The iconic red buses at Glacier National Park are getting some much-needed TLC.
The buses first showed up at the Montana national park in 1936. 33 of the original 35 buses are still in service, 88 years later (one was wrecked, the other has been fully preserved by the National Park Service.) Buses of the same type were at one time common around the national park system, but now, Glacier has the only remaining fleet.
The double-clutch transmission was challenging for drivers to master. “As a result, it was common to hear drivers jamming the gears up and down the Going-to-the-Sun Road,” writes the Montana Free Press. “As a result, the drivers were nicknamed “jammers” or “gearjammers.” (It’s a common misnomer that the “Jammer” name applies to the bus itself.)
Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the park’s concessionaire, is now overhauling the fleet to keep those buses running, including new engines, chassis, wheels, and even a new cup holder for the bus drivers. So far, at least 11 buses have been fully rebuilt.
