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'LEBANON COACH COMPANY - LEBANON PA.'

 
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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 Apr 18, 2014 4:50 pm    Post subject: 'LEBANON COACH COMPANY - LEBANON PA.' Reply with quote

jimmieB take note;


Taken presumably on the streets of its namesake town we see fleet # 108 - a 1947 27 passenger Ford Transit Bus modeled as a 79B operating for the Lebanon Coach Company of Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

The medium duty Ford Transit, generally used by smaller properties as a fleet backbone but equally efficient in the service of larger operators as a main trunk feeder, gained its power from a time tested Ford 239 cubic inch flathead V-8 engine mounted transversely at the rear and coupled to a three speed mechanical transmission.

Commonly known as the Model 9B, over 12,000 were built between 1940 and 1947 with chassis fabricated by Ford for American bodies built in Union City, Indiana and Canadian counterparts at Brantford, Ontario.

Some information culled from Canadian Public Transit records.

Photo courtesy of 'autolit.com' and is available at eBay as item # 351040919121.

Regards,

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

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JimmiB



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

PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2014 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr."L",
Thanks for that photo! I know at one time the Lebanon Coach Company's fleet consisted of all Fords.
I'll have to take a drive tomorrow. I believe that bus is westbound on Maple Street. I'm pretty sure that the mansard roofed building is still there.
I still find it interesting that the city bus operation was named Lebanon Coach Co. and the charter service was by subsidiary Lebanon Bus Co. Seems that it should have been the other way around.
BTW, we never threw anything away. Even when I was manager in the 1990's we would find Ford parts stashed away in shop.
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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 Apr 20, 2014 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

JimmiB,

The word 'coach' used in bus flags is generally a throwback to a time when these companies actually began with stage coaches in the 1800's and found that word to be most descriptive of what they did.

The best example would be New York's Fifth Avenue Coach from 1885 and, probably for nostalgic reasons, retained its original name until its demise in 1962.

I think it's a very elegant touch to any bus company's flag.

Regards,

Mr. 'L'
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JimmiB



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

PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2014 10:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Ford in that photo is westbound in the 600 block of Maple Street. I took a ride today and found that mansard roof building.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seen in September of 1974 at its company facility and awaiting its next assignment is fleet #200 - a 1954 31 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TGH 3102 and one of six likenesses numbered 200 to 205 purchased in increments of two each in 1954, 1955 and 1957 by Lebanon Coach Company of Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

The little 3100's, also known as HydraMatics, were a development by GM to fill a gap opened when Ford gave up production of their 'Transit Bus' in 1949 and were extremely successful with over 1600 of the TGH 3102 version remaining unchanged in production from 1953 to 1963 - an all time single model record for the company.

While these buses did resemble their heavy duty counterparts and did share many external components, they were of entirely different underpinnings and suited basically for small operators with low volume ridership.

Photo courtesy of 'ttcbeat' and is available at eBay as item # 191126401696.

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

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JimmiB



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

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 10:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My late boss, John Heisey, never got rid of anything. When I worked there that bus was still in our "bone yard" on a farm in Fredericksburg. There must have been about 30 buses there. I hate to admit that they were scrapped under my watch but I was ordered to sell them by my board of directors.
The front of the building looked the same until I repainted it. Mr. Heisey's jeep was still there, only now buried in the weeds behind the building.
The building is now owned by a contracting company but I believe the Texaco gas pump is still there.

Speaking of the gas pump...For a while we had a small school bus type bus on the little used Jonestown run. At noon every day the driver stopped at the garage to top off the gas tank. I was working in the office one day right after that transit authority bought a few of those stupid, silly looking Styer buses for the suburban runs. I stepped out of the door to see that driver filling the tank. I asked him to do me a favor and not start the bus until the mechanics take a look at it. It's a diesel !!!
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