BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

(see earlier posts)-------Regarding roller curtain/electronic "Torpedo" signage---------going by the countless photos Your's Truly has gone through during the past few years it looks as though the last RTS to be equipped with roller curtains were the Series "04"; though quite a few photos also show "04s" furnished with electronic signs----------"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WB: The "Slinkies"/Dustbusters"/"electric eels" etc are (scary to say) are so downright HIDEOUS they outdo our current "fleet' here in "Noo Yawk"!!!! ------I would guess that today current insects and eels use signage that has the old signs (like "Transdot") looking quite old-fashioned-------I recall when the "Are-62's" on the "Eye-Are-Tee" were new in the 80's (and for years afterwards) utilized roller signs in side windows-when were these replaced with the current electronic signs?; I will be wagering these hi-tech signs could not last 30-40-50 years like the good ol' tried-and'-true roller signs---------aaahhh progress------- "NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Earlier I had brought up the subject of second-hand "Noo Yawk" RTS (Fort Worth/Boston) did any other properties get ex-"Noo Yawk" RTS? (I know the ones that went to Boston were used in charter/tour operations)-----"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WB-------this info does not surprise Your's Truly in the least; sad all of this high-tech junk is not courtesy of the good ol' USA-is built for a "throw-away-society"-has the appeal of a can opener-and is far too $$$$$$$-----I'll take bare light bulbs and roller curtains anyday! ---------- "NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WB----------I'd brought up second-hand "Noo Yawk" RTS-know we know Fort Worth purchased a group; others went to Boston for tour/charter runs-------then there were those that journeyed across the Hudson to "Joisey" which Your's Truly rode often on the "22 HILLSIDE" long years back------I wonder of other second-hand RTS courtesy of "Noo Yawk" being sold for further operation elsewhere--------"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WB:---------Yours Truly's recollections recall NJT's old 870's as being TRUE workhorses; I rode these buses for years; one QUITE interesting scene I recall years ago was when one of NJT's original artics (I HATED these junkers!) had broken down and had to be pushed up Edgewater Road hill the short distance (just up the hill) to the ex-O&B garage-----an 870-instead of an NJT tow truck)-PUSHED the disabled "Slinky" up the hill-roaring to beat the band-----BUT it got the job done-how I wish I was able to take a few photos of this great feat!! ------"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

"En-Jay-Tee's" 870's sure made use of Luminator fonts.

Where I lived for 40 years, in the early years of my living there many an "En-Jay-Tee" bus model MC-9 from MCI, passed by whilst en route to the PABT; they used the exact same Luminator electronic sign apparatus that was used on the 1982 order of "Em-Tee-Yay" "Are-Tee-Ess" "Torpedos." A sample can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NJ_Transit_bus_fleet#/media/File:NJ_Transit_PA6106.jpg

On both that fleet and the "Torpedos," if not working properly they would occasionally flash all lower-case letters. Of which can be found here:

https://www.rollsigngallery.com/esigns/collection/Gulton/esigngulton.html

https://www.rollsigngallery.com/esigns/lumfontgraphics.html

(On the latter link, "5x7" was the main font on post-1981 signs; before that they used the RO3-2513 type, big changes came with such characters as 2, 3, 6, 9 and hyphen.)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

WB: GREAT links/pics; thanks for posting! I still cannot grasp that NJT's 870's are now gone eons; to say this fellow is less than thrilled by what replaced the hard-working 870's is indeed 100% truth; don't get Your's Truly started at those insipid NABIs (aka "rolling shoeboxes") ---------"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Hard to grasp that this year will be the FIFTH since the last of the RTS (aka "Torpedo") operated in "Noo Yawk"------like the iconic Fishbowls and the workaday "Dangerfields"-we thought they'd be with us for eternity------how quickly the years go (personally-I think that the "Torpedo" was the LAST good-looking and RELIABLE bus to be built within our borders---------------I wonder if at least one "Noo Yawk" RTS escaped the torch-------"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Thought: HAD a large order of early "slant back" RTS been purchased-instead of the "Booby Trap Specials"-I wonder just how big an order it would be----as big as the order for the "Booby Trap Specials"? Larger? Scaled back? Of course-had "slant back" RTS ("Torpedos") been purchased (circa-1979)-they'd be later retrofitted with updated a/c-and thus losing their original slanted rears in the process------"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]