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Transit buses with rear windows/ETB's, etc.
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W.B. Fishbowl



Age: 57
Joined: 02 Oct 2014
Posts: 2378
Location: New York, New York, USA

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 5:26 am    Post subject: Re: Transit buses with rear windows/ETB's, etc. Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Tiny Tim wrote:
I never liked the look of the flexes with that small back window.

Neither did I.

I always preferred the original rear window myself; the smaller rear window on the later Flex New Looks almost looked like an afterthought that didn't look quite right.....

On both GM and Flx New Looks, my preference in the rear windows was towards the 4-piece layout as opposed to the 3-piece. My reasons differed from those of maintenance and repair shop personnel at the various depots/garages housing those buses, whose preference was related to the 4-piece being easier to maintain, and cheaper to replace window panels, than the 3-piece. For me, it was more symmetry as well as having to do with the solidity of the structure of the buses.

I seem to recall the first buses within NYC's bailiwick built with the rear windows as 4-piece were the GM-built OA 6401-6900 (contract #MB-16-OA) and Flx-built TA 5601-5790 (contract #MB-16) in 1965-66. Several buses built before that (dating back to TA 1-190) were so converted ex-post facto (after the fact), though some managed to retain their original 3-piece (among them, the allotment of the 1964-65 group of OA buses that had been stationed at 54th Street).

I was none too fond of the small rear window on those 1975-77 Flx', either, B.T.W. I seem to recall reading that that was meant that way as an emergency exit.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 8:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wb.:

As usual, an excellent commentary! Wink

Until the mid-70's, the only Flex New Looks I recall were the MTA's, which I would see while in New York.

Here in NJ, we didn't see Flex New Looks until the NJDOT buses starting arriving around 1976; great looking buses, of course, but the narrow rear window turned me off; I simply did not like it, and still don't.

In thinking back, I recall the MBTA Flyer trolley buses also having a small(er) rear window; I liked the buses themselves, but did not care for the rear window.....

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rear windows on bygone trolley buses.......

Though GM was not building trolley buses back in the 50's, the trolley coaches built by PULLMAN, MARMON, and ST. LOUIS all had double rear windows, emulating the general style of that era, which was common on the diesel and gas buses.

As traildriver remarked, those on the St. Louis coaches were known as "rifle slots", due to their narrow configuration.

PSNJ fleet of ASV's (all YELLOW with one lone MACK) all had the double rear windows that were commonplace on buses of that era (these were the buses purchased new in the 1930's, not the older front-engine buses that PS later converted into dual-powered trolley buses)........

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Earlier, I'd mentioned the now-demolished PUBLIC SERVICE TERMINAL in Newark' until fairly recently, Cincinnati had its own version, the DIXIE TERMINAL.

This handsome building still stands, though it is no longer used for buses.

Like the PS terminal it served not only buses, but, in earlier years, streetcars and trolley buses......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Terminal
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GM, Flxible, and trolley buses.......

I think it is indeed worth mentioning that Edmonton (Canada) once operated a fleet of "New Look"-style trolley coaches; the bodies were GM-built, while the electrical gear was supplied by Brown Boveri of Montreal.

Toronto's WESTERN FLYER trolley buses bore a strong resemblence to Flex New looks; Hamilton, also, operated trolley buses that clearly were New look inspired.

Such electric coaches give you an idea of what PSNJ/TNJ might have purchased in later years, had they still been operating ASV's in the 60's and 70's......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2018 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Note the photo at the top right of this page; it gives us a good idea of what GM New Look trolley buses might have been like, had PSNJ continued to operate ASV's into more modern times; also, what NYCTA trolley coaches might have looked like in Brooklyn.........

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_buses_in_Edmonton
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

New Look influence is QUITE evident in these photos; again, imagine if PS/TNJ or the NYCTA ever operated such handsome electric coaches.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4202

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4219

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



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The "New Look" in trolley buses; it's easy to see where the inspiration for the windshield came from........ Wink

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4192

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)
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