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The "Misfit" Postwar Twins
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N4 Jamaica




Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 858
Location: Long Island

PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 7:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Were the Twins diesel or gasoline? Dad brought me on the Q44 from Flushing to West Farms at least once in North Shore days. Then the Twins (ordered by North Shore, but purchased by the Board of Transportation) were seen all over the Queens subway feeder routes. Then some places in Brooklyn they became the model that shoved out the streetcars. I was not in New York when they disappeared. At that time, I was watching Articoolers take over D.C. Transit's older Whites.
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 7:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It does beg the question of why none of the BoT Twins made the rounds in Manhattan, or Staten Island (judging from the prior post of their operating in Queens as well) . . .

But didn't Surface Transportation also have a fleet of Twins at one point? I remember seeing one picture in Andrew Sparberg's book on the time period from 1940 unification to the 1968 creation of MTA . . .
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
It does beg the question of why none of the BoT Twins made the rounds in Manhattan, or Staten Island (judging from the prior post of their operating in Queens as well) . . .

But didn't Surface Transportation also have a fleet of Twins at one point? I remember seeing one picture in Andrew Sparberg's book on the time period from 1940 unification to the 1968 creation of MTA . . .


W.B.:

I, also, have wondered why the postwar Twin Coaches seemed to have been only used in Brooklyn; on a related note, on my senior class trip in October, 1974, I clearly recall seeing a postwar TWIN that, I believe, was being used by (I'm only guessing) some sort of garment service (this was somewhere in Midtown, around 7th Avenue)

I still remember being able to see through the old TWIN's windows and seeing rows and rows of plastic-wrapped garments (all on hangers) hanging from the overhead standee poles!

It was not possible to take a even quick picture, but I still clearly remember seeing this rare old bus, well over 40 years later......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

All........

Here's an undated photo showing SURFACE postwar TWIN COACH #6000, working on the BX-12.........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1551

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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N4 Jamaica




Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 8:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's a good question about Twins owned by Surface Transportation. Somewhere I have a link to a pre-war Surface roster, and I believe Twins with that big roof-top air scoop were the most visible of Surface buses in The Bronx about 1945, as I was riding the streetcar lines. Somewhere there is a photo of a post-war Twin on Bx12, the type that had the odd windshield that allowed the driver to peer directly under the front of the bus. I doubt that Surface signed up for more than ten of them, as The Bronx was GMC, 1100's, 1200's, etc.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4 Jamaica wrote:
That's a good question about Twins owned by Surface Transportation. Somewhere I have a link to a pre-war Surface roster, and I believe Twins with that big roof-top air scoop were the most visible of Surface buses in The Bronx about 1945, as I was riding the streetcar lines. Somewhere there is a photo of a post-war Twin on Bx12, the type that had the odd windshield that allowed the driver to peer directly under the front of the bus. I doubt that Surface signed up for more than ten of them, as The Bronx was GMC, 1100's, 1200's, etc.


N4/All:

Just dug this one out of my files; a train of old BMT "C"-type cars clatters along the old Fulton El, with a postwar TWIN running in its shadows........

http://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?112760

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just noting that JAMAICA BUSES once operated (prewar) TWIN COACHES; these were 29 Model 40's, purchased in 1933.

The Model 40, it should be noted, was a very popular prewar TWIN model, one that was operated in many cities; 1,200 units were built between 1927 and 1934.

Trolley bus versions were also built......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?667

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A postwar TWIN COACH is seen here swerving around a TARS Route #7 streetcar in Mount Vernon, circa-1951......

http://www.newdavesrailpix.com/tars/htm/tars161.htm

(courtesy: Dave's Electric Railroads)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Over 20 idle TWIN COACHES are seen here in this 1955 view; IMHO, it looks as though these buses have been retired from revenue service.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3993

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Second-hand" BoT postwar TWIN COACHES.......

TWIN COACH buses #'s 150-199 were acquired by the BoT through the purchase of the NORTH SHORE BUS COMPANY; these buses were later transferred to routes in Brooklyn and Queens.

On these routes, they were mixed with the BoT fleet of 1400 and 1700 series TWINS

Source:

"NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT SYSTEM: BUS & TROLLEY COACH FLEET" (James Clifford Greller)

"NYO"
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm uncertain whether the link below will work. It links to a thread to which Mr. Linsky contributed two photos on January 19, 2010. His second photo (credited to Vince Syrek) shows a prewar Twin on Route C in Mount Vernon. No fleet number can be seen. However, this is the type of bus I saw on many Bronx routes during WW2.
Link:
http://bustalk.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2339&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=surface+transportation+roster
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4:

The link DID work; thank you for providing it here! Wink

In my area of northern New Jersey, the only TWIN COACHES I remember were prewar models (I think these might have been 30R models) working for a couple of the Jersey City "indies", back in the early/mid-1960's.

As far as postwar TWINS go, these were totally absent from my area; I know that I never saw one growing up.

One New Jersey suburban carrier that did operate postwar TWINS was SOMERSET ("The Blue Star Route"); these eight suburban buses were Model FS-40 "FAGEOLINERS", and were purchased in 1952.

I have no idea how long they operated for SOMERSET; I am only wagering a guess when I say that they might have been retired when the first New Looks began arriving in the early 1960's........

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 3:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.....just now thinking of how obvious it was (at least to bus enthusiasts!) that the windshields used on Flxible's New Looks were clearly inspired by those used on the postwar TWINS (although greatly enlarged).....

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 3:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For (windshield) comparison only......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1544

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 16, 2019 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Postwar TWIN COACH BoT "trivia"......

BoT Demo #3 was a larger version of the postwar TWIN COACH Model 50-S; this bus carried the number "3".

This model was was originally designed to carry two engines, but one 200hp underfloor engine was used instead.

An interesting note in the Greller book, when discussing Chicago's huge fleet of propane buses, is that such buses did operate in the northern section of the Bronx, on Westchester Street Transportation Company's New Rochelle route, which connected with the subway.....

"NYO"
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