BusTalk

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 6:08 pm Post subject: 'BUS FORCE ONE'

When the President of the United States takes the bus, I have to believe that the fleet number changes to Bus Force One!

Seen seated in the famous Rosa Parks bus on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is our Chief Executive Barack Obama who is probably deep in thoughts surrounding the historic events of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama that turned an ordinary transit bus into a cherished object.

The bus, a 1948 36 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH-3610 and carrying fleet #2857, was purchased by conglomerate National City Lines (NCL) and, with its standard NCL 'Fruit Salad' livery, saw service in a number of cities before reaching retirement in Alabama.

Interestingly, historians are not absolutely certain that #2857 was the actual bus probably because they could find no photographs in which the fleet number was discernible.

However, in October 2001, a member of the Museum’s conservation staff personally inspected the bus, ensuring that its markings and identification were original and a certified forensic document examiner employed by the Museum examined scrapbooks of original images and saw no reason to doubt the authenticity of the accompanying notations.

Photo and information courtesy of 'cdlocks4all' and is available at eBay as item # 231390290715.

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

roymanning2000 · Age: 75 Joined: 01 Aug 2007 Posts: 198

I seem to remember reading that the family of the bus driver found time books or other items that showed 2857 as the bus he drove on that day. I tried to find that on the internet but no luck so far. I'm pretty sure my memory is correct on that, though.

Roy

Hart Bus · Age: 74 Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 1150

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:10 pm Post subject:

As coincidence would have it, I came upon an interesting pamphlet entitled 'Is This Really the Rosa Parks Bus?' prepared by the curators of the Henry Ford Museum in Deaborn, Michigan and includes the story and some photos of the painstaking restoration of the coach in preparation for preservation.

A quote from the eBay vendor who, by the way, is a long time member and officer of the Motor Bus Society;

"When I first heard that the "ROSA PARKS BUS" had been "found," I was skeptical as to whether or not it was really the Montgomery City Lines TDH 3610 that Ms. PARKS had been arrested in on December 1, 1955. But after reading this interesting booklet, I am convinced that the bus that was "found", restored, and is now in the Henry Ford Museum is the real thing".

Pamphlet courtesy of '4509bus' and is available at eBay as item # 371235297975.

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

Mr. Linsky · Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:51 pm Post subject:

Credit must be given to Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA) for its effort to replicate the famous Rosa Parks bus for the annual Martin Luther King Day parade.

The bus (seen below) in the form of a 1958 GM Coach modeled as a TDH 4801 is, at least to those of us in the know, a far cry from the actual 1948 TDH 3610 but still certainly a very meaningful reminder of an historic event.

#5193, stored at LACMTA's Central Maintenance Facility and said to be one of very few coaches preserved by the company, was retired from service in 1981 and completely restored later in the decade.

Photo credits within frames.

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