Bombardier Sprocket Wheel/Track System

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the invention of the sprocket wheel/track system, the J. Armand Bombardier Museum (bombardiermuseum.com) in Valcourt, Que. inaugurated a temporary exhibition – The ingenuity of J. Armand Bombardier…the sprocket wheel/track system.

This mechanism helped revolutionize transportation over snow and difficult terrain and it’s still in use today.

“It’s important to remember that during that era, the roads weren’t open in winter,” says J.R. Andre Bombardier, the youngest son of the famous inventor. “One of my papa’s main objectives was to do something to solve the incredible isolation of the villages and to make it possible to travel during this long, painful season. Out of those goals came the invention of the sprocket track system which, in turn, launched the snowmobile industry.”

The J. Armand Bombardier Museum is open every day, from 10am-5pm from May 1 to Labor Day. Entry fees are $7 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and $15 for families. Children aged 5 and under are free.