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'Bus Nostalgia'
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below is a 1953 Mack Thermodyne Diesel ad with some pretty familiar New York area customers including Yonkers Bus Company and Surface Transportation.

When you add Jamaica Buses, Avenue 'B' and East Broadway, Bee Line (L.I.), City of New York Board of Transportation and Westchester Street Transportation to that list Mack really didn't to too badly in the fifties!

Note that the company still had a sales office in Manhattan at that time.

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, New York

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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 Sep 12, 2007 2:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below are a group of 1946 GM TD 3609's being delivered to Lake Shore Coach Lines, Inc. servicing the suburbs of Detroit Michigan.

This is an old trick photography shot which GM used quite a lot in its ads.

The first two buses in the picture are actual and the subsequent sets behind them are just copies of the first two to make it appear to be a parade.

Also note that these coaches must have been among the very first to have Thermo-Matic heating and ventilation systems considering that they were delivered in mid 1946.

Those were the days when complicated livery design was a cake walk for GM!

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc. Jamaica & Arverne, NY

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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great advertisments, Mr. Linsky! Keep them coming!

So, what's it going to be? Mack or GM? Laughing
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below is a GM ad for the RTS 04 touting a vastly improved Air Conditioning and Heating system.

I believe that the 04 was the last of the GM built RTS's and probably the best but most of you who read this will know much more about that than I do.

All I know is that it seems as though these buses have found a very important niche in the history of transportation. And, in one form or another, will probably break an all time record when you consider that the species, which came upon the scene in 1979, will continue running somewhere for at least another five to ten years!

Long live the RTS!

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY

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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 2:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below is a 1948 GM TDH 5101 Fleet #4688, and one of only four hundred ever built (fleet # 4500 to 4899 ser# 0001 to 0400) as a special order for the City of New York Board of Transportation and delivered between November of 1948 and February of 1949.

At 96 inches in width and almost 40 feet in length these buses were the first of the 'paired window' design and featured 'double stream' front entry doors (notice the unusually wide space between the driver's window and the first passenger sash).

The 5101's operated for both the then new Queens Bus Division and in Staten Island.

Coach # 4789 (ser# 0290) of this order has been preserved by the Transit Authority and, for legal reasons, has been renumbered as 2969 and labeled New York City Omnibus.

Photo courtesy of Vincent A. Syrek - GMOldLookBus

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY



Last edited by Mr. Linsky on Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 3:45 pm    Post subject: 'The GM TDH 5105' Reply with quote

Pictured below is a 1953 air brushed GM ad boasting the new TDH 5105 equipped with the first air suspension system.

With a total of 3630 units manufactured between mid 1953 and late 1958, the 5105 holds the ‘Old Look’ record for most buses built of any one model.

Surprisingly, none went to the City of New York nor, for that matter, to any other New York state operator.

However, Philadelphia Transportation Company topped the list at nearly 350 followed by the City of Detroit with 225 and both Seattle and St. Louis coming in at well over 100 each.

Sixty six D.C. Transits were the first to be delivered with factory installed air conditioning in late 1958.

According to Ohio Museum of Transportation records seventeen 5105’s have been preserved by museums, transit authorities and private parties across the country.

These 40 foot coaches, which became the ‘backbone’ of surface transportation in the fifties, certainly deserve their niche in the history of rapid transit in the U.S.

Mr. Linsky
“The Green Hornet”
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY

310


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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 Sep 16, 2007 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below is another City of New York Board of Transportation 1948 GM TDH 5101 fleet # 4579.

This view clearly shows the 'double stream' front doors which expedited rush hour service.

Notice the rather short wheelbase and unusually long overhangs both in front and back.

The experts say that this bus was no longer than the standard 5104's, 5's and 6's without the double doors but it sure doesn't seem that way to me!

An interesting aside; the first special assignment for a number of these coaches was as parking lot shuttles at the grand opening of Idlewild (now JFK) airport in late 1948 (the writer was in attendance).

Photo courtesy of Vincent A. Syrek - GMOldLookBus

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY



Last edited by Mr. Linsky on Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:51 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:51 am    Post subject: 'GM TDH 4507' Reply with quote

Pictured below is a 1948 GM TDH 4507 (fleet# 2048 ser# 1899) operating for the then newly formed Queens Bus Division of the City of New York’s Board of Transportation to service the routes of the defunct North Shore Bus Company.

The 4507 was a popular model for GM and 3,045 were produced between November 1946 and September 1948 including 144 with mechanical transmissions (known as TDM’s) and a total of 158 for the City of New York.

Other local 4507 operators included Green Bus Lines, Triboro Coach Corporation, Surface Transportation and the Omnibus group.

North Shore Bus Company had taken delivery on eighteen 4507’s just prior to its acquisition by the city and those buses were absorbed.

Thermo-Matic heating and ventilation, noted by the air intake over the front destination sign, made its debut as an option on the these buses which did away with the familiar Mickey Mouse ear like vents on the roof.

It is interesting to note that only two of these coaches have been preserved – one by the Chicago Transit Authority and the other by a private party in Maryland.

Photo courtesy of Vincent A. Syrek - GMOldLookBus

Mr. Linsky
“The Green Hornet”
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY

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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 2:56 am    Post subject: 'White Model 798' Reply with quote

In the picture below taken in October of 1948 officials of the Ministry of Transportation in Sydney Australia are seen admiring a brand new White Model 798 V12 gasoline powered demonstrator.

While the view is from the rear it is obvious that this bus is a right hand drive as a left side rear door is visible through the rear window.

The 798 was among White's largest and most popular models and nearly 3800 were built between 1937 and 1948.

There were ongoing problems with fumes that leaked from the underfloor 'pancake' engines, and fuel consumption for the 210 horsepower V12's which netted these buses only about a mile and a half per gallon.

White never really made much of a mark in the New York metro area with stiff competition from both Mack and GM, but there where some small prewar orders for Triboro Coach, Bee Line, North Shore Bus Company and numerous New Jersey operators.

The 798 model was discontinued in late 1948 to be replaced with the more modern Diesel powered 1100 series.

Mr.Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Arverne, NY

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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Tue Sep 18, 2007 9:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interesting, Mr. Linsky! I've seen lots of photos of White 798's but that's the first one in Australia that I've seen. "All American Bus." Wouldn't you just like to see anything "All American" anymore?
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pictured below is a 1946 GM Model TD 4506 (ser# 0578) fleet # 1130 delivered to the Baltimore Transit Company in April of that year.

Notice that even as late as mid 1946, these buses still carried a simple livery as dictated by the wartime Office of Defense Transportation.

While aluminum had already replaced steel used during the war, the 4506's were devoid of bright work on the outside and featured interior painted steel passenger railings in lieu of stainless steel.

# 1130 was sent to pasture in 1971 after 25 years of service (the usual life expectancy in those days!).

It is interesting to note that the company also took delivery of the first five 4506's off the line (ser# 0001 to 0005) in June of 1945 and has preserved one which may be seen at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum (this city is steeped in transportation history).

Picture courtesy of Baltimore Transit Archives and is borrowed for educational purposes only.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Jamaica, NY

605

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Mr. Linsky
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PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 1:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

For those of you who may not remember, Carey Transportation was the preeminent airport connection company in the New York metropolitan area throughout the fifties, sixties and beyond.

Their original 'trademark' buses were Flxible Clipper Airporters in sleek cavern green livery with lettering in gold leaf.

I have searched high and low for even one photo of such a Carey specimen with no success.

However, the factory shot below is just about the closest thing to it and even carries a strikingly similar livery scheme.

This bus was a 1958 Flxible Clipper (ser# B58-1604-A) and, as with all Clippers, was equipped with a lightening fast 'Fire Ball' straight eight Buick engine (Buick and Flxible had a history that went way back).

The Clipper's were extremely versatile and even saw service as both police and fire department ambulances as well as highway post offices.

Carey's Flxible fleet was eventually phased out and replaced with even faster GM PD4104's and 4106's.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Jamaica, NY

748

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Cyberider




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Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I seem to remember these used in some kind of airport service in L.A. in the early 70's. I suppose the later ones didn't use the Buick straight-eight!
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Mr. Linsky
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Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dave,

I wouldn't doubt that these Flxible Clippers were the bus of choice for airport operators across the country back when.

The illustrated bus logo indicates that it was built for 'Dixie' as an 'Airporter" (obviously, somewhere in the deep south).

Pictured below is an excellent replica of a Carey Transportation GM PD 4106 Fleet # 703 and capturing virtually every detail that appeared on the real thing.

This bus, and many other models, were made by Bob Redden - the famous transportation photographer and may be seen in a collection by MackBuses - Little Buses - Albany, NY on the web.

Pipe, take note.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Jamaica, NY

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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 Sep 30, 2007 2:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cyberider wrote:
I seem to remember these used in some kind of airport service in L.A. in the early 70's. I suppose the later ones didn't use the Buick straight-eight!


Dave,

The relationship between Buick and Flxible went as far back as the inception of Flxible in 1922.

Flxible was a body builder and found the Buick commercial chassis and engine to be an ideal match for their coaches.

I suspect that they continued to use these engines until the end of Clipper production because Buick wound up with an over abundance of straight eight blocks in the mid fifties.

General Motors had planned to introduce the Buick V-8 in the 1955 model year along with both Pontiac and Chevrolet.

For whatever the reason, which may have been keen competition with Mercury and De Soto, they brought out Buick's new engine ahead of time in 1953.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Jamaica, NY
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