The Fordson Snow Motor

By Tuesday January 12, 2010

A demo film of the Armstead Snow Motors Company concept ‘Snow Vehicle’ – powered by a Fordson tractor, and a Chevrolet automobile.

This is silent film shot in 1924. I wonder why this concept never caught on.

Found by Jim Davis.



27 Comments
  1. The Watcher says:
    1/13/2010 at 12:11 am

    Within limits, a modern snowmobile would be a much better device, unless you wanted to float on a lake….

    Simpler, too….

    Reply
  2. pokey says:
    1/13/2010 at 5:13 am

    7:04 the guy drives it into the fence and breaks it.

    Video editing technology sure has come a long way.

    Reply
  3. Mr. Fusion says:
    1/13/2010 at 6:36 am

    It wouldn’t catch on as the screws waste so much energy with sideways traction. A tracked vehicle wastes energy in mechanical friction, much of which would also be present here.

    That sideways friction would place quite a lot of strain trying to pull the vehicle apart. While this would be much less on slippery surfaces such as snow or ice, swamps and grass might be a much greater problem. The kit could end up costing more than the few times a year someone might use one.

    Reply
  4. Rich says:
    1/13/2010 at 8:30 am

    Those saboteur bastards at Caterpillar buried this concept, like GM and the engine that runs on water!

    Reply
  5. davo, the uninformed australian says:
    1/14/2010 at 4:47 am

    #21
    I don’t know about floating, but you can drive a snow mobile across a lake. Top gear did it at one point, they raced it against some crazy icelandic jeep.

    Reply
  6. ArchtMig says:
    1/14/2010 at 11:22 pm

    #25

    That Top Gear segment was wicked! Who woulda thunk you could power a snowmobile over water.

    My problem with this snow screw concept is that it seems awfully energy inefficient. To move the vehicle a few feet forward, the cylinders make a lot of revolutions. Tracked vehicles’ wheels turn a lot less to go the same distance forward. The drive gears at the rear of each spinning screw-tread are huge, compared to the drive shaft gear from the power transfer on the tractor. That means that the tractor is probably really gunning it. This thing probably drank fuel a lot faster than an equivalent tracked vehicle.

    Reply
  7. greg says:
    3/28/2010 at 9:29 pm

    forget the 19 centry chain drive, How about hydrostatic drive? What do you think.

    Reply

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