Armstead Snow Tractor

link

This puppy is just plain cool - it was sold as a retrofit kit for Fordson tractors and Chevrolet cars. The article didn't say - but I'd bet you could adapt this to about any brand of similar sized vehicles.

A snow machine from 1924 is a piece of science fiction from the past. Patented by Frederick R. Burch, the Armstead Snow Motors Company made a 16mm demo film to show off the contraption. The company mounted a Fordson tractor and a Chevrolet automobile onto the spiral drums.

"Having these cylindrical drums turning in, that's friction against each other. But that's part of the reason it works, because it is forcing things in together, and it grabs and it screws its way over the snow," explained Randy Julander, snow survey supervisor with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The original is part of the archives of Michigan. Julander shared the film with us. He's a self-described "snow nerd," and enjoys snow sled gems from the archives.

"They're, number one, fascinating. Number two, they served a very practical use in the advancement of science over the years," Julander said.

It turns out that tracked vehicles were a better solution - but it's still fun to see what avenues that tinkerers traveled to find solutions and try to make a buck as well.

The email that prompted this post claimed the inventor himself - driving both the tractor and car - was Henry Ford himself.

This is a 1926 silent film (on video) of a tractor-snow-machine invented by Henry Ford, shown here driving it. Watch the whole thing. Note his suit and hat.

After I saw the second vehicle was a Chevy - well, I may not know Henry Ford, but I'd really, really doubt he'd use a Chevy for any sort of contraption he worked up. Just because the coat and hat were similar to what pictures of the period had Ford wearing does not make it a fact that the person depicted was in fact Henry Ford. As a matter of fact, since this "promo" was filmed in Utah, I'd presume by appearances that John Moses Browning (pbuh) has equal claim to being the inventor. If all it takes is a coat and hat, that is. But, I think we all know by now how much credibility I give information in forwarded emails, and how much it irritates me when the information is untrue.

Just for geekery sakes, Google has the patent for this bit 'o machinery - which shows Frederick R. Burch as the inventor - just like the linked news story says.

Anyhow, tooling around on one of those snow tractors would be a riot, I'm thinking. Oh, and that video is about ten minutes long. Don't say you weren't warned!

H/T Ant Gail