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Mr. Linsky

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  1. Boy, this one rolls back the time machine to 'day one' in the archives of bus transportation as we savor a photo of the very first motorized coach to operate in New York City, New York State or possibly the entire country. Seen in 1905 meandering the paths of Manhattan's Central Park in demonstration service for the Fifth Avenue Coach Company (FACCO) is a 24 passenger open topped double decker modeled as a Type 'D' with a chassis built in France by De Dion-Bouton and carrying a body by J.G. Brill and Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is said that the test trials were so successful and well accepted by customers that the company almost immediately ordered an addition fourteen buses while beginning to make serious inroads into the retirement of their large horse drawn fleet. FACCO continued to do chassis business with foreign suppliers including Daimler of England until World War I halted such overseas shipping forcing the company into its own manufacturing. Of note is the extraordinary (for the time) 10 cent fare which was provided for in FACCO's State Public Service Commission permit. Unfortunately, the black and white film hides the elegant color scheme of the vehicle which was a body of rich cavern green with touches of gold leaf pin striping. Photo courtesy of 'bk.sales' and is available at eBay as item # 390495542900. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  2. When the President of the United States takes the bus, I have to believe that the fleet number changes to Bus Force One! Seen seated in the famous Rosa Parks bus on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is our Chief Executive Barack Obama who is probably deep in thoughts surrounding the historic events of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama that turned an ordinary transit bus into a cherished object. The bus, a 1948 36 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH-3610 and carrying fleet #2857, was purchased by conglomerate National City Lines (NCL) and, with its standard NCL 'Fruit Salad' livery, saw service in a number of cities before reaching retirement in Alabama. Interestingly, historians are not absolutely certain that #2857 was the actual bus probably because they could find no photographs in which the fleet number was discernible. However, in October 2001, a member of the Museum’s conservation staff personally inspected the bus, ensuring that its markings and identification were original and a certified forensic document examiner employed by the Museum examined scrapbooks of original images and saw no reason to doubt the authenticity of the accompanying notations. Photo and information courtesy of 'cdlocks4all' and is available at eBay as item # 231390290715. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  3. Seen in 1957 at the Transit Authority's East New York paint shop in Brooklyn is fleet # 7000 - a 1957 45 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH-5106 and one of two hundred and nine likenesses numbered between 7000 and 7208 delivered to New York City in that year. #7000 is dressed in all gold livery which, according to Greller's 'New York City Transit System Bus and Trolley Coach Fleet', was for a Fifth Avenue promotional parade and I will take that as gospel even though I find nothing published to substantiate the claim. However, as coincidence would have it, 1957 was a milestone year in that it marked the 'Golden' anniversary of fossil fueled rubber tired transit in the city which was led by Fifth Avenue Coach in 1907 (they did dabble in battery cars some years earlier which turned out to be a dismal failure). My only question here is where the bus was painted or repainted to gold; was it a factory order or was it done in Brooklyn? Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is avail;able at eBay as item # 390967840486. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  4. I title this presentation as 'Off to the Races'! Seen in what appears to be the Chinatown section of lower Manhattan and taken in April of 1972 is fleet # 501 followed by # 502 readying for a trip to Yonkers Raceway and operating for the Avenue B and East Broadway Transit Company (AB&EB) of New York. # 501, probably the most photographed ever of the company's buses, and its sibling are 1958 51 passenger Macks modeled as a C-49-DM's and were originally demonstrators that arrived at AB&EB in 1960 (the year is in question - see below) at which time the company added Thermo Equipment Company (not to be confused with Thermo King) air conditioning systems These buses along with two C-49-DM's from Schenectady and two C-45-DT's from Cleveland were the last used equipment for AB&EB and were followed by new Flxibles and GM's before the company's takeover by MASTOA in 1980. One note concerning #'s 501 and 502; while they were modeled as DM's meaning Diesel/mechanical, they are listed on AB&EB's roster (in parenthesis) as torque converters which would indicate that they were modified somewhere along the line. There is one further conflict in facts; Mack's post war production records show that they were demos sold to AB&EB in 1959 while Martin's 'New York City Transit Buses 1945-1975' indicates that they were purchased from Public Service Interstate Transport of New Jersey in 1960 - the door remains open on that one! Photo courtesy of 'cr-sd80mac' and is available at eBay as item # 231303732188. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  5. 1984, I am unfamiliar with 'Paling' but I assume that with the added word 'refurb' it may be a bus rebuilder such as 'Blitz' is in the U.S. - can you give me more detail? BTW; the location details in your profile description could just as easily be Manhattan, NY or Los Angeles, CA.!! Many regards, Mr. 'L'
  6. Seen at its company facility sometime in 1995 is fleet # 122 - a 1967 45 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDM-4519 and one of three likenesses numbered from 121 to 123 operating for the Greenfield/Montague Transit Area (GMTA) of Greenfield, Massachusetts. The oddity here is, of course, the very tasteful and professional updating of the lower portion of the front clip including more modern headlamp package and a shock absorbing water filled rubber bumper (it is very much like what GM might have done themselves to jazz up the New Look front end had they continued it in production). Also of note are the sun shaded lights (one to either side of the destination sign) which were probably used in school bus operations and the full glass doors for safer turning ability. BTW; I would say that #122 was still in pretty good shape at the age of 28! GMTA served a route between the Springfield adjacent towns of Greenfield and Montague until 2006 when the Franklin Regional Transit Authority assumed the service as part of an expansion that included forty suburban communities. Photo courtesy of 'windsor74' and is available on eBay as item # 371101554586. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  7. This presentation may answer at least some questions as to where the special 1939/1940 New York World's Fair Greyhound sightseers wound up after the expo ended. The top photo below is representative of the 100 special such vehicles custom built for the Exposition Greyhound Lines division of the Greyhound Corporation by Yellow Coach in 1939 and were exclusively modeled as 1207's The 1207, powered by a 308 cubic inch Chevrolet gasoline engine located beneath the driver's seat, measured 45 feet in length with a 108 inch width and featured two longitudinal back to back wooden benches that sat 50 adults. Road worthy these vehicles were not with only a single forward gear and a 'cruising' speed of about five to seven mph - however, they were ideal for the purpose they were designed for and rumor has it that many although not all found new homes at amusement parks in the southern tier after the fair closed. At least two are known not to have followed the same path as shown below; In September 1942 during World War II the Army Air Forces was assigned its first women as members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), for work in the Aircraft and Warning Service which operated listening posts when enemy attacks on the United States were expected. In the center image a 1207 is seen in 1942 dressed in Army Olive Drab and transporting a group of uniformed ladies presumably within a military compound - it is unclear as to how many of these buses the government bought but you can bet that it was certainly more than one. In a change of pace, the lower frame below shows a 1207 in the service of La Guardia Airport Tours - note that the terminal building still carries the 'New York Municipal Airport' name which would be changed by the Port Authority in 1947. Top photo courtesy of the World's Fair Corporation. Center photo courtesy of Library of Congress. Bottom photo courtesy of Getty Images. Some information culled from Wikipedia and the Motor Bus Society. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  8. This is really a new one on me! The Second World War brought about great hardship for the average motorist when the U.S. Office of Price Administration (OPA) imposed strict rationing of what gasoline supplies it allotted for civilian use thereby forcing John Q. Public to leave his car in the driveway and opt for mass transit. The innovative engineers and mechanics of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, suddenly burdened with throngs of new riders, came up with the idea of the 'standing room only' bus during rush hour operations. It was dubbed a 'stand sit' arrangement in which wooden folding chairs (much like those for a card table) replaced standard seating and when pulled up or closed created over double the rated capacity. Seen below standing at rest somewhere in the environs of the 'Windy City' in 1942 is fleet # 705 - a 1936 36 passenger Yellow Coach modeled as a 731 and showing the unusual seating configuration. It is unclear as to how many of the company's fleet saw this clever modification which was certainly welcomed by its riders. Note the giant 'V' for victory (which was bright red) under the windshield. Photo courtesy of the Motor Bus Society. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  9. This is one Green Line special that even this historian has never seen before! - can you imagine that!? Shown in 1947 at Avenue U and Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn trundling its way back to Rockaway Park via the then Marine Parkway Bridge (now Gil Hodges) on the Q35 line is fleet # 607 - a 1937 37 passenger Mack modeled as a 6-CT-3S operating for Green Bus Lines, Inc., then of Cornell Park, New York. # 607 is all gussied up to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary (1897 to 1947) of Far Rockaway High School with the accent being 'Fifty Years of Progress'. It's unfortunate that the photo is not in color because # 607 probably would have been in much brighter hues for the occasion than the company's cavern green and battleship gray of the period - maybe it was in gold such as was the city 5106 # 7000 that celebrated Fifth Avenue's golden anniversary. Note the windshield placard indicating a terminus at 116th. Street probably because the destination scrolls were never updated for the opening of the Q35 line in late 1937. BTW; this writer dated a young lady from Far Rockaway High School that led to a 44 year marriage that could only have been made in heaven! Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 181379789861. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  10. Back in the late twenties, the fledgling Surface Transportation System (NY) Bus Division of the Third Avenue Railway System welcomed demonstrators from what was then a myriad of manufacturers to find the right fit for their growing needs. One such demo arriving for trials in 1926 was a rather unusual 37 passenger dual rear axle gas/electric model 6HC37 manufactured by the Versare Car Company based just North of Albany in Watervliet, New York. Apparently, preliminary trials satisfied the company and 40 likenesses were purchased in increments between 1928 and 1929 numbered 400 to 439 which includes # 414 pictured below. Versare propulsion systems combining a groundbreaking use individual electric drives for each rear axle proved less than reliable in its infancy and became a nightmare to maintain thus leading Surface to retire the fleet by 1939. The Versares were generally used on the company's #3 Prospect Avenue route in The Bronx but # 414 has been assigned to summer duties in shuttling bathers to Throgs Neck beaches on the #6 line. A very brief history of Versare The Versare Car Company was a bus and trolley bus maker founded outside of Albany, New York in 1925. In 1927 Versare announced a revolutionary type of gas-electric bus with its engine inside the body at the rear (the earliest U.S. example of so-called "streetcar-type" bus construction with the front entrance door ahead of the front axle). There were two electric motors and two driving axles - a concept that proved somewhat more palatable to potential customers, and with interest being shown in the design, the Cincinnati Car Co., an old established streetcar builder, acquired Versare in 1928. A trolley-coach version was marketed as well, initially having the same three-axle layout as the motor bus, but later revised with a single rear axle, and after sale of the company the trolley-coaches were sold under the Cincinnati name. The buses continued to use the name Versare and may have still been built at the original plant in Watervliet, N.Y. Approximately 100 buses and 40 trolley-coaches were produced, and buyers included transit companies in New York, Albany, Montreal, Cleveland, Boston and Salt Lake City. (Coachbuilt) Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available at eBay as item # 181330782285. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  11. Annually, I try to come up with an interesting holiday dressed coach to lift our spirits for the coming joyous season. This year's greeting card arrives in the form of a 1952 44 passenger GM Coach Model TDH 4509 and one of five likenesses numbered 355 to 359 delivered to Northern Indiana Transit, Inc., of South Bend, Indiana. Our focus is conservatively attired as compared to the more lavish displays we've seen in the past but still makes its point in bringing cheer to all as it heads to St. Mary's College in the South Bend suburb of Notre Dame. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and Peace on Earth to all. Photo courtesy of 'Flickr - The Old Look Bus Pool' and was taken by Bruce K. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  12. Here's an unusual and interesting photo taken at the docks in New York in May of 1955 with the focus being on fleet # 527 - a 1955 45 passenger Mack Model C-47-DT and one of fifty likenesses numbered 501 to 550 that will eventually see service with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority of San Juan, Puerto Rico. # 527 is seen on the end of a crane being loaded on to the USS Elizabeth for its brief ocean going voyage. Aside from a second set of under windshield floor vents, this rare view shows us a little of what makes up the underpinnings of a Mack Bus including its pre air suspension heavy leaf springs and neatly placed fuel tank. Also of note are the fresh air intakes in the windshield eave just under the destination sign. Photo courtesy of 'cootsimagery' and is available at eBay as item # 350908272372. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  13. (see 1 attachment) Sitting at the Company's Corona Yards in 1948 and contemplating its final fate after being retired by the City of New York is fleet #634 - a 1932 36 passenger White Motor Company Model 54A and one of twenty one likenesses numbered 616 to 635 originally purchased in increments between 1931 and 1932 by the defunct North Shore Bus Company of Flushing, New York. Introduced as a parlor car in 1928, the White 54A, powered by a new single block overhead valve gasoline engine with a 519 cubic inch displacement pushing 100 h.p. and featuring all wheel air brakes, gave both Yellow's and Mack's of the same ilk a run for their money with 700 built between 1929 and 1938. These coaches had been purchased for express operations between Manhattan and both Jackson Heights and Jones Beach - services that were less then successful and led to the early sale of most of the fleet to other operators. However, in 1935 the astute North Shore shops converted the Bender bodied #634 for transit operation by cutting away the decorative observation platform at the rear, lowering the roof and adding a bi-fold rear door as well as converting the original sedan door in the same manner (the rear conversion is evidenced by the loss of well over half of the enlarged eighth passenger window). Also on the crusher's list seen in the background of the shot is fleet # 570 - a 1930 Yellow Coach Model Z-BM-617. Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and has been sold on eBay. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  14. (see 2 attachments) While transit buses of yore may not have seemed very comfortable to ride in with their sprung suspensions, some manufacturers more than made up for the deficit by providing 'living room' quality seating as can be seen below in the interior of a 1933 40 passenger Twin Coach Model 40 operating as #233 for Jamaica Buses, Inc. of Baisley Park, New York. Heavily cushioned plush genuine leather seating of what would be of 'Rolls-Royce' caliber today abounds with individually contoured benches amidships which were easily removable to service the underfloor 'twin' engines - certainly, no 'slash proofing' needed in those days!. Of note is the Johnson Model 'J' electric fare box which was one of many that were transferred from the trolley cars of Jamaica's predecessor Jamaica Central Railways. The blurb below, thanks to the Johnson Fare Box Company, illustrates the versatility of their Model J. Photo courtesy of 'Judahpraise' and is available at eBay as item #121176996379. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  15. (see 1 attachment) Seen in 1912 when new traversing Manhattan's Central Park on its run between upper Riverside Drive and Washington Square via the #5 line is fleet #201 - a 23 passenger De Dion-Bouton demonstrator operating for the Fifth Avenue Coach Company (FACCO) of Manhattan, New York. Specialized chassis for buses were virtually non existent in the U.S. in the earliest part of the twentieth century so FACCO, one of the first (if not the first company) to motorize looked across the seas to already established manufacturers and found both Daimler of England and De Dion-Bouton of France as most likely candidates and, while some Daimler equipment did make the roster, De Dion became the mainstay (bodies for all of FACCO's early equipment were built by the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It was the onset of World War I, when shipments of chassis from the two foreign sources were diverted to the war effort, that forced FACCO to began to manufacture their own in their upper Manhattan shops not only for themselves but to any and all takers. Mechanical field tests of #201 in early 1912 proved very favorable but the 23 seat capacity did not so subsequent orders in the 200 series in 1912 and 1913 added a 22 seat second level which began the famous double decked tradition that the company maintained until the last of its late thirties Queen Marys left the road in 1953. The single deck #201 enjoyed its jaunts through Central Park, a privilege not afforded to its double deck cousins due to low overpass heights but that changed in 1914 when #201 was rebuilt to two levels itself. BTW; note that FACCO's fare was 10 cents (twice the going trolley rate) - a lot of money for that day and age! Photo courtesy of 'Forgotten Images' and is available at eBay as item #281177089771. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  16. (see 1 attachment below) The stretching of a 35 foot GM 4500 series Old Look transit was extremely rare not only because anything of greater length was banned in most states through the 1940’s but because the 40 foot 5100 series made GM’s general catalogue as early as 1950. However, there were exceptions to the rule and the coach pictured below and five siblings, originally purchased new by Nueces Transportation Company of Corpus Christi, Texas, were certainly one of them. In their second lives, which began in 1957 with St. Louis Public Service, these TDH 4509’s received complete overhauls including the installation of Air Conditioners and an expansion to 49 seats as evidenced by the addition of a large single sash just aft of the first three full sets shown on # 2913 below and thereby technically remodeling them as TDH 4901’s. Originally built for the humid climate of the Southern tier, these buses came equipped with double sets of under windshield floor vents, six fresh air roof dampers (usually seen on non ThermoMatic units) and special shades over their ThermoMatic intakes. Photo and basic information thanks to ‘frankie’ at BusTalk. Mr. Linsky – Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York [/color]
  17. In this undated photo taken at the company's Motor City shops we see fleet #503 - a 1955 51 passenger GM Coach Model TDH 5105 and one of eight likenesses numbered 501 to 508 operating for the Lake Shore Coach Lines of Detroit, Michigan. #503 is undergoing the installation of a rear door in place of the single openable passenger sash which can still be seen in place on a sibling in the background. Air Suspension Ride was still quite new and was often used as a sales tool as can be espied by the 'Ride On Air' blurb over the transoms just aft of what was to become the rear door. A very brief history of Lake Shore Coach; Lake Shore, a semi suburban privately owned property connecting Downtown Detroit with the affluent lake front enclaves of Harper Woods, Grosse Pointe and Saint Clair Shores Michigan and operating 44 buses on two routes had its beginnings in 1931 and arose as part of the dismemberment of the Detroit Motorbus Company. In 1971 Lake Shore was purchased for $234,000 with the assistance of its served communities by SEMTA (SouthEastern Michigan Transportation Authority). Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available on eBay as item #171111548976. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  18. Seen sometime in the 1950's at its company's Atlantic Station with a fleet number originally in the 1700 series is a 1940 31 passenger Kenworth Model 601 chassis supporting a body built by Pacific Car and Foundry (no relation to American or Canadian Car and Foundry) and was one of thirty one likenesses that operated for the Seattle Transit System (STS) of Seattle, Washington. The Model 601, with a wheelbase of 162 inches and power derived from a Hall-Scott model 135 gasoline engine of pancake design placed underfloor amidships, was among Kenworth's first modern transit buses. Kenworth, a top name in heavy truck manufacture out of Seattle, dabbled in bus chassis from the early twenties to the late fifties with a customer base mainly in the northwestern U.S. and Canada but was never really considered a competitor in the marketplace with most of its sales being in handfuls. Looking like a shadow of its former self, our focus sits on supports and has been converted to a vault bus for TSS and apparently is alarmed as evidenced by the foil across the windshield. The board just over the first passenger window hides the original side destination sign and I would imagine that the 'please close windows' sign refers to those aft of the rear door that are obviously not in the protected area. Photo courtesy '90mac' and is available on eBay as item # 380687703446. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  19. Seen sometime in the 1950's at its company's Atlantic Station with a fleet number originally in the 1700 series is a 1940 31 passenger Kenworth Model 601 chassis supporting a body built by Pacific Car and Foundry (no relation to American or Canadian Car and Foundry) and was one of thirty one likenesses that operated for the Seattle Transit System (STS) of Seattle, Washington. The Model 601, with a wheelbase of 162 inches and power derived from a Hall-Scott model 135 gasoline engine of pancake design placed underfloor amidships, was among Kenworth's first modern transit buses. Kenworth, a top name in heavy truck manufacture out of Seattle, dabbled in bus chassis from the early twenties to the late fifties with a customer base mainly in the northwestern U.S. and Canada but was never really considered a competitor in the marketplace with most of its sales being in handfuls. Looking like a shadow of its former self, our focus sits on supports and has been converted to a vault bus for TSS and apparently is alarmed as evidenced by the foil across the windshield. The board just over the first passenger window hides the original side destination sign and I would imagine that the 'please close windows' sign refers to those aft of the rear door that are obviously not in the protected area. Photo courtesy '90mac' and is available on eBay as item # 380687703446. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  20. This is the fascinating story of GM Engineering Experiment # EXP-305; It had its beginnings in mid 1950 as the very first Model TDH-5103 (serial #0001) and further had the distinction of being the company's first 40 foot long 102 inch wide transit bus. Dubbed by the engineering department as EXP-305, a designation that it would retain for over eight years, this bus was initially used as the pilot for Air Suspension experiments and field tests as a remodeled TDH-5105. The summer of 1956 brought about the installation of the first experimental air conditioner on a GM transit bus. At some point between 1956 and 1958 EXP-305 arrived at New York's Fifth Avenue Coach Lines in demonstration service carrying a temporary company flag and 3200 as a fleet designation along with boasts of its special equipment as is seen in the upper photo taken at Manhattan's Columbus Circle (note that the Thermo-Matic heating and ventilation system was removed when the cooling equipment was installed). Because of a New York law that prohibited the use of 102 inch wide buses at the time, EXP-305 was returned to GM, refitted with updated engine air intakes, push open rear doors and modified fresh air vents under the single windows just forward of the rear and emergency doors. In August of 1958 EXP-305 was sold to New Orleans Public Service, Inc. of New Orleans, Louisiana to join their fleet of over 150 5105's and was assigned as #1967 as is seen in lower frame. BTW; the GM livery carried by #3200 was so pleasing that DC Transit adopted it and was seen first appearing on sixty-six factory air conditioned 5105's received in 1958. Upper photo courtesy of GM Photographic. Lower photo courtesy of '90mac' and is available on eBay as item # 380668151755. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  21. Seen attached in the form of a linen postcard is fleet #609 - a 1944 GM Coach Model PGA-3702 and one of four likenesses numbered 600, 609, 615 and 620 operating for the Parochial Bus System of Bronx, New York. The PGA-3702 with a wheelbase of 239 inches gained its power from a 477 cubic inch six cylinder gasoline engine mounted straight in at the rear coupled with a mechanical transmission. 600 of the popular model were built with the permission of the Office of Defense Transportation (ODT) between 1944 and 1945 and, due to a still active war footing at GM's bus manufacturing plant, were fabricated by the nearby Pontiac Motor Car Division. #609 and its ilk were purchased pre owned in 1950 from Northland Greyhound Lines and retained their original fleet numbers less Greyhound's prefix 'N'. Founded in 1944 by Ferdinand Arrigoni, a former manager with Bee Line's Walter's Transit subsidiary on Long Island, Parochial Bus System was to become a premier school bus carrier servicing both private and religious institutions in The Bronx and Manhattan which finally landed the company a contract with the Board of Education for all city owned schools in the northern borough. The 1950's saw the beginning of New York Bus Tours - a subsidiary devoted to charter services from Manhattan and The Bronx to the five major race tracks in the metropolitan area as well as to Jones Beach during the summer season. And finally, in the 60's another change in name brought about New York Bus Service which eventually boasted no less than seven lucrative express commuter routes in and out of Manhattan. It is interesting to note that with the exception of 124 brand new Ford school buses purchased in connection with the city contract, fully 95% of the company's rolling stock came to them used, were completely renovated and always kept in impeccable condition. Bus watchers have often wondered why a company, that stayed away from the pitfalls of local transit and was so phenomenally successful in their business model fell to city control in the early 2000's - this writer has no answer. Much of the above information has been culled from a report by my good friend the late Don Weiss of the Motor Bus Society (MHSRIP). Postcard courtesy of '4509bus' and is available on eBay as item # 350824250003. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  22. From our cute photo department; No!, it's not a bus pulling three elephants - it's three elephants pushing a bus that appears to be stuck in the snow in spite of its set of chains! (didn't most bus companies have a few pachyderms hanging around for just such occasions?). The time is the 1940's and the place is Kansas City, Missouri where we see fleet # 1568 - a 1942 36 passenger Yellow Coach Model TG 3605 and one of 70 likenesses numbered 1518 to 1587 operating for the then Kansas City Public Service Company. Of note is #1568's 'war time' all steel body in place of aluminum as evidenced by the double set of side swipe moldings between the wheel wells. Maybe Yellow should have called this model a TGE 3605 (the 'E' standing for elephant in this case!). Photo courtesy of the Motor Bus Society. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  23. Photographed sometime in the 1960's at Smith and Fulton Streets in Brooklyn and traveling the #67 7th. Avenue Line heading toward Prospect Park West and 39th. Street is fleet # 9087 - a 1958 GM Coach Model TDH 5106 and one of one hundred and twenty one likenesses numbered 9000 to 9120 operating for the New York City Transit Authority. The 9000's, which were the last group of 'GM Old Looks' to arrive before the 'New Look' era began, carried forward many of the features that were introduced with the city's 5106's in the 7000 series from a year earlier and included push open rear doors, heavy painted steel bumpers and pantographic windshield wipers. However, the 9000's differed in that they featured rare slide back passenger windows (ala Mack's C-50's) and the last twenty-two buses delivered were equipped with all longitudinal seating to accommodate rush hour crowding on the short B39 Williamsburg Bridge shuttle to and from Manhattan. While the 9000's began their careers with the city's Brooklyn Bus Division, most slowly gravitated to Staten Island to make way for the proliferation of GM's New Looks arriving in the 60's (a sample of one seen to the left of frame). Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available on eBay as item # 171044342103. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York
  24. In the 1966 images below taken at Brooklyn Transit Authority facilities we see two groups of New York City's famous specially built 1948/49 GM TDH-5101's in the cannibalization department and readying for their eventual ride to the crusher. 400 of these 40 foot bohemoths numbered 4500 to 4899, among the first ever of their length to ply the streets of New York, were originally allotted proportionately to the Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island Bus Divisions to aid in the replacement of aged and war weary trolley cars and buses. As seen in the one frame, the 5101's featured rare 'double stream' front doors to accelerate ingress and egress during heavy traffic periods. Without even seeing the front doors, the 5101's can easily be identified by the placement of the rear axle directly under the first set of passenger windows aft of the rear and emergency doors (that positioning was changed to directly between the two sets of windows on later 5100 models with the exception of the 5102). One 5101 has been preserved by the MTA (originally numbered 4789 but changed to 2969 in honor of Ralph Kramden!), and while it is only speculation, some believe that #4789 was transferred to FDNY as a mobile communications platform and then eventually returned to the MTA in good enough condition to be added to the vintage fleet. Photos courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and are available on eBay as item #'s 171039310860 and 1811390452279 respectively. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
  25. Seen in this very early fifties image and making its turn from Queens Boulevard to Roosevelt Avenue on its way to 82nd Street in Jackson Heights from Manhattan's 25th. Street and Fifth Avenue on the # 15 line is fleet # 2501 - a 1949 50 passenger GM Coach Model TDH 5102 (ser# 001) operating for the Fifth Avenue Coach Company of Manhattan, New York. When GM built 400 of the specially designed TDH 5101's for the City of New York in 1948, they also fabricated one demonstrator of identical appearance but to stock specification which was cataloged for sale as a TDH 5102. The TDH 5102 made the grand tour as a demonstrator but was shunned by most operators who were awaiting orders for the new 40 foot long wide bodied TDH 5103's to replace what was left of traction lines. However, when the coach reached Fifth Avenue, who was a narrow gauge operator through the 'Old Look' era, they liked it enough to buy it and assign it basically to the Jackson Heights route. Of note on # 2501 are the slightly narrower passenger window sashes to accommodate the rare double stream front doors and the wheelbase of a 35 foot model which created a dangerously long rear overhang and was corrected for the 5103 and beyond. Following # 2501 in the frame is a Fifth Avenue TDH 4509 numbered in the 2300 range. Photo courtesy of 'Vintage-Vault75' and is available on eBay as item # 181136826818. Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York Brentwood, Ca. office
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