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Hey everyone, to keep up with the retirements of the OCTA New Flyer C40LFR, I provided a separate thread so we know which ones are retired at the moment, and which ones are still active presently. The replacements for these buses are Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG buses all to be delivered by next year at the time of writing. Retired C40LFRs Santa Ana Base 5502, 5504, 5505, 5506, 5507, 5508, 5510, 5511, 5512, 5515, 5516, 5517, 5518, 5520, 5521, 5522, 5523, 5524, 5526, 5527, 5528, 5532, 5533, 5536, 5538, 5539, 5542, 5545, 5547, 5548, 5549, 5551, 5552, 5565, 5567, 5569, 5570, 7583, 7584, 7588 Irvine (Keolis) Base 5123, 5554, 5555, 5556, 5557, 5558, 5559, 5560, 5561, 5562, 5563, 5564, 5572, 5573, 5574, 5576, 5577, 5578, 5579, 5580, 5582, 5583, 5584, 5585, 5588, 5589, 5590, 5592, 5594, 5595, 5599, 5601, 5602, 5603, 5604, 5605, 5606, 5607, 5608, 5609, 5610, 5613, 5614, 5620, 5621, 5622, 5623, 5624, 5626, 5627, 5628, 5629, 5630, 5632, 5634, 5641, 5642, 5647 Anaheim (Keolis) Base 5644, 5645, 5648, 5653, 5654, 5655, 5656, 5657, 5659, 5660, 5663, 5665, 5666, 5668, 5669, 5670, 5676, 7501, 7505, 7510, 7512, 7513, 7515, 7516, 7520, 7526, 7528, 7533, 7534, 7566, 7574 I believe units 5537, 5562, 5575, 5579, 5581, 5593, 5596, 5597, 5598, 5652, 5658, 5664, 5671, 5672, 5673, 7503, 7509, 7510, 7525, 7553 are being decommissioned as they haven’t entered service in a while. Units 5586, 5587, 5615, 5617, 5618, and 5625 are all training buses for Keolis and are based out of Anaheim. They are blank with no titles or unit numbers shown. Auction Dates: October 21, 2022: 5559, 5605 February 10, 2023: 5556, 5560, 5577, 5578, 5594, 5595, 5599, 5601, 5608, 5622, 5641, 5657, 7505, 7512, 7513, 7526 March 10, 2023: 5508, 5555, 5645, 5659, 5660, 5666 April 7, 2023: 5508, 5510, 5512, 5515, 5521, 5528, 5533, 5545, 5547, 5645, 5659, 5660, 5669, 5674, 7528 May 5, 2023: 5505, 5507, 5511, 5516, 5524, 5527, 5542, 5645, 5654, 7501 June 2, 2023: 5502, 5504, 5506, 5548, 5557, 5588, 5620, 5629, 5630 June 30, 2023: 5532, 5536, 5538, 5549, 5552, 5567, 5569, 5570 July 28, 2023: 5532, 5569, 5585, 5592, 5606, 5610, 5632, 5634, 5647, 5653, 5656, 5668, 7515 August 25, 2023: 5569 Spetember 22, 2023: 5569, 5592, 7584 October 20, 2023: 5387, 5518, 5522, 5523, 5565, 5569, 5592, 7520, 7584, 7588 5569 still hasn’t found an owner yet even after being auctioned off five times now. 5666 now with LA Charter Bus Lines as 3630 5515 now with Transit Systems 5605 and 5622 have now been scrapped On a separate note, XN40 units 5701 through 5750 have been transferred over to Keolis Irvine Base to replace some C40LFRs there, and XN40 units 5815 through 5839 have been transferred over to Keolis Anaheim Base where they have replaced some of the C40LFRs while the Gillig Low Floor Plus CNG buses are still being delivered.

Hey everyone, to keep up with the retirements of the LACMTA NABI Metro 45Cs and 60-BRTs, I provided a separate thread so we know which ones are retired at the moment, and which ones are still active presently. The replacements for the 45Cs are unknown yet, but presumably BYDs as the Silver Line Compobuses are starting to be repainted into the iconic orange Metro Local livery while the buses from BYD are currently on delivery to Metro. The 60-BRTs might also be replaced by BYDs, but the ones that are used on the Orange Line replacement are the XE60s. Retired NABI Compobuses (2008-2013, 8100-8649) 8100-8216, 8218-8338, 8340-8341, 8344, 8348, 8363, 8400, 8402, 8409, 8517 Retired NABI 60-BRTs (2007-2008, 9500s) I don’t think any are retired at the moments but I will update it accordingly Metro recently repainted some of it’s Silver Line Metro 45Cs which including 8352, 8358 and some others. I believe they are based out of Division 13 now Sadly I don’t have auction dates for these buses, but will update accordingly if sources are found Majority of the retired NABI Compobuses are scrapped 8517 was involved in a recent crash when a hijacker took control of the bus from the bus driver.

I'm starting a new thread for this company, since it's seperate from Cruise Victoria. This company is running the old BC Transit "Cruise Shuttle" that ran from 2013-2018. They're running single-door ex GO Transit double deckers (2008/09 Enviro500s). The GO Transit livery, destination signs are still on the buses, as well as the old fleet numbers. See this video for reference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVHjpCM3Bo4

Since I haven't found any good thread to put this in (as this pretty much applies to any vehicle with an Allison transmission), I'll start this thread here and hope somebody has an answer. Today I came across this document on the web: https://freightlinerads.azureedge.net/ShiftSelector2013.pdf It shows how to use the familiar keypad I've seen on many buses I've been on. In particular, I've noticed the so-called "5th Generation Electronic Controls", which has the high-res, dot-matrix graphical display, looks different from the one I've seen on vehicles in the GTA like GO Transit's latest D4500CTs and Enviro500s (and even retrofitted to its old coaches, such as this one below): https://1drv.ms/i/s!AgqCsfFShZgBidkZJejIlrCELE77CQ As you can see, despite the crappy resolution of my image, the typeface used to display the transmission speed looks different from the one in Allison's PDF document; while the latter shows crude-looking numbers, the ones I've seen use the beautiful-looking Arial font. I believe this could be attributed to one of Allison's OEMs, as quoted in the document: Is this so, and if it is, does anyone have further information about who made the shift selector seen in my image?

I am sure most of you know about the Allison HT740 and HT747 transmissions, but the lower-rung MT644 and MT647 are not quite fondly as remembered. These share some of the same parts, such as torque converters. The MT644 was designed for engines up to 300 hp and 780 lb/ft of torque, whereas the later MT647 ups the input torque rating to 950 lb/ft. But for transit buses, these ratings will be different; for now I know the input hp limit for bus engines is 250. The MT648 was the electronically-controlled equivalent of the MT647. Torque converter ratios are 2.21 (TC495) and 1.92 (TC494). The HT740 was designed for engines up to 425 hp and 1300 lb/ft of torque, but in transit buses those ratings are reduced to 350 hp and 1100 lb/ft. The HT747, with its special three-gear pump for better coolant flow, is used only in transit buses and is rated for engines producing up to 350 hp and 1100 lb/ft. The HT741 and HT748 are the respective electronic equivalents of the HT740 and HT747. Torque converter ratios are 3.04 (TC470), 2.21 (TC495), 2.09 (TC499) and 1.83 (TC496, not available for HT747). I also want to know whether or not any buses that originally came with the MT644 or MT647 were changed to the HT747 or HT748 transmissions for durability reasons shortly after initial delivery or during their mid-life overhaul? So far I know a few buses had swapped out their MT644 or MT647 transmissions for HT747s or HT748s: Timmins Transit (Timmins, ON) 1982 Orion I 01.504 52-54 (54 was later resold to Ajax Transit as 2044) Mississauga Transit (Mississauga, ON) 1983 Orion I 01.504 8401-8404 Mississauga Transit 1984 Orion I 01.506 8405-8416 (8416 was resold to the National Research Council shortly after initial delivery) Mississauga Transit 1985 Orion I 01.508 8501 (replaced 8416) Vaughan Transit (Vaughan, ON) (later York Region Transit) 1987 Orion I 01.502 517-518 (original 6V71N engines were also reportedly changed to 6V92TA MUI's) University Transit Service (Charlottesville, VA) 1983 Orion I 01.506 5139-5239 and 5337 ~Ben

I am wondering if anyone has any application data regarding the Allison automatic transmissions used in our favorite buses of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s? Typically, these are the transmissions to be used in city buses: 100-175 hp = AT540, AT545 175-210 hp = MT640, MT(B)643 210-250 hp = MT(B)644, MT(B)647, MT(B)648 175-275 hp = MT(B)654CR, V730, V/VR731(RH) 275 hp or more = HT740, HT(B)741, HT746, HT747, HT(B)748 ~Ben

Has anyone ever determined which torque converter ratio is best for each engine/transmission combo? Example 1: Allison AT545 transmission with TC290 (1.72:1) torque converter behind Cummins B5.9 190 hp (475 lb/ft) engine Example 2: Allison MT643 transmission with TC360 (2.86:1) torque converter behind Cummins B5.9 210 hp (485 lb/ft) engine Example 3: Allison MT644 transmission with TC494 (1.92:1) torque converter behind Detroit Diesel 6V92TA 253 hp (766 lb/ft) engine Axle torque ratings: calculated input torque to axle, determined by: T = maximum gross engine torque (lb/ft) N1 = lowest transmission forward gear ratio N2 = torque converter stall ratio (2.5 or specific value for automatics, or 1 for manuals) Say you have a Detroit Diesel 6V92TA MUI (mechanical unit injection) engine mated to an Allison MT644 automatic transmission, being used in an Orion I transit bus. Allison recommends the transmission not exceed more than 740 lb/ft of input torque from the engine for transit bus applications. Only two TC (torque converter) ratios were produced for the MT644: 1.92 (TC494) and 2.21 (TC495). As the 6V92TA 253 hp engine has 766 lb/ft of torque, the 1.92 TC ratio would be best suited to the transmission. Otherwise, the Allison HT747 transmission (for engines up to 345 hp/1100 lb/ft) is recommended. 766 x 3.58 x 1.92 = 5,265 lb/ft input torque to axle. If anyone knows what the recommended input torque to axle rating is for a Rockwell R143 series rear axle with 4.63 and 4.11 ratios, please try to answer. ~Ben

Is it true that the 1982 and '83 Orion I's--the U.S. versions finished in New York--used the Allison HT747 transmission (rather than the original HT740) behind their DD 6V92TA engines? I'm talking about those buses as run by such agencies as: Pacific Transit System (Raymond, WA) Milford Transit District (Milford, CT) Montachusett Regional Transit Authority (Fitchburg, MA) Yakima Transit (Yakima, WA) SLO (San Luis Obispo) Transit (San Luis Obispo, CA) San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (SLORTA) (San Luis Obispo, CA) GATRA (Taunton, MA) IndyGo (Indianapolis, IN) Waukesha Metro Transit (Waukesha, WI) The 1982 GATRA Orion I's are unique in that they were the only such 35-foot units finished in NY to carry the old model 01.504, since most of these got out with the model 01.506, which continued into part of 1984 (the year both the 01.504 and 01.506 were replaced by the 01.507). Did these three buses, numbered 8217 to 8219, use the Detroit Diesel 6V92TA engine and Allison HT747 transmission? ~Ben

Has anyone here heard of the Allison MT654CR 5-speed close-ratio automatic transmission? I know it seemed most popular outside North America; many articulated buses in those countries used it including the Volvo B58 and B10M. Input power: 300 hp max Input torque: 950 lb/ft max Input speed: 1900-3000 rpm Transmission gear ratios: 1st: 4.17:1 2nd: 2.21:1 3rd: 1.66:1 4th: 1.27:1 5th: 1.0:1 Reverse: 10.76:1 Torque converter ratios: TC430: 3.59:1 (crawl ratio: 14.97:1) TC495: 2.21:1 (crawl ratio: 9.22:1) TC496: 1.83:1 (crawl ratio: 7.63:1) TC497: 2.7:1 (crawl ratio: 11.26:1) Crawl ratio: first gear ratio x torque converter ratio ~Ben