BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Fellows:

I know that the MTA (for many reasons) will never have such buses in their fleet, but I am curious as to when the last demos operated in Manhattan (1970's?)

Were those 1970's demos sent back to England after their trials here?

Appreciate any info.......

"NYO"

PS....I HATE those hideous new double-deckers that now run in London.....give me a classic "RT" or an "RM" ("Routemaster") anyday!!

Blimey!

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.....I now recall that at least one of the double-decker demo buses that ran in New York a few decades ago was a LEYLAND.

LEYLAND, over the course of many many years, built a substantial number of buses for London over the course of many decades......

"NYO"

[traildriver]

What do you think of these?

https://www.alexander-dennis.com/products/double-deck-buses-3-axle/enviro500-north-america/

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

traildriver:

The link is MUCH appreciated.....thanks!

Three-axle double-deckers in London go back some 90-odd years, when the hulking "LT"-type* went into service in 1930; after the last of these big buses were retired in the early 1950's, the days of three-axle double-deckers in London came to an end........

"NYO"

*Interesting that, as built, some of the "LT"-types had open staircases, while others had staircases that were enclosed.

By the time these buses were retired, most, but not all, had been rebuilt with enclosed staircases........

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

........in 1937, the L.P.T.B. placed orders for 24 "LTC"-type coaches for private hire (charter) work.

These handsome single-deck buses had three axles, as well as the "traditional" British half cab.

London Transport retired these unique buses in 1952.....

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.......I've long wondered why FACCo. never operated three-axle double-deckers; I know that, at one time, such buses operated in Cleveland.

Was there a weight restriction on the books at the time that forbad the use of six-wheel buses on Fifth Avenue?

"NYO"

[MaBSTOA 15]

Surface Transportation acquired 26 six wheel double deckers built, oddly enough, by a company named Six-Wheel. They had Fitzgibbon & Crisp bodies sat 66 passengers with fleet numbers 100-125 and ran on routes ! and 2 in the Bronx till 1933 when they were rebuilt as single deckers.

[MaBSTOA 15]

MaBSTOA acquired eight Leyland "Atlantean" double deckers in 1976 but not as demos. In my opinion they were more of an experiment that went wrong. They were sold to Gray Line of San Francisco in 1980 and also operated in Vancouver, British Columbia.

[MaBSTOA 15]

The one double decker demo that I know for sure was a Neoplan Skyliner model N122/3 that came to New York City in Los Angeles SCRTD colors.

SCRTD eventually had 20 of these buses.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.........in 1965, LONDON TRANSPORT purchased eight DAIMLER "FLEETLINE" double-deckers for Country service, fifty "ATLANTEANS" for Central services.

This gave LT the added advantage of making a comparison between the Fleetline and the Atlantean on a mechanical basis.

I have a number of vintage toy (tin, plastic, and die-cast) Atlantean double-deckers in my collection today, also Daimlers.......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.......I cannot help but wonder about how interesting it would have been, had FACCo. utilized buses where the chassis and bodies were built by different manufactures, as was the norm in London for many decades.

The chassis might be LEYLAND, DAIMLER, BRISTOL, AEC, etc., while the bodies had been built by any of a number of different body builder.s

Though the "RM" Routemaster had separate front and rear sub-assemblies, their bodies were still interchangeable, as was the case for all London buses through the "RT" class.

Throughout their working lives, many London buses (chassis) carried several bodies, built by different body builders; here, of course, when you saw a GM, YELLOW, or MACK approaching, you were seeing a COMPLETE bus, not one made up of a separate chassis and body.

I do know that BRILL built bodies for some of the earliest FACCo. De Dions........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.......am curious as to when heating was first installed on FACCo. double-deckers; interestingly, in London, the first double-deckers to have heaters were the "RM" Routemasters, which entered service in 1959........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

......in decades past, many retired London double-deckers were sold overseas for further use in such diverse locations as Ceylon (Sri Lanka), South Africa, India, and Yugoslavia.

Imagine seeing an ex-FACCo. "Queen Mary" rumbling along a street in Capetown, circa-1970.......

"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]