The Flood - A Zamboni Story.

[Trailer Fire]

In my hometown, we had a hockey rink. Lots of people skated on that hockey rink. The seasons in my hometown were so skewed in favor of winter that it lasted almost 8 months, from the end of September all the way to May. The hockey rink got a lot of use, so something had to clean and resurface the ice. What did those crafty and wiley Rosslanders use? They refurbished a Ford 3000 tractor to become the zamboni. Word is the tractor actually helped build the new arena in 1976. This is the story of that tractor.



I tried everything to embed it. Nothing. Sorry guys.

[pylon]

Wow, that is really well done. Thanks for sharing.

[Ducay]

Wow, wicked camera work. Great production quality and narration too

Loved the "Italian" reference

[Trailer Fire]

To say I was friends with the brainchild of this video would be too much, but saying we just graduated together is too little. At any rate, he is making a career from shooting ski and bike movies. Dude knows his stuff.

Also, what did I have to do to embed that guy?

[pylon]

Wow, so I don't feel so stupid for feeling sorry for a silly blue tractor. This video, scuttled the plans to buy the Zamboni, and they are keeping the tractor in service for the forseeable future. What a neat story.

http://www.timescolonist.com/enterta...502/story.html

And it sounds like it gives a great flood too. Would make sense, since it goes so much slower.

[4X4]

It's a Ford tractor? From England? Is/was there an assembly plant there?

[Trailer Fire]

I've played hockey all over the Kootenays, in the lower mainland, in Alberta and a few times up north, and I have only seen ice nicer than Rosslands a few times. One was in Castlegar, The Barn, before it was closed to introduce; the new complex. The other was a smaller rink in Prince George. I wish I could remember the name but it was a few years ago. The speed at which the tractor travels, as well as the general tempurature of Rossland makes for an unreal surface to skate on.

Pylon, I can't thank your post enough. I didn't even know it was sticking around.

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by 4X4

It's a Ford tractor? From England? Is/was there an assembly plant there?

I was thinking the same thing.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Trailer Fire

I've played hockey all over the Kootenays, in the lower mainland, in Alberta and a few times up north, and I have only seen ice nicer than Rosslands a few times. One was in Castlegar, The Barn, before it was closed to introduce; the new complex. The other was a smaller rink in Prince George. I wish I could remember the name but it was a few years ago. The speed at which the tractor travels, as well as the general tempurature of Rossland makes for an unreal surface to skate on.

Pylon, I can't thank your post enough. I didn't even know it was sticking around.

I can't remember where for sure, but I think it was the Ogden arena, way back when I was a kid, had a retrofitted tractor as a Zamboni as well. And the ice was always considered to be top notch. You would see these the odd time in rural arenas too.

I always used to think it was cool when I was a kid, seeing a tractor on the ice.

[Northendzone]

I thought the reference to the tear combined with the water droplet rolling down the headlight was cool........

[rd_aaron]

My little hometown in Saskatchewan had a tractor zamboni when I was growing up. They got a new zamboni sometime around 1999 or 2000 as we were not nearly as emotionally attached to the tractor as I now am to that Ford 3000.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by 4X4

It's a Ford tractor? From England? Is/was there an assembly plant there?

http://www.tractordata.co.uk/ford/index.htm

Ford New Holland merged with Fiat Geotech in 1991. The U.K. Basildon factory became the headquarters for New Holland Geotech. The company name was changed to New Holland in 1993 and the House Colour of Ford Blue and Fiat Terracotta was adopted.

Lol, I learned more about the tractor industry in the last 20 mins, than I ever thought I would know.

[NSFL]

Awesome vid. I've watched it twice. Both times had me sniffling.

[worth]

I shouldn't be laughing but...

The tractor went through a modification after the town worker who flooded the ice had an accident and lost an arm.
"They modified the tractor so he could use it with his other arm," says Carlson.

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by worth

I shouldn't be laughing but...

Yup. Good old Bobby One Wing. Hell of a golfer, that guy. Hell of a guy in general. He cut his arm off almost at the shoulder while working at a local saw mill. He grabbed his fallen limb, stuffed it in a styrofoam cooler filled with ice and drove himself 40 minutes to the closest hospital. When the doctors told him they probably won't be able to save his arm, he tells them to toss it and stitch him up.

He is an absolute boss.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Trailer Fire

Yup. Good old Bobby One Wing. Hell of a golfer, that guy. Hell of a guy in general. He cut his arm off almost at the shoulder while working at a local saw mill. He grabbed his fallen limb, stuffed it in a styrofoam cooler filled with ice and drove himself 40 minutes to the closest hospital. When the doctors told him they probably won't be able to save his arm, he tells them to toss it and stitch him up.

He is an absolute boss.

Did he at least get his watch back?

I wanna live in a town with a guy named "good old Bobby one Wing". How awesome is that? Almost sounds like a Simpsons Character.

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by pylon

Did he at least get his watch back?

I wanna live in a town with a guy named "good old Bobby one Wing". How awesome is that? Almost sounds like a Simpsons Character.

He was a pocketwatch man. Sadly, he had to switch pockets, as his hook was ungainly and cut him every once in a while. Best part is I'm not even kidding. He only had the prosthetic for a year or so.

Bob was the best rinkie. While the Nazi and the rest of the crew drove it around in second gear, Bob would drop it in fourth and be done with it. Sadly, he retired from the rink duties and focuses more on downtown maintenance.

I miss living up there. I live down the hill in Trail and I kind of hate it. I want my tractor back.

[Locke]

That was spectacularly well done. Excellent video.

I love small town stories like that. Also, I think I need to have a beer with this Bobby One Wing character....

[Jimmy Stang]

Wow - that was very well done. Excellent work.

[normtwofinger]

Awesome video!

Reminds me of the tractor Zamboni we had at the Tuscany club from around 1996-98.