Autogas on track at Mount Washington

© Auto RoadWho said an autogas-powered vehicle needs wheels?

Auto Road of Gorham, New Hampshire, USA, is a company offering shuttle services to tourists visiting Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeastern part of the country (at 1917 m above sea level). The vehicles used for that purpose are passenger variants of the popular Chevrolet Express van and since in winter time it's difficult for the people movers to tackle the snowy route, they have been equipped with Dominator tracks in place of wheels. Gearing has also been lowered to make it easier for the vans, capable of carrying up to 9 passengers at a time, to climb the somewhat steep slope. But that's not all...

After all, we wouldn't be writing about it had the SnowCoaches – as the Expresses are called over there – not been converted to run on LPG autogas. And they had, so it happens. Out of four such vehicles on Auto Road's fleet overall, two feature LPG systems, but apart from these the company also has five other converted vehicles – they're similar coaches, but with regular wheels, for summer use. The fleet operator doesn't intend to stop there, since the alternative fuel provides palpable cost cuts and fits the company's sustainability policy perfectly.

A couple of years ago, we started converting a couple of SnowCoaches to propane, and it worked out so well that we decided to continue. The plan is to keep moving in that direction as we purchase new tour vehicles.

Dan Houde, marketing director, Auto Road