When the Montage Hotel opens in 2021 at Big Sky, Montana, guests will be shuttled in historic style in a 1936 White 706 Yellowstone Bus restored by Legacy Classic Trucks.
âLegacy Classic Trucks is committed to finding special pieces of American transportation that are historically significant and giving them new life through world class restorations so that they can be enjoyed today,â Legacy founder Winslow Bent is quoted in the companyâs announcement of the truckâs completion and sale.
âOur one-of-a-kind White Model 706 Yellowstone Tour Bus restoration really echoes everything that we search for in a build. The buses were originally crafted by a revolutionary vehicle designer in his day, Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky.

âDue to the rare provenance of this being an original design from Count de Sakhnoffsky, Legacy Classic Trucks made this a completely original restoration project with no other modifications. It is one of our finest restorations to date.â
He added that âthe purchase of this iconic vehicle ensures that Legacyâs restored piece of automotive history will continue to create new memories, all while delighting guests near the same national park where it faithfully served passengers for decades.â
âWe are looking forward to the opening of Montage Big Sky with our partners at CrossHarbor, and are thrilled to bring an extraordinary experience to guests and residents with the exciting addition of Legacy Classic Trucksâ newly restored Yellowstone Tour Bus,â said Alan Fuerstman, founder, chairman and chief executive of Montage International.
Located a little more than 50 miles north of West Yellowstone, Montage Big Sky will offer 150 guest rooms and suites and 39 residences.
âFor generations, visitors to Yellowstone National Park were transported through the parkâs majestic natural landscape in delightfully streamlined open-air buses produced by the White Company of Cleveland, Ohio,â Legacy said in its news release. âThe most-recent generation of these rare storied vehicles is the White 706, delivered in limited quantities to Yellowstone from 1936-1938.

âOnly 98 Yellowstone tour buses were ever designed. Made in America during a bygone era committed to making high-quality transportation that could stand the test of time, the White 706 Yellowstone tour buses were celebrated for their peerless design and dependability.
The company noted that de Sakhnoffsky did automotive designs for Auburn, Cord, Packard, Ford, Willy-Overland, Studebaker, Chrysler, Mack and Tucker during his career. He also designed watches, furniture and marine and aircraft. De Sakhnoffsky was born in Kiev, Ukraine, in 1901 and immigrated first to Paris, and then to Switzerland, and finally to the US after the Russian Revolution.
The Yellowstone buses were designed for 14 passengers, and featured a canvas canopy-style roof to provide panoramic sightseeing.
The restored bus had been in storage in Montana after its duties at the park.

âInterestingly,â Legacy reported, âwhile the tour bus body is made of steel and aluminum construction, the vehicleâs frame is constructed entirely of wood.
âFor the restoration, Legacy Classic Trucks incorporated a White 318 16A six-cylinder engine that produces 96 horsepower. Legacy Classic Trucks also fully restored the vehicleâs original non-synchronized transmission, a unique feature of the day that gave rise to the popular moniker of âgear jammersâ in reference to driving these buses.â

Based in Driggs, Idaho, Legacy Classic Trucks specializes in Dodge Power Wagon, Jeep Scrambler and Chevrolet NAPCO restorations as well as doing Diamond T, Mack, Studebaker and Hudson truck restorations for ranch, personal and commercial use.
The company started in 2010 when Bentâs employment evaporated.
âWhat am I going to do now?â he asked his wife, Andrea.
Pointing to the Dodge Power Wagon he was restoring, her response was, âYouâre already doing it. Just get an âOpenâ sign.â
He did and a high-end restoration and resto-mod business was born.
For more information, visit the Legacy Classic Trucks and Montage Hotels websites.
You couldnât write a better bed time story about the tour bus. THE END !! Wicked
SOME YEARS BACK MY WIFE AND I ENJOYED A VISIT TO GLASIER NATIONAL PARK AND EXPERIENCED THE WHITE BUSES FROM THE SAME ERA THAT HAD BEEN REBUILT ON FORD FRAMES. INTERESTING TO SEE THIS RESTORATION.
Hi. If you want a complete history of #386 (pictured), contact me. I maintained it for 30 years and left with it a complete instruction manual and history (that the auction house may have lost).
— Dave Swingle, Museum of the Rockies