A fellow twitterer just tweeted a link to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBjlSJf4274
During the 1920s a thing called the Armstead Snow Motor was invented (shown in the great video above). The cunning device was then bolted on to a Fordson tractor to make a screw-propelled vehicle capable of travelling through snow. It became known as (unsurprisingly) the Fordson Snow Devil.
Steering was delivered in a similar way as to a machine on tracks, each cylinder receiving power from a separate clutch which, depending on the position of the steering gear, engages and disengages, giving fairly good maneuverability.
There's a bit more information on using screw-propelled machines here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw-propelled_vehicle
What happened to the Snow Devil? Why didn't it take off? Any suggestions email them to emily.padfield@rbi.co.uk
NB: There's an awful clip in the film illustrating a horse trying to get through the snow. Animal lovers look away now...
insane. seriously crazy.I posted this on my vlog. thanks so much.