BusTalk

[Q65A]

My wife & I visited the 15th Annual Transit Museum Bus Festival today.
As has been the custom in the past several years, this event was combined with the large annual Brooklyn street fair called The Atlantic Antic. Stretching along Atlantic Avenue from 4th Avenue almost to the BQE, the midpoint of this very well patronized fair was the Vintage Bus Exhibit that stretched up Boerum Place from Atlantic Avenue to just south of the Trabnsit Museum entrance at Schermerhorn Street. (The TM itself was open free of charge to all visitors from 12 Noon to 5:00 PM, and was already quite crowded when we arrived at 12:15 PM. A film crew from WNYC-TV's Transit Transit was on hand to record the festivities.) The bus exhibit itself included a number of historical buses and TBTA vehicles, plus one brand new bus: NYCT 0053 (a 2008 Van Hool TD-925 double-deck demo). Older double deckers also were present: FACCO 1263 ("Betsy", a 1931 Yellow Coach Z-BH-602) and FACCO 2124 ("Queen Mary", a 1938 Yellow Coach Model 735). Additionally, the following single-deck buses were on display:
"NYCO 2969" (BOT 4789, 1948 GM TDH-5101)
FACCO 3100 (1956 GM TDH-5106)
NYCT 2151 (1962 GM TDH-5301)
NYCT 8466 (1966 GM TDH-5303A, "winged Fishbowl")
NYCT 5227 (1984 Blitz Rebuild)
TCC 621 (1979 GMD T8H-5307A)
NYBS 1502 (1981 GMD T8H-5308A)
LL 3006 (1988 MCI TC-40102A)
LIB Paratransit (Navistar 3000 chassis; fleet # not recorded)
A 1946 Autocar from NYCT Power Dept. also was on display, as well as a TBTA "Tunnel Wrecker", a late-model GMC T-Series sander from the TBTA, and a late-model Mack MR600 emergency response vehicle from NYCT. There were several tents with various amuements for kids, plus an "Ask The Experts" Tent (manned by Eddie Crew, Tony Russo and team). The TM was selling stuffed toy buses, T-shirts, etc., and the DOB was giving away free copies of Making Service and bus maps. No Insider's Guides or Vintage Bus Fleet pamphlets were given away this year (I suspect that both publications currently are undergoing revisions and updates to reflect the recent NYCT absorption of MTAB and LIB.) From my perspective, NYCT 0053 was the most fascinating vehicle on the street. I boarded the big blue demo to have a first-hand look inside. It is a low floor unit, and is rather tight inside. At the wheel was a gentleman wearing an ABC Bus golf shirt, and I took him to be a member of the ABC Bus support staff. There are 2 narrow, steep staircases inside: one just inside the front door, and another at the rear. The unit also has a rest room located streetside on the lower level adjacent to the rear staircase.
Due to the large crowd, we did not attempt to climb to the upper deck, but having just returned from a trip to the UK (which included some time riding London's double deckers) I can say that the big Hool has much smaller, steeper staircases. The seating boasts very luxurious deluxe padded upholstery; some seats face rearward, creating a "conversation grouping" of sorts (something that typical Gotham express bus commuters might not relish). Inspecting the exterior, the height of the unit is very noticeable, as is the very low positioning of the B/O's compartment. I suspect that if the DOB were to decide to purchase a fleet of TD925's, they would rewrite current specs rather significantly. Overall, we had a nice time today. (That said, for serious, close-up vintage bus observation, personally I prefer the annual DOB Bus Roadeo, where buses on display usually are much less crowded.)