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'Seat of the Pants Operations'

 
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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 Jun 24, 2007 12:49 am    Post subject: 'Seat of the Pants Operations' Reply with quote

I call this ‘Seat of the Pants Operations'. (which originally appeared as an essay in BusTalk.Net).

The buses of the late twenties through the early forties not only lacked virtually all of the modern conveniences that we accept as standard today, but the carburetor fed gas jobs (especially the ‘Macks’ of Green Bus Lines) were extremely finicky to say the least and breakdown rates were astounding!.

In fact, it was not uncommon for drivers to carry tool kits with them including a pair of pliers, various screw drivers and a roll of bailing wire (the tools being used to make ‘fine tune’ engine adjustments and the bailing wire to tie down anything loose and especially flapping engine compartment doors due to either poorly designed or worn latches).

While the company frowned upon such ‘seat of the pants’ repairs by B/O’s (and there were union rules prohibiting such activities) this practice was generally overlooked if it resulted in reduced road calls and down time.

The Second World War only served to exacerbate the situation with virtually half of the mechanics and younger drivers being called to duty and no new equipment in the offing.

This was the era in which lady drivers began to proliferate (I remember them particularly along the Hillside Avenue Queens runs of both NYCBOT and Schenck Transportation immediately after the war).

To my knowledge, Green Line never hired female operators merely because there were enough owner/drivers (a/k/a stockholders) to cover the routes and most already being beyond the age of recruitment.

Once the war ended, the dust settled and more reliable Diesels began to replace the gas jobs, the rules changed!

You may not believe this but the union became so strict on ‘self service’ that if a driver was caught even wiping a windshield he would be subjected to a twenty five dollar fine (a lot of money in those days!).

Aren’t you glad you missed that era?

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
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