by Blake Stranz
In the tiny town of Valcourt, Quebec, rests the huge Bombardier factory where Ski-Doo snowmobiles are manufactured. Ski-Doo founder J. Armand Bombardier grew up near Valcourt, and the town could now be called "the town that Bombardier built."
Early prototypes of Bombardier’s dream. A light machine designed for
one or two passengers.
There is plenty of history in Valcourt, from the huge manufacturing and storage
warehouses, to the legendary Circuit Yvon Duhamel, the racetrack that helped
snowmobile racing grow to its prestigious status. All of this history is captured
for visitors to Valcourt at the Musée J.-Armand Bombardier, the J.-Armand
Bombardier Museum.
The museum is divided into three sections: the J. Armand Bombardier Exhibition, which holds the history of the man and his inventions; The Bombardier Garage, a restoration of the inventor’s original workshop; and the International Snowmobile Exhibition, which follows the history of the entire snowmobile industry.
The museum is located in the center of town and can be toured in a few hours, although much can be learned in that time. Acutely detailed restorations of J. Armand’s first propeller-driven snow machine to one-of-a-kind purpose-built machines are available for visitors to view. Also included are some of the most superbly restored snowmobiles from all over the world. Ski-Doo, Moto-Ski, John Deere, Ockelbo and others are represented in the International Snowmobile Exposition. The museum also houses some of the most dominant race sleds of their era. Among the collection are Jacques Villeneuve’s 1985 Formula I twin tracker and 1976 Skiroule of Villeneuve’s brother, Gilles.
The museum allows visitors to wander back through the history of the inventor, starting with a reproduction of Bombardier’s first snowmachine, which he built from from a Model T Ford that his father purchased for him. Although the first snowmachine didn’t stay around very long, (Bombardier’s father made him dismantle it) it was the start of Bombardier’s obsession with traveling over the snow.
This is J. Armand Bombardier’s actual desk, chair and table he used in
his shop.
His next attempts refined the snowmobile, as he experimented with both propeller
and track driven machines. In 1935 the young inventor developed the sprocket
and track system that became, perhaps, the most important development of his
career. This single invention was the catalyst for all future snow-going machines.
Bombardier’s first found commercial success with the B7. The seven passenger, track-driven machine was built for a number of years and was the machine that earned Bombardier his first Canadian patent. The B7 led to the development of the 12-passenger B12. By this time, World War II was raging, and the Canadian government asked for his company’s help to develop vehicles for military use. When the war ended, Bombardier continued to build his large vehicles for commercial purposes such as logging, building pipelines and exploring for oil in previously unattainable areas. At the same time, he also started work on recreational machines that would ultimately turn into the Ski-Doo snowmobiles that we know today.
One of Bombardier’s early inventions. Earlier, Bombardier outfitted Ford
Model T cars with skis and tracks.
Throughout the 1950s, a number of small, light machines were available on
the market, and Bombardier once again turned his attention in that direction.
In early 1959, the company created the first rendition of what might be called
a snowmobile by today’s standards. The recreational "miniature snowmobile"
had been J. Armand’s dream, and it was finally about to be realized.
All the versions of those early ideas are ready for visitors to view.
Beyond Ski-Doo
The museum houses not just Bombardier history — historically significant
machines from other snowmobile manufacturers are readily displayed. Each represents
a significant development in snowmobile design. Also, there is at least one
snowmobile from all of the countries that manufactured snowmobiles, including
Canada, the U.S., Russia, Japan and most Scandinavian countries.
There is a 1963 Hus-Ski, the snowmobile that looks like a tractor and was the cause of numerous knee crushings. The 1965 SnowCruiser, made by OMC, was the first machine to use an opposed twin cylinder engine. The 1967 Arctic Cat Panther, with its all-aluminum chassis and bogie wheel rear suspension, was another first that was followed by the industry. The 1969 Massey Ferguson with its first-ever internal drive track is also display, as is the 1974 Brutanza Brut LC44, the first liquid-cooled triple. In the same year, the Skiroule RXT featured rear shocks on the outside on the chassis, with holes drilled through the running boards, a technique still used on some oval racing chassis designs. Visitors can see the twin track Raider, predecessor to the Trail Roamer — as well as Ski-Doo’s version of the design, the Elite. John Deere’s Spitfire with direct-drive system is also displayed.
The Allouette "Big Al" snowmobile was built in the early 1970s in
response to Arctic Cat’s Boss Cat.
There are plenty of machines that will make visitors look twice, like the
1980 Finncat’s ski-less design. This sled had an expandable track that
stretched like an accordion when the operator turned the handlebars. Aside
from those machines, there are also one-off machines that can’t be seen
anywhere else. Such as the Ski-Doo Mirage II, a fully enclosed, futuristic
machine that was build in 1974 and presented to Laurent Beaudoin to mark his
10th anniversary as president of Ski-Doo. Perhaps the most amazing one-off
is the Alouette Big Al, with its four triple-triple engines.
The museum does a great job of combining displays with informative placards, video presentations and other eans of providing educational information. If you are interested in snowmobiles and are near Valcourt, a stop at the museum is a must.
J.-Armand Bombardier Museum
1001, J.A. Bombardier Avenue
Valcourt, Quebec J0E 2L0
Phone: 450/ 532-5300
Web site: www.fjab.qc.ca/jabhom_e.htm
Admission Prices
Adults: $5 (Canadian)
Students and seniors (over 65): $3
Children under 6: free
Hours of Operation
Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 1 to Labor Day — daily
Labor Day to April 30 — Tues.-Sun.
Call or visit the Web site for special holiday hours.
J. Armand Bombardier made this drill press from cylinder blocks. Many of the
tools Bombardier used he made himself.