AmTran was the bus-building arm of International Harvester’s successor Navistar for most of the 1990s. Formed in 1980 from the bankrupt Ward Body Works in Conway, Arkansas, it produced yellow school buses and commercial derivatives, nearly all of them on International chassis, until the AmTran name was retired in 2002 in favour of IC.
AmTran at a glance
| Maker | American Transportation Corporation, Conway, Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1980, from Ward Body Works (founded 1933) |
| Ownership | Navistar International: one third in 1991, the rest in April 1995 |
| Brands | Ward kept for school buses, AmTran used for other buses from 1981 |
| Patriot (1983) | semi-forward-control conventional on a shortened Chevrolet/GMC B-series chassis |
| Genesis (1992) | updated Ward Senator front-engine bus |
| RE (1996) | first all-new full-size AmTran, rear-engined and with its own body |
| CS (1997) | the most extensive update of the Volunteer conventional since 1973 |
| Chassis | after 1991 mostly the International 3800 |
| Second plant | Tulsa, Oklahoma, opened 2001 |
| Renamed | International IC in 2000, IC Corporation in 2002, IC Bus in 2009 |
Based on one source (English Wikipedia). The article covers the company and the school buses it built on International chassis.
History of the AmTran
Out of Ward Body Works (1980–1991)
Ward Body Works was one of the “Big Six” American school bus manufacturers, but the shrinking student population and the weak economy of the late 1970s hit it hard: by 1979 the company had accumulated more than $20 million of debt. On 25 July 1980 Ward Industries filed for Chapter 11 with $21.5 million in liabilities. An investment group called MBH, whose backers included Thomas “Mack” McLarty and J.W. “Buddy” Benafield, bought the business with the help of then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and reopened it as American Transportation Corporation. The Ward name was kept for school buses while other products took the AmTran brand from 1981. AmTran introduced the Patriot in 1983, a semi-forward-control conventional built on a shortened Chevrolet/GMC B-series chassis with a shorter wheelbase and a steeper nose for better forward visibility; it was not a sales success but influenced the later Thomas Vista. The 1987 body update, marked by a rubrail below the window line, is still reflected in the structure of today’s IC Bus CE and RE.
The Navistar years (1991–1999)
In 1991 Navistar International bought one third of AmTran, with an option on the rest that was taken up in April 1995. It was the first purchase of a school bus body manufacturer by a chassis maker, and several similar deals followed in the late 1990s. Navistar ownership changed the product range. The Ward brand was phased out: the Ward Senator front-engine bus was updated for 1992 as the AmTran Genesis, and by the end of that year AmTran badges appeared on the other school buses. The Volunteer body was then built almost exclusively on the International 3800 chassis, with Ford chassis surviving only as a rarely ordered option until 1998. For 1996 AmTran launched the RE, its first all-new full-size bus and the first rear-engined bus from Ward or AmTran in more than twenty years; it deliberately did not share its body with the front-engined Genesis. The Vanguard cutaway-chassis bus was dropped after 1996 so that the company could concentrate on full-size buses, and for 1997 the Volunteer conventional was updated as the CS with a redesigned drivers’ compartment and a flat windshield.
Becoming IC (2000–2002)
In 2000 Navistar introduced the International IC, an updated conventional body on the 3800 chassis with a new drivers’ compartment and a larger windshield, sold under the International rather than the AmTran name. Other products took International badging soon afterwards. In 2002 the subsidiary was renamed IC Corporation and the AmTran brand was retired; it became IC Bus in 2009. AmTran remained based in Conway, where its factory had always been, and opened a second plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2001 — the plant where IC Bus assembles buses today.
Design and features
- School buses first: AmTran was a body builder, and yellow school buses were its core product throughout.
- International chassis: after the Navistar purchase the Volunteer was built almost entirely on the International 3800.
- Long-lived structure: the 1987 body with its rubrail below the window line is still the basis of the IC CE and RE.
- Product firsts: AmTran was the first maker to offer a five-row Type A bus, and the Patriot pioneered the semi-forward-control conventional.
AmTran versions
- Volunteer / CS: the conventional school bus body, updated as the CS for 1997.
- Genesis (1992): front-engine bus developed from the Ward Senator.
- RE (1996): rear-engine full-size bus with a body of its own.
- Vanguard: cutaway-chassis bus, dropped after 1996.
- Patriot (1983): semi-forward-control conventional on a shortened GM chassis.
AmTran became IC Bus, and its buses were mostly built on the International S series bus chassis. More International vehicles are in the International collection.
Sources
- AmTran, English Wikipedia: company history, models, Navistar ownership
