Lewis Brothers Stages

Bored Miners Gave Lewis Bros. Stages Its Start In '13

Early in this century when mining was big in Bingham Canyon, the miners, most of whom were immigrants, itched to get to Salt Lake City to let off a little steam after several days of hard work.

Fourteen-year-old Orson Lewis, a farm boy from the Granger area, saw an opportunity to fill a need and obtained a Model-T Ford touring car to haul the miners to the big city. It was the beginning of Lewis Bros. Stages, a company whose buses can be seen all over the place, hauling people to all types of activities. Orson's desire to haul people probably arose from the fact that his father, Wilford, drove horses that provided the power for trolleys in Salt Lake City and even took tourists to Yellowstone in horse-drawn carriages.

Today, Lewis Bros. Stages, 549 W. 500 South, operates a large fleet of modern buses and other modes of transportation that can be seen rolling down interstate highways carrying people on a tour or on a dusty road carrying some Boy Scouts to a river trip.

Carrying on the Lewis Bros. tradition as a transportation entity are Joe Lewis, Orson's son, who is chairman of the board; Steve Lewis, president, Joe's son; and Deborah Lewis, Steve's wife, a former employee of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, who works part time and is accounts manager.

Orson's miner-carrying enterprise, started in 1913, was an instant success. It wasn't long before he was running 50 round trips per day on the unimproved roads between Bingham Canyon and Salt Lake City.

He took his brother, Bert, into the business, and Lewis Brothers Stages became a common sight on the sides of vehicles. In 1918 Lewis Bros. Stages started a scheduled line service between Salt Lake City and Park City, another place miners were glad to leave for some R&R.

The road to Park City in those early days ran alongside the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad line. When the mines petered out and the railroad stopped running, Orson picked up the railroad's line rights and the company has operated trips to Park City since.

Lewis Bros. Stages later expanded to hauling passengers between Ely and Salt Lake City, between Ely and Las Vegas, between Rexburg and Idaho Falls, Idaho, and even operated a taxi service in Ely. Orson was the first to receive a grandfather permit in 1936 from the Interstate Commerce Commission for the Ely line.

For many years, Lewis Bros. Stages operated buses in western Salt Lake County and Tooele County, but eventually its rights were purchased by the Utah Transit Authority. They also operated buses to areas in southern Utah that eventually became Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks.

Just before World War II, Orson purchased 25 school buses, even though he didn't have anything particular in mind for their use. When Camp Kearns was established where the community of Kearns now is located, Orson used the buses to haul soldiers into Salt Lake City 24 hours per day.

Joe started working with his father before World War II working in the shop, doing office work and washing buses. He was drafted and when he returned became a part of the business and took over when Orson died in 1963.

In the early days, the company operated from a facility at 700 South and West Temple, but in 1941 moved to 360 S. West Temple, a building that served as an office and garage. The company moved to its present location in 1965.

From the single Model-T Ford in which Orson used to haul miners, Lewis Bros. Stages has gone through many types of vehicles.

There were the stretch cars that held 12 people, White buses that carried 20 passengers, the Aerocoaches with a capacity of 29 and Pony Cruisers that held 21 people. General Motors eventually supplied buses with reclining seats, head covers and more baggage space, but they still didn't have air conditioning.

The first GM air-conditioned buses went into operation at Lewis Bros. Stages in 1952, and buses have been improving since. Today, Motor Coach Industries, a subsidiary of Greyhound, a transcontinental carrier, supplies buses with restrooms and air conditioning.

Lewis Bros. Stages has installed video machines in several of its buses, which has proved very popular with groups wanting to rent a bus, said Steve.

In addition to cross-country bus tours, Steve said intermodel tours have been popular for many years. That's where people fly to a destination, then take a bus for sightseeing, skiing or touring.

With 150 employees, including 30 full-time drivers, Lewis Bros. Stages isn't confined to its 25 buses alone. The company operates Old Salty, the rubber-tired train that makes five daily sightseeing trips in downtown Salt Lake City and operates a shuttle in Wendover that carries gamblers between the casinos.

The Lewises have a variety of other vehicles they use to transport people for all occasions. They also are the Utah distributors for Thomas school buses.

Over the years, the Lewis family has hauled many interesting people in their vehicles, from Utah Jazz players to members of the Air Force, Marine and Navy bands.

But for Steve, one of the highlights has been providing transportation for the Soviet inspectors who have been hanging out at Hercules to make certain terms of a weapons treaty are met. "In our own little way we have tried to be good hosts to these people,'' said Steve.

Their efforts must be appreciated. The contract to haul the visitors to various locations has been extended for another year.