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'OMAHA'S TWIN SUPER COACHES'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:13 pm    Post subject: 'OMAHA'S TWIN SUPER COACHES' Reply with quote

Standing at respite sometime in 1950 in front of fashionable Kilpatrick's department store in downtown Omaha is fleet # 1303 - a 1948 Twin Coach Model 58D and one of fifteen likenesses numbered from 1301 to 1315 operating for the Omaha and Council Bluffs Railway Company (O&CB) of Omaha, Nebraska.

Twin's Model 58D, dubbed the 'Super Coach', was a unique version of articulation and was powered by two gasoline engines mounted under floor just aft of the front axle in combination with a Spicer hydraulic torque converter.

What made the Super Coach so unique and apart from what is normally thought of as articulated is the fact that it did not bend horizontally on turns but did incorporate 'intersteering' in which the trailer axle automatically steered directly opposite of the front axle - however, the bus did have the ability to bend vertically to negotiate different angles of the same road surface such as acute driveways.

Seventeen of this model were sold and included one of the first Postal Service mobile offices along with a 102 inch wide demonstrator that first saw service in Brooklyn followed by a guest appearance in Chicago after which it was returned to the factory, converted to a trolley coach re-modeled as a DWTT and purchased by the Chicago Transit Authority as seen in the lower frame below.

O&CB's operation was rare in that it served as transit for both Omaha in Nebraska and Council Bluffs just across the Missouri River in Iowa.

A brief history of O&CB;

The Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway and Bridge Company, known as O&CB, was incorporated in 1886 to connect Omaha, Nebraska with Council Bluffs, Iowa over the Missouri River.

With a sanctioned monopoly in streetcar service in both cities, the O&CB was among the earliest major electric street railway systems in the country, and was one of the last making its final runs in 1955.

Omaha photo thanks to bus enthusiast Bruce K. of eBay.
Chicago photo thanks to NorCal Bus Fans Gallery.

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


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fishbowl



Age: 76
Joined: 01 Sep 2010
Posts: 62
Location: Detroit

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This ad is currently for sale (not by me) on eBay:



(Photo from eBay.)
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fishbowl



Age: 76
Joined: 01 Sep 2010
Posts: 62
Location: Detroit

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some photos capturing the fate of CTA 9763 at the Illinois Railway Museum:

http://freeimagefinder.com/detail/6352223976.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zolk/3648808667/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zolk/3648808933/in/photostream/

http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/illinoisrailwaymuseum,trolley/Timeline
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

fishbowl,

Great photos - maybe 9763 isn't kicking but at least it's still alive!

Hope they restore it some day (it's a one of a kind!).

Thanks for sharing.

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
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JimmiB



Age: 81
Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 516
Location: Lebanon, PA

PostPosted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A big thanks from me also for those photos. Some nice equipment there. The 5 tube changer brings back memories of the one I had in the pre-farebox days.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JimmiB,

I bought the identical carrier from eBay a couple of months ago - who knows? - it may be the one from the photo.

It sits prominently on my desk and from left to right it takes quarters, dimes, nickels, pennies and tokens.

It's a Johnson (pat# 1465409 appears at the top of each tube).

I keep the quarters filled for parking meters.

It goes great with my Johnson Model 'D' electric box - it's like old times!

Now, all I need is a GM Old Look steering wheel and driver's seat and I'm in business!

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. 'L' -

Why not check E-Bay, and locate a good, restored Old Look? <G>

.....................Vern.....................
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fishbowl



Age: 76
Joined: 01 Sep 2010
Posts: 62
Location: Detroit

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 1:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Linsky wrote:
Now, all I need is a GM Old Look steering wheel and driver's seat and I'm in business!

... plus a GM old look horn (and battery to power it) on the other end of that steering wheel. There was nothing more unique and identifiable than that ("beep," not "honk") GM bus horn sound!
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JimmiB



Age: 81
Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 516
Location: Lebanon, PA

PostPosted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The changers we used had an adjustable tube to dispense one to four pennies. We didn't use tokens. When I started the fare was 23 cents. Instead of pushing the penny tube twice, you just hit the end tube once.
Mr. L, those old look horns were great for irritating a slow moving car in front of you.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 2:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JimmiB,

All of my carrier's tubes have adjustment plates at the bottom to accommodate different fare structures.

However, when I did my summer tours for Green Line (NY) in 59, 60 and 61 the fare was a straight fifteen cents so if they gave me a dollar bill, I dispensed three quarters, two dimes and a nickel.

Two little secrets about these machines; never drop them because once the plates are knocked out of alignment it's next to impossible to straighten them out.

Also, a shot of WD-40 is great once in a while around all the moving parts - you'll be amazed!

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
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HwyHaulier




Joined: 16 Dec 2007
Posts: 932
Location: Harford County, MD

PostPosted: Sun Jan 22, 2012 9:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MR 'L' -

As an open agenda item, I've been trying to collect anecdotes of prevalent fare levels at dates in the "time window" you note.

These days, there is so much misinformation, disinformation, and downright lies on adjustments to "made whole" accounting
for inflation, it is difficult to determine what to believe!

One still gets a nagging feeling that present day fares are much underpriced, vis-a-vis earlier services, run by more efficient
operators...

(Oh! Did I tell you I am a scholar of Economics and Statistics?)

...................Vern.................
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andrethebusman



Age: 70
Joined: 27 Dec 2011
Posts: 21
Location: Chicago IL

PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:51 am    Post subject: Chicago 9763 Reply with quote

Never heard CTA 9763 was a HPO! It definitely was a motor bus, as the 58DW model shows. There is a photo of it at the South Suburban Safeway lines garage in Harvey being used as a demo while still a gas bus. Converted to trolley bus about 1951, ran at CTA as a demo until bought in 1952. Originally CTA used the fleet number 999 to identify it, but apparently this number was never actually on the bus.
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