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New York buses in 1947 Blizzard photo

 
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 27, 2019 7:36 pm    Post subject: New York buses in 1947 Blizzard photo Reply with quote

All:

I have no way of posting this photo here, but I wanted to give a shout out (a vintage truck buddy of mine found this, I think, on Facebook, but am not sure)

I, myself, am not active with Facebook.

However, the photo is too good not to mention here, in case someone on the board can locate it themselves, and, perhaps, post it here.

Photo shows a street in Manhattan (have NO idea what street it is (I do know it certainly was NOT 5th Avenue!!)

The Empire State Building is seen several blocks away from the photographer

Six prewar MACK "BT" buses are in the picture; all but one are still snowbound.

All (except one) are parked at an angle, with the fronts facing the street.

Many other vintage vehicles are also in this rare old view.......

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sun Jun 30, 2019 10:36 pm; edited 1 time in total
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 1:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe this, which I presume is Second Avenue.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Qdu%2BGM0z&id=E4FD0A9D7C1B120800795D21FEF04057E4608574&thid=OIP.Qdu-GM0z8ejYJYOGl5aFPQHaF1&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2F19%2Fc2%2F01%2F19c201fec7cc1744afcb6008b3ac9274.jpg&exph=580&expw=736&q=1947+blizzard+manhattan+street&simid=608007822874642125&selectedindex=6&ajaxhist=0&vt=0[/url]
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Joe:

YES!!!

The photo in question is the one in the second row, first on the right! Very Happy

Note that the buses are all prewar MACK "BT" models; the newest of these tough old road warriors would have been 13 years old at the time of the '47 Blizzard.

You said that the street looks like it might be Second Avenue (the El would have been gone several years by this time)

It would also be interesting to know what company was operating those MACKS, and also, what routes they might have been assigned to.

Again, THANKS for taking the time to locate this rare old photo (as well as the others, one of which features a line of stranded Old Looks, as well as a group of disabled Peter Witt streetcars snowbound in Brooklyn!) Wink

"NYO"
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay, so I was in 7th grade that Christmas, and Dad and I went looking for sweepers on the C car route near West 225 Street and Broadway. Earlier that afternoon, we rode the Interborough south to 116th Street. Leaving the tunnel for the viaduct, the motorman spotted a tripper held up by snow. He stopped, got out, stamped it down, and got us moving again.
---
My guess is that the paint scheme and shape of the buses said Comprehensive or East Side Omnibus to me. Only a general impression, as I knew the 7th and 8th Avenue buses were of some other manufacturer than Mack. We did not give a nickel to the buses that replaced the NY Railways conduit cars before my time. I called buses "stinkwagons."
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 3:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4 Jamaica wrote:
Okay, so I was in 7th grade that Christmas, and Dad and I went looking for sweepers on the C car route near West 225 Street and Broadway. Earlier that afternoon, we rode the Interborough south to 116th Street. Leaving the tunnel for the viaduct, the motorman spotted a tripper held up by snow. He stopped, got out, stamped it down, and got us moving again.
---
My guess is that the paint scheme and shape of the buses said Comprehensive or East Side Omnibus to me. Only a general impression, as I knew the 7th and 8th Avenue buses were of some other manufacturer than Mack. We did not give a nickel to the buses that replaced the NY Railways conduit cars before my time. I called buses "stinkwagons."


Joe:

Great memories.......thanks for sharing here! Very Happy

I was also leaning towards COMPREHENSIVE, and perhaps NYO, but I could not be at all sure.

Funny you mentioned the streetcars; on this day in 1947, the TARS crosstown streetcar routes in Manhattan were all converted to bus on this very day in 1947........

"NYO"
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Take a look at the paint scheme below the windshield of those buses after the blizzard. There is a white band below the windshield, above a radiator grill, and around the side of the bus. Above that band, the paint is dark (red). Now compare that scheme with the cream-on-top scheme of NY City Omnibus 1576
---
The snow photo does not show NYCO. The other problem is, "Which avenue?"
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NYCO in the blizzard is in this photo HERE
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 6:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4 Jamaica wrote:
Take a look at the paint scheme below the windshield of those buses after the blizzard. There is a white band below the windshield, above a radiator grill, and around the side of the bus. Above that band, the paint is dark (red). Now compare that scheme with the cream-on-top scheme of NY City Omnibus 1576
---
The snow photo does not show NYCO. The other problem is, "Which avenue?"


Joe:

As I had said previously, WHATEVER avenue was seen in that photo, it certainly had the "look" of a thoroughfare that once had an El rattling and roaring above it.

Not being a New Yorker, I can only guess as to what avenue that photo features.

Again, appreciate your input, as always....... Wink

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sat Jun 29, 2019 9:56 pm; edited 2 times in total
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MaBSTOA 15



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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This scene is on Second Avenue and therefore those Mack buses are owned and operated by Eastside Omnibus?Comprehensive Omnibus on route M-15.

The Mack next to the big truck is a model 6-CL-3S (1933-1937 vintage). The Mack "BT" that you mention in your post was a larger version of the CL.

These buses were painted red with a yellow/cream belt.



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MaBSTOA 15



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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here is another view from the 1947 blizzard. This time along 8th Avenue north from 121st Street. The date is December 26, 1947.

This time the buses are all GM and they are on route 10, Eighth Avenue and operated by New York City Omnibus.

Twenty years later, same location, we see a MaBSTOA GM TDH-5303 with batwings on route 10 photographed on February 8, 1967, the day after the 1967 blizzard.



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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 7:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

AWESOME PHOTOS!!!! (as usual!!)

My older brothers (may they rest) well remembered the 1947 Blizzard; they both well recalled seeing all the NHBL buses stranded in the snowdrifts along Hudson (now Kennedy) Boulevard..

Back in the day, when snow halted Old Looks, New Looks, WHITES, MACKS, and ACF-BRILLS.....you KNEW you were dealing with one MONSTROUS storm!!!!! Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked

These days, it seems that no matter where you are (feel free to choose your own city, here!) all it takes is a few snow flurries and the buses begin to have issues with the elements.....hmmmmmm..... Rolling Eyes

Again, thanks (as usual) for posting some outstanding vintage bus images.....always greatly appreciated...... Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 29, 2019 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While mentioning Second Avenue (and the El):

In 1940, the 2nd Avenue El was closed between 59th St. and 129th St.

The lower portion of the El continued to operate as did the Queensboro Bridge line, which was experiencing an upswing in traffic, due to the 1939-1940 World's Fair.

In June, 1942, the lower portion of the Second Avenue El (as well as the Queensboro Bridge route) were shut down.

Recall, also, that the original concept for the long-awaited Second Avenue subway (today's 2nd Avenue "stub-way"!) was to have replaced the Manhattan portion of the 3rd Avenue El, which was shut down in 1955.

In fact, the BUDD-built R-11 (later R-34) subway cars were the prototypes for the cars that would have operated in the 2nd Avenue Subway, had it then been built (and opened) as planned....

"NYO"
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N4 Jamaica




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PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 2:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks to MaBstoa15 for excellent transfer of photos. In two 1947 scenes, one can contrast the street lighting where there had been an el (on Second Avenue) against where there was no el (midtown Eighth Avenue). Without an el structure, the street lamps extended further over the street. Lampposts on streets with an el were of a tighter design, almost with a hairpin curve. The two 1947 photos show the two designs of of street lights.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 9:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4 Jamaica wrote:
Thanks to MaBstoa15 for excellent transfer of photos. In two 1947 scenes, one can contrast the street lighting where there had been an el (on Second Avenue) against where there was no el (midtown Eighth Avenue). Without an el structure, the street lamps extended further over the street. Lampposts on streets with an el were of a tighter design, almost with a hairpin curve. The two 1947 photos show the two designs of of street lights.


Joe:

You bring up a very good point, regarding street lamps on streets where there was an El, where there used to be an El, and where there never had been an El (like 5th Avenue, Manhattan!)

When one looks at vintage photos showing the New York Els, it is interesting not only to notice the street lighting fixtures, but also, the traffic signals.

Recall, at one time, the numerous BMT El lines that once ran in Brooklyn, (including the Myrtle, Fulton, Broadway, and Lexington); it is easy to see how the El structures would dictate a certain type of street light beneath them, and along their route.

Too, there were the "flash boards", protect the overhead wires (for streetcars and trolley buses), where the wires crossed beneath an El or a railroad trestle........

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Sun Jun 30, 2019 3:56 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 9:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speaking of snow........ Wink

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3368

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

*Note, also, how far the street lamps extend out into the street, and that the lamps themselves are situated above the trolley bus wires.

This would have made for a totally different scenario had there been an El overhead.......
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