BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Just a little more interesting tech information on GM's RTS Artics which were to be referred to as 'Mega' buses.

They probably or undoubtedly would have been another smash hit out of Truck and Coach had the 'empty suits' up in the towers of Detroit not decided to bury the division!

Saddest thing to have ever happened to U.S. bus transportation!

Photo credit; eBay

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[HwyHaulier]

[Mr. Linsky]

Ken,

Here's one I'll bet you've never seen either! (nor have I!).

Custom built, and only one of two that ever existed, is this late 50's version of a Crown Artic. shown below.

This bus is only now being scrapped in Fresno, and the other which was composed of a single level pair was last seen in Utah and may still be operational.

Crown Coach, a California builder of mostly school buses and fire equipment, had its beginnings as a carriage maker before the turn of the twentieth century (see below), and was merged into the Carpenter Body Works of Mitchell, Indiana in the late 1990's.

Credits; Don Lewis and Eric Gregory of NorCal Bus Fans.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[Mr. Linsky]

I am uncertain as to whether the image below can be classified as an Artic (if it is, it's undoubtedly among the first).

The 'tractor' (#26), a 1930 Buick Model 26 Business Coupe, is towing something like a 15 passenger Aero Coach (a company that became famous for their Recreational Vehicles years ago).

The rig belonged to Colonial Coach Lines which was eventually merged into Canada Coach Lines.

Apparently, Flxible wasn't the only bus manufacturer interested in Buick power, and you can tell by the length of this Buick's cowling that its power came from a big 'Fireball' Straight Eight - the fastest thing on any wheels in those days!

Credits; within frame.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

[Mr. Linsky]

Here's a really good shot of the 'Aero/Buick' above.

In this image there are actual 'models' sitting in the trailer.

Anybody remember either an Abbott and Costello or Three Stooges movie in which the hitch on a like vehicle breaks as they're heading down a steep hill and suddenly the trailer is overtaking the car and the boys are waving frantically to the driver for help as they sail by?

When I look at this picture, that's all I can think of.

Credit; within frame.

Mr. 'L'

[RTS_04]

[Mr. Linsky]

Evan,

As you may undoubtedly know, I make every effort to give credit for any photos that accompany my essays in my posts.

In the case of the prototype GM RTS articulated magazine ad, I did credit GM when it should actually have been eBay as can be seen in the following URL;

http://cgi.ebay.com/1981-GMC-RTS-Articulated-Transit-Bus-Ad_W0QQitemZ290348957770QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439a25804a

At no time did I have any knowledge of your efforts in this regard, but you can be certain that had I obtained it from something that you posted, I would have been happy to acknowledge that fact.

Regards,

Mr. 'L'

[Mr. Linsky]

Dennis,

Sorry. I tried changing my email address on BusTalk; now I can't log in to see if you replied to my message.

My issue wasn't with the RTS Mega advertisement photo (yes, that was from ebay). My issue was with this image, which you posted on July 24, 2009 and seem to have uploaded to your Photobucket:

For your reference, the post is on this page:

http://forum.bustalk.info/viewtopic.php?t=...5d7d6bc0daa94ff

Where, then, did you get THAT particular image, if not from my Flickr page or my book? I sincerely doubt there are duplicates of THAT image with THAT airbrushed paint floating around -- but if so, I'd LOVE to know I'm wrong.

Dennis, you could not have possibly obtained this image from either eBay or General Motors Photographic. I own that original image -- airbrushed paint and all -- and obtained that from the basement of a former GM employee. I'll be glad to take a photo of my face with today's paper in front of the image if you so desire...

I'm guessing you either scanned my book -- which had the image -- or stole it from my Flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/etmccaus/2185011362/

Either way, that particular image -- with the airbrushing -- should at least be attributed to me. I understand that it's an original GM photo, but were it not for me doing the legwork to write the RTS book, you wouldn't have that image with the paint in the factory. If it weren't for me re-photographing it and posting in Flickr, you wouldn't have your image.

I don't mind sharing historic images with bus fans -- it's why I posted it on Flickr, after all. I just think proper credit is deserved. Had there been a link to the page you found that photo and/or my name, and I'd never have said a thing. I may not have photographed that shot, but I did find it, I did unearth it, I did scan it, and I did post it to the Internet.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. I have a trove of other GM marketing images scanned, but it's incidents like this (this isn't the first time) that prevent me from sharing more. It's not worth my time if folks aren't going to give credit to those doing the research work.


Sincerely,

-Evan

Mr. L's final reply;


Evan,

If I did use your airbrushed Flickr photo without giving you credit, I apologize.

However, bear in mind that I may have gotten it elsewhere from someone who copied it from you!

Now for the riot act; speaking as an attorney (albeit a retired one), once a photo or anything else, for that matter, is posted on the Internet it automatically becomes 'public domain' meaning that it can be copied by anyone (this applies even to 'copyrighted' material).

However, the use of copyrighted material would be limited to non-commercial applications in which the copier could not profit.

I handily fit into that category because my works are for educational purposes only.

If you don't want your images used by others, there is a way of locking them down although I'm not familiar with the procedure.

Regards again.

Mr. 'L'

[Steve Carras]

[Steve Carras]