BusTalk

[timecruncher]

I posted this on another forum, but thought some of you here would appreciate it. This forum is all about sharing our photos and experiences, and there seem to be a few Flxible fans out there...

Here are a few before-and-after shots of one of Queen City Metro's 1974 Flxible transits before and after being rebuilt into an Advance Design Rebuild (ADR) in an experiment by Flx.

Here's one of the 1974 units when the timecruncher was working a cold Saturday afternoon run on Route 8 in October 1980. This was prior to the opening of Queensgate Division, so this Brighton Carhouse bus was parked outside and subsequently did not get washed during the winter:



These were basic buses -- no wheelchair lift, no power steering, 8V71 Detroit Diesel with a VS2 3-speed transmission (if 3rd gear worked). Not bad buses, but a fairly cheap imitation of the GM newlook in my opinion. They were delivered without the standee glass, by the way.

Here is "the creature." It was rebuilt from Flx #800 -- shop mascot for many years -- with a new body, new (and untested) electronics, one of them thar electronic signs, power steering and the same engine and transmission.



The bus toured the country in the year it was built, spending most of its time at MTA in Baltimore (Nabinut, take note), where it was used in regular service for a year or so. In exchange, Flx loaned us a Cummins L10-powered MetroA, that was unlike anything we had at the time.

Because of the higher floor and shorter wheelbase, most bus enthusiasts would notice right away that this is not a standard Metro A or B model or an earlier Grumman 870. Both photos of #800 were taken by the late Don Hess, great bus and rail enthusiast who documented much of what Metro did during his years living in Cincinnati. I didn't notice until I was working over these shots in Photoshop, but apparently that is the timecruncher hisself sitting on his fat a** in the driver's seat. I can guarantee that I did not ask for this bus, although I would take it if it were assigned to me. I have no idea why the driver's outside mirrors are as screwed up as they are. Because of the heavier air-ride package from the new look Flx, it had 8 air bags and handled and rode much better than the standard ADB Grumman 870 or Flx Metro.

#800 remained a shop mascot as a rebuild as well -- Don't know if MTA abused it that much, but it had a strange 12/24 volt electrical system, seemed to eat and digest alternators with impunity, and the transmission was forever getting messed up. By the time it was retired, it was the only bus in the fleet that did not have a V730HD transmission and as such was even more of a mechanical orphan.



#800 exists somewhere today -- it was donated to the Ohio Museum Of Transportation group, so I do not know its status. I fear it may be sitting and deteriorating in a storage lot somewhere. It is unique, as only a few were actually built. This was the factory demo unit!

timecruncher

[ripta42]

SunLine Transit in Palm Springs had some; here's a photo from our Galleries (Jim Beeler photo from the Mel Bernero collection)

[timecruncher]

Sun Line had around 20 of these. I don't know if their own buses were used for the conversion or if Flx had some old shells sitting around that were used. Seems to me I recall one other property had a number of the Advance Design Rebuilds, but I cannot for the life of me recall where.

The Cincinnati unit was prototype for the program, which never amounted to much, and was discontinued as funding for new bus purchases became more readily available in the early nineties.

timecruncher

[Nabinut]

I have a photo of 800 (known around Baltimore as 8381) I will search and upload later