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Snow coach

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Early style 12 passenger snowcoach made by Bombardier of Canada

A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle, designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger snowcat that is equipped with bus style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of very large low pressure tires or they may have tracks. A snow coach may seat 10, 20 or more passengers and are often used for sightseeing tours or for over snow transportation.

1963 10 passenger Thiokol 601 operated by the U.S.A.F.

An early example of a snow coach was the Snow Bus, built by Bombardier Canada. It was equipped with front skis and rear tracks and typically could seat 12 passengers. Alternatively, the front skis could be removed and replaced with front wheels. There are documented uses of the Bombardier Snow Bus being used as a school bus, for mail delivery and as emergency vehicles, but they were also used for tours and transportation in snowbound areas.

In the early 1960s Thiokol produced the 601 series snowcats which were often configured to carry 10 passengers. While not a tour bus type snow coach, these found utility with the United States Air Force as well as private industry.

Snowcoaches are a popular mode of transportation for tourists in areas such as Yellowstone Park in the USA and the Columbia Icefield situated in Jasper National Park, Canada.


Snowcoaches can be outfitted with either a rubber track or a ski system (replacing tires). Often called by the brand name, Mattracks, these rubber track systems can travel over thinner snow depths and even bare road patches without tearing up roadways. Metal-based ski systems can cause more damage or get stuck on traveling over snow-less patches. Subsequently certain roads may be restricted to just Mattrack-equipped snowcoaches, based on road conditions.


Modern Examples

The Terra Bus Wheeled Vehicle is one of the few Snow Coach type vehicles produced. Terra Bus is produced by Foremost Industries LP in Canada, has six over sized low pressure (30 psi) tires and carries up to 56 passengers on and off road for tourist or job site transport in snow or soft ground conditions.

These following examples of Brewster coaches were seen at the Athabasca Glacier in Alberta, Canada:

Early snow coach (a road coach conversion) for display only. With extensive overhead skylights but neither suspension, air conditioning, nor openable windows this is known to the operators as "Shake and Bake"
Modern and comfortable Foremost Terra Bus (in Brewster SnoCoach Livery). As of 2005 the fourteen vehicles at Athabaska Glacier formed the largest fleet of these coaches, with only two other coaches of this type operated in Antarctica

See also

References

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