Gillig
| Gillig Corporation | |
|---|---|
| |
| company type: | Bus Manufacturer |
| foundation: | 1890 |
| Founder: | Jacob Gillig |
| location: | Hayward, California, United States |
| area served: | United States |
| industry: | Manufacturing |
| products: | Transit Buses |
| homepage: | www.gillig.com |
Gillig Corporation is a manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses located in Hayward, CA. Prior to 1993, Gillig had also been a manufacturer of school buses. Currently, Gillig produces around 1,200 to 1,300 buses a year.
History
The company was founded by Jacob Gillig in 1890 in San Francisco, CA where he opened a carriage and wagon shop. He was joined by his son Leo in 1896. The original shop was destroyed by fire in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, but was reopened by Leo in 1914 as the Leo Gillig Automobile Works manufacturing automobile, hearse, truck, and bus bodies. In 1920, Leo's brother Chester Gillig joined the company. He introduced and patented the "California Top" roof construction style which consisted of a hard-top roof and drop-sliding windows. Around this time, the company became known as Gillig Bros.
In 1929, they built their first bus followed three years later with their very first school bus body built. After their first bus was built, Gillig had seen a sharp drop in sales for their other products, so they converted their manufacturing plant over to handle the construction of the school bus line, which almost immediately became Gillig’s number one business. A short time after Gillig experienced a drop in sales for their other products, and decided to focus solely on building school buses. In 1937, Gillig moved to a new, state-of-the-art construction facility in Hayward, CA where they built their first “transit-style” school bus. Gillig purchased Pacific Bus division of Kenworth Truck Company in 1957, and further developed their school bus range.
The company became known as the Gillig Corporation in 1969, with the purchase of the company by Herrick-Pacific Steel.
Gillig entered the transit buses market and partnered with Neoplan in 1977 to build a series of transit buses that had the option of propane fueled engines. However, the partnership was short-lived, only lasting until 1979. Gillig began designing a transit bus with AVIS Rent-a-Car, and the Phantom was introduced in 1982. Production of the Transit Coach School Bus ceased in 1982 as demand dwindled. However, with the success of the phantom a prototype school bus variation of the Phantom was built in 1985 and offered in 1986. But faced with dropping sales again, school bus production stopped in 1993. In 1997, Gillig produced their first low floor bus developed with Hertz. Initially purchased by rental car companies for use as shuttles, transit agencies soon began purchasing the low floor bus. With the popularity of low floor buses rising, the Phantom was discontinued in September 2008.
In 1996, Gillig built their first hybrid bus which used a diesel-electric series hybrid system. In 2001, the built their first diesel-electric parallel hybrid. This 40’ Gillig Phantom bus was powered by GM-Allison's EP40 hybrid system. Demonstrators were built, but few, if any, were produced for clients. In 2004, Gillig began offering a hybrid version of the Low Floor, which began Altoona testing in March of that year. The same year, Gillig along with ISE Corporation and Complete Coach Works unveiled a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Phantom for Elk Grove Transit. These however saw little success as the fleet was plagued with problems and subsequently withdrawn. The diesel-electric hybrid Low Floor, would prove to become popular with approximately 40 transit agencies ordering them. In a further development in alternative fuel, Gillig partnered with Enviromech Industries in March 2010 to supply CNG systems for use in Gillig buses.
In August 2008, Gillig Corporation was purchased by Henry Crown & Co. operating under CC Industries Inc. (CCI), based in Chicago.
Model Breakdown
1997-present
1st letter (model):
| Suffix | Length |
|---|---|
| C | Phantom |
| G | Advantage |
| S | School bus |
2nd & 3rd number (engine):
| Suffix | Engine |
|---|---|
| 12 | Cummins L10 |
| 14 | Detroit Diesel 6V92TA |
| 18 | Cummins C8.3/ISC |
| 19 | Cummins B5.9/ISB |
| 20 | Detroit Diesel Series 50 |
| 21 | Cummins M11/ISM |
| 22 | Detroit Diesel Series 40 |
| 27 | Cummins ISL |
| 28 | Caterpillar C9 |
| 29 | Cummins ISL |
4th letter (length):
| Suffix | Length |
|---|---|
| A | 30 feet |
| B | 35 feet |
| C | ? |
| D | 40 feet |
| E | 29 feet |
5th-7th numbers (width):
| Suffix | Length |
|---|---|
| 096 | 96 inches |
| 102 | 102 inches |
8th letter & 9th number (suspension?):
| Suffix | Length |
|---|---|
| N4 | 4 bellows rear suspension |
Current Models
All three models offered by Gillig are essentially the same bus with different styling options. The individual styling options (i.e. frameless windows, dual-piece front windshield, roof fairings, and BRT front and rear ends) can be mixed and matched by transit agencies in order to "customize" their buses.
Gillig's products are available in 29, 35, and 40 foot variants, all of which are 102 inches wide. The trolley replica is not available in 40 foot model.
Past Models
- Gillig-Neoplan (1977-79) - A Rear-engine design transit bus built as a joint venture with Neoplan, that was available in 30 and 35 foot lengths, and diesel or propane engines.
- Microcoach (early 1970s-1974)
- Phantom (1980-2008)
- Spirit (1989-early 90s)
- Transit Coach School Bus (1957-1982) - A long-running series of transit-style school buses that Gillig produced prior to the production of the Phantom.
References
- The Gillig Story, gillig.com
- Gillig Corp. under new ownership, metro-magazine.com
- Model breakdown, groups.google.ca