|
When were the Red Buses first placed in service at Glacier National Park?
This third generation of park touring coaches at Glacier (manufactured from 1936 to1939 by the White Motor Company of Cleveland, OH) were first placed in service during 1936 and remained in service without interruption (except for a short period during World War II) until August 1999 when they were removed from service for renovation. The fully renovated Red Buses returned to regular tour service in Glacier National Park in 2002
|
|
What is so special about the fleet of historic Red Buses?
In the 1930's the National Park Service developed a program with the White Motor Company of Cleveland, OH, for the production of canvas-topped touring coaches to provide transportation for visitors within national parks. More than 500 vehicles were manufactured in the mid-1930's and were purchased for use in various western national parks including Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Mt. Rainier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. While the canvas-topped tour bus experience was replaced elsewhere, the fleet of (red) buses are maintained at Glacier National Park. The buses were ideal for trips across the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The open-air touring coaches afforded visitors a multi-sensory experience. The drivers known as 'Gear Jammers' toured the Reds across the Continental Divide.
|
|
Why were the buses removed from visitor use during the summer in 1999?
The fleet was pulled from service in 1999 for reasons of safety. The decision to remove these icons from the roads was not taken lightly, but once the problems with structural and metal fatigue were identified, there was no choice but to remove them from use - at least temporarily - until an economically feasible solution could be found. The fully renovated Red Buses returned to touring services in Glacier National Park in 2002!
|
|
What type of inspection originally took place in 1999?
After Glacier Park, Inc. (GPI) had conducted it's internal inspection, the park concessioner consulted with the National Park Service (NPS) about structural integrity and safety issues. NPS management concurred with GPI and the fleet was removed from use. At that time, an independent interdisciplinary team was brought to East Glacier in September to inspect, evaluate, and consult with GPI and the NPS regarding their results. This team included a White Motor Company expert, Ford Motor Company, The Federal Transit Administration (represented by the Denver RTD, GPI, and the NPS).
|
|
Who has been involved in this project?
After the fleet was removed from service, both GPI and NPS committed subject matter personnel to serve on an interdisciplinary team. They worked towards finding an economically feasible solution to returning this fleet of historic buses to service in Glacier National Park. This team brought together an ad-hoc who group consisted of mechanics, concession specialists, engineers and consultants from Ford Motor Company, National Trust for Historic Preservation, White Motor Co., Federal Transit Administration (U.S. Department of Transportation), Montana Department of Transportation, Department of the Interior, National Park Foundation, Glacier Fund, Clean Fuels U.S.A. (Amerigas), National Park Service, members of the Glacier Park Foundation (former Gear Jammers), and numerous others concerned about seeing that the buses return to the roadways of Glacier National Park.
|
|
Did all of the Red Buses have identical rehabilitation needs?
The buses were found to have varying degrees of structural and safety problems. Many of the structural concerns were associated with the drive train, brakes, steering mechanisms, and chassis. As an operating fleet, the buses had undergone routine maintenance over the years, so individual vehicles varied in condition. In 1989, the manual transmission and steering mechanisms were replaced with automatic transmissions and power steering.
|
|
Who owns the fleet of historic Red Buses?
The fleet of 33 historic vehicles were privately owned by park concessioner Glacier Park, Inc. and have been operated under concession contract within Glacier National Park by Glacier Park, Inc. since they were purchased from the Glacier Park Transportation Company (Howard Hays, Owner) in the 1950s. In 2001, Glacier Park, Inc. donated the fleet (33 Red Buses) to the not-for-profit National Park Foundation so that Ford Motor Company could fund the rehabilitation of the buses. Upon completion of the renovation and restoration work by Ford Motor Company and their contractor, Transportation Design and Manufacturing (TDM), of Levonia, Michigan, title of the buses were transferred to Glacier National Park. One of the coaches has been kept in as original condition as possible for historical purposes. All partners agreed that upon completion of all rehabilitation work (2003), Glacier Park, Inc. would continue to operate the buses in Glacier National Park under an amended contract for as long as the contract's terms allow.
|
|
|
