Rehabilitation Plans Could Be On Drawing Board For Historic Glacier Park Buses

Business Wire, Dec 1, 1999

GLACIER PARK, Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1999--

New life might be possible for the historic antique touring sedans of Glacier National Park, thought to have taken their last rides through one of the country's most scenic national parks last summer.

Safety inspections revealed cracks in some of the buses' frames and forced the midsummer withdrawal of the bright-red, 16-passenger sedans which have served as the park's major transportation system since 1935 and have carried hundreds of thousands of passengers over the famous Going-To-The-Sun Road.

But the fleet's owners have entered into discussions that might get the famous "reds" back on the road.

"We have talked with two large companies which have experience with rebuilding transportation fleets," said Dale Scott, president and general manager of Glacier Park Inc., the transportation and hotel concessionaire for Glacier National Park. "There are certainly challenges to be faced when trying to keep these authentic 65-year-old vehicles safe and roadworthy, but it is encouraging to see the kinds of options that might be available."

Scott said those options could likely include a combination of modern chassis and power trains with original or restored aesthetic components.

The popular interpretive tours through and around the park continued for the balance of this year's season with modern 15-passenger vans, but according to Scott, the red touring sedans are one of the icons of the park.

"Nothing could supplant the elegance and history represented by these great buses, so we are studying ways to rebuild or reconstruct them with modern components," he said.

Scott said he wants to develop a plan to reproduce a vehicle that can keep or recreate the historic aspect of the jammer buses, as well as giving visitors the full experience of the park's scenery.

"One of the other items we are exploring is the use of alternate fuels," he said. "The red buses have provided service to this great park for the last 65 years, so now we want to look at what kind of vehicles the park needs for the next 65 years, and we think they should be environmentally friendly."

Originally built by the White Motor Company (although painted a bright-red color, some old-timers still refer to the sedans as "White buses"), the 25-foot-long sedans were built of oak and covered with a metal skin. While the entire fleet of thirty-three 1931-1937 sedans was completely renovated at a cost of $800,000 in 1989, time and metal fatigue have taken their toll. Glacier's fleet of sedans is thought to be the largest and oldest continually operating fleet of remaining White coaches.

The red buses have served as the park's major transportation system, allowing visitors to travel from one side of the park to the other along the spectacular Going-To-The-Sun-Road and up north to Canada's Waterton Lakes National Park. They also linked all of the famous and historic lodges like Lake McDonald Lodge Complex, Many Glacier Hotel, Glacier Park Lodge and the Prince of Wales Hotel.

"That's the charm of these red buses," said Scott. "They are unique to Glacier and offer a reminder when travelling was done with grace and at a leisurely pace."

The vintage sedans were driven for decades by "jammers," a name used by locals which carried over from the days when the sedans had standard transmissions and the drivers could be heard "jammin'" the gears as they drove up and down the mountainous highway. "Becoming a jammer was a highly desirable position," said Scott. The jammers were often the most knowledgeable employees on the park providing visitors with a wealth of historic and geological information.

"That was always part of the attraction of taking a tour of the park in the buses," Scott said. "The drivers could provide the most interesting commentary on the landmarks and history. As stewards of this aspect of the park's history, we want to see if there is any practical way to get the buses back where they belong."

Note to Editors: A complete history of the red buses can be found on Viad Corp's Web site at www.viad.com/glacier.htm.