BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Seen in the summer of 1949 leaving downtown Montgomery, Alabama heading for the Montgomery Country Club on the Narrow Lane Road route is fleet # 2611 - a 1947 GM Coach Model TDH 3610 and one of twenty-one likenesses operating for the Montgomery City Lines subsidiary of National City Lines, Inc.

# 2611 carries its parent company's trademark livery comprised of a very pleasant tone of mustard under the belt line over which windows are trimmed in an almost forest green with a roof in kitchen white topping it off (the combination has been dubbed a 'fruit salad').

Much that has been written about the exploits of the National City Line network has been in the negative and I will not comment further on their politics or ambitions except to say that they did buy up any number of street car operations nationwide for the purpose of conversion to buses and it would seem that GM and Mack were the leading beneficiaries of these transactions.

GM alone sold over three-hundred TDH 3610's to participating operators between 1946 and 1948.

Photo courtesy of Bruce K. of eBay.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Mr. Linsky]

The Montgomery City Lines bus pictured above carries the trademark of the nationwide National City Lines, Inc. (NCL) network as seen attached.

This flag appeared amidships on both sides of every bus of every participating company in the system with the only difference being that the applicable city's name was inserted above the logo.

A little more information about National City Lines, Inc.;

Following is a list of cities that had transit systems which were at one time or another owned by National City Lines along with the years of NCL stewardship (the word 'Bustitution' following the listing indicates what was an active conversion program from streetcars to buses).

Also included are companies owned by Pacific City Lines, which, until 1948, existed as a separate entity although with ties to NCL.

* Aurora/Elgin, IL (1937-1966)
* Beaumont, TX (1937-1972) BUSTITUTION!
* Bellingham, WA (1938-1946) BUSTITUTION!
* Bloomington, IL (1936-1966) BUSTITUTION!
* Burbank, CA (1944-1946)
* Burlington, IA (1941-1959)
* Butte, MT (1938-1946) BUSTITUTION!
* Canton, OH (1940-1971)
* Cedar Rapids, IA (1937-1966) BUSTITUTION!
* Champaign, IL (1936-1966) BUSTITUTION!
* Danville, IL (1936-1964) BUSTITUTION!
* Davenport, IA (1950-1974)
* Decatur, IL (1936-1972) BUSTITUTION!
* East St. Louis, IL (1935-1963)
* El Paso, TX (1943-1976)
* Eureka, CA (1939-1946) BUSTITUTION!
* Everett, WA (1938-1946)
* Fresno, CA (1939-1946) BUSTITUTION!
* Galesburg, IL (1934-1936)
* Glendale, CA (1940-1962) BUSTITUTION!
* Great Falls, MT (1938-1946) BUSTITUTION!
* Houston, TX (1966-1974)
* Inglewood, CA (1942-1946)
* Jackson, MI (1936-1964)
* Jackson, MS (1939-1966)
* Joliet, IL (1934-1970)
* Kalamazoo, MI (1936-1967)
* Kewanee, IL (1936-1937) BUSTITUTION!
* Lansing, MI (1936-1937)
* LaSalle/Peru, IL (1936-1937)
* Lincoln, NB (1942-1971) BUSTITUTION!
* Long Beach, CA (1946-1963)
* Mobile, AL (1939-1971) BUSTITUTION!
* Montgomery, AL (1935-1974) BUSTITUTION!
* Oshkosh, WI (1933-1934)
* Ottumwa, IA (1941-1951)
* Pasadena, CA (1940-1963) BUSTITUTION!
* Peoria, IL (1955-1964)
* Pontiac, MI (1936-1960)
* Port Arthur, TX (1937-1950) BUSTITUTION!
* Portsmouth, OH (1939-1959) BUSTITUTION!
* Quincy, IL (1936-1966)
* Rock Island, IL (1950-1974)
* Sacramento, CA (1943-1955) BUSTITUTION!
* Saginaw, MI (1936-1962)
* Salt Lake City, UT (1944-1968)
* San Jose, CA (1938-1963, 1970-1973) BUSTITUTION!
* Sioux City, IA (1953-1967)
* South Bend, IN (1956-1967)
* Spokane, WA (1945-1968)
* Stockton, CA (1939-1963) BUSTITUTION!
* Tampa, FL (1942-1971)
* Terre Haute, IN (1939-1955) BUSTITUTION!
* Tulsa, OK (1936-1957)
* Wichita Falls, TX (1950-1971)

National City Lines also had significant control of the following additional transit systems.

* Baltimore Transit Co. (1944-1972)
* Jacksonville - Motor Transit Co. (1943-1945)
* Los Angeles Transit Lines (1945-1958)
* Oakland - Key System Transit Lines (1946-1960)
* Philadelphia Transportation Co. (1955-1966)
* St. Louis Public Service Co. (1940-1963)

"Bustitution" was not significant with these transit systems. Jacksonville had already converted to buses. The Key System discontinued all remaining local streetcars in 1948, but retained the interurban trains over the San Francisco Bay Bridge until 1958. Some streetcars remained in Los Angeles through the public takeover in 1958. And the original streetcars in Baltimore and St. Louis outlasted Chicago's streetcars, and those cities now have new light rail systems. And Philadelphia still has streetcars.

Information thanks to Chicago Rail Fans.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[HwyHaulier]

MR 'L' -

The superb listing of N C L properties is apparently the careful work of Bill Vandervoort. Site, Chicago Rail Fans
apparently his creation, and serves as "showroom" or "gallery". His Mapping of long haul Bus Services quite
phenomenal and noteworthy...

For myself, I can't much endorse use of phrase, "BUSTITUTION!". IMHO, it tends to cheapen any objective and
credible analysis of N C L. Use of the conclusion a bit naive, in that it does not account for precarious conditions
of smaller town rail systems. Someone had to take hard decisions, if there was to be any public transit at any
of the points. The plan being to run these as businesses, not interactive, interpretive trolley museums...

......................Vern..................