White Glacier Park Red Bus 78 Parade Run 1995

Glacier Park has a historic fleet of 1936-39 Whites. They give tours of the park and immediate surrounding area. The drivers are nicknamed "Jammers," short for Gear Jammers. The fleet has been rebuilt several times, and it was necessary to place modern chassis underneath the bulk of the fleet. But in the late 1960s, they preserved one of the original condition 1936 models, Number 78. The former company Garage Manager Larry Eslick restored it to running condition in the 90's, even fabricating a driveshaft for the bus. Here, he drives it to a parade in nearby Cut Bank, MT. And I get to ride along. The bus is equipped with the original flathead straight 6, manual transmission, and manual steering. The original glass could be cracked by luggage in the back seat, Larry got together a complete set of the removable bars that protect the rear glass. He also installed one of the removable panels in front of the rear seat that would also isolate the luggage in the early days, these are no-longer used on the rest of the fleet. The 6 volt original electrical system was problematic this trip, and you can see him cranking it by hand. On the trip back home, the fuel pump gave us trouble, but nothing that Larry couldn't handle. Nowadays Bus 78 sits in the closed off NPS museum, minus a few of her door latches which went to restore her sisters in the fleet. But she is still an excellent runner! Glacier recently celebrated her 100th anniversary as a National Park, and this spurred me to post this footage.
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Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Glacier Park
• Red Bus
• Jammer
• 1936 White
• Cut Bank
• Montana
• #78