A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger

snowcat A snowcat (short for snow and caterpillar) is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to move on snow. Major manufacturers are Pisten Bully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy) and Tucker (United States). Snow groomers A sno ...

that is equipped with bus-style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of very large, low-pressure tires, or they may have tracks. Snow coaches may seat ten or more passengers and are often used for sightseeing tours or for over-snow transportation.

History

An early example of a snow coach was the Snow Bus built by Bombardier in Quebec, 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. They were also used for tours and transportation in snowbound areas. In the early 1960s,

Thiokol Thiokol (variously Thiokol Chemical Corporation(/Company), Morton Thiokol Inc., Cordant Technologies Inc., Thiokol Propulsion, AIC Group, ATK Thiokol, ATK Launch Systems Group; finally Orbital ATK before becoming part of Northrop Grumman) was a ...

produced the 601 series snowcats which were often configured to carry ten passengers. While not a tour bus type snow coach, these found utility with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

as well as private industry.

Terra Bus

The Terra Bus wheeled vehicle is one of the few snow-coach-type vehicles currently produced. It is an

all-wheel-drive An all-wheel drive vehicle (AWD vehicle) is one with a powertrain capable of providing power to all its wheels, whether full-time or on-demand. The most common forms of all-wheel drive are: ;1x1 : All unicycles Reflecting one axle with one ...

, three-axle, off-road

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

which is specially constructed for use in Arctic climates by the Canadian specialty vehicle manufacturer Foremost, based in Calgary. The Terra Bus can transport up to 56 passengers. The vehicle is equipped with six extra-large, low-pressure tires typically filled to . One Modified Terra Bus can be found transporting passengers at the Antarctic research station,

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Un ...

. Twenty-two unmodified Terra Buses can be found at the Columbia Icefield and at

Jasper National Park Jasper National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest national park within Alberta's Rocky Mountains spanning . It was established as a national park in 1930 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Its locatio ...

, being operated by Brewster Co. for their Ice Explorer tour.

Specifications

Dimensions

*Length: *Height: *Weight: **Curb weight: 24.95 tonnes **Maximum gross vehicle weight: 29.94 tonnes (33 Tons)

Performance

*Engine: **Type: Detroit Diesel Series 50 **Power: 250 hp (187 kW) at 2100 rpm **Transmission: Clark 34600 Series Power Shift *Top speed: , on the Athabasca Glacier *Turning radius:

Operators

United States Antarctic Program The United States Antarctic Program (or USAP; formerly known as the United States Antarctic Research Program or USARP and the United States Antarctic Service or USAS) is an organization of the United States government which has presence in the A ...

*Brewster co. Tours

Uses

Snowcoaches are a popular mode of transportation for tourists in areas such as Yellowstone Park in the United States and the Columbia Icefield situated in

, 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 when traveling over snow-free patches. Subsequently certain roads may be restricted to just Mattrack-equipped snow coaches, based on road conditions.

Gallery

Image:EarlySnowCoach3961.JPG, A road coach conversion, known as a "Shake and Bake" Image:Shake N' Bake.jpg, A "Shake and Bake" Image:SnowMobileSnowys.jpg, Perisher, Australia Image:Snowcoach-01.jpg, Athabasca Glacier, Alberta, Canada

References

External links

{{Commons category, Terra Bus
Foremost Industries
Terra Bus Company Website

JVBs snowmobiles still in commercial use
Music video about a Terra bus
Tracked vehicles Snowmobiles Off-road vehicles Land transport in Antarctica Buses by type ja:雪上車