MTFCA Forum

Rich Eagle has probably seen these photos before. The caption simply said “national park tour buses”. I can’t make out the door insignia to tell if the scene is Yellowstone, so it raised the question for me whether White buses were used in other national parks, and for that matter, besides Yellowstone, were there other national parks in that era, and what were they ?

I have seen a number of photos but can't recall those two. The first is a 1917 White Touring car. These were used for special excursions and dignitaries in the park. The second is a '16 or '17 White Model TEB 3/4 ton 140-inch wheelbase truck-based chassis with a 45-hp GEC engine. About 85 of these were used before the 15-45's like mine came out in 1920. They are indeed Yellowstone vehicles with this logo on them. Those photos were taken in front of the depot buildings in West Yellowstone. A local business took "Bus Pictures" and if you signed up for one you could pick it up on your way back from the park. There must have been thousands of those photos out there at one time.
In 1926 after White quit building Touring cars, the park bought Lincoln Sport touring cars for the officials and dignitaries. 29 of them were eventually in service. This one still survives locally: Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier and several other Parks used these buses. Perhaps Estes Park too.
Thanks for posting those photos. They are great to see.
Rich

There is an alleged White tour bus for sale in Hemming's I believe. 90K....

Do you mean the "1936 White Model 706 Tour Bus sold for $550,000 to top the RM Sotheby's Auburn sale".
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=8a5b70f1 ... YWxl&ntb=1
There were 6 or so neglected in West Yellowstone that my cousin and I used to play in. 1950s

Or this one at the Mecum. $1,430,000

Really cool to see how these vintage vehicles were not just workhorses but have become such treasured pieces of history.

I remember riding in one of several White Tour Busses up the Going to the Sun Road to Glacier National Park in 1995. At that time they had just been retrofitted with modern running gear, but looked pretty much original from the outside. I seem to remember being told they were 1937 models.

It likely was a 1937. The 706's were purchased in 1937, '38 and '39 and identical as far as I can tell.