Mount Katahdin looms luxuriously over a plain and modest two-story wooden building that protects treasures of snowmobiling’s past.

The Antique Snowmobile Museum is right next to the Northern Timber Cruisers Snowmobile Club in Millinocket and has some of the oldest snowmobiles in the country.

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A Polaris 1961 B-55 Sno Traveler “Scout” is among many classics at the Antique Snowmobile Museum in Millinocket. Courtesy photo

When you enter the building, you step into a time capsule and are able to witness the evolution of snowmobiles — some made in the first half of the 20th century up to snowmobiles manufactured during the Vietnam War.

There are always more than 50 snowmobiles on display, and to qualify as antiques, all were manufactured before 1968. The club built the museum in 1988 with funds raised by suppers and other events to pay for the construction. It was a project that involved many people from the community whose own sweat went into erecting the building.

The museum quickly filled with relics because a number of people in the area had snowmobiles in garages or basements or simply sitting in fields, victims of time.

“Many of the sleds and their history were out in the woods or behind someone’s shop just rusting away. You could hear them rusting,” said Wayne Campbell, director of the museum, who has restored several antique snowmobiles. “The museum has not added any sleds over the past year, because there is no more room. I have five restored sleds of my own in storage, and my brother Steve has several stored away as well.”

Wayne and Steve Campbell’s father was Earlan Campbell, a snowmobile dealer in Millinocket when the machines were in their infancy, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Earlan tested early models of Polaris snowmobiles in the rugged woods and mountains of Maine and his recommendations improved the design of sleds to withstand a variety of geographical and meteorological conditions.

The senior Campbell died in 1971 and was inducted posthumously into the Snowmobile Hall of Fame in St. Germain, Wis., in 2006.

“Dad was trying to feed his family and in the early days, the sleds were junk. He made the manufacturers improve their machines,” said Wayne Campbell. “My mother always tells me, ‘Your dear father sold these sleds for years to feed us, and you and your brother Steve have spent your whole lives trying to buy them back.’“

Many of the sleds in the museum have been donated or are on loan from the Campbell brothers. The museum contains one of the largest collections of “old iron” in the Northeast, with a huge diversification of sleds.

There are 18 Polaris models, ranging from the 1961 K-95 Sno Traveler to the 1964 Mountaineer. Also included are several Bullcats from ’62 and ’63, four Ski-Doos, three Yamahas, as well as a Ski Jet, Sno Runner, Sno Bug, Polar Bear, Snow King and a Bombardier R-12 Muskeag.

The museum also has a 1943 Eliason Motor Toboggan, one of its most coveted exhibits.

There is also a Polaris 1961 B-55 Sno Traveler “Scout” on loan from Wayne Campbell. The Scout is one of only three prototypes built by Polaris Industries in the fall of 1960 and is believed to be the only one still in existence. This was Polaris’ first attempt at putting the driver’s weight on the track for traction rather than on the front end.

Campbell’s Scout was brought here from Roseau, Minn., for the first trip into the Allagash for testing back in 1961. It was the lightest, quickest machine on the trip and it performed well in the snow. It was the first sled to “scout” for good routes, hence the most likely origin of its name.

The first floor of the museum contains the heavier sleds, such as huge bombardiers and a school bus-style sled, and the lighter sleds are on the second floor. However, compared to today’s sleek and light sleds, the older sleds were anything but light.

The Antique Snowmobile Museum is open when the clubhouse kitchen is open — usually on weekends and during school vacations.

Tours can be arranged at other times of the year by contacting Wayne Campbell at 447-1825 or Steve Campbell at 447-1435.

For more information about the Northern Timber Cruisers Snowmobile Club and the Antique Snowmobile Museum go online to www.northerntimbercruisers.com.

Cathy Genthner is a registered Maine Guide licensed to guide snowmobile trips. She owns River Bluff Camps in Medford, located off ITS-83. She can be reached at:

riverbluffcamps@maine.rr.com

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