THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN SNOWMOBILE (Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 18 січ 2023
- A short documentary chronicling the story of Carl Eliason, a key contributor to the invention of the modern snowmobile as told by his granddaughter, Jona Eliason. Film and music by Nate Sheppard.
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He did a great thing for handicapped people! I am partially paralyzed from the waist down and I am making enough progress that I should able to ride next year. Thanks
The first motorized vehicle I drove myself was a big yellow Ski-Doo in North Dakota. I was in the 2nd grade. The feeling of operating a big machine and making it do what I wanted (even if it was just throttle and steering) was so...powerful. It set me on a course through life that has continued with my fascination for electromechanical stuff. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Had one when I was a kid big bubble front end no suspension, nothing like they build today.
Great video, Nate! I live just 2 hours south of Sayner and l'm proud to have the birthplace of the snowmobile in the Badger state and no better place for it to have happened than Sayner, the true essence of northwoods snowmobiling. Thank you Carl for the amazing sport you've created, there's nothing better. May you rest in peace...
Thanks for watching!
I grew up in Central NYS, the heart of NY’s lake-effect snow belt region, wherein the air of the W->E flowing jet stream captures significant moisture from the “slow to freeze over” Lake Ontario, which when said moisture-laden air mass flows east over land and encounters the elevation changes of the Tug Hill Plateau, the moisture is then ceremoniously dumped as hundreds of inches of “lake-effect snow”
It’s sad, that in so many areas that were previously considered to be part of this snow-belt, that the last 30-40 yrs have seen a significant reduction in annual snowfall and the winter activities such as snowmobiling, skiing, etc have thus suffered significant financial declines
What a refreshing video about a man that accomplished so much that enriched people's lives all over the world. Also, kudos to you for not including any of the obligatory clips of snow machines blasting through the snow at break neck speeds! I've always gotten much more pleasure going at "normal" or slower speeds and enjoying the scenery along the way. And it's probably one of the reasons I've been able to grow so old and outlive my "more daring" friends.
Thanks for tuning in!
Wonderful story about a great man who I feel I got to know because of your video. He definitely touched a lot of lives and will continue to whenever someone rides a snowmobile,wether they know it or not. Thank you.
What a wonderful story about a great man
WOW, I had no idea that the inventor of the snowmobile lived in Sayner! Proud to be a Northwoodsian. Nate, this video was really well-put together. And I'm digging that 80s-sounding track!
Thanks so much!
He did not invent it .. joseph armand bombardier. Invented snow mobile .
Great video! To truly appreciate what we have, it's important to understand where it all began. Much respect to the old pioneers who built something from nothing.
While Bombardier as a youth made a snow vehicle when he was 15 in 1922 he did not make his first snowmobile until thirteen years later in 1935 when he was around 28 which he patented in 1937 according to the Bombardier Corporation on their official company website however Bombardiers company timeline puts the first real Bombardier Snowmobile as the 1959 Sk-Do. Again these are the official timelines from the Bombardier Corporation and not mine or some other less empirical internet source.
These Bombardier contributions were significant and the timelines do at times run parallel with Carls however Carl Eliason does hold the earlier US patents and did start manufacturing them well before the others. Both regardless are very important contributors who led the way to what we have today.
Prior to Eliason and Bombardier, loggers and explorers were using steam powered tracked snow vehicles such as those already being produced commercially in 1918 by Lombard and others. If you look at some of the old Polar Expedition archives you can see photographs of these early steam powered sled engines in use minus the cabs being unloaded from sailing vessals. You could say that Eliason and Bombardier downsized them to be more appropriate for personal use and in tight spaces making them available to many more people.
Best!
God bless the pioneers. They made the way for everyone else.
This is a great video! I love history and the people who weren't inventors they just had a need to meet and they were smart enough to figure it out. My great grandpa was a welder in ND in the oil field and he probably invented hundreds of things out of necessity and grit. He couldn't just run to the store and get a part. Montana is COMPLETELY different riding than in the east. I have never heard of people dying from any of the reasons she mentioned but they get killed from avalanches and exposure and speed. Guaranteed drinking played a role in some of them. Riding in the powder and high marking is like nothing else and modern snowmobiles are amazing pieces of equipment. A turbo 2 stroke that weighs 350 lbs come on it's ridiculous. Thanks for the video I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Thanks for watching and sharing your story!
Awesome! My favorite sport. All from one humble man’s great idea.
Just excellent, Nate! So much packed into this short piece. Well done!
Thank you!
The first vehicle which could rightfully be called a snowmobile as it possessed the ability to glide over snow was invented in 1922 by J. Armand Bombardier which spurred further innovation eventually resulting in Carl Eliason's one-person, single-track, engine-powered snow toboggan patented in 1927
Any picture of that thing?
@@kirdot2011 google it.
@@kirdot2011 There is a reconstruction of Bombardier's original creation in a museum, I believe Bombardier's. The original was unfortunately trashed very quickly.
A PIECE OF HISTORY THAT FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT ,, GLAD I CAME ACROSS IT . ITS GOOD TO KNOW THE INVENTOR OF THE SNOWMOBILE. I ADIRE HIS INGENUITY .
You are a fine ambassador. Thank you.
Fantastic documentary!! Imagine creating invention and having it change the future of humanity!
Thank you!
This was a very interesting and well made video. Had no idea about the origins of the snowmobile. Was born and raised in Michigan but now live in Oklahoma. Unfortunately we don't have much use for snowmobiles around here. L.o.l.
Thanks so much 🎉
Our Family started Snowmobiling in 1970 ……. We are now Third Generation and going Strong. Thank You for sharing this documentary !!!!!
❄️🤗👍🏻
My Grandpa started in 60’s sometime. He started the first trail system in Waukesha County. I don’t know where article is from Milwaukee Sentinel anymore.
Thanks for the reply Jim !
What a wonderful invention!🎉
❤ I believe 💯 What you see in the dead of winter on a Snowmobile is absolutely Beautiful and Amazing!! The Forest or Woods, Painted in a Fresh Blanket of Snow is Mesmerizing! Get out and Go Snowmobiling!!❤
Thanks for sharing this story. I have known for a long time that the patent is owned by FWD Corp. but never knew the story behind it. Well presented.
Glad I clicked on it. Thanks for the information.
Great story about the origins of the snowmobile which I newer know but I do have few original B/W large pictures of the snowmobile from FWD located in Kitchener ON, Canada.These pictures are possibly fro 1930 or so. I know that large corporation don't invent anything, most inventions come from single private individuals and corporations only take over the idea. This video cleared all for me. Thank you
Awesome video.
I own several FWD Trucks and several more for a parts supply .. I knew a bit about Elias Snowmobiles but It's great to know the History how it all came about.
I would not be Surprised if there were not more Snowmobiles in 1979 then there are in 2022.. So I think Carl Eliason saw much of the advances in Snowmobiles..
As I remember there were about 130+ snow mobile manufactures in 1969? Now there are 5 that I know of , Polaris , Artic Cat , Ski doo , Yamaha and Lynx . Thank You
Very well done!
Thank you!
J.A. Bombardier is the recognized inventor of the snowmobile and the one who gave it the moniker "snowmobile"
Thank you for pointing to Bombardier's significant contribution to the invention of the snowmobile. This film is focused on Carl Eliason, a lesser-known contributor and designer of one of the earliest prototypes of the modern snowmobile but is not intended to discredit Bombardier for his tremendous involvement in making snowmobiles a modern reality.
@@NateSheppard As a loyal Polaris employee I must give credit where credit is due . To me the Real genious is building the 1st one , with a minimal starting point. We must also give credit the the people that bought the first ones so they could build more and better .
I actually knew the owner of the #7 Bombardier. I believe his son has it now. I have memories of riding on it as a 5 year old kid. I'm now 64.
@@steveb6103 I hope he is preserving it with a lot of pictures .
Good for you you read the sales tag
Thanks 😊
This was a very interesting video, thanks for sharing,
Thanks for watching!
Nice video
my life would be a lot different without the snowmobile.
Absolutely I use a snowmobile for trapping and transportation I estimate that I have more miles on a snow machine than a car. I have always had a truck
Very cool
I remember seeing a model A Ford with tracks and there was another one beside it that had a plaque saying it was the first snomobile at a car show in bath Maine they were both old restoration and not running about 30 years ago... There was also a junk man I knew who had what he called the first snomobile with a Briggs and Stratton engine on it... I'm pretty sure it was home built from a grain conveyor... I'm sure there were many independent firsts that were forgotten to time
This is the birth of the snowmobile, Bombardier only improved on this basic design. This is similar to the first cars which were carriages with engines and evolved in to cars that you rode inside of, not on top of..
Here I thought, dad invented the snowmobile using a canvas from a swather for the track big old pine ski's to get around in the deep snow Nijmegen
That’s pretty cool the founder is looking down saying” I knew they were gonna take off” I hope he realizes that it’s just like cars and motorcycles or anything else for that matter some people are going to do well with it and a few people are going to screw themselves up, but the good bad far outweighs the bad. Just think of all the people that have been taken to the hospital from other problems like slip and falls. And all the babies that have been Born because they were able to get to the hospital by snowmobile when vehicle couldn’t begin to make it through.I’ve never rode one, but I sure as hell would! In a heartbeat! Ha ha!
I think the thumbnail is from the pilot episode for The Four Stooges. The show wasn’t picked up by any tv network.
All the snowmobiles in this video are in the Keith Huber design.
Don't see many snomobiles around here anymore like the 70's. The price of a snowmobile, the sales tax, the license, the trail permits, the maintence, the price of parts, the expensive gas and required liability insurance put me out of business of owning one.
You must reside in a liberal state. Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, they are all over the place. Most residents in the states I mentioned own at least one.
@@greenidguy9292 Wait... you think the price of a snowmobile, the sales tax, the license, the trail permits, the maintenance and price of parts are cheaper in red states? How much cheaper is a new 2023 Polaris XCR 850 in Wyoming than in say.. New York? What about a new belt? Is it 30% cheaper in South Dakota? You do know that states without state sales taxes have LOCAL sales taxes right? You're still paying those taxes in one form or another.
@@BigBore525x I think the guys talking about taxes in states like Massachusetts are significantly higher than Tennessee or Florida overall. There’s some validity there, businesses aren’t packing up and flocking to California due to taxes and other liberal tax laws. And yes, in general, New York has unfavorable tax laws compared to a state like Texas. I’m not sure where ya got the 30% less part, I’ve read his statement a few times and it doesn’t appear to have claimed any specific amounts, just more. 1% is nothing if it were a dollar. Put that number into thousands or millions of dollars and it starts to add up quickly.
258 different brands of snowmobiles
Totaly amazing
I think that doesnt include the ones that were on skis and were driven with a propellor .
Liberals need not apply. Snowmobiling is one of the last great freedoms we have and as soon as the Liberals get their slimy, sleazy hands on it, it'll be over just like everything else they touch. And don't forget to thank a Liberal for the high cost of not just the sport of snowmobiling as a whole but for everyday living and the indoctrination of our next generation...
in 1936 Bombardier had the B7. it could move 7 people in comfort. not a tobogan!
it was more of a tank than snowmobile, interesting concept,
That sure is a fancy belt sander mister
I always thought Polaris was the first one. We had dozens of manufactures including one in my town, scorpion, and one in my wife's home town, viking.
Thank you for this informative video, like the automobile and airplane more than one person had similar ideas at about the same he time in history, generally the person that created the most public knowledge of the events is the one given credit, the person or entity that has the earliest patent or verified documentation like news paper articles or dated pictures etcetera is given legal credit,/ acknowledgement by courts 1922 is before 1924 , but a patent date of 1927 is 8 years prior the 1935 date tossed around for bombardier,
Also in my opinion a Ford Model T with skis and tracks would be considered like an early version of a Snow Cat , an enclosed vehicle for carrying people, not a Snowmobile, which is more like a utility scooter for snow, a utility or sport vehicle not a larger transport vehicle like a snowcat, cars trucks , motorcycles and buses already existed , before the belt driven motor sled AKA tobaggon , it's doubtful a model T with tracks would have been able to navigate the forest trails where Elason took his invention to follow and join his friends, anybody have a date on that picture, and a train style vehicle for logging from 1908, may have offered inspiration if he knew of it, it certainly would not qualify as personal transport thru snow filled forests trails for checking trap lines, I have not researched this, I am simply offering up thoughts based on my own knowledge of history, the wright brothers are considered by most to have performed the first recorded powered flight, although there were others also attempting this in Europe and our own West coast, historian's give credit to those with the most convincing documentation, while the first person to actually create something may have been too busy doing it to think about documenting it,
It's eureka moment effect on the brain, where we dive into building the thing we just thought of, not thinking of anything else, if nobody else is there to witness that moment and the see the deed accomplished, how is it to be proved, Thomas Edison was not the first to create light from electricity, but he created a useable light bulb and a system to deliver his DC electric power to streets and buildings so they could be illuminated by his light bulbs, he made it viable, and Tesla made it better, Tesla's AC electrical delivery system was far superior to Edison's DC system and is used world wide, Ford did not invent the first car, Ford designed and engineered a faster more economical way to mfg motor vehicles , making them something more people could afford to purchase and use, instead of a luxury item for the ultra. Rich,
I had a used 1969 Ski Doo 292 TNT. It made a lot of Winters fun for me even though I was married with children. From 1977 to 1997. The ex kept it in the divorce.
My dad built a homemade snowmobile in the 60s before most sleds were on the market
nice to see very little if any salt applied
Snowmobilers are like bikers, they look out and take care of one another or anyone else in need. In fact the majority of snowmobilers are bikers as well.
Its too Bad Manufacturers Have priced New Machines out of reach of most people, once the used market dries up you will see the sport mostly disappear I Believe.
This guy is my grandpas great uncle by marriage no Kidd
Long ago a motorcycle and a pair of skis were having an argument about who was faster... Long story short we now have snowmobiles. The End (and I'm calling my reply a "documentary") LOL.
Carl Eliason 1924 ua-cam.com/video/zNt-6QwVz-E/v-deo.html
I thought it was bombardier that was the one who made this whole sport
This is fascinating! Thanks for a great story and video.
There is an easy improvement available to the industry, which is totally within reach; just make snowmobiles less loud. I don't know why they can't be made as quiet as a touring motorcycle, for example. Doing this will lessen the attack on snowmobiles, an attack that is coming. Liberals will soon be calling for electric snowmobiles, something that will greatly limit the sport. Making snowmobiles quiet will take the wind out of their sails completely.
Great video!
Thanks for tuning in!
well, I agree. but beyond making them less loud, they should make snowmobiles that are as simple and basic in design as sleds from the 70's, because they cost a small fraction of what normal sleds these days cost, and far more people could enjoy the sport.
There is a place in Great Britian that converted several Polaris machines to electric each machine could go 5 minutes per charge .
@@henrycarlson7514 you don't need to go electric to make them quiet. There are some very powerul motorcycles that are quiet, also some very quiet outboard boat engines.
But a good electric conversion will last longer than 5 minutes. Come on, they're now building electric airplanes.
@@someotherdude So True , I think that the electric stuff is interesting , have no need of one
The "pissing contest" about who invented the snowmobile is as old as snow machines themselves.
J.A. Bombardier invented the modern snowmobile ..
Thank you for pointing to Bombardier's significant contribution to the invention of the snowmobile. This film is focused on Carl Eliason, a lesser-known contributor and designer of one of the earliest prototypes of the modern snowmobile but is not intended to discredit Bombardier for his tremendous involvement in making snowmobiles a modern reality.
need to get the cops and my wife in there to put a screeching halt to all of that, people cant just have fun, no no no no
The snowmobile it was invented in Canada
The first “snowmobile” was the Lombard log hauler, a train-like vehicle equipped with skis instead of front wheels. Invented in Waterville, Maine in 1908, it improved transportation in the lumber industry. The first vehicle which could rightfully be called a snowmobile as it possessed the ability to glide over snow was invented in 1922 by J. Armand Bombardier which spurred further innovation eventually resulting in Carl Eliason’s one-person, single-track, engine-powered snow toboggan patented in 1927.
Bombardier's 22 Skidoo was a very dangerous machine which his father ordered him to disassemble pronto. It was very short lived. It was built a Ford Model T chassis equipped with sleigh runners & a propeller at the rear to drive it. A number of folks built home made snowmobiles over the years using car engines & aeroplane propellers. A friend of mine drove one in the 30's using a Ford Model A engine, sleigh runners, a propeller, & a very rectangular wooden cab. Bombardier's machine in the late 30's was much larger than Eliason's using an automotive engine, transmission, & differential while it rode on rubber & steel tracks on the rear & sleigh runners on the front. Twelve & sixteen passenger models were available. They were popular for northern exploration as well as with oil companies.
Ahhhhh no, no he wasn't...... The inventor of the "SNOWMOBILE" was Joseph-Armand Bombardier from Quebec Canada. This is a variation of an already established invention.
Bombardier was 1935, this guy was 10yrs earlier, so i would say no to Bombardier..
Thank you for pointing to Bombardier's significant contribution to the invention of the snowmobile. This film is focused on Carl Eliason, a lesser-known contributor and designer of one of the earliest prototypes of the modern snowmobile but is not intended to discredit Bombardier for his tremendous involvement in making snowmobiles a modern reality.
@@NateSheppardyou tell em nate !!
Snow mobiles are very safe , idiots on snowmobiles are idiots on snowmobiles. Keep them off you trails
So True , Operator Error kills more people in ALL vechles than Any thing else .
Joseph Armand bombardier was the inventor not Carl eliason 🤦♂️
This is false. The first to invent the snowmobile was J-A Bombardier.
Wrong...get your facts straight....Québécois mechanic Joseph-Armand Bombardier made the first snowmobile in 1935. Today, there are more than 600,000 registered snowmobiles in Canada. They are used for transportation, recreation, hunting and trapping, especially in rural areas and the North. A snowmobile is an automotive vehicle for travel on snow.
Thank you for pointing to Bombardier's significant contribution to the invention of the snowmobile. This film is focused on Carl Eliason, a lesser-known contributor and designer of one of the earliest prototypes of the modern snowmobile but is not intended to discredit Bombardier for his tremendous involvement in making snowmobiles a modern reality.
Last I heard 1924 was before 1935.
1924 is well before 1935. Also, there are over 1.2 million snowmobiles registered here in the US.
In all fairness Ford had a track and ski kit for the Model T.
@@henrycarlson7514 I wouldn't call that a modern snowmobile though, there's two tracks in the back with a rear axle and passengers sit tandem.
WRONG. WRONG WRONG
JOSEPH ARMAND BOMBARDIER INVENTED SNOW MOBILE. IN 1935
Thank you for pointing to Bombardier's significant contribution to the invention of the snowmobile. This film is focused on Carl Eliason, a lesser-known contributor and designer of one of the earliest prototypes of the modern snowmobile but is not intended to discredit Bombardier for his tremendous involvement in making snowmobiles a modern reality.
The patent clearly says 1927
Last I heard 1924 was before 1935.
Math is hard for you.
Gotta love how lame Canadians can be. USA- the Bad Lands. In Canada- Hoo Doos. Mr Bombardier invents the snowmobile. Does he call the “ Bombardier Sled? Hell no Canadian lame - the Ski Doo.