Scenicruiser rally scheduled
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restored Scenicruiser #771 in front of the Greyhound bus depot in Blytheville, Arkansas
Ever since we ran an article in the January Hemmings Motor News about the GM PD-4501 Scenicruisers, we’ve received a lot of mail from people who still own them or drove them for Greyhound in the Sixties. Of the 1001 Scenicruisers built, only about 220 are still known to exist and less than 30 still look similar to unit 771 pictured above. Many have been converted into tour buses for music bands or refitted and used as ultimate motor homes for camping and traveling retirees. There are still a few that have been restored to their original glory and we know of two here in the Northeast are currently undergoing full restoration.
Tom McNally contacted us to let us know that there will be a Scenicruiser “reunion” of sorts in April. Current owners and fans of Scenicruisers will be meeting in St. Louis and traveling Route 66 to Adrian, Texas, about 50 miles outside Amarillo. This is where the first ever Scenicruiser Rally will begin on April 8, 2010, and it is also dead center between Los Angeles and Chicago on the old Route 66 Highway. At least two of the Greyhound Scenicruisers will be making the trek from Adrian along I-40/Rt. 66 to Amarillo and will be on display at the Big Texan Hotel in Amarillo April 8-9. Tom owns Scenicruiser #1001, the last numbered Greyhound of the series, but it was actually one of the first built. It was initially numbered at GM as EXP-331 in 1953 as an experimental prototype and was sent to Greyhound in 1956 after logging many miles as an R&D test bus.
For further information on the rally you can contact Tom McNally at (309)253-2169 tbonemcnally@hotmail.com or Chad Goertz at (661)212-2026 chadgoertz2@msn.com
