BusTalk

[X-Astorian]

[Mr. Linsky]

This is a very interesting slice of New York history because forensically there is so much of it that tells its own story.

For instance; the place, of course, is Manhattan's Great White Way, the opened bus windows and the jacketless pedestrians are indications that it's summer time which is confirmed by the Teacher's Scotch thermometer overhead registering a balmy 75 degrees.

The time of day thanks to Hygrade All Beef Frankfurters is 4:22 P.M. and the year is circa early fifties according to both the buses (still carrying NYCO flags) and the first revival of the 1939 classic MGM film Gone With The Wind presented then on a wide screen accompanied by stereophonic sound at the Loew's State (1540 Broadway).

As to the buses; all New York City Omnibus with a TDH 4509 in the lead followed by a TDH 4506 and another 4509 with one more 4506 bearing down upon the scene a couple of blocks behind.

We dubbed Manhattan buses as banana lines because they always ran in bunches but in this case they could have been on any one of four routes that share the same road at this point including the #'s 6, 7, 8 or 9.

Of note are the nasty dents to the lower panels under the driver's side windows which was remedied by Chicago Motor Coach when they fabricated wrap around bumpers that helped to protect those areas from incursion.

Photo courtesy of 'bk.sales' and is available at eBay.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Mr. Linsky]

North Shore Bus Company of Flushing, New York, once reputed to be the largest private operator in Queens and Anchor of the Jamaica hub, fell to City takeover due to financial failure in March of 1947 leaving largely a fleet of well over two hundred prewar buses dating to the early thirties and most in deplorable condition.

Their only saving grace if at all were ten 1946 Twin Coaches Modeled as 41-S's and two 1945 Reo's modeled as 96-HTD's - an order of twenty 1947 GM TDH 4507's was captured by the city in pipeline and were the first of over 200 4507's and a share of the 400 40 foot long TDH 5101's that were to become the backbone of the newly formed Queens Bus Division.

The city eked through the trying early days with an emergency order for 75 1947 Twin's modeled as 41-S's and six TD 4506's inherited from the also defunct East Side and Comprehensive Omnibus Corporations in Manhattan along with what other of North Shore's equipment was still road worthy.

Seen below at the company's Corona yards sometime shortly after the war and awaiting its destiny is fleet #673 - a 1935 36 passenger Twin Coach modeled as a 37-R and one of fifteen likenesses numbered from 672 to 686.

#673 was very typical of the condition that most of North Shore's rolling stock was like through the late thirties and the following war years in which maintenance of only the most vital nature ever took place.

Photo courtesy of 'Lemonade Squeeze' and is available at eBay as item # 310980917624.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Q65A]

Interesting post, Mr. L.
I never knew North Shore had a depot in Corona.
Looking at the background of this photo, I see an interlocking tower on an el structure; maybe this was Willets Point Blvd. on the IRT Flushing Line? If so, this Twin must be on or very near where Casey Stengel Depot is located today.

[NorthShore]

My hunch is that the Corona Bus Yard was owned by the NYC Board of Transportation as part of the IRT Corona yards. It was BOD used the yard until the new Flushing Depot was built on the site. North Shore never had this facility.

[Mr. Linsky]

NorthShore/Q65A,

North Shore # 673 is not the first of the company's antiquated buses to have been photographed at the Corona Yards.

You are correct in assuming that it's city property and I believe that as the city was weeding out unworthy North Shore equipment they were shipped to Corona to await their trips to the junk yard.

I apologize if I left the impression that Corona was owned by North Shore.

Thanks for sharing.

Many regards and best wishes for a great summer.

Mr. 'L'

[Mr. Linsky]

Seen in the vicinity of some part of 65th. Street in the Woodside section of Queens during the aftermath of a fatal accident that occurred March 20th. of 1952 is fleet # 203 - a 1947 44 passenger GM Coach modeled as a TDH 4507 and operating for the Steinway Omnibus Corporation then of Astoria, New York.

The bus apparently collided with the Plymouth in the foreground and sent it careening over the sidewalk killing two small children and sending their mother and at least ten other pedestrians to the hospital with two listed as critical.

Of note is the utility lineman preparing for the removal of the displaced pole while it still rests against the front of the bus.

In identifying the exact location of the accident perhaps the Bohack Food Market at the corner where the pole once stood might help.

#203 was repaired and went on with its fourteen siblings to serve in Queens until all were transferred to affiliate Portland Coach Company of Maine in 1956.

It is no pleasure for me to make reports of this nature but they are part of New York's history and must be recorded.

Photo courtesy of United Press Telephoto - Cleveland Bureau

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Hart Bus]

Maybe the driver was in a rush to get his KING KORN STAMPS !

[Free-transfer]

What if this was a Queens Nassau bus on the Q-67 Borden Ave. line on Grand avenue, where Flushing avenue meets in Maspeth? Before the L.I.E.
I think the bus went down that route. Looks like trolley lines up on some of the poles....

[X-Astorian]

[Free-transfer]

I'll go with Metropolitan ave for now, too. It would also explain the lack of buildings across the street, which would be the cemetery. The sign definitely
says BORDEN AVE, but that's all I can make out. I couldn't find a single place where any Steinway routes would have crossed 65 st. The closest would have been the Q-101 along Hazen street, but even that jumps from the high forties to low seventies...

[Mr. Linsky]

[frankie]

Great detective work Mr. L.

I just checked Google Maps and those residential buildings are still standing, albeit updated with vinyl siding. The old Bohack is now called the Metro Deli Mini Market.

Frankie

[Mr. Linsky]

New York City Transit System's problem in the 1947 takeover of North Shore Bus Company (outlined earlier on this thread) in which the municipality was left with hundreds of mostly useless prewar buses was not their first foray into such a monumental undertaking.

In fact, they earned their wings so to speak seven years earlier with the purchase of Brooklyn's surface operations as part of the acquisition of the BMT and IRT rapid transit systems.

At the time, the Brooklyn Bus Corporation affiliate, reputed to be one of the largest operations in the country, required an immediate infusion of new buses and to that end the city ordered and quickly received in 1941 190 Twin Coach 41-GE's (gasoline) and 60 41-GDE's (Diesels) all with electric drive (the gasoline models were refitted in 1946 with Hercules Diesels and all 250 coaches were prematurely scrapped in 1948 upon the arrival of new GM and Mack equipment).

Seen below at a yard probably somewhere in Brooklyn is a cross section of the inheritance with the focus being one of seventy four 1931 Twin Coach model 30's and, to the right of the frame, one of thirty 1936 ACF model H-13-S's.

Of course, the city did vigorously continue to support Brooklyn's unique traction system including a fleet of modern PCC cars and updated trolley coaches which operated well into the fifties.

Of note on the little model 30 is the 'New York City Transit System' flag under the window belt which predated the familiar circular logo that first appeared in 1947.

Photo courtesy of 'bk.sales' and is available at eBay as item # 271524193336.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

[Q65A]

Those little Twins look the same coming or going (the transit bus equivalent of a palindrome??)