BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

Yep, I know...this AIN'T the time to discuss a/c'd transit coaches, given the time of year, but, hey, IMHO, it's a topic MORE than worthy of discussion on its own!

What prompted me to start this topic was the book I recieved in the mail yesterday, one that I HIGHLY recommend to all.

My good friend Vern and I discussed a number of the finer points in this excellent book via phone, one of them being the buses that were equipped with a/c.

The book is "WELCOME ABOARD THE GM NEW LOOK BUS", by John H. McKane (with Gerald L. Squier.

Though this outstanding book, richly illustrated and with many pages dedicated to the "speqs" of the various New Look GM's throughout the years, there is also a good deal on the Old Looks.

A few fine examples of a/c'd PSNJ suburban coaches are depicted (including the 5108's, some of which were a/c'd).

By 1958, GM factory-installed air conditioning was offered as an option on some models.

These new a/c units were designed for the refrigerant compressor to be driven off the main engine, thus eliminating the weight and the expense of a second power plant.

The last Old Look GM's purchased by DC TRANSIT included 67 model TDH-5105's with this factory-installed feature.

The first New Looks were delivered to DC TRANSIT began in September 1959 (Eisenhower was still in the White House!); these were 75 air-conditioned TDH-5301's, and, it was claimed at that time that DC TRANSIT was the largest operator of air-condtioned transit buses in the world.

The greatest concentration of suburban buses (both Old and New Look) was NJ, where many operators (such as PSNJ) ran intrastate as well as inter-state to the New York (and, to a lesser extent, Philadelphia) area.

It is also interesting to note that while many "First Generation" New Looks were air-conditioned, there still remained problems to be ironed out.

For instance, with the V-6 engine and the two-speed VH transmission, bus performance was sluggish when the a/c was in use, since the power was drawn from the main engine.

In the future, many of these operators who would continue to buy newer buses from either GM or its competitors, specified V-8 engines with a/c.

NYO

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In 1960, PSNJ entered the New Look era, purchasing both suburban and transit models.

One of the handsome a/c'd suburbans was P759, a 1960 SDM-5301, purchased in 1960.......

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/p759.html

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

One of the last New Look suburbans purchased by PSNJ, just prior to the TNJ era, was 703B, a 1970 SDM-5303A.........

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/703b.html

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Thankfully preserved today, ex-PSNJ P700 (1960 SDM-5301) is quite historically significant, as it was the first production model, 40-foot New Look suburban built......

http://www.njthc.org/collection/p700.html

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A fine portrait of a truly classic "Joisey" coach!

Here is PSNJ M755 (a 5108) operating in Manhattan on a charter.

Not all of the 5108's purchased by PSNJ were a/c-equipped, however (look closely and you will note no hint of the distinctive a/c unit at the rear of the coach)........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1502

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Sister coach M783; note that an a/c unit is clearly visible.....

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1504

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Years after retirement, this Old Look was revamped for the New York City Transit Museum with a dummy roof-mounted a/c unit to represent FACC No. 3100, which had the distinction of being the very first GM transit coach equipped with air-conditioning.

The original bus was designated a TDH-5106, and was built as a demonstrator in 1956, and purchased by FACC two years later, in 1958......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3020

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

Awhile ago, in another thread, we had discussed WHITE transits that were equipped with a/c units.

It was not until a number of years ago that I saw my first photo of one, which had operated in Dallas.

Certainly, a/c-equipped WHITES were not the most common of coaches to be seen on the streets!

In the aforementioned "NEW LOOK BUS" book, there is an interesting photo (about 1960), showing a new Cleveland New Look parading between a GMC-5103 and a WHITE 1150; it is clear that the 1150 is equipped with a/c, as a duct can clearly be seen running along the roof.

This type of roof duct I clearly recall on the earliest a/c'd Old Looks in my area back in the 60's, in particularly certain coaches operated by the long-defunct ORANGE & BLACK.

A/c'd WHITES of ANY model were scarcer then hen's teeth in my area, back in the day......

NYO

[HwyHaulier]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Vern.....

Good point.

See.......

http://www.burlingtonreplicas.com/19gmtdpsecot.htm

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also of interest.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_New_Look_bus

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

An interesting (though non-a/c related) "true story" from the aforementioned "NEW LOOK" book, dealing with the FACC, NYCTA, and GM...........

"......on October 2, 1959, FACC exhibited its "BUS OF THE FUTURE" to a group of city officials headed by mayor Robert Wagner. one sneering NYCTA employee who was present, growled, 'Bus of the future, my eye! It's the same 'wayward bus' we brought here from Pontiac three or four months ago, and then returned it to GM after our maintainence people looked it over. That bus has been laid up in New Jersey, until FACC got hold of it and brought it over here........"

The "NEW LOOK" era for the NYCTA officialy began in 1960, with the new coaches being assigned to Brooklyn, to replace the remaining trolley bus operations there.

NYO

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Regarding a/c units on "Third Generation" New Looks.....

".......only the diesel model was available with air-conditioning. Designated the TDH-3301A, its exterior air-conditioning compartment was streamlined, and similiar in location and design and appeared similiar to those used on the larger New Look models......."

".......like the 35- and 40-foot buses, the system consisted of a THERMO-KING evaporator and condenser package mounted in a compartment at the top rear of the coach. A FRIGIDAIRE automotive-type compressor and DELCO REMY 12 volt, 55-amp alternator were mounted adjacent to the main coach engine......"

".......but, unlike the larger buses, the conditioned air was circulated by two centrifugal blowers that forced cooled air into the full length longitudnal ducts above the standee windows. It then distributed cooled air through discharge slots into the bus interior......."

".....recirculated air was returned to the cold units through a wide, grilled opening and filter in front of the evaporator compartment above the rear window......"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

An interesting vintage photo in "OLD LOOK BUSES: YELLOW COACH AND GM IN THE 40's AND 50's" by William A. Luke, shows a new PSNJ TDM-5106 (M512); what is interesting about this picture is that the bus is fully lettered, and bearing PS heralds EXCEPT on the front dash, where the PS insignia would be framed by the famed trademark "wings".

Clearly, this was a "quickie" photo, taken before the dash herald had been applied.

The caption reads:

".......in 1958 PUBLIC SERVICE COORDINATED TRANSPORT of Maplewood, New Jersey, purchased 22 GM Model TDM-5106 buses. They were among the first production air-conditioned transit buses built by General Motors........"

"........ General Motors built only 110 buses with this model designation and PS bought 85 of them. The remaining 25 of this model were also aquired by other New Jersey companies. RED & TAN bought twenty, and ORANGE & BLACK bought five......."

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

DC TRANSIT's first air-conditioned coaches were the TDH-5105's (5600-5666 series), delivered in July of 1958; these coaches featured modified rear windows, the same type to be found on some of PSNJ's and O&B's coaches, which also featured the THERMO-KING a/c unit mounted at the rear.....

http://www.burlingtonreplicas.com/19gmtddtr56s.html