BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

I know that the CTA was quite enamored with these coaches; were these propane coaches (900 in total) unique to Chicago, or, did other cities operate them as well? Also, was propane (as an option) only available on the Flxible Twin Coaches? AFAIK, I've never heard of any other postwar coaches being propane-fueled, with the exception of these CTA vehicles. Thanks in advance for any info..... John

[timecruncher]

I don't think anyone else had them as big, but I believe I've read where other systems had the propane-powered Flx/Twins. I'm pretty sure a number of White 743's were converted to propane because they were so expensive to operate as gasoline buses.

Louisville had a bunch of big Whites purchased to replace streetcars in 1946. They had voracious appetites for gasoline, but were never converted to propane. As soon as the TDH5103's showed up in late 1950 and early 1951, the Whites were relegated to tripper service until the big service cuts of 1958 and 1959 and were retired.

In 1959 I was eight years old, alas, and I never got photos of them. I rode in them a lot, though!

timecruncher

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Hey, Timecruncher: Thanks for the info! Interesting to know that other cities had propane-powered Flxible/Twin Coaches; Flxible/Twins, sadly, were NOT buses that ran in my area, back in the 60's. Sure do remember Whites, though! 798's and 1150's were commonplace in my area of NJ, back in the 60's, though GM Old Looks MORE than dominated the scene, back then!

I recall seeing several Flxible/Twins at (I believe) the East Troy Trolley Museum, back in 1977. The ONLY such coach I ever saw running was in Manhattan, back in November of 1974. It was obviously being used as some sort of garment-delivery vehicle (this was in Midtown), and, there were TONS of clothes hanging from rods mounted on the ceiling Only saw this rare one that one time! John

[ripta42]

Other systems with propane-powered Flxibles and Twin Coaches (from production lists at OMOT) and the number of coaches ordered:

Wichita Transportation Corp. - 22
City Utilities of Springfield (MO) - 6
Belleville-St. Louis Coach - 6
Edmonton Transit System - 32
Harrisburg Rys - 5
Central Illinois Electric & Gas (Rockford) - 4
Metropolitan Lines (Phoenix) - 18
Omaha Transit Co. - 57
Kansas City Public Service - 30
Bridge Transit Co. (Louisville) - 3
San Antonio Transit System - 45
Duluth-Superior Transit Co. - 6
Bluebird Coach Lines (Woodstock, ON) - 15
Ft. Wayne Transit - 10
Asbury Rapid Transit System (Los Angeles) - 26
Calgary Transit System - 6

Preserved coaches include Wichita 271 at Great Plains Transportation Museum, Edmonton 59 at ETS, and Phoenix 530 at Old Pueblo Trolley Museum.

[timecruncher]

I remember Bridge Transit's Twins, although I didn't know they had three of them. Nice-looking buses, figured they were diesels or gas, not propane. Wish I had a photo of one in that attractive brown 'n cream color scheme...

timecruncher

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

ripta42: Thanks for posting this listing! Am surprised that many other properties rostered propane-powered Flex/Twin Coaches. I see that none of these companies were in the East (except Harrisburg). AFAIK, these coches weren't all that popular "out East".

Seems many of the companies that rostered these buses were either Midwest or Western properties. Even Whites, Macks, and ACF-Brills seemed far more commonplace in many areas than the Flex/Twins. Sure wish they had been in my area when I was a kid; they were NICE-lloking coaches!! John

[ripta42]

It might have to do with where propane was most readily available at that point in history. Just a wild guess, though.

That's not to say diesel-powered Twins were unheard of in the northeast. Many could have been found in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, upstate New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. It looks like only one was delivered to Connecticut.

[RailBus63]

Syracuse Transit Co. was still operating gasoline-powered Twin Coach buses when Centro took over in 1972. These were quickly replaced by Flxible New Look buses.