Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust

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Buses Of Yellowstone Preservation Trust

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 ga

rage 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.

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.

08/19/2026

Save the date, spend the Labor Day weekend with us as we celebrate the end of the summer season with one big horn-tooting blast! Stop in September 5, 6 and/or 7 to view, learn and experience touring transportation once used in Yellowstone Park and the historic garage in which they reside. So much to see, so much fun to be had!

08/14/2026

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 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.

08/11/2026

Sitting pretty is a Model 706 Bus with Beartooth Butte in the background, most likely on its way to Yellowstone Park by way of the Beartooth Highway.

Back in the day, it was not uncommon to see a Model 706 Bus on the Beartooth Highway as the Northern Pacific Railway provided service to Yellowstone through Red Lodge, Montana beginning in 1937. Seems Model 706 Buses would meet the train in Red Lodge and carry passengers over the scenic highway to view its wondrous and breathtaking sights. Some would even travel to Silver Gate at the northeast entrance of Yellowstone Park where passengers would shift to other Model 706s for touring the park.

As you might recall, Yellowstone Park added 98 White Motor Company Model 706 Buses to their fleet between 1936 and 1939. If you look closely, you can see the bus body was in an art deco style. The long bold horizontal black stripe running the length of the body and the black oversized teardrop rear fenders were in contrast to a yellow body and the chrome radiator shell, bumpers, and door handles.

The interior of the bus featured an open rollback top and comfortable bench seats upholstered in Spanish leather. Each of the four (some with five seats as owned by the Northern Pacific Railway for touring on the Beartooth Highway) had a grab handle and a roof bow support bar for passengers to hold as they stood to view the scenery through the open top roof. Behind the fourth seat yet separate from the luggage area in the very back of the bus, were two compartments where the driver kept tools, personal belongings, and blankets. Beneath the hood was a six-cylinder 318 cubic inch engine, the latest design from the White Motor Company.

A photo of beauty for sure and one so reminiscent of once-were summertime views in the Beartooths.

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

08/04/2026

Hard to imagine no center stripes on road curves in Yellowstone Park but that was the way it began to be during the summer of 1933.

It seems the new Director of the National Park Service requested the painting of traffic stripes on curves be discontinued on all national park roads. The center stripes were thought to create an undesirable appearance and distraction and should be allowed to wear out and not be repainted.

Yellowstone on the other hand felt the use of the center stripe was a much-needed safety measure that had proven its value. Seems touring bus drivers were often complaining about the park motorists who while attempting to view the scenery and drive at the same time, were continually encroaching on the left side of the road, making travel extremely hazardous. The center stripe certainly helped keep motorists on their side of the road and with their illuminated discs, avoided accidents both day and night.

Yet the request of the National Park Service continued to be followed until two separate and tragic auto accidents occurred within a 48-hour period in Yellowstone in August 1938. Some felt the absence of a center stripe caused the accidents though no proof of such was ever found. It did, however, lead to the eventual urge of the National Park Service to re-allow the painting of stripes on the curves of Yellowstone and all other national park roads. And so it was, the painting of the center stripes began once again in 1940.

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

07/30/2026

What a great ride it was today for all aboard as we traveled the Beartooth Highway to view the scenic sights of the highway in a way never viewed before…..through the open-top of an original 1937 Model 706 Yellowstone Park Bus. Surely a once-in-a-lifetime, bucket-list ride it was!

It’s a ride we provide by reservation only and is for the bus that can accommodate up to 10 passengers, not for individual seats on the bus. Simply stated, you provide the 1-to-10 passengers, we provide the bus and an unforgettable ride.

The cost is $2,000 for the ride that can go as far as the West Summit of the Beartooth Highway at an elevation of 10,947 feet. It’s one way you can support our efforts to preserve in original operating condition, motorized vehicles used in Yellowstone Park prior to WWII and the historic garage in which they reside.

To learn more about these rides, go to www.boypt.org or call 406-860-5910.

07/22/2026

Every so often you happen upon an old newspaper story, then come upon an old Yellowstone Park photo from another, completely different source that brings the story to life. So it was today while looking to see what newsworthy event happened 100 years ago in Yellowstone.

So the newspaper story goes, and as the photo shows, the Director of the Princeton Summer School of Geology and Natural Resources, was on a Yellowstone Park tour with 23 students who were accompanying him as members of an entirely new kind of “traveling school”. All were traveling in a specially built railroad car called the “Princeton.”

Yellowstone Park was their destination as, according to the Director, “Yellowstone Park is the greatest and relatively the most unexplored field for scientific research in America. The park’s vast area is filled with problems that yet are to be solved. It is also probably the finest region in the west for geological observation.”

Five days were spent in the park after arriving at Gardiner, with stops at Mammoth, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Camp Roosevelt. All enjoyed the trip, especially the ride in their specially built railroad car the “Princeton”.

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

07/17/2026

You’ve passed it by many a time as you’ve looked at old photos of Yellowstone Park buses but today it catches your eye and you ask yourself, “what is it, what was it used for?”

You are told it is an acetylene cylinder mounted on the bus’s running board. You see it has tubes that run to the bus’s headlights and quickly conclude it somehow enables the headlights to light.

You learn that headlights were lit by acetylene in two different ways back then: an acetylene generator or a Prest-O-Lite cylinder filled with pressurized acetylene gas.

You discover the acetylene generator produced acetylene gas as needed, and you find the process quite fascinating. The generator is divided into two sections. The lower section contains a wire basket that holds calcium carbide; the upper section water. When the headlights needed to be lit, a small valve on top of the generator was opened. This enabled water to drip through onto the calcium carbide. A chemical reaction between the water and the calcium carbide occurred and acetylene gas was produced. The faster the water dripped, the more gas produced that would flow through the tubes to the headlights.

Now the Prest-O-Lite system was much simpler as the cylinder was already filled with pressurized acetylene gas. All the driver had to do was open a valve to enable the gas to flow through the tubes to the headlights. The cylinder was refilled when more acetylene was needed.

Some headlights required the front lens cover to be opened and the acetylene gas lit to produce a flame. Others had an autosparker, a remotely operated striker that allowed a driver to light the gas from behind the wheel. In either case, thick concave mirrors combined with magnifying lenses projected the acetylene flame light forward onto the road.

You find that Prest-O-Lite was one of several companies manufacturing acetylene gas cylinders and in 1904, was one of the first to fuel auto headlights. It seems acetylene was well known in the industry prior to the formation of Prest-O-Lite but manufacturers were wary of its use due to its volatile and explosive nature. Prest-O-Lite cylinders proved safer for use on autos but the refilling process in company factories was not easy and quite dangerous.

You note the acetylene headlight became obsolete over time with the introduction of the electric headlight by Cadillac in 1912. Many were still used for years to come. Throughout their time, acetylene headlights were used on autos, motorbikes and bicycles and more often as not, referred to as acetylene or carbide headlamps.

Acetylene headlights certainly had their time, their place and an ending that read “what once filled the dark road at night soon shone no more”.

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

07/13/2026

We are lagging behind so asking everyone, everywhere to make one big last push of votes, now and every day through July 20, for the Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust as Montana’s “Best Museum”, “Best Cultural Museum”, “Best History Museum” and “Best Roadside Attraction”.

Votes can be cast in all four categories at www.distinctlymontana.com/bom2026 #// in the Arts and Entertainment Section for the “Best Museum”, “Best History Museum” and “Best Cultural Museum”, and in the Travel and Adventure Section for the “Best Roadside Attraction”.

It doesn't matter where you live as anyone anywhere can vote. What matters most is the votes are made.

Here’s to pushing us over the finish line for the win!

Address

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

Telephone

+14068605910

Website

http://www.boypt.org/

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