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John Roth
Age: 72 Joined: 06 Jul 2013 Posts: 49 Location: Pasadena Md
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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Gonna be in Manhattan all day tomorrow. One of my goals is to find an RTS for one last ride. MTA Maryland removed them years ago.
John |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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John Roth wrote: | Gonna be in Manhattan all day tomorrow. One of my goals is to find an RTS for one last ride. MTA Maryland removed them years ago.
John |
John:
Sure wish you luck in getting one last ride on an old RTS!
I know the MTA RTS buses in Baltimore were not at all popular, due to narrow aisles, sealed windows, and inadequate air-conditiong.
In fact, I've read that many passengers waiting at bus stops would let an RTS pass them by, in order to board an older bus!
Still, it is sad to see these once oh-so-commonplace buses now about to be relegated to history.....
"NYO" |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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John Roth
Age: 72 Joined: 06 Jul 2013 Posts: 49 Location: Pasadena Md
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:48 am Post subject: |
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After two days of looking for an RTS I am back home in Maryland without seeing even one. One more common place bus that has disappeared.
John |
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John Roth
Age: 72 Joined: 06 Jul 2013 Posts: 49 Location: Pasadena Md
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 11:49 am Post subject: |
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After two days of looking for an RTS I am back home in Maryland without seeing even one. One more common place bus that has disappeared.
John |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2019 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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John Roth wrote: | After two days of looking for an RTS I am back home in Maryland without seeing even one. One more common place bus that has disappeared.
John |
John:
So sorry that you did not get to see (and ride) and RTS during your New York visit; it has been 14 years since I've seen one in my area of New Jersey.....a few that I rode back then (on the ACADEMY/NJT #22) were ex-NYC MTA buses.
Again, truly sobering to see just how fast today's commonplace becomes today's rarity.......
"NYO" |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 6:46 pm Post subject: |
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.........anyone here know when will be the last day of revenue service for the remaining RTS buses?
Also, what depot(s) are the remaining buses currently operating out of?
Hope at least one of these faithful old workhorses will be saved from the scrap heap.....
"NYO" |
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frankie
Age: 77 Joined: 01 Feb 2011 Posts: 747 Location: St. Peters, Mo.
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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St. Louis has never had an RTS in it's fleet considering that it's a major metropolitan area. During the RTS era, we've had Flxibles, Neoplans and Gilligs. Currently we're 100% Gillig.
Were there any other large metro areas that never had RTS's?
Frankie |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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frankie wrote: | St. Louis has never had an RTS in it's fleet considering that it's a major metropolitan area. During the RTS era, we've had Flxibles, Neoplans and Gilligs. Currently we're 100% Gillig.
Were there any other large metro areas that never had RTS's?
Frankie |
Frankie:
RTS buses were not to be seen here until NJT started purchasing them about 1997; also, ACADEMY (prior to the NJT takeover) also operated RTS's that replaced the old Flex Metros on a few of their local lines, including the "#22 HILLSIDE" (I knew these buses well, into the NJT takeover era; some, as I mentioned earlier here, were ex-MTA)
I remember also ACADEMY operating a few ex-DART RTS coaches on the rush hour only "BOULEVARD EAST" route, between Hoboken and Nungessers, back in the later 1990's These ex-DART buses I did not like, as they had air-conditioning that was forever conking out on the hottest days, and had other issues as well.
All the RTS's are gone from my area of North Jersey for many a year, now.
And, like the old METROS (as well as the older buses I knew so well growing up), I miss the now-classic RTS......
"NYO"
Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:41 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2019 9:39 pm Post subject: |
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Also:
I am interested in learning, if, back in the 1980's/1990's, were there any of the MTA garages/depots that did not have RTS buses based there, and only stabled GM/FLEX NEW LOOKS/METROS, until they were finally retired?
Thanks.....
"NYO" |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 2:01 pm Post subject: |
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Just received this item from a Staten Island eBay dealer:
Metal plate from an RTS II
"RTS II"
"GMC"
"PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, USA"
On the rear of the plate are two "codes:"
Z-4401
2003301
Be cool if this was from a retired MTA unit; no matter, it's gonna look pretty cool displayed up on one of my "transit walls"........
"NYO"
(not bad for $15.00!!) |
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Q65A
Age: 66 Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1769 Location: Central NJ
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Q65A
Age: 66 Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1769 Location: Central NJ
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 10:05 am Post subject: |
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Looks as if MJQ still has 23 RTSs left, so the Manhattan Division is not yet RTS-free. |
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Q65A
Age: 66 Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 1769 Location: Central NJ
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 10:09 am Post subject: |
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Sad to say but FLA, UP and JAM appear to be the last depots still running RTSs. Not very long ago they were still running out of GA and ENY. |
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee
Joined: 18 Dec 2007 Posts: 22629 Location: NEW JOISEY
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Posted: Sun Apr 28, 2019 1:23 pm Post subject: |
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Q65A:
Appreciate the depot information; it is clear that the long run of the faithful RTS is about to forever draw to a close; I saw these buses thousands of times each workday when I worked in lower Manhattan (1979-2003) and yet, never took so much as one photo.
I am most grateful to those forward-thinking enthusiasts who were far from idle when it came to capturing the RTS on film, over the years.
NJT's seemed (at least to me) to vanish far too soon; the last I rode were on the #22 HILLSIDE (ex-ACADEMY) about 14 years ago, before NJT cut back the #22 to Nungessers.
IMHO, it would seem (from what I gathered here on the Forum) is that most of us have the RTS as our post-New Look "favorite" (yours truly included; I also got to like the GRUMMAM/METRO, later on)
I do hope that there will be some sort of "marking" (however minor) of the passing of the RTS, when the very last one completes its final revenue run in New York.....
"NYO" |
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