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.....and leave the driving to us......
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Oh, give me a home, where the 'buffalo' roam....."

Though, of course, the now-classic "Bison" were used by a number of intercity carriers (including, of course, GREYHOUND and TRAILWAYS), they were also used by a number of suburban operators, in both charter service and the longer-haul commuter runs.

The ones I recall in suburban service were operated by:

PSNJ/TNJ

RED & TAN

MANHATTAN LINES

DE CAMP

INTER-CITY

SHORT LINE

Like the 4104's and 4106's before them, the "Buffalo" was a stylish, reliable workhorse (well, after all, it WAS a GM product!) Wink

The "Buffalo", of course, also had the distinction of being the very last GM buses ordered by GREYHOUND.

In 1968, EMPIRE TRAILWAYS began through service between Buffalo and New York with ADIRONDACK TRAILWAYS; at that time, two PD-4903 "Buffalos" were purchased, and assigned to the though service.

Recall, too, that, when the new "Bison" were coming on-line with GREYHOUND, that the company was still very much the undisputed King Of America's Highways.......but, as we all know, in the then not-too-distant future, this was all about to change....... Sad

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Thu Dec 08, 2022 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
.

In 1968, EMPIRE TRAILWAYS began through service between Buffalo and New York with ADIRONDACK TRAILWAYS; at that time, two PD-4903 "Buffalos" were purchased, and assigned to the though service.

"NYO"


Actually, Adirondack was not involved in that route, as prior to deregulation, it did not connect anywhere with Empire Trailways. That came 20 years later, when Adirondack and Empire linked up at Syracuse.

The thru route cobbled together in the sixties, was Empire Trailways from Buffalo thru Rochester to Elmira, then Capitol Trailways of PA from Elmira to Binghamton, and finally Short Line (Hudson Transit Lines) from Binghamton to New York City via Route 17. The buses arrived and departed from the Short Line gates in the PABT Upper Level.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 1:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

Appreciate, as always, your valuable input.

The info I posted was via "TRAILWAYS BUSES PHOTO ARCHIVE" (William A. Luke)

I, personally, always thought it the end of an era, when the last "Bison" were delivered to GREYHOUND, as these buses would be the very last GM-built coaches the company would purchase.

In some sense, this last purchase from GM* was not all that all surprising, giving the waning highway coach industry, at least, from GM's eyes.......

"NYO"

*At least, GM kept on building Fishbowls domestically until the mid-1970's; I know that the CTA received quite an influx, near the end......
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mention of Capitol Trailways of Pennsylvania buses coming into the PABT (conveyed by Short Line) on the pool trip to Buffalo, got me thinking about another pool that brought their buses into The Port...


While Capitol did not come into New York City on their own route until after deregulation, back in the sixties, they were part of the "alphabet pool", from Harrisburg to New York City...Capitol from Harrisburg to Reading via Hershey, then Safeway Trails from Reading to Allentown, and then Public Service from Allentown to New York City. The buses arrived and departed from Public Service's Allentown gate number 35, on the lower level of The Port.

Later, Capitol obtained their own route into New York City from Harrisburg, via Lancaster, King of Prussia, and Willow Grove. They marketed the service, and painted their buses as "Capitol Bus Company", their legal name, to avoid territorial infringement of fellow Trailways carriers.
These schedules operated from the undesirable outside lane (gates 41-46) of the lower level of The Port, now used mainly by the "jitney" buses....
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 11:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While on the subject of pool coaches coming into the port, a couple more similar cases come to mind...

Trailways of New England pooled with Peter Pan on a New York City to Amherst, MA. route, interchanging at Springfield. Later on, Peter Pan acquired most of the southern half of TNE's operation, and eventually Safeway's to Washington.

Short Line of Rhode Island buses came into New York City from Cape Cod points conveyed by Eastern Greyhound Lines, interchanging at Providence. Later, Short Line of Rhode Island acquired several other New England companies, including Super Service Coach, renaming the whole thing, Bonanza. So Bonanza had their own route into the City now, on Super Service's route thru Hartford and Danbury. After deregulation, they ended pooling with GL, and ran Providence express to NYC on their own. Eventually, they were acquired by Coach USA, who did not successfully run the company, and then sold what was left to Peter Pan...
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 2:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

I do thank you, sir, for taking the time to post all of this detailed "pool operation" information; I indeed learned quite a bit, and, as always, found it MOST interesting! Wink

I have to be totally honest with you; I had NO idea at all that PSNJ once served Allentown; previously, I had that the only Pennsylvania city that PS served was Philadelphia.

You mentioned PETER PAN; what routes are they operating these days?

I would assume that they are still operating buses between Boston and the PABT.

This is now reminding me of the "notes" in a 1981 VERMONT TRANSIT LINES tt I have......

".........through buses between Burlington and New York City are operated north of Springfield, Mass., by VERMONT TRANSIT LINES, and south of Springfield by GREYHOUND LINES......"

".......trips #20 and #21 are operated between Keene and Brattleboro by PEOPLES BUS LINES, Inc......."

"NYO"
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NYO--you are most welcome...actually it is I, who thank you for listening to my reminiscing of the 'good ole days'... Wink

Public Service took over the New York to Allentown route of Royal Blue Coaches, after they had a devastating accident that resulted in the death of a New Jersey State Trooper, some time in the '50's or early '60's, I believe, which led to bankruptcy. It ran via US-22, serving Newark, Clinton, Phillipsburg, Easton, Bethlehem, and Alllentown. While both Eastern Greyhound and Continental Trailways ran a few trips on their thru routes to Pittsburgh and beyond on this route, with mostly interstate only traffic rights, neither was interested in taking over more frequent local service. So Public Service, which did run local service as far west as Clinton, was persuaded to take over this line.

At some point, Trans Bridge Bus Lines took this over, probably when PS/TNJ bus operations were taken over by NJT.

If you delve further into the Vermont Transit "system timetable" you will see that besides interchanging with Greyhound at Springfield, they also did that on other routes at Pittsfield, MA, and Albany, NY. They interchanged again with GL at Burlington, enroute to Montreal. They also interchanged with Quebec Central at Newport, VT on a thru route to Quebec City.


Last edited by traildriver on Sat Dec 10, 2022 9:00 am; edited 3 times in total
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding Peter Pan, while a simple route map would be much better, you can go to this site

https://peterpanbus.com/locations/

then at the very top, move your cursor to travel center, then slide the cursor down to routes, for a listing. You can slide down to each individually...
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 10, 2022 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

Appreciate the info and the "Peter Pan" link....thank you! Wink

"Pool service", IMHO, is indeed a fascinating topic unto itself.

From the many books I have read, and from reading the many "in depth" posts you've generously shared here, I've found discussions on "pool services" quite interesting, to say the least!

I've also read of GREYHOUND operating "second sections" many, many years ago.

Do you have any further information on this?

I am sure, this is a practice abolished long, long ago......

"NYO"

["TRAVEL STRAIGHT THROUGH-GO GREYHOUND!"]
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
traildriver:

Appreciate the info and the "Peter Pan" link....thank you! Wink

"Pool service", IMHO, is indeed a fascinating topic unto itself.

From the many books I have read, and from reading the many "in depth" posts you've generously shared here, I've found discussions on "pool services" quite interesting, to say the least!

I've also read of GREYHOUND operating "second sections" many, many years ago.

Do you have any further information on this?

I am sure, this is a practice abolished long, long ago......

"NYO"

["TRAVEL STRAIGHT THROUGH-GO GREYHOUND!"]


I've always been intrigued by interline pool services...it is for the benefit of both the carrier's involved, and the passenger's. For the carrier's, it makes them more competitive by extending their "reach" into markets that their own routes don't directly serve, or in some cases, markets they do serve, but on routes thru that market that they do not. Most of these pools, are between either Greyhound, or Trailways, and their "affiliated" independent carrier's.

For the passenger, of course it provides seamless thru bus services, that eliminate the need to make connections, transfer baggage, etc.

For the bus fan, it provides the opportunity to see "exotic" equipment, from carrier's located far away from the fan's home area.

The major carrier's, were careful in 'vetting' their pool partner's, since their services reflected back on the major carrier's. They had to meet the standards of equipment, and driver's that the major's provided. In some cases, they even had to paint a livery that complemented the major's, even if it differed from their own color scheme.

The most interesting of all these pools, were the ones that involved the two major's, Greyhound and Trailways, normally fiercely competitive, but due to some anomaly, found themselves pooling with each other.
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding "second section's"...
The terminology, like most used in bus service, is derived from the railroads, who sometimes operated two or more sections of a scheduled train, to meet high demand.

Before the current practice of reserving specific trips via a reservation system, Greyhound and Trailways used to advertise that if the bus was full when you arrived, they would place another one in service, "just for you"..
(Eastern Airlines did similar with the introduction of their Boston-New York-Washington "Shuttle" in the early '60's.
And if necessary, during peak periods, they would load more than two section's...indeed, on a Sunday night, the NOB (Naval Operating Base) special's that we ran to Norfolk, VA from the PABT, would run 7, 8, 9, and even more "section's" for sailors returning from weekend leave.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2022 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildrtiver:

EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT information.....THANK YOU for taking the time to post this! Wink

In London, many, many years ago, when certain LT routes were handling heavier-than-normal passenger volume, they would press extra buses into service on that particular run, with the buses signed for that route, with "EXTRA" displayed on the destination blinds.

Speaking of "second sections", in one of my books on GREYHOUND, there was a humorous bit about two crows sitting on a telephone wire along a highway, waiting to "dive bomb" the next GREYHOUND that passed.

These crows had, for years, only encountered single-deck buses; when the first SCENICRUISER they had ever laid beady eyes onto approached, they went into a dive, only to be whanged hard by the sloping upper windshield.

The two crows, dazed and seeing stars were silent for a few moments, before one said to the other:

"Boy, I never saw a second section follow so close!"

This was at the time that the SCENICRUISERS were still new, and was a popular joke among the drivers....... Wink

"NYO"

["A MILLION MILES A DAY"]
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2022 1:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Recalling, now, the old "Port-Of-Authority" at Christmas.......

HUGE, glittering ornaments hanging from the ceiling (recall, too, the huge, festive wreaths adorning the portals of the Lincoln Tunnel!)

Crowds of holiday travelers waiting to purchase through bus tickets at the ticket counters (GREYHOUND and TRAILWAYS were ALWAYS jammed!)

Christmas music playing over the PA.

The excitement of hearing departures of long-haul buses being announced.

Old Looks and Fishbowls standing at the ready on the suburban platforms, awaiting their departures for "The Garden State".

Ahhhhhh, indeed the stuff memories are made of......! Very Happy

"NYO"
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2022 11:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Recalling, now, the old "Port-Of-Authority" at Christmas.......

HUGE, glittering ornaments hanging from the ceiling (recall, too, the huge, festive wreaths adorning the portals of the Lincoln Tunnel!)

Crowds of holiday travelers waiting to purchase through bus tickets at the ticket counters (GREYHOUND and TRAILWAYS were ALWAYS jammed!)

Christmas music playing over the PA.

The excitement of hearing departures of long-haul buses being announced.

Old Looks and Fishbowls standing at the ready on the suburban platforms, awaiting their departures for "The Garden State".

Ahhhhhh, indeed the stuff memories are made of......! Very Happy

"NYO"


Not to mention the various high school choruses serenading the evening commuter's with Carol's, from the mezzanine.... Wink
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2022 1:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

YES! Wink

I had, somehow, totally forgot about the carolers! Rolling Eyes

How many times, Mom and I, laden with shopping bags full of Christmas goodies, would simply stand in the teeming concourse and just enjoy listening to the young carolers, before going to board a NHBL #5, back to Union City Very Happy

Ahhh, the good old days! Wink

"NYO"
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