BusTalk

[N4 Jamaica]

"Waterbury Trolleys" is one of the best Arcadia volumes I have seen. Bus fans might be interested in the photos on these pages:
Page 4 -- Connecticut Company fishbowl 1712, an experimental railbus preserved by the Connecticut Motor Coach Museum. Excellent photo.
Page 25 -- two Yellow Coaches in a car barn.
Page 30 -- Connecticut Company 36, built by White Truck Co. 1933. Twenty-three seats, top speed 15 mph. Clear photo.
Page 31 -- A 1920's line-up of 7 Yellow Coaches, with three body types.
Page 32 -- A 1921 REO. Also Connecticut Company 126, a 1926 Yellow Coach Z-219, seating 23.
Page 57 -- A postwar GM, photo in the 1950's. Vents over the front window, as I well recall from The Bronx. I cannot determine if the passenger windows are paired.
Page 58 -- Exceptionally clear photo of a White bus, Cooke Street Lines no. 7.
Page 59 -- Interior view of a woman driving an ACF bus for the Connecticut Railway and Lighting.
Page 61 -- Two 1936 Mack buses over carbarn pits.
Page 72 -- C. R. & L. Lines 746 at gasoline pump.
Page 72 -- C. R. & L. Lines 404, built 1936 by ACF.
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Often I complain of murky photos and inadequate captions in Arcadia books. In this volume, however, the text is extraordinary helpful and photos well above par.
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The ISBN number is 0-7385-3811-6. I chanced upon it at the store at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, East Haven.

[Bill D]

This reminds me that the next time I run into the authors of this book, I have to reprimand them for not including any pictures of Northeast Transportation Co. buses in the book. (Surprising, since the Connecticut Motor Coach Museum has the last existing ACF model H-17-S bus in its collection, which was operated by Northeast from 1953 until 1970.)

But seriously, this book is well done, and the photos and captioning are excellent. One thing I discovered after reading this book was that the Waterbury and Milldale Tramway carbarn, shown on the last page of the book, still exists. It is presently being used by a electrical contractor.

The authors did obtain many records from CR&L after that company ceased operations in the early 1970's, and I believe that some of the pictures used in this book were "official" company photos. This is a book that I would also highly recommend.

Bill Dobkins