Saturday, July 23, 2011

Skytrain cars by Bombardier

Vancouver's SkyTrain cars are built by a Quebec company started by a man with a mission. Today Bombardier builds trains and planes all over the world.

J. Armand Bombardier lived in a small village back when rural roads remained unploughed in winter. His two-year-old son died when winter snow was too deep to transport him to hospital.

After this, M. Bombardier was determined to build a vehicle that could travel over snow, and he developed and perfected the Ski-doo. The original name was to be the Ski Dog; it was a clerical error that led to the name we know so well today.

The original prototypes of the Ski-Doo can be seen at the Musee J. Armand Bombardier in Valcourt, Quebec. A current exhibition shows the garage where this remarkable man began his illustrious mechanical and engineering career at the age of 19, in 1926.

The J. Armand Bombardier Foundation provides scholarships to students pursuing vocational careers.

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