BusTalk

[frankie]

My very first thought when I saw that bus was "My God! How big was that vulture?"

I too would love to know the circumstances around that fire, considering this bus was sitting out by itself or far enough from others that moving the other buses was not a problem.

Frankie

[Mr. Linsky]

The marquee at the Merrick Theater at Jamaica Avenue and 163rd. Street features Donald O’Connor in Universal’s ‘Francis’ (a storyline that will eventually be adapted for the TV series ‘Mr. Ed’) so it must be late 1950.

To the astute observer subtle changes are taking place along the thoroughfare including the paving over of the tracks of the Brooklyn & Queens Transit Company which abandoned its trolley service three years earlier to be replaced by city owned buses one of which is seen in the background.

Prominently in the foreground and soon to be shredded we see fleet #233 – a 1933 Twin Coach operating for Jamaica Buses, Inc. returning from Belmont Park to its curbside terminal along Parsons Boulevard on the company’s ‘A’ line.

This picture will change even further some years down the road when the overhead tracks of the BMT are also to be removed.

Of note frame left on an el support are signs directing motorists north to the Queens Midtown Tunnel and the Triborough and Whitestone bridges.

Photo courtesy of ‘Vintage-Vault75’ and is available at eBay as item # 390967829778.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

Back on page 137 of this thread I originally reported the mishap described within and shown in the top photo below.

The second photo below that I have just come upon will afford you a much better view of the accident and a really good idea of what Queens Boulevard in Forest Hills looked like in 1939.

The young trees were planted only three years before and upon the completion of the Independent Subway line as far as Union Turnpike in Kew Gardens.

The many billboards along the boulevard were devoted to either the available real estate that they sat on or to directions to and what to see at the nearby New York World's Fair.

Enjoy the view.

New photo courtesy of 'HistoricImages-store' and is available at eBay as item # 371174817541.

Mr. 'L'


The Manhattan and Queens Bus Corporation, operator of the Q-60 line between South Jamaica and Manhattan, had many good days along with a few bad ones as seen below.

On July 10th. 1939 #101, a 1937 Mack modeled as a 6-CT-3S, traveling Jamaica bound on Queens Boulevard at Forest Hills jumped a curb and crashed into a refreshment stand and a billboard destroying both and sending four pedestrians to the hospital with flying glass injuries.

Of note is a company mechanic assessing the damage to the bus.

#101 survived its minor incursion and went on to serve commonly owned Green Bus Lines and Jamaica Buses in its later life.

BTW; #101 also shows its original factory generated livery.

It was not uncommon in the 30's and even into the late forties to find many vacant lots along the outer reaches of Queens Boulevard which became perfect venues for temporary outdoor signage.

Photo courtesy of 'cootsimagery-deluxe' and is available at eBay as item # 400745378607.
Pertinent details thanks to Acme Photo New York Bureau.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

Seen in 1957 at the Transit Authority's East New York paint shop in Brooklyn is fleet # 7000 - a 1957 45 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH-5106 and one of two hundred and nine likenesses numbered between 7000 and 7208 delivered to New York City in that year.

#7000 is dressed in all gold livery which, according to Greller's 'New York City Transit System Bus and Trolley Coach Fleet', was for a Fifth Avenue promotional parade and I will take that as gospel even though I find nothing published to substantiate the claim.

However, as coincidence would have it, 1957 was a milestone year in that it marked the 'Golden' anniversary of fossil fueled rubber tired transit in the city which was led by Fifth Avenue Coach in 1907 (they did dabble in battery cars some years earlier which turned out to be a dismal failure).

My only question here is where the bus was painted or repainted to gold; was it a factory order or was it done in Brooklyn?

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is avail;able at eBay as item # 390967840486.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

It's still 1957 as we visit the East New York, Brooklyn Transit Authority shops once again to see a closeup of part of the company maintenance fleet including a 1955 Ford Inspectors' car, a 1948 GM Coach and a late model wrecker the make of which cannot be determined by this writer.

The bus, renumbered SF-1 is a TDH-4507 and one of 182 purchased for the then newly founded Queens Bus Division to replace the aging fleet of the defunct North Shore Bus Company, was converted, along with a handful of siblings, to Snow Fighters.

Repainted in National School Bus Chrome (Yellow) with appropriate emergency lights, warning markers and seats replaced by a large salt bins attached to underfloor spreaders, the buses did perform extremely well in manicuring bus stop aprons and abutting walkways.

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 171532775860.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

It's the evening of May 15th. 1946 on 149th. Street at Tinton Avenue in The Bronx that we see the resulting damage to a bus that has bounced off a signal light stanchion and careened across the road to hit a trolley grid post dead on.

Nothing is said of what caused the event but the impact was of such velocity that much of the center of the dashboard was forced back leaving a heater and driver's controls sitting in the middle of the floor and sending twelve passengers to the hospital with minor injuries.

The bus, fleet #976, was a 1940 40 passenger Twin Coach modeled as a 40-RLDE (Diesel Electric) operating the #30 149th. Street Crosstown line for Surface Transportation System of New York.

A reasonable facsimile of # 976 is also shown below to give you an idea of what it was supposed to look like all in one piece.

Upper image taken by Acme Telephotos New York Bureau and is available at eBay through 'historicimages-store' as item # 371169811448.
Lower image courtesy of General Electric.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

I am unsure as to whether the photographer that took the attached image was aiming at the bus or elsewhere so the way it came out might just be a stroke of luck for us!

Seen sometime in 1951 and readying to pass under the overhead Belt Parkway is a GM Coach modeled as a TDH 4507 numbered either between 926 to 950 from 1947 or 301 to 310 from 1949 operating for Green Bus Lines, Inc., then of Cornell Park, New York.

While no expert (including this writer) could discern any difference between Green's 4507 47's and 49's from the driver's side view that we see, the 47's, originally built for Surface Transportation System, had backing lights at the rear, outward opening front doors and old fashioned 'Golden Glow' headlamps.

Our focus is working either the Q-7 Rockaway Boulevard line from Liberty Avenue to Farmers Boulevard, the Q-6 Sutphin Boulevard line between Jamaica and Springfield Boulevard or it may be deadheading to the Cornell Park Garage.

Memorable in the photo is a cute Cities Service Oil Company bungalow with its trademark Spanish tile roof and an A & P market featuring 'self service'.

Photo courtesy of 'bk.sales' and is available at eBay as item # 390929174934.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

In the late 70's, and as per federal mandate, the New York City Transit Authority opened bidding to manufacturers to seek an Advanced Bus Design (ADB) to replace their aging 'New Look' era equipment.

The city did receive one model RTS-1 demo for testing from General Motors which was assigned fleet # 200 and run for the most part in Brooklyn.

Our focus is seen below in early 1979 in front of Kings Plaza on Flatbush Avenue reading for its next trip on the B-41 line to Furman Street in the bustling downtown section of the borough.

The tests must have been successful because over the next three decades hundreds upon hundreds of GM RTS's flooded the streets of the Big Apple.

Of note are three city New Looks in the background obviously contemplating their fates!

Photo and information thanks to www.collect-corner.net.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

Here's another shot of New York City GM RTS-1 demo #200 working the same B-41 route but traveling from downtown back to Kings Plaza via Flatbush Avenue.

Notice the two GM New Looks following and probably trying to figure out how they can destroy #200 before it catches on! (I'm talking about the buses and not the drivers).

Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 390981108366.

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

[Tony A]

Didn't the ill-fated Grumman fleet also debut in 1979?

[Mr. Linsky]

[Hart Bus]

I remember reading somewhere during the midst of all the trouble, a reporter talking to an official of another authority who said that when he head that NYC was having trouble with the Grumman, he figured that the streets of NYC could break a
Sherman Tank apart so why are they so surprised.

[Mr. Linsky]

Summer is just about to end as this color shot was taken of Jamaica Buses #612 in September of 1971 at its Parsons Boulevard curbside terminal in Jamaica while it awaits its next express run to the horse races at either the Aqueduct or Belmont Park tracks.

#612 was a 1955 51 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH 5106 and one of seventeen likenesses numbered 601 to 612 and 651 to 655 delivered in increments between 1953 and 1958 to the company in Baisley Park.

These buses from GM represented a milestone for a company that was devout Twin Coach from its beginnings in 1932 through 1942 and then to Mack thereafter and also represented their first forty footers and air suspension ride.

While Jamaica Buses did have three lucrative transit lines from its Jamaica hub with one (#A) east to the Nassau County line, one west (#C) to Ozone Park and one south (#B) to Far Rockaway, it gained much revenue from its charter operations which expanded exponentially from the 60's forward.

Our focus carries its second generation more austere paint scheme in lieu of the trademark angel wings and bib design it was built with but still maintains its touch of class with its two additional decorative wings under the windshield (a $250.00 extra).

Most of the company's 5106's found second homes at parent Green Bus Lines albeit for only a short time before their appointments with the shredder.

Photo courtesy of '4509bus' and is available at eBay as item # 371202156019.

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

[Mr. Linsky]

In an interesting 1965 'Fleet Owners' magazine Flxible ad we see the introduction of the company's version of what turned out to be a very rare 45 passenger 35 foot long New Look coach modeled as a FD6V5-351-1 and proudly touting the Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company (AB&EB) of Manhattan as one of its first customers.

Throughout the long history of AB&EB it relied strictly upon mostly used but some new Mack equipment and, with that manufacturer gone in 1960 and those resources waning, it was decided to take the plunge and buy its first brand new buses of other makers.

Five of these very special Flxibles numbered 601 to 605 arrived and in spite of their general appearance, passenger capacity and 35 foot length had little in common with their standard 40 foot cousins in that they were five of only six of the model ever built and were fabricated at the Evergreen, Alabama plant of what was originally Southern Coach Mfg. instead of at the company's main facility in Loudonville, Ohio.

Evergreen production was primarily distinguishable by the use of two single headlamps in lieu of the dual design utilized by Loudonville, one large passenger window aft of the rear door and a GM 6V-53 engine in place of the standard 6V-71.

The headlamp and turn signal arrangement resembled those used by Southern Coach and some misclassified these buses as Flxettes although a true Flxette was an entirely different entity.

While AB&EB found the FD's to be underpowered they were otherwise solidly built and served well until 1979.

BTW; Jacob Greenberg pictured below and whose name is misspelled in the ad took the reigns of AB&EB in 1953 upon the death if his brother Bernard and died himself in 1965 never seeing the delivery of the buses.

Some information culled from Ohio records.
Photo courtesy of '4509bus' and is available at eBay as item # 371208289984,

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

[Hart Bus]

WCA,

A rare bird indeed. I checked the Bus Roster section of the site and the 601-605 are listed there. When I checked OMOT.ORG they don't show any production of this model. Also claim that only suburbans were made. Obviously that isf false.

As noted earlier, OMOT hasn't been updated in probably a decade so you have to be a little wary of them.

I don't have the MCA issue about the company only the Feb. 1985 issue that talks about the demise.

ECA