Today in Automotive History
1927 Eliason Receives Snowmobile Patent
Carl Eliason of Sayner, Wisconsin, was granted the first patent ever given for a snowmobile design on this day. Eliason had actually completed his first working prototype three years before--a small vehicle with a front-mounted liquid-cooled 2.5 HP Johnson outboard engine, slide rail track guides, wooden cleats, rope-controlled steering skis, and running boards made out of two downhill skis. Eliason built his first snowmobile in a small garage behind his general store over a two-year period, and used everything from bicycle parks to a radiator from a used Model T Ford. During the 1930s, Eliason founded Eliason Motor Toboggan, continued improving on his snowmobiles, and the company was soon known around the world. A major purchaser of Eliason snowmobiles in the early years of the company was the U.S. Army, which ordered 150 all-white Eliason Motor Toboggans for use in the defense of Alaska during World War II.
Posted by Quality Weenie at November 22, 2004 09:55 AM