Not long back, collectors of vintage snowmobiles just let their rigs sit in their backyard without anyone knowing about it. These machines are coming back to home base at West Ossipee where it all started these days. The vintage snowmobile collectors group is definitely growing. They are even planning to hold annual meetings and shows in the years to come.
During the 1920s, in this town, 20,000 conversion kits that transformed the Ford Model T vehicles into the first snowmobiles were produced. Back then, plowed roads were hardly available and regular wheels where sidelined during winter and were nonoperational until the warmer seasons return.
Compared to their modern brethren, the original snowmobile was bigger and slower but relied on the same method of operation. It had moving belts for traction, and had skis for maneuvering the front part of the machine. The rig had 4 cylinder 20 horse power engines and can run up to 15 miles per hour. It had 5 foot wooden runners and 8 inch wide caterpillar like tracks.
Even if the early snowmobile had it’s setbacks, it was greatly relied on and does get the job done. At times when other modes of transportation were dealt inoperable by snowy weather conditions, tourists were driven around the area by Virgil D. White, the owner of the company that was responsible in the production of the conversion kits. Mail was delivered on time, and even doctors were able to do house calls because of the rig.
A complete set of snowmobile machines sold at $750 while a conversion kit sold at $400. In 1923, only 75 kits were sold, but sales did pick up to 2,500 in the succeeding years when people saw these rigs in action. The demand later dropped when the use of snow plows became almost universal.
The biggest thing to ever hit West Ossipee were the snowmobiles. In those times, the conversion kits were exported all over the globe.
The old factory is still there where it used to sit originally. Back in 1929, a big fire heavily damaged the factory so it is not clear how much of the original structure remains.
Owners of the old model T snow mobiles are bringing their machines back to Ossipee this year in celebration of the machine’s heritage. The old Ts are one of the most versatile vehicles ever built. The additions of attachments made it an all season vehicle. Another set of attachments even turned it into a sand mobile making it perhaps the first all terrain vehicle ever built.