BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

Here are some mid-1950's views of PSNJ buses at the old W. 168th St. (GWB) terminal.

These old photos evoke much nostalgia for a simpler era....an era in which bus enthusiasts could never be bored with the great variety of vehicles to be ridden and documented on film.

Being a lifelong Jeresyan, these vintage GM's bring back a great many fond memories......

"NYO"

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4228

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4229

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4235

(courtesy of bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

As it is not rumbling through the streets of Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken, or Hackensack, this PS bus looks a bit out of place amid the hustle and bustle at 6th Avenue and 33rd St., about 1955.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4225

(courtesy bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In this rare view, we see a PCC car providing an interesting backdrop for these chartered PS coaches at Coney Island, on the site of the old Culver Depot........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4232


Here's another.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4222

(courtesy of bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Two chartered PS coaches hunker down beneath the BMT elevated, while a PCC car glides along in the left background; also note the "Noo Yawk" buses lined up in the distance......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4231

(courtesy bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another timeless scene under the BMT Culver Line (1954)......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3331

(courtesy bus.nycsubway.org)

[traildriver]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

traildriver:

You are most welcome!

I would think that you are probably correct about the time that the old W.168th St. bus terminal opened, about the time that the GWB was completed.

With the completion of the GWB, buses from New Jersey, heading for upper Manhattan, now had a direct link, instead of having to use the Holland Tunnel and then have to travel all the way uptown.

Recall, too, that, with the completion of the Holland Tunnel in 1927, the Canal St. area became a terminal for a number of carriers, including PSNJ and De Camp.

In "NEW YORK FIFTH AVENUE COACH COMPANY", by Oliver J. Ogden, there is a 1948 photo (on page #27, top of page) where the PS terminal at W.168th St. is seen; a number of RED & TAN coaches can also be seen laying over.

When the new GWB bus terminal opened in 1963, such street-loading facilities in the area became redundant.........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also of interest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge_Bus_Station

*(note where it is mentioned that the new 1963 terminal replaced a number of sidewalk bus loading areas, between 166th and 167th Sts.)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a panoramic photo of the GWB bus terminal when new; note the Old Looks.......

http://www.panynj.gov/bus-terminals/gwbbs-history.html

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another "sidewalk station" used by PSNJ buses was the long-gone "ALL AMERICAN BUS TERMINAL", near to the site of today's PABT.

Into the 80's. I remember seeing the fading vestiges of a huge sign for this facility, painted on the side of an old building that was adjacent to the the site of the former bus station.....

"NYO"

[N4 Jamaica]

Regarding the thread title, The "Grey Lady" in New York: I wonder whether the intrastate service of the mid-1940's used an orange (or tan) and cream scheme while newer interstate routes used grey. I say this, because my memory of the buses that would meet the 125th Street Ferry at Edgewater and bring crowds uphill to Palisades Amusement Park were not grey, in my memory. (We walked up that hill to save the fare.) As I recall them, these were rather short buses with a high exhaust. They were not all-service vehicles, shown in this photo in downtown Newark.
http://www.trolleystop.com/tracklesstrolley.htm
(Scroll down in that page to see Newark and the color scheme I'm describing.)
Or, it could be that the interstate services got newer buses. I have seen photos of old (1930's) buses on local routes repainted grey.
Joe

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Joe:

You mentioned the different PSNJ color schemes for intrastate and interstate routes:

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/8422.html

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/5258.html

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/3927.html

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/f700.html

http://www.davemackey.com/psct/

(courtesy of davemackey.com)

By the 60's, the "suburban" Old Looks lost thier gray coats, and were updated with a new blue and white scheme.

Meanwhile, the Old Look "transits" also lost their gray paint, and were repainted a two-tone green.

Until 1938, PSNJ trolleys of the Edgewater-Paterson HUDSON RIVER LINE carried passengers from the 125th St. ferry terminal and up around a scenic horseshoe curve, making a stop for passengers heading for the Park.

The ferry itself (operated by PSNJ until 1943, when it was taken over by ELECTRIC FERRIES) shut down in December of 1950.............

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also from the Dave Mackey site:

"........by the late 1940's, the company distinguished its two main divisions as PUBLIC SERVICE COORDINATED TRANSPORT and PUBLIC SERVICE INTERSTATE TRANSPORT......"

"NYO"

[traildriver]