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'VINTAGE NEW YORK CITY'
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NorthShore



Age: 76
Joined: 18 Mar 2012
Posts: 113

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In regard to Steinway Transit's 4104's, it seems to be forgotten or overlooked that Queen & Steinway Transit had a lucrative charter business.
That is why they had parlor buses. I believe they also had 4106's and they had 4107's (painted all orange). They also bought new 5 5304's with A/C and plush orange and cream leather seats for charters. They also had Jones Beach service. In later years hey also had secondhand MCI's from Shortline.
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Hart Bus



Age: 73
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

N4 Jamaica wrote:
The lower photo is obviously taken at Queensborough Plaza, but is the bus heading to Manhattan or to Jamaica? It's that extra stairway to the train station that puzzles me, the stairway on the traffic island. Thanks. Joe


Based on these old eyes, I think it is Jamaica Bound. Here is why my eyes think that it has just come off the bridge. Look past the back of the bus the roadway seems to be on an angle and not flat, meaning the vehicle is on the south side of the plaza.
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MaBSTOA 15



Age: 70
Joined: 27 Feb 2013
Posts: 1056

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What tells me it is Jamaica bound is the pedestrian bridge. Still there today. Don't ever recall one on the Manhattan bound side of the plaza.
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X-Astorian




Joined: 19 Feb 2009
Posts: 168
Location: Central NJ

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2015 11:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MaBSTOA 15 wrote:
What tells me it is Jamaica bound is the pedestrian bridge. Still there today. Don't ever recall one on the Manhattan bound side of the plaza.


I agree with the shared opinion that the Q-60 is eastbound. However, pedestrian bridges were, and are, on both sides of the Plaza. The one on the south side exits directly to the street while the one on the north goes through a building. I'm not sure when they were installed because they don't appear in a 1924 aerial view but they were certainly there by the 50s, probably a safety measure due to greatly increased traffic.
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It was the very early fifties that both GM and Mack saw the handwriting on the wall in the form of the need for higher capacity transit buses and began an aggressive campaign pushing demonstrators of their new 40 foot lines and that competition was made even fiercer in the knowledge that Fifth Avenue Coach was about to retire their fleet of 72 passenger double deckers and would be looking to longer single floor equipment.

Mack's rendering was a 50 passenger C-50 built to New York City specification and which, in spite of shorter length limits in the state, 400 were already in service for the city under a home rule amendment.

GM's offering came in the form of a 102 inch wide 51 passenger TDH 5103 which, while very much liked in trials, violated width limits but was made available to city operators in the narrower TDH 5104 version.

Shown below at a location somewhere in Queens is the 1951 Mack C-50 in demonstration service for Green Bus Lines of Jamaica, New York (this is an irony when considering the Green Line swore off Macks due to a disagreement on defective paint on a 1940 order).

The bus was originally built as a demonstrator for Washington, D.C. and then made its way to New York with its first stop being Surface Transportation followed by a stint at Green Line and finally a showing at Jamaica before being sold to the Transit Authority in 1955 to replace a C-50 destroyed in an accident.

Photo courtesy of 'embitt' and is available at eBay as item # 351273576344.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York



Last edited by Mr. Linsky on Tue Jan 20, 2015 1:17 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Hart Bus



Age: 73
Joined: 24 Apr 2007
Posts: 1150

PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

X-Astorian wrote:
MaBSTOA 15 wrote:
What tells me it is Jamaica bound is the pedestrian bridge. Still there today. Don't ever recall one on the Manhattan bound side of the plaza.


I agree with the shared opinion that the Q-60 is eastbound. However, pedestrian bridges were, and are, on both sides of the Plaza. The one on the south side exits directly to the street while the one on the north goes through a building. I'm not sure when they were installed because they don't appear in a 1924 aerial view but they were certainly there by the 50s, probably a safety measure due to greatly increased traffic.


I vividly remember that building because my mother worked for the NYS Unemployment Service that had a branch in that building. She would give me the 15 cents for me to take the Q-60 or 15 bus after school on an early dismissal day. There was a luncheonette and a barber shop in the building.

I remember the early dismissal days as far back as about 1958. The bridge was "old hat" by then, so we can narrow the timeline down to about 1925 - 1955.
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Free-transfer



Age: 64
Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 123
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Mon Jan 19, 2015 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Linsky,

The Mack C-50 operating for G.B.L. appears to be in
front of the Rego Park Post Office at the intersection
of Elliot avenue and Queens Blvd on a detour around
the demolition of Slattery Plaza to make way for the
L.I.E. and Queens Blvd. bypass under Woodhaven Blvd.

That construction took place in 1955...
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2015 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Taken sometime in 1951 possibly in Woodside, Queens is fleet # 607 - a 1937 37 passenger Mack modeled as a 6-CT-3S and one of thirty five likenesses numbered from 601 to 635 originally purchased by Green Bus Lines then of Long Island City, New York.

At the time #607 is seen, it and thirteen of its siblings had been polished up and transferred to commonly owned Triboro Coach Corporation to fill in while awaiting new GM equipment - note that following the Green Line flag the word 'operator' has been changed to 'owner' and under the fourth passenger window a legend indicates Triboro as operator.

Also note that the transfer was so recent that the side destination sign still reads Q60 Queens Boulevard - 2nd. Avenue & 60th. Street (Manhattan).

Green Line held the record with 100 Mack CT's and, while they were notoriously underpowered, they were built solidly and soldiered on well beyond the war years with many also finding second homes with affiliated Jamaica Buses.

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 391034257280.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 2:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seen no earlier than 1949 at a Green Bus Line facility in either Cornell Park, Rego Park or Rockaway are fleet #810 - a 1939 40 passenger Mack modeled as a CM-3G and one of twenty five likenesses numbered 801 to 825 and fleet# 854 - a 1940 version of the same model with ten on the roster numbered 851 to 860.

These buses were purchased for 1939/1940 New York World's Fair special routes granted to the company to service their customers both in Queens and Brooklyn and were delivered dressed for the occasion as can be espied on #824 just leaving the factory below.

In fact, it was that special paint job on the 1940 group that Green found to be defective and which caused a rift between the two company's that resulted in Mack's lose to GM of a very good customer.

Also prominently seen in the image are a few of the record 100 Mack 37 passenger CT's that formed the backbone of the business from the late thirties through the mid fifties.

Of note on #854 are the missing fresh air intakes (one on either side of the destination sign) as seen on #810 - Mack took a cue from GM and moved to roof mounted nests that integrated the intakes and mechanical fans.

Upper photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and has been sold on eBay.
Lower photo owned by this writer.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York



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frankie



Age: 77
Joined: 01 Feb 2011
Posts: 745
Location: St. Peters, Mo.

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Linsky wrote:

In fact, it was that special paint job on the 1940 group that Green found to be defective and which caused a rift between the two company's that resulted in Mack's lose to GM of a very good customer.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York


Out of curiosity Mr. L, what was defective about the special paint job?

Frankie
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2015 5:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

frankie,

As far as what exactly was defective about the paint is unknown to me - don't forget that this happened in 1940.

What I do know is that Green insisted on returning the ten buses to be repainted but all Mack offered was credit and that sealed their fate (BTW; that credit shows up in Public Service Commission reports that I possess from the era but does not go into detail).

By 1940, the U.S. was already supplying equipment and materials to our friends in Europe to thwart Hitler's advances and it might be that what paint was still available here lacked certain important ingredients needed by the government - in other words, the product may have been watered down!

Who knows?

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
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Mr. Linsky
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 11, 2015 6:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Although I stand corrected only because my memories of 55 years ago are beginning to fade rapidly, I believe the scene below was snapped in the holding area of the old Union Bus Terminal (as it was originally named) in Jamaica at Archer Avenue and New York Boulevard.

Anyway, if I'm right, it's where drivers on meal breaks were able to lay over - the few times that I worked the Q-6 and Q-9 lines that's where I parked.

Seen sometime in the very late fifties or early sixties is fleet #918 - a 1946 45 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH-4506 and one of thirty five likenesses numbered 901 to 925 and 201 to 210 operating for Green Bus Lines and affiliated Manhattan and Queen Bus Corporation respectively.

#918, which was never transferred to commonly owned Jamaica Buses, was one of Green's very few 4506's that were treated to a second generation apple green and cream color scheme with the company flag in script over the passenger windows and a 3M decal amid ships boasting courtesy and dependability (a new livery that first appeared in 1959 with the delivery of ten TDH-5106's).

BTW; I drove #918 many times but never made that dent under the left headlamp!

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75'and is available at eBay as item # 391051509902.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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Mr. Linsky
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know that I've featured photos of inherited Green Bus Lines surplus Mack CT's by commonly owned Jamaica Buses, Inc. in the past but never in full JBI makeup and with an interesting history to boot.

#126, a 1937 37 passenger Mack modeled as a 6-CT-3S seen below in Jamaica and one of thirty likenesses numbered between 101 and 130, was purchased originally by the Manhattan and Queens Bus Corporation (M&Q) of Rego Park, New York to replace trolley service between Manhattan and Jamaica via the Queensboro Bridge and Queens Boulevard on the Q-60 line.

In 1943, and at the poultry price of only a little over $300.000, Green Line bought the company which included the route, the thirty Macks and a prime piece of real estate used by M&Q as a storage lot at Queens Boulevard and Elliot Avenue which ultimately became part of a ramp to the Long Island Expressway.

The 100's maintained their M&Q flags until their long term State Public Service Commission permit expired in 1947 at which time the name was changed to Green but the fleet numbers remained the same.

The thirty M&Q CT's along with Green's own seventy became the backbone of the company's fleet and soldiered on through the war years and well into the early fifties before being transferred to JBI and Triboro Coach - another affiliated company - and with all maintaining their original fleet numbers.

The image was taken in the days before automatic railroad crossing gates as is evidenced by the small shack left of frame at which an attendant would wind down a controller on the master gate at his doorway that connected to all others by underground cables - the system worked great as long as the keeper remained awake!

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 391051504428.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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Mr. Linsky
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In a photo taken when the focus was still very new we see fleet # 207 - a 1971 52 passenger Flxible modeled as a 111CC-D5-1 and one of ten likenesses numbered between 201 and 210 operating for Green Bus Lines, Inc. of Jamaica, New York.

This order and an additional ten (211 to 220) of the same very popular model from the Loudonville, Ohio manufacturer were a milestone for a company that only knew of Mack prewar and GM thereafter.

#207 is seen on the Q-10 line turning on to Lefferts Boulevard at Austin Street in Kew Gardens (this writer's home town) and on its way to JFK Airport via Rockaway Boulevard.

Of all of Green's routes (at least in my time behind the wheel) the Q-10 was the most unusual in that it had a number of separate destinations including Old South Road (Lefferts at North Conduit), Hamilton Beach (a mile beyond Old South Road but only at low tide!), Richmond Hill Circle (131st. Street just below South Conduit - you could smell that one a mile away sitting right next to a sewer plant!) and the Airport (then, New York International).

The steep incline (upper right of the image) brings to mind the heavy snow falls of the forties and fifties in which the Q-10's on their way back to Queens Boulevard were rerouted at Austin Street up to Onslow Place and over to Kew Gardens Road.

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 171694623084.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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MaBSTOA 15



Age: 70
Joined: 27 Feb 2013
Posts: 1056

PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember and experienced the Triboro Coach and NYCTA Flxibles quite well. Left New York in 1970 so I never saw the ones that Green Bus operated.

It was a nice looking bus. However, why the red stripe? To me it just makes the two tone green look not as sharp.

But you got love those two color sign curtains. I proudly own a Green Bus and Triboro red/black curtains. Both came from Flxibles!
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