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YELLOW / GM Builder Plates

 
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frankie



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

PostPosted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:39 pm    Post subject: YELLOW / GM Builder Plates Reply with quote

The following photos are from my collection (except where noted). I've always been fascinated with anything Yellow/GM when it comes to buses and am very partial when compared with other makes. Builder plates give us information for that particular vehicle. It is a necessity for keeping track which eventually becomes a vital piece of informational data with the passing of time. Aside from the obvious company name, information will usually include the model type and it's corresponding model and serial number. Additional information may include the year of manufacturer, engine type, etc. Today's serial number is incorporated as part of the VIN. The earlier days had rather simple builder plates - just enough information to know what type of bus it was and the serial number.

The following four builder plates demonstrates a simple progression of it's design changes from the earlier to the current. I'm not sure if there were other earlier builder plates or plates in between the ones shown. If anyone has further info on these including the companies who owned these buses, I would like to know.

Frankie

Scan #1 is a recent addition to my collection. It's solid heavy brass and measures 10 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches. I can only assume that each model type bus had it's own builder plates as evident of the "MODEL Y" as part of the design with the coach number being blank for future stamping. Most Model Y buses were built in Chicago before moving to Pontiac, Mich. Of 901 Model Y buses built, 97 were built in Pontiac. I'm not sure if the builder plates were modified to reflect the move.



Scan 2 shows the next generation of builder plates. This one came off a Greyhound Model 743 - but not sure of which division. If anyone has information on coach number 1230, I would appreciate it. This plate is embossed aluminum and measures 12 x 4 1/2 inches.



The next scan shows the first generation plate used in the GM era - after GM took full control of Yellow in the early '40's. This plate is flat aluminum and measures 11 1/2 x 4 inches.

This particular builders plate came off of a TDH-4008 Serial number 118 and built in December 1946 for the Reading St. Railway Company as their number 735.



Sometime in the early '60's when GM became GMC, this plate was modified to reflect the change. The left side logo now reads GMC with COACHES underneath. The right side nomenclature eliminates "BUILT BY" with the rest of the information shifting to the top.

Image credited to Stevep4 for educational purposes only.



The final plate were designed for the RTS buses built by GMC. This particular emblem has further detailed information in the back in the form of a sticker provided by GMC. According to the sticker, this coach (serial #812802) was completed on 11/19/81. The emblem is embossed chrome plated steel and measures 6 1/2 x 5 1/4. What bus did this come off of? The clue is on the back written in black magic marker: PA1593. Port Authority in NY/NJ?

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