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"Baby" Old Looks......

 
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22290
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:42 pm    Post subject: "Baby" Old Looks...... Reply with quote

All:

I've always wondered why, when the last Old Looks General Motors offered (TDH-3501/02) reverted back to the pre-1948 square windows.

Though these handsome little buses dated to the 1960's, for the most part, they very much seemed a throwback to the 40's, despite the more modern quad headlights.

Were the newer paired windows not practical for these coaches?

Appreciate any info....thanks!

"NYO"

Also, where did the last of the type run in revenue service?


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22290
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 2:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1976 view of CHAPPAQUA TRANSPORTaTION #88; you indeed get a feel for the 1940's, when viewing this now-classic bus.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?600

(courtesy bus.nycsubway.org)
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JimmiB



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

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Reading (PA) Bus Co. had 6 of these, fleet numbers 200-205, purchased in 1965.
I drove them quite a bit. My personal opinion was that they were cheaply made, mostly from GM truck components. Sort of GM's way of making a small, relatively inexpensive bus. On the plus side...at least they were new and they were easy to handle.
Reading actually parked these after about 3 years of use due to maintenance problems, mostly transmission failure. At least one ended up in BARTA paint following the transit authority takeover, so it would have been in service into the early 70's.
When I was driving charter coach I remember seeing one somewhere around Oil City, PA, operating a transit route. That would have been in the late 80's-early 90's. That was painted for Blue and White Bus from Johnstown.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22290
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JimmiB:

Great info and recollections!

Im my area of metro NJ, back in the 60's, I have no recollection of these buses at all; we had either "original" Old Looks, or some elderly YELLOWS that were still soldiering on here and there.

The following is from "THE BUS WORLD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BUSES" Ed Srauss):

".........production of new small-sized buses......with old-look styling.......continued fornearly ten years after the intriduction of the New looks, because their simpler suspension system and mature engineering made them cost-effective to many small transit lines still attempting to operate at a profit......"

"NYO"

BTW:

Just remembered that I had taken a few photos of this type of Old Look, back in 1978, at a large bus yard in Hoboken, NJ.

There were three of them side-by-side, all sporting "SCHOOL BUS" signs and flashers.

As the buses were parked "head in", I was unable to snap any front views.

Still, I'm very fortunate that I caught these now-classic vehicles when I did!
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bath time is clearly overdue for this "baby".......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?595

(courtesy of bus.nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22290
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some very good (CAT) photos on this page......

http://busexplorer.com/PHP/MidPage.php?id=168
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timecruncher



Age: 73
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 456
Location: Louisville, Kentucky

PostPosted: Wed Dec 25, 2013 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lexington Transit Corporation (Lexington, KY) had them up to public takeover, and Lextran ran them for a while after that. Theirs, unlike many pictured in above posts, were well cared for even in that unpleasant ATC color scheme.

Alas, I have not been able to come up with any photos of Lexington, Kentucky buses prior to public takeover.

timecruncher
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
Posts: 2452
Location: South Florida

PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2013 12:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Public Service Company of Colorado ran them in Boulder. The Denver RTD later took over the Boulder Bus operation, but not sure how long they continued using them after that...
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ripta42
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Age: 44
Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 1035
Location: Pawtucket, RI / Woburn, MA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 26, 2013 10:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

RIPTA ran theirs - all of them second- or third-hand - into the early 1980s. I think some were bought by ABC and continued to run for a few more years.
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NiftyNate



Age: 35
Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 17
Location: Hyannis, MA - - - Cape Cod

PostPosted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our company is converting a "baby" TDH-3501 into a mobile repair lab.
Recently featured in the local paper: http://shar.es/QotPV
(took up 1/3 of the business section in the printed paper that day - it was the only featured photo)
Also makes for a good "mascot bus" according to whoever wrote the article.

She's had some wacky modifications throughout her life. We hope to get the look more original and consistent at some point.



It's a bus I can barely afford to own, but I worked hard to get it and it's doing a lot to help advertise our business. The local article certainly helped things.

That's supposed to be red paint, but it tends to look awfully pink in direct sunlight due to a thin coat and a hideous, washed-out blue lurking beneath. We had to paint over paint thanks to budget constraints in '09.
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