Road Trip!
We will travel Route 66 in October of 2025 ... and in October of 2026, the 100-year anniversary of the opening of Route 66 and the 250-year anniversary of the US.
We will travel Route 66 in October of 2025 ... and in October of 2026, the 100-year anniversary of the opening of Route 66 and the 250-year anniversary of the US.
Past Trips and How This Came to Be
by Tony Allen
by Tony Allen
1970 Train Trip West:
In August of 1970, one of my best friends and I took a trip in separate groups to Philmont Scout Camp near Cimarron, New Mexico. That involved taking a bus from our hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana to the "Windy City," Chicago, Illinois, riding an overnight train to Denver, Colorado, going to Colorado Springs, then taking a bus to the largest Boy Scout camp in the country. I remember the train rolling over the tracks as the big city of Chicago melted away and we moved through increasingly smaller and smaller towns, then through sprawling rural areas of Illinois. Small towns and sprawling fields in Illinois look very much the same as small towns and sprawling fields in Indiana. The most impressive part of the train ride, for me, came the following morning, after sleeping in a barely-reclining, economy passenger seat of the Denver Zephyr.
The Denver Zephyr had a Vista-Dome, an elongated, framed-glass bubble on that railcar's upper level. It provided 360-degree, panoramic views as the train traversed the country. The landscape slowly changed, as we traveled west, including rolling hills and vast plains. When night came, I couldn't see the landscape anymore, in part because I was half, to near fully asleep but mostly because it was so very dark. There were no bright lights of big cities. I had been in the Vista-Dome briefly during the morning we left Union Station in Chicago. When I woke up the next morning, a new world greeted me from my seat and I will never forget it.
Mountains! ... entire ranges of mountains and rugged landscape, near and in the distance, loomed majestically around me as if they had been waiting for me to see them. I left my seat and climbed the stairway to the Vista-Dome for a better view. I had to go to the Vista-Dome! ... for a better view of the mountains!
Ever since that trip to New Mexico, when I was fourteen years old, I have had an affinity for elevated, 360-degree views of the world. That train, with its Vista-Dome, made me appreciate moving and ever-changing vistas. On highways and byways, that experience can be recreated by riding on the elevated level of a bus. The look of a bus that brings me closest to views from a Vista-Dome is that of the mighty PD-4501 "Scenicruiser."
In August of 1970, one of my best friends and I took a trip in separate groups to Philmont Scout Camp near Cimarron, New Mexico. That involved taking a bus from our hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana to the "Windy City," Chicago, Illinois, riding an overnight train to Denver, Colorado, going to Colorado Springs, then taking a bus to the largest Boy Scout camp in the country. I remember the train rolling over the tracks as the big city of Chicago melted away and we moved through increasingly smaller and smaller towns, then through sprawling rural areas of Illinois. Small towns and sprawling fields in Illinois look very much the same as small towns and sprawling fields in Indiana. The most impressive part of the train ride, for me, came the following morning, after sleeping in a barely-reclining, economy passenger seat of the Denver Zephyr.
The Denver Zephyr had a Vista-Dome, an elongated, framed-glass bubble on that railcar's upper level. It provided 360-degree, panoramic views as the train traversed the country. The landscape slowly changed, as we traveled west, including rolling hills and vast plains. When night came, I couldn't see the landscape anymore, in part because I was half, to near fully asleep but mostly because it was so very dark. There were no bright lights of big cities. I had been in the Vista-Dome briefly during the morning we left Union Station in Chicago. When I woke up the next morning, a new world greeted me from my seat and I will never forget it.
Mountains! ... entire ranges of mountains and rugged landscape, near and in the distance, loomed majestically around me as if they had been waiting for me to see them. I left my seat and climbed the stairway to the Vista-Dome for a better view. I had to go to the Vista-Dome! ... for a better view of the mountains!
Ever since that trip to New Mexico, when I was fourteen years old, I have had an affinity for elevated, 360-degree views of the world. That train, with its Vista-Dome, made me appreciate moving and ever-changing vistas. On highways and byways, that experience can be recreated by riding on the elevated level of a bus. The look of a bus that brings me closest to views from a Vista-Dome is that of the mighty PD-4501 "Scenicruiser."
Buying a Scenicruiser Bus:
I had seen advertisements and heard and read slogans such as, "Go Greyhound and Leave the Driving to Us," and "Trailways, the Best Bus Going." I usually associated that Greyhound slogan with the Scenicruiser. Excluding prototypes, 1,001 Scenicruiser buses were built by General Motors between 1954 and 1956. It has been estimated that 200 to 220 of those buses remain, worldwide, and that there are only 20 to 25 that still have their original seats. Most remaining Scenicruisers have been converted into motorhomes or are rusting and corroding in fields and garages.
For many years, in the back of my mind, I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to own one of those?" I stumbled upon a "for sale" ad and bought Scenicruiser #470 in 2008. I bought another "Scenic" fifteen months later, at first, because I wanted a parts bus. The frame and panels on that bus, #468, turned out to be straight, so it didn't feel right to scrap the bus. Since then, I've come to own five Scenics, in various conditions, and one Flxible "VistaLiner" VL-100. I've intentionally rescued these buses for posterity.
Owning, restoring and maintaining a "classic" bus is an arduous task. Taking care of six of them has been nightmarish. Still, I am intent on restoring each of these icons of the road to former or greater glory, one bus at a time. I will begin placing these buses into service for the annual Classic Americana Road Show, beginning in October of 2025. So, the more people who ride the bus, the sooner I can restore the next one. Everyone who takes part in our roadshow will directly or indirectly in restoring these classic vehicles.
Scenicruises and Bus Rallies:
I participated in the Scenicruise 2011 bus rally, organized by Chad Goertz of Aqua Dulce, California, which brought owners of five PD-4501 Scenicruiser buses and an entourage of family and friends on a Route 66 trip through California and Arizona. At the time, I owned two of the buses that made the trip.
The April Scenicruise 2010 reunion in Amarillo and Adrian, Texas, organized by Tom McNally, was a success, with 85 people attending in 10 Scenicruisers and three other GMC model buses. Tom found further success as the organizer of the bus rally in Blytheville, Arkansas in 2013 that brought together a variety of approximately 100 classic buses (and approximately 300 participants) and again in Blytheville in 2019 with approximately 50 buses. Other trips involving classic buses and bus conversions include gatherings in Evansville, Indiana in 2017 and in Hibbing, Minnesota in 2018.
The April Scenicruise 2010 reunion in Amarillo and Adrian, Texas, organized by Tom McNally, was a success, with 85 people attending in 10 Scenicruisers and three other GMC model buses. Tom found further success as the organizer of the bus rally in Blytheville, Arkansas in 2013 that brought together a variety of approximately 100 classic buses (and approximately 300 participants) and again in Blytheville in 2019 with approximately 50 buses. Other trips involving classic buses and bus conversions include gatherings in Evansville, Indiana in 2017 and in Hibbing, Minnesota in 2018.
2016 Solo Trip:
I drove Scenicruiser 082 along most of Route 66 in 2016, continuing northeastward from St. Louis to go to my hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana. I took my parents on a trip to Tennessee, just for fun, then I headed back to California, after returning them home to Indianapolis. On the way back, I made a point to visit Tom and Hari McNally in Peoria, Illinois to have photos taken of Tom's Scenic, 771 and my Scenic, 082, side by side.
Other Road Trips:
I have traveled across the US, alone or with family and friends, more than a dozen times, visiting 33 of 50 states by road or by rail. I've made a point to travel Route 66 whenever I can. Doing so has given me a sense of the unique history of our country. I would recommend that everyone take such a trip, at least once in their lifetime.
2024 Test Road Trip:
I organized a one-vehicle road trip on Route 66 in October of 2024 as the predecessor to what is to become our annual Classic Americana Road Show. I invited four people to join me in a 2016 GMC Savana van so that they could give me their impressions on such a trip. The 14-day excursion was fun. We laughed and dined. We rode; we walked. We listened to music. We strolled; we hiked. We sang and danced. We shopped a little and we made new friends. I got to see and hear my friends' reactions to the sights, sounds and variety of Route 66.
2025 Inaugural Tour:
Our inaugural tour will begin in Chicago on Saturday, October 4, 2025. Click here to see the vehicles and owners who have committed to taking part in our first official tour. Check back with us, from time to time, to see that list as it grows and to keep up with the latest developments. Click here to register to take the tour with us.
2026 Centennial Tour:
The 2026 tour will commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the opening of Route 66 and the 250-year anniversary of the USA. This Centennial Tour will begin on Saturday, October 3, 2026.