Yellowstone Snowcoaches Bid Farewell

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park is retiring its fleet of bright yellow Bombardier snowcoaches.

The 18 vehicles are traveling from Old Faithful to Mammoth, Wyoming today for one last winter trip.

The National Park Service had provided the snowcoaches to Xanterra Parks and Resorts, which runs Yellowstone's lodging facilities. The vehicles equipped with skis on the front were used for winter tours around the park and to transport guests from the park's north entrance at Mammoth into Old Faithful.

The vehicles are being phased out as there's less snow along the north entrance route and as quieter wheeled snowcoaches are being tested for possible use.

The snowcoaches were invented in the 1930s by Canadian Joseph-Armand Bombardier.