our Passport America membership.  Made it to Bangor with no problems but had to get up much, much earlier than we usually do in order to be at the shop by 7 am.  Ugh!  Managed to get myself on the wrong highway en-route so we were about 15 minutes late!!!!  

We checked our AAA travel book for places to see in Bangor and found a GEM (Great Experience for Members) listing for Coles Land Transportation Museum which turned out to be relatively close to the repair shop.  It turned out to be a very interesting place covering all forms of land transportation relating to life in Maine.  One thing was very clear.  They have hard winters in Maine.

Wooden snow roller and stone sidewalk roller.
The wooden model could be pulled by 2, 4, 6 or even 8 horses depending on the amount and condition of the snow. 
Once a road was rolled and frozen, a car could drive on it.
When the spring came - it created problems because it took so long to thaw and make the roads a muddy mess.

An Abenaki snow scoop from the 1920's.

Snow plows do the hard work during the Maine winters. 
You can see the main plow (center) with both "wings" out to achieve maximum width.

International Tractor snow plow from the 1940's.  With wings on each side (not shown) it could plow 17.5 feet across.

Snow blower.  The truck was built in 1931 and the blower in 1937.
The blower is driven by a 150 HP engine!!!  That's a lot of power.

Cletrak snowplow.  It can plow 10.5 feet wide or 22.5 with the wings extended.
One really cool thing - it can turn 180 degrees within it's own radius.

1940 Ford with a tandem rear axle.
You can see one side has a wing extended and the other does not.

Oshkosh snowplow originally purchased by the state of Maine in 1952.
It kept many Maine roads plowed through the years. 

Model TT Ford Truck fitted out as a snowmobile.
Looks like it would be fun to try.

While not specific to Maine - I'd never seen a fire department ladder truck . 
The back is full of various length wooden ladders, each marked with it's length on the end (see below).

You can see the markers for 28', 50' and 45' length ladders.

An 1890 one horse pung (defined as a low, box sleigh drawn by a horse).

Wiffletree attached to a stone sled.
A wiffletree is a mechanism to distribute force evenly through linkages.  The traces of a harness are fastened to it allowing a team of horses to pull the load forward.  In this case they would be pulling stones or rocks but it could just as easily be logs or cordwood (see below).

Cordwood sled (only the aqua colored parts.

Horse drawn low bed or jigger wagon.

Long potato sled.  Who knew Maine grows lots of potatoes?  They do.

The sign says it all.  First ski-doo sold in Maine (1960).
Things have really changed since then.

1965 Sears snowcruiser.

Good old kids sleds.  Had lots of fun on one of these as I grew up in Michigan.

Coal delivery truck.  

Coal delivery mechanism.  From the truck to your coal shute.

A good example of necessity being the mother of invention.

Harness maker's tools.
I've always been fascinated by how tools are unique to a trade and how a well designed tool makes the job easier.
One of my great grand-uncles was a harness maker in Michigan and now I have an idea of the type of tools he would have used.

A cooper's (barrel maker) tools.
If you look closely at a barrel you can see that it requires some unique tools.
I have a good friend whose last name is Cooper and I'm sure somewhere back in her ancestry there's a barrel maker.

This was a very fun way to spend time waiting for the motorhome to be repaired.  If you ever get to Bangor - check it out!