1950s Greyhounds parked in front of the Civil War murals on Buchanan Street.

But last week, three vintage 1950s Greyhound buses rolled up to Frisco’s and out poured families to take a break and have a meal. One of the group got stuck in traffic on I-44 and hadn’t showed up yet. The travelers said that bus was bright red and had a lot of shiny stainless steel and was a real eye catcher.

The westward-rolling fleet was caravanning across the country in what they called “Scenicruise 2010.” According to their flyer, the group billed the adventure as “The Hounds of the Mother Road Reunion.”  They gathered buses from all over the country in their caravan as they rolled along Route 66 on their way to Adrian, Texas, the midway point between Los Angeles and Chicago. From Adrian, it is 1,139 miles to either Los Angeles or Chicago.

The surviving GMC PD-4501 Scenicruisers drew lookers to their buses at each stop. Out of 1,001 GMC buses made, only 200 are accounted for today. Slated to last ten years, they were retired in the 1970s after lasting twice that long. Now, the privately owned coaches provide fun for their owners. At Adrian last week, they were going to meet other coaches for photos and then cruise Route 66 to Amarillo, Texas where the buses would be on display.

The group in Frisco’s shared their enthusiasm and knowledge of the vintage buses. You would think having one big bus would be enough, but the leader of the group had two or more at home. The one that he was driving was restored to be just like a Greyhound used to travel the country’s highways.

The interior of one of the buses that came through Cuba.

Larry Plachno, editor of the National Bus Trader Magazine, tried to sell me an extra bus that he had at home. Dave and Jeannie Hartshorne from Ohio had converted their bus to RV-style inside with sleeping quarters, shower, and dining area. They gave a tour and said that they often travel with family members and their young grandsons. “They’re devastated that they aren’t making this trip,” their grandmother stated.

The group said it was hard to put a value on the buses because they almost never went on the market. One of the group laughed and said, “Our kids will be able to tell you what they’re worth because they will sell them; we won’t.”

As most visitors do, they said that they enjoyed seeing the murals as they came to town. The leader of the caravan Tom McNally said that he had done Internet research and stopped the group in Cuba because he knew about the World’s Largest Rocking Chair and the murals.

After their meal, they gathered at the buses, checked the oil, rolled past a couple more murals, and headed down Route 66 to the Rocker. As large as the buses are, they were still dwarfed by the Rocker.  After a few more photos, they traveled down the road to Texas, where they had reservations at the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Texas is the state of big, and these mighty coaches should feel right at home.