Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust

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Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust

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Founded in 2008, the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust is a 501(c)3 nonprofit all-volunteer organization located in Red Lodge, Montana.

Donations may be made via www.boypt.org Our mission is to historically preserve in original operating condition motorized vehicles used in Yellowstone Park prior to World War II and the garage in which they reside, and to educate and share with others the importance of these vehicles and garage in the history of the park, Red Lodge and surrounding areas. Our vehicles are showcased in a historic garage located in the historic commercial district of Red Lodge, Montana. The garage was built in 1936 and is home to one of the oldest if not the oldest service stations that operated continuously in Montana. The garage is open to the public late spring through early fall, for special events and by appointment. The public is free to enter the building when open and view all that is showcased therein. There is no charge for entry. Donations received from the public are a source of income for preserving the historic vehicles and garage, and for covering organizational operating expenses. Bus trips in an original 1937 Model 706 Yellowstone Park Bus on the scenic Beartooth Highway are another source of income. Bus trips are provided by reservation only for families and groups. The reservation is for the “bus” that can accommodate up to 10 passengers: not for individual seats on the bus. A second bus may be reserved for larger groups if available. The cost for each bus taken on the trip is $2,000. Trips are primarily provided during the summer season when the Beartooth Highway is open for travel. Interested individuals are encouraged to round-up 10 of their friends or family and make a reservation by calling 406-860-5910 or emailing [email protected]. If you would like to learn more about or make a donation to the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust, visit our website at www.boypt.org. If interested in receiving periodic newsletters, please go to www.boypt.org, scroll towards the bottom of the “Home” page to the “Stay in Touch! Join Our Email List!” section, enter your email address as requested and click the “Sign Up” icon.

10/17/2026

A favorite amongst the National Parks, and a majority in numbers as well, were the White Motor Company buses so a May 6, 1923, Los Angeles Times Newspaper reported. So the headline’s by-lines read, “Yellowstone has greatest number in use but Yosemite also has a flock on hand.”

According to the story, more than 300 White buses would be used in various National Parks over the 1923 season with Yellowstone having 161 in use, Glacier 30, Rocky Mountain 95, Yosemite 32, Grand Canyon 17, and Rainier 13. So the story goes, the Whites will also be used in other areas to transport thousands including Pike’s Peak, Niagara Falls, Salt Lake and along the Columbia River.

So here’s what various transportation officials had to say regarding use of the White buses in their park according to the newspaper article…

Yellowstone - “The White buses they operate over their 400-mile scenic trips cover the route in three half-days of running, allowing three half-days for sightseeing. In the old stagecoach days it took six days of continuous daylight driving to cover the same trip.”

Rocky Mountain - “There is one White which has traveled more than 150,000 miles and two that have exceeded the 100,000 record.”

Grand Canyon - “Keeps ten White buses and three White touring cars busy showing guests over all the wonder spots.”

Yosemite - “Both passengers and mail travel to and from Yosemite aboard 27 White buses. Officials of the Yosemite National Park Company say the Whites give very satisfactory service and are remarkably economical.”

Quite a story and what a great perspective on the large number of White Motor Company buses and touring cars used throughout the country. Not only did White play a big role in the transportation history of Yellowstone Park, it played a big role elsewhere as well.

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

10/08/2026

Daily comings and goings at the Northern Pacific Railway Station in Gardiner, Montana. Certainly a busy place as arriving passengers board Yellowstone Park touring vehicles for shuttling into the park whereas departing passengers board the waiting train to carry them away.

One can’t help but notice the two 1926 Lincoln Touring Cars Nos. 805 and 809 parked aside the station and the White Motor Company Model 15-45 Buses sitting under the station’s awning in the first photo. The Lincoln’s were two of the 28 Lincoln Touring Cars purchased by the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company from1923 to 1928; the Model 15-45’s were several of the 214 purchased from 1920 to1925. All were shuttling passengers to and from the park.

Interesting history regarding the Gardiner Station and the Northern Pacific Railway it served….Gardiner served as the southern end of the Northern Pacific Railway line that extended from Livingston to the northern border of Yellowstone Park. Prior to the building of the Gardiner Station in 1903, the line ended at the Cinnabar Station some three miles north of Gardiner. The Livingston to Cinnabar line was completed in 1883 and marketed as the first railroad line to a national park. The line was extended from Cinnabar to Gardiner in June 1902 and the Cinnabar Station abandoned.

The Gardiner station was built in a rustic style designed by the same architect who designed Old Faithful Inn, Robert Reamer. The station walls were built of logs and the foundation set in stone. The exterior featured a curving platform with the railway track on one side and space for horse-drawn and eventually motorized touring vehicles on the other.

One train ran daily to and from Livingston to the Gardiner Station where train passengers would be shuttled to and from Yellowstone via park transportation vehicles. The introduction of automobiles in the park eventually contributed to a significant decline in the use of the rail service to Gardiner with the last scheduled passenger service in 1948. The station was eventually torn down in 1954 when railway passenger service diminished from Gardiner. The track between Livingston and Gardiner was eventually abandoned in 1981.

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

09/28/2026

Luck of the draw? Possibly, but not so. A license plate with the same numbers, five of a kind, all in a row—too unusual to just happen that way.

And so it was in 1920, the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company ordered nine such license plates from the State of Montana, specifically for their vehicles operating outside the park. Those ordered were referred to as “poker numbers” and understandably so as they were 11111, 22222, 33333, 44444, 55555, 66666, 77777, 88888 and 99999.

The “why” behind the order came to light in an April 15, 1920, The Conrad Independent Newspaper article….”These numbers bring a great deal of advertising for the State of Montana, as around the hotels in southern California, where these cars are sent as an ad in the winter time, the easterners sojourning there play automobile poker by betting on the best hand seen on an automobile license number as the cars come and go about the hotels.”

One can only ante up a thought as to whether this was a sure bet or not, but for certain raised a head, hand or two as the vehicles bid a hello to those they passed by.

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

09/20/2026

A horizontally-divided sheet of window-pane glass that could be folded down when dirty…..an integral part of the early touring vehicles used in Yellowstone Park. It was called a “windshield” and replaced the “goggle”, both used to protect drivers and passengers from flying insects and other wind-blown debris.

Seems the windshield first came to be in 1904. It was simply a horizontally-divided piece of plate glass. The horizontally-divided design allowed the driver to fold down the windshield so they could continue driving when the windshield got too dirty to see. It was considered “optional equipment” until 1915 when Oldsmobile introduced it as a standard feature. These early windshields offered very basic protection and if the truth be known, they couldn’t withstand harsh impact and shattered quite easily.

In the 1920s, Ford introduced laminated shatter-proof windshields following the invention of shatter-resistant laminated glass by a French scientist. The laminated windshields were two glass panes separated by a cellulose layer. They were safer but unfortunately tended to discolor over time.

In the 1930s, tempered glass, one-piece curved windshields, and bulletproof glass began to appear. A special urethane was also introduced to fasten windshields to vehicle frames more effectively.

In the 1940s and beyond, more innovation came to be. The windshield that once provided basic protection against wind and debris transformed itself into the more complex windshields we use today. Time certainly changes everything.

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

09/15/2026

Beyond belief as we learn the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust has been voted “Best Museum in Montana”, “Best History Museum in Montana”, "Best Cultural Museum in Montana" and “Best Roadside Attraction in Montana” in Distinctly Montana's "The Best in Montana" contest for 2026.

Thanks to all of you who bestowed this prestigious honor upon us! You made the win possible and we are truly appreciative of your continual support and belief in what we do! Let's celebrate the win big time!

09/09/2026

A room with a view and a Yellowstone Park Transportation Company touring bus full of passengers to enjoy it all. All were aside a shelter and fire lookout station atop Mount Washburn in Yellowstone Park; a site that provided expansive views of the park below.

The National Park Service authorized the building of the shelter and fire lookout station during the 1921 park season. According to the Park Service, “The building was built of native rock and timbers. The inside dimensions of the building were 16 feet by 16 feet, with rock walls 2 feet thick laid in mortar. The first floor is 8 feet by 8 inches high with a large fireplace built in the southeast corner of the room. The fire lookout is placed on the southeast corner of the main building and is also of masonry construction. It is 7 feet 6 inches by 7 feet 10 inches, inside dimensions, with a height of 8 feet. An 18-inch firewall was built around both roofs. In connection with this building, two comfort stations were provided; inside dimensions, 7 feet by 16 feet, with walls 16 inches thick, built of native rock and timbers”.

It seems the construction of the building at such a high elevation was not an easy task. Quite difficult for sure as work crews had to find a source of water for use in mixing the cement for the building. Interesting to learn they used melting snow as their water source but had to work fast as the warm summer weather caused it to melt more rapidly than expected.

The Yellowstone Park Transportation Company was providing daily excursions to the summit of Mount Washburn that year as well. According to the September 15, 1921, Rawlins Republican Newspaper, “The Mount Washburn trip between Canyon and Mammoth cost $2 in addition to the regular fare and is well worth it. The view from the top on a clear day is wonderful, six ranges of mountains, with views spreading over three states visible. Very few of the private cars make the ascent, the summit being 10,350 feet above sea level.”

In 1922, a 3-mile-long telephone line was built from Dunraven Pass to the fire lookout station. In 1940, the shelter and fire lookout building were replaced with a reinforced concrete building by the National Park Service. As far as the road to the shelter and fire lookout building….that’s a story for another time.

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

09/03/2026

You can help us save the few that remain.

Your help, you support will help us do what needs to be done to save, to historically preserve in original operating condition motorized vehicles used in Yellowstone Park prior to WWII and the historic garage in which they reside.

Please consider a show of your support by helping us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 as we participate in this year’s Fun Run for Charities Event on September 5 in Red Lodge. Every donation, regardless of the amount, makes a difference and furthers our efforts to preserve these historic vehicles and the garage in which they reside for the years to come.

You can donate on-line now through September 14, at www.rlacf.org/programs/thrivingnonprofits/fun-run/ by clicking on the “Donate to Charities” icon then selecting Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust to specify a donation amount. You can also scan the QR Code on the following flyer to do the same or print out and complete the form at the bottom of the flyer and mail it with your donation to the specified address. We are grateful for any and all donations.

You can help do what needs to be done. Please donate today.

09/01/2026

Please join us this Labor Day weekend! What fun we will have!

08/26/2026

Busy busing the Red Lodge teachers off to their first day of school today! How appreciative we are for all they do for our community!

08/25/2026

August 25…..a day to celebrate as 110 years ago on this day the National Park Service was established.

Since 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted to care for our national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations.

Their focus is a mission of caring as they are “dedicated to conserving unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

Happy Birthday National Park Service and thank you for all you do to ensure all those special places exist for so many years to come!

This history sharing provided by CM Whitcomb for Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust.

Address

124 N Broadway Avenue , PO Box 1522
Red Lodge, MT
59068

Telephone

+14068605910

Website

http://www.boypt.org/

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