BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Agreed.

Now, imagine a FACL "Jetson" 5301 carrying the timeless "GO THE MOTOR COACH WAY" slogan over the windows, instead of "AIR CONDITIONED" (of course, an a/c-equipped TRANSIT bus was indeed something worth boasting about, back in 1960!)

Or, at the very least. script reading "FIFTH AVENUE COACH LINES" (I seem to recall that, before going into into the MTA's fold, "QUEENS TRANSIT" [or was it "JAMAICA BUSES"?] was still using the classic script-style lettering on its buses)..............

"NYO"

["JAMAICA BUSES"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

See also.............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?155797

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["309"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Just five months after these classic Brooklyn images* were taken in 1963, America, tragically, would forever lose its innocence.........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6497

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?6498

*(note only Fishbowls are seen here; not a "Kramden" in sight)

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["New York City Transit Authority"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

When this timeless and nostalgic photo was snapped in July of 1963, no one could have predicted the overwhelming darkness our nation would be plunges into, just a few months later.......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?112939

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["BMT LINES"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Many, many years ago, there was a feature in TRAINS Magazine about the nation's railroads coming to a halt, in order to observe a moment of silence for our slain leader.

Just the day before, my late brother andhjis new wife just returned from their Miami honeymoon, aboard the (Seaboard) "SILVER METEOR".

I recall, long ago, also hearing that PATH (then just a little more than a year old) also stopped all trains in honor of JFK.

Fom our Union City apartment window, Mom and I watched the specially-deployed traffic officers (at the designated moment) halt all traffic on Hudson (later Kennedy) Boulevard.

Nearly-empty NHBL buses, autos, and tricks (headlights illumimated) all came to a dead stop, until the go-ahead was again given.

To a small boy such a sight was indeed light-years beyond weird; monumental.

Indeed, haunting echoes of the DC street scenes in the 1951 sci-fi classic "THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL"...........

"NYO"

["1 JOURNAL SQUARE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Further:

It would have been interesting to see the "stop order" for JFK's "moment of silence" take place at the "Port-of-Authority", with no departures or arrivals, if only for a moment.

Still a lot of "suboiban" Old Looks, MACKS, and ACF-BRILLS back then, in addition to the new Fishbowls.............

"NYO"

["33 NEW YORK"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

March, 1963.......still an innocent time, a time when timeless scenes like this one up in "da Bronx" would one day vanish......as would America's innocence, just eight months into the future........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?43102

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["RIDE THE SURFACE WAY"]

["IRT LINES"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

July, 1963...........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?113292

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["BMT LINES"]

["NYCTA"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

You should find this of interest.......

"Two Minutes of Silence in London" (Death of King George VI, 1952/London Transport)

".....LT staff were asked to respect the National two minutes of silence at 2PM (day of funeral); drivers were instructed to stop their buses, switch off engines, dismount from their cabs, remove their caps, and stand at attention alongside their buses.........."

"NYO"

["417 EPPING-HAMMERSMITH"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Further..........

From the LT books I have in my library, this same scenario was repeated during the funeral procession for Sir Winston Churchill, back in 1965.

Though I am not certain, it would seem that this was repeated again, when Queen Elizabeth passed several years ago...........

"NYO"

["LONDON TRANSPORT"]

[MaBSTOA 15]

November 22, 1963, Dalla, Texas
The Kennedy motorcade passes a Dallas Transit bus.

The bus is a Southern Coach Manufacturing model S-50-DHC. Cummins diesel engine. Southern built 56 of these king size buses at the request of Dallas who purchased all of them in 1955-1956.

Dallas also had Southern models S-45-DHC. All the Southerns, Whites, Marmon-Herrington and ACF trolleycoaches were retrofitted with aftermarket air conditioning rooftop units. All of these buses were wiped out in 1966 with the arrival of 310 GM TDH-5303.

An AI colorized photo is making the rounds in the Internet. But the colors are wrong! Dallas colors were an off white top, mint bottom with a forest green belt.

I'm familiar with the Southern buses Coral Gables Municipal had a nice fleet of the S-45 models. Good buses and better looking to some extend over the Twin Coaches they had. UGH!

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

MaBSTOA15:

Though I've seen this timeless and historic photo before, I NEVER tire of seeing it!

What IS sobering and frightening indeed is to think that this historic photo, an image forever frozen in time, was snapped just minutes before our nation was plunged into darkness, forever ending our innocence.

I well remember some of the "ORANGE & BLACK" Old Looks having those boxy a/c units on the top; VERY DISTINCTiVE

Again, THANK YOU for both the photo and the historical data!

"NYO"

["AVOID THE FUSS-GO BY BUS!"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

On, of all places, the Steve Hoffman Forums (a music and records thread of which I am also a member), was put up a picture of a vintage scene at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was taken some time between the late 1930's and 1953, as on the far left was one of FACCo's "Queen Marys" (marked "SPECIAL," so we don't even know what route it was on):

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/post-any-photograph-here-within-sh-forum-guidelines-of-course-show-us-what-cha-got.909424/page-3357#post-37942413

Can anyone give a clue as to where this photo was taken?

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]