BusTalk

[W.B. Fishbowl]

. . . 49 years ago today, Aug. 16, 1977, was the day the music died - or at the very least, Elvis Presley, at age 42.

When he first burst onto the scene in 1956, 'Arnines' held court on most "Eye-En-Dee" routes (except for "Artens" which were the workhorse of the A train), "Bee-Em-Tee" routes still had numbers rather than letters, and they ranged from the open-platform cars of old, to the "C's" which time was at hand (his first hit, "Heartbreak Hotel," exploded onto the scene a few months before the closure of the remnants of the Fulton Street el once the A was extended to Lefferts Boulevard), to the 'Q's', and below ground, from the 'Broadway Battleships' (Standards) to the hulking 'Triplexes' and the 'Multis' (the original 'Blooboids,' alas, were being left to rust), recast "Es-Eye-Are-Tee" ME-1's, and the newer R-16's. On the 'Eye-Are-Tee,' the oldest Gibbs cars were retired once the newer R-17 cars came in, but everything from the Deck Roofs to the Hi- and Lo-V's, Steinways and World's Fair cars were traveling virtually everywhere, and R-12's, 14's and 15's were the exclusive province of the #7 - Flushing train. Above ground, 'Kramdens' and 'Pattons' dominated everywhere, the New York City Omnibus Corporation changed its name to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines on June 1 (and was months away from swallowing up "Soiface"), Queens still had their private lines in two zones, and "The Little Red Bus That Could" maintained its presence in lower Manhattan. In Staten Island, what was left of ME-1's held court on their last remaining line, St. George to Tottenville. The "Aitch & Em" was hanging by a thread, in bankruptcy, two years away from getting their first A/C cars. The old Penn Station was still up and running, as were the "Pennsy" and, at Grand Central, the New York Central. In Brooklyn, the last streetcars would clang their last on Halloween, but the trolleybuses would hang on for nearly four more years.

Much had changed on the transit scene by the time of his death, however. By 1977, the 'Arnines' had exited the stage, the subways were pretty much being kept together with duct tape and string, "SMEE's" dominated the "Eye-Are-Tee," the oldest cars in the system were the "Thunderboids," the GE R-16's were put into mothballs (the Westinghouse units barely held on for another decade), and the newer R-44's and 46's were having extreme teething problems (and continuing migraines for "Em-Tee-Yay" personnel). (And that's not counting the massive eyesore known as the graffiti pandemic underground.) On the "soiface," it was now Fishbowls (with a few "Jetsons" treading the grounds for the "Tee-Yay" and "Avenue B") and "Dangerfields," and the Queens and lower Manhattan status was still in effect. FACL and "Soiface" were long gone, replaced by MaBSTOA. By then the "Fordy-Fours" also were proving themselves in the "Isle of Staten" under the guise of ME-2's. And the "Tubes" were now under PATH, with the K- and MP-52 cars running alongside the newer PA-1, PA-2 and PA-3 fleets. And in his lifetime, the original Penn Station ceased to be, replaced by a major office tower and the fourth Madison Square Garden (whose shape seemed to validate the old Warner Bros. cartoons' references in some shorts to "Madison Round Garden"). The PRR and NYCRR's routes were first merged into Penn Central, and then taken over by ConRail which operated them until New Jersey Transit and Metro-North each came to be.

Oh, and around the time of Elvis' death was when the Jamaica local was pruned, from 168th Street to Queens Boulevard.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.;

EXCELLENT historical "capsule".......good work!

Your's Truly was but 20, and not yet "woikin' down on "The Street".

Here, in "Joisey", ConRail was now operating the former E-L and CNJ commuter operations, and, we still had the ncient "Edison Wikerliners" in charge of the M&E lines out of Hoboken; the CNJ still had some prewar coachse on the roster, and brawny "GP-4i0Ps" good ol GEEPS were "doin' the honors:'therewerealso a number of ex-GN, BN,KCS, FEC, and SF cars on a number of trains, in partivularly the NY&LB (North Jersey Coast)

PATH was still using the old 1958 joint service cars; some ex-PRR MP-64s were still in "sivacew'.

Bus-wise, we were saying farewell (and a SAD one) to the remaining ORANGE & BLACK Old Looks; ditto, the ex-PS Old Look coaches.
A steady influx of NJDOT "Dangerfields" were rapidly taking over; thyere were still SOME Old Looks in 'sivace" down in Jersey City and Hoboken.

During rush hours,you couldstill grab a classic 4104 or4106on the "RIVER ROAD EXPRESS, ditto"Buffalos"/

Many subway stations still had oriiginal change/token booths, woden turnstiles, and at least some incandescent lighting.

The "Port Of Authority"was yet to be desecrated.

IRT Trains still screeched around the old South Ferry loop, connecting with the SI boiats.

Blue-striped "ME-2s" were in total charge of the SIRT.

The old BG-SF shuttle, then, was indeed on borrowed time......how much variety and diversity we all took for granted.....

"NYO"



["Memories, memories"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

And, don't forget, that, alsoon '77, the decrepit old Culver Shuttle, like the late Elvus, made its final run.....

"NYO"

["CULVER L'C'L"]