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"REAR WINDOW"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 8:44 pm    Post subject: "REAR WINDOW" Reply with quote

Fellows:

At one time, it was unthinkable to have a transit bus without rear windows.

Rear windows, whether they were split windows, oval windows, paired, or square, were once taken for granted as "standard" on a transit bus.

In my area, the last new buses to have rear windows were the NJDOT Flex New Looks; back in the 70's, AM GENERALS and NEW FLYERS also had rear windows.

Back in the heyday of American bus builders, the only buses to lack rear windows were Flxible's CLIPPERS and VISICOACHES, and the YELLOW/GM PD/PG intercity coaches (ditto the BECKS)

IMHO, rear windows (whatever configuration) not only allowed more natural light to illuminate the interior, but also, gave passengers at least a bit more visibility.

To me, a modern bus just does not look "complete" without rear windows.

Just my 2 1/2 cents worth, here.......... Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Recalling the era of rear-windowed buses.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3063

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3078

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3014

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

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2305

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 8:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Windowless rears........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3076

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3081

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3051

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3003

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Mon May 06, 2019 9:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A bit of a "nod" to the days of rear windows on buses, perhaps.....?

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3055

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22278
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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2019 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FLXIBLE's CLIPPERS and VISICOACHES, with their sleek, rounded, windowless rears, are still timeless and modernistic today......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3070

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 4:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding rear windows on transit buses, recall the large rear windows that were used by "first generation" Flex New Looks; by the 1970's, the rear windows were much reduced in size.

It was still easy to trace the outline of the original rear window, however; perhaps this was done to add structural support for the a/c units that were now situated at the rear of the buses, above the rear windows.....

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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PostPosted: Sat May 11, 2019 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in 1981, rear windows on buses were indeed the rule, rather than the exception...........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1513

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3429

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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W.B. Fishbowl



Age: 57
Joined: 02 Oct 2014
Posts: 2378
Location: New York, New York, USA

PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2019 7:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Back in 1981, rear windows on buses were indeed the rule, rather than the exception...........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1513

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3429

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

Very few of the 'Buffalo buses', I noticed, had 4-piece rear windows. Those I preferred to the 3-piece setup. If for different reasons than why maintenance and repair shop personnel at bus depots and garages did (their reasons: easier to maintain, cheaper to replace window panels).

The first buses for the city that came from the factory with 4-piece rear windows were the Flxible TA 5601-5790 (contract #MB-16) and GM MaBSTOA 6401-6900 (contract #MB-16-OA) built in late 1965 into early '66. All orders up to that point were 3-piece, with some retro-converted after the fact to 4-piece.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2019 11:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B:

Appreciate this additional info; like so many other aspects of the bus industry, we, more or less, tended to take rear windows for granted, never dreaming that, one day, rear-windowless buses would become the rule, rather than the exception.

An interesting bit on the distinctive twin rear windows standard on GM Old Looks (which started with the new YELLOWS in 1940)........

The only Old Looks that did not use these twin rear windows were the TDH-5108 suburban models (1958); these buses utilized a large rectangular rear window, split by a narrow divider.

These buses featured a large a/c unit above the rear windows; PSNJ, ORANGE & BLACK, and RED & TAN once rostered these models.

I remember these handsome vehicles well, many years back......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2019 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another interesting aspect on buses with rear windows is that, through the 1950's, most buses featured twin rear windows (either two rounded windows or an oval split with a narrow divider.

WHITE buses had rear windows that were quite angular for the time.

The very last new (non-New Look) transit buses in the USA, using rear windows (with the exception of the small, "new generation" Baby Old Looks of the 1960's) built were MACK's 1960-era "New Looks".

Yonkers and Buffalo were two cities that operated New Look MACKS; some of the ex-YONKERS MACK New Looks later saw service with (now long defunct) "BLUE & WHITE" (North Bergen, NJ), well into the 1970's......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 4:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Comparison of GMC and Flex New Look rear windows......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2305

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3016

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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W.B. Fishbowl



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Location: New York, New York, USA

PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
W.B:

Appreciate this additional info; like so many other aspects of the bus industry, we, more or less, tended to take rear windows for granted, never dreaming that, one day, rear-windowless buses would become the rule, rather than the exception.

Some 'artics' running on the M34 and M34A SBS routes have a rear window. But they are more the exception these days, rather than the rule.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 5:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
W.B:

Appreciate this additional info; like so many other aspects of the bus industry, we, more or less, tended to take rear windows for granted, never dreaming that, one day, rear-windowless buses would become the rule, rather than the exception.

Some 'artics' running on the M34 and M34A SBS routes have a rear window. But they are more the exception these days, rather than the rule.


W.B:

Being from NJ, this is news to me; thanks for bringing this to my attention! Wink
NJT's current (and soon to be replaced) NEOPLAN artics (9500/9600 series) do not have rear windows; it will be interesting to see if their forthcoming replacements (I think these will be NEW FLYERS?) will have rear windows or not.......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed May 15, 2019 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A little bit of historical trivia.....

"Wildfire" ( aka"Turbo-Cruiser 1", also known as "Whirlfire") was unique in that it was the only GM Old Look not to have rear windows.

This was TDH-4512/002; this bus had been turned over to General Motors' Research Company, which had (circa-1954) set up a Gas Turbine department.

The windowless rear of this "Turbo-Cruiser 1" was somewhat similar to that used on the YELLOW/GMC PD/PG parlor coaches of the 1940's.....

"NYO"

(Source: "WELCOME ABOARD THE GM NEW LOOK BUS" (McKane/Squier, 2006)
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roymanning2000



Age: 75
Joined: 01 Aug 2007
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PostPosted: Sat May 18, 2019 12:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I believe the Turbo-Cruiser I was eventually rebuilt as a standard TDH4512. t was then sold to Martin Lines, a Detroit suburban operator in the early 60's. Pretty certain the rebuild included rear windows.

Roy
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