Guide to the Ray D. Gottfried "Photo Story of the Snow Cruiser" Scrapbook, 1994-2004 SPEC.PA.56.0223 Finding aid prepared by Ashleigh Minor Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections
1858 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH, 43210
2019 August This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2019-08-23T11:13-0400 English Describing Archives: A Content Standard Ray D. Gottfried "Photo Story of the Snow Cruiser" Scrapbook SPEC.PA.56.0223 Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections 1 0.31 Cubic feet 1994-2004 The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was a vehicle designed by Thomas Poulter and created by the Research Foundation of Armour Institute of Technology in 1939 to aid in transportation and exploration in Antarctica. The Snow Cruiser arrived with Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third expedition to Antarctica, the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, in January, 1940. The Ray D. Gottfried "Photo Story of the Snow Cruiser" Scrapbook was compiled by Gottfried to document the history of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser during construction and demonstration of the vehicle in Chicago in 1939, the transport of the Snow Cruiser from Chicago to Boston, including the crash in Gomer, Ohio, and use of the vehicle in Antarctica. Some content in the scrapbook dates from after the use of the Snow Cruiser in Antarctica, and includes written historical reflections on the vehicle, as well as photographs of historical exhibits and of models or replicas of the Snow Cruiser built at later dates. The scrapbook is composed primarily of scanned photographs, most in color and several taken by Gottfried, as well as newspaper articles reprinted on to copy paper; most are annotated by Gottfried. The content in the scrapbook dates 1939-2004; the scrapbook was assembled by Gottfried in stages, with the first stage completed in 1994, and subsequent materials added at irregular intervals through 2004. (1) flat box English Gottfried, Ray D. Acquisitions Information

Accession No. PA.2019.0002: Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, 2019 March.

 Preferred Citation

[identification of item], Ray D. Gottfried "Photo Story of the Snow Cruiser" Scrapbook, SPEC.PA.56.0223, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University

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 Processing Information

Processed by: Ashleigh Minor, 2019 July; Finding aid written by: Ashleigh Minor, 2019 July.

 Historical Note

The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was a vehicle designed by Thomas Poulter and created by the Research Foundation of Armour Institute of Technology in 1939 to aid in transportation and exploration in Antarctica. The Snow Cruiser was designed to move more efficiently across the icy terrain of Antarctica, and to cross crevasses up to 15 feet wide. The Snow Cruiser also had space on the roof of the vehicle to carry a Beechcraft Staggerwing D17A airplane. Constructed in Chicago, the vehicle was driven to Boston; during the journey, it drove off a small bridge on the Lincoln Highway and crashed into a stream near Gomer, Ohio due to a damaged steering system. The Snow Cruiser remained in Ohio for 3 days while it was being repaired. Local residents took advantage of the opportunity to sell refreshments and parking spaces to onlookers.

The Snow Cruiser was transported to the Bay of Whales in Antarctica on the North Star ship, and arrived with Admiral Richard E. Byrd's third expedition to Antarctica, the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, in January 1940. Upon its arrival in Antarctica, it was discovered that the tires provided no traction for the 37-ton vehicle, and it was only able to move across the snow in reverse. The Snow Cruiser's longest expedition was 92 miles, driven entirely in reverse. The vehicle was abandoned in Antarctica in 1940, and rediscovered by the Operation Highjump expedition team in 1946. As of 2019, the whereabouts of the Snow Cruiser are unknown, but speculations believe it is either buried under the ice, or has sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Ray D. Gottfried (1935-2011) was a high school teacher in Upper Sandusky, Ohio for over 30 years. Between 1994 and 2004, he researched and collected information about the design and construction of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, as well as its journey from Chicago to Boston, and its use in Antarctica. Gottfried interviewed many of the individuals involved in the expedition. Additionally, he built a 1/19th scale model of the cruiser in 1995, which as of 2004, is on display at the Gomer Welsh Community Museum in Gomer, Ohio.

 Scope and Contents

The Ray D. Gottfried "Photo Story of the Snow Cruiser" Scrapbook was compiled by Gottfried to document the history of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser during construction and demonstration of the vehicle in Chicago in 1939, the transport of the Snow Cruiser from Chicago to Boston, including the crash in Gomer, Ohio, and use of the vehicle in Antarctica. Some content in the scrapbook dates from after the use of the Snow Cruiser in Antarctica, and includes written historical reflections on the vehicle, as well as photographs of historical exhibits and of models or replicas of the Snow Cruiser built at later dates. The scrapbook is composed primarily of scanned photographs, most in color and several taken by Gottfried, as well as newspaper articles reprinted on to copy paper; most are annotated by Gottfried. The content in the scrapbook dates 1939-2004; the scrapbook was assembled by Gottfried in stages, with the first stage completed in 1994, and subsequent materials added at irregular intervals through 2004.

 Related Materials Admiral Richard E. Byrd Papers Armour Institute of Technology Gottfried, Ray D. United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939-1941). Allen County (Ohio)--History Antarctica--Discovery and exploration--American--20th century Photographs Scientific expeditions--Antarctica--Equipment and supplies--20th century Scrapbooks Tundra vehicles--20th century