BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Sitting in a parking lot in June of 1953 somewhere in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania and marked Special, we see fleet # 37 - a 1947 GM Coach Model TDH 4507 and one of eleven likenesses numbered 36 to 46 operating for the Red Arrow Division of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation, Co. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In 1948 #37 and its siblings were joined by twenty-one more 4507's numbered 57 to 76 and all served Delaware County and environs from the company's 69th. Street Terminal in Upper Darby.

A little Red Arrow history;

John Mott Drew was one of Darby, Pennsylvania's most prominent and successful African-American businessmen operating a profitable ice company as well as involving himself in community affairs.

In the years before World War I, he saw that many women in Darby were employed as domestics at homes in Lansdowne and the surrounding area, and that it was difficult for them to get to their places of employment because they were unreachable by trolley.

In 1917 he and his friend Louis Lind raised over $2,000 as a down payment on two buses and formed the John M. Drew Bus Line to operate a jitney service from Darby to Lansdowne and Upper Darby's 69th Street Terminal.

In 1930 the Drew Bus Line was purchased by the Aronimink Transportation Company, which later became the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company's Red Arrow Lines.

In 1970, Red Arrow was taken over by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) which controls bus operations in five of the state's southeastern counties to this day.

# 37 appears to have just enjoyed a complete general overhaul and certainly looks great for its age - in fact, when I first saw the photo I thought it was a preserved coach but the cars in the background proved me wrong.

Photo by reastwood2home and is up for bid on eBay as item # 280850672092.

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

[traildriver]

I recall when Red Arrow briefly operated a service from Philadelphia to New York that ran via NJ 70 thru Cherry Hill and Mt. Holly before getting on the NJTP at Exit 5.
I believe they put together this route tieing in with Bridgeton Transit somehow, I don't know if they purchased them or what. I beleve later on this became Garden State Coachways, and is now either NJ Transit or perhaps Academy. Of course, this route long ceased going into Philly.

[JimmiB]

Nice looking bus. Thanks for sharing that photo.

[Helman700]

Did it sell on the ebay listing?

[Mr. Linsky]

Helman700,

Welcome to Bus Talk - glad to have you aboard.

I'm afraid that the photo of Red Arrow #37 that I posted in this thread back in March is long gone.

If another one like it comes up, I'll let you know.

Regards,

Mr. 'L'