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Bombardier B-12 snow bus
Tisdale - Thursday, February 16, 2012
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Similar conditions were present in much of Canada at the time and motorized transportation was pretty limited before the mid thirties and the depression meant that the cars of the time were getting old fast because no one could afford new ones. Municipal government just did not clear the roads in winter, fortunately farming with horses did not vanish with the arrival of the small farm tractors of the era.
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Through the war he was involved in making equipment for the war effort but in 1942 he produced a production model of the B-12. The B-12 was made of metal but followed the same design as the B-7 and he also built larger 18 passenger B-18 versions. Though they could be painted any colour the standard production model was a shade of yellow not unlike the colour of school buses and for the same reason, visibility. I remember them being used in the mean winters of the fifties by Natural Resources, as ambulances, school buses, mail delivery and bus/taxi operators.
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The standard of the time was powered by Chrysler “L” head six cylinder engines which were used in a wide variety of machines of the day including combines. In good conditions they would hustle along at 30 miles an hour and that was about three times as fast as a light team with a cutter. There were only 2,596 of these machines made between 1945 and 1951.
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Armand Bombardier had a much better idea. He had used a continuous rubber track system on the B-12 and when in the early 50s he built his first single person machine it had rubber tracks with metal cleats and it worked. Of course it was painted yellow and by 1968 the “Ski-doo” had defined the mode of transport both for fun and work.
The remarkable design of the snow bus was the key and when we looked over a restored machine today it was obvious this was a great invention. (a nice review of the history of these types of machines)
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The owner of this machine seen in these pictures is a fellow who knows how to build and restore things and this B-12 is a work of art. From it’s V-8 engine and automatic transmission to its propane heater and GPS, it is smooth, almost silent and left the airport across the snow with its suspension flattening the snowscape.
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The owner is working on a second machine in his shop but there are still some of these vintage vehicles for sale. I checked the web for them and did not actually find any but apparently machines do come up for sale. There are still commercial operators who use them every winter and I consider myself lucky to have seen this one in action.
References:
- Wikipedia, Joseph-Armand Bombardier, as seen February 16, 2012, Wikipedia
- Wikipedia, Bombardier Recreational Products, as seen February 16, 2012, Wikipedia
- Canada in the 20s and 30s, Bombardier and the snowmobile, as seen February 16, 2012, Wikispace
- Just a Car Guy, Bombardier B-12 snowmobile, June 21, 2011, Just a Car Guy
- Thoreson, Jim, CFS Alert - Stories, December 6, 2009, jproc.ca
- Murison, John, NRS Chimo - Photo Album, March 6, 2006, jproc.ca
- Jackpinemall, Bombardier Snowmobiles, as seen February 16, 2012, Jackpinemall