BusTalk

[MaBSTOA 15]

and these as well...

the L&F TDH-5106 is an ex-NYCTA

Both photos with the watermark "Vintage-Vault75" came from EBay and are used for educational purposes.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

GREAT PHOTOS...thanks for posting here!

As Your's Truly was busy riding the old Hudson County "indy" Old Looks through the 1970's, rest assured I rode on one of the ex-"Tee-Yay" buses purchased by L&G, any of a number of times!

REAL buses, for certain!

"NYO"

["JOURNAL SQUARE"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

#2838 looks like an ex-NYCO bus reassigned to ex-FACCo #5 early on in the " 'stoa" era.

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Your's Truly could be wrong here, but I just have a notion that the reason those green "Dangerfields" were purchased for "stoa" was twofold.

1:

The new "Em-Tee-Yay" simply wanted to purge themselves of the last "Shermans" operating on "stoa" routes.

2:

Purchasing the "Dangerfields" to replace the aforementioned "Shermans"* was cheaper than purchasing new "Bullet" Fishbowls from "Gee-Em".

Anyway, that's my take.........

"NYO"

*(recall, also, that the last of the NHBL "Shermans" were not retired until 1986, 16 years AFTER the last of their "stoa" brothers were put out to pasture)

["Manhattan & Bronx Surface Operating Authority"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

.......wanna bet that if the "Em-Tee-Yay" wasn't so gung-ho about getting rid of the "Shermans" that were running on "stoa" routes by 1970, they would have "held out" long enough to purchase new Fishbowls, had the price been right, this keeping the "Shermans" in service for at least several more years.

And, at that, right from the get-go, the unrespected "Dangerfields" were up in "da Bronx" (then in freefall mode) and not permitted to trod upon "tony hallowed ground" in Manhattan, where the sleek "Fishbowls" indeed pretty much reigned supreme.

IMHO, I still think that the "Dangerfields" were purchased to replace the "Shermans" still in use on lines originating in "da Bronx", mainly because the "brass hats" wanted a "modern"-appearing fleet (and, I will also wager, the "Dangerfields" were, at the time, less expensive that the Fishbowls..........

"NYO"

["OA"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

An observation............

Compare a photo of a "Tee-Yay" green Fishbowl and one of a "Dangerfield", likewise painted.

Notice that the "Dangerfield" presents a more "beefy" appearance, compared to the more "svelte" Fishbowl.

Thus, I truly maintain that the workaday "Dangerfield" was indeed a successor to the swaggering "Pattons".........

"NYO"

["NYCTA"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.

GOOD analogy!

Here's an interesting though:

If "Dangerfields" ever operated in Great Britain, a most-fitting moniker for them would have been "Onslows", after the workaday, "working-class slob", the unforgettable "Onslow" of the old BBC comedy series, "Keeping Up Appearances", hilariously played by the late British actor, the highly-regarded Geoffrey Hughes.

Yes (unlike the "Dangerfields") "Onslow" was "work-shy" and "bone-idle", but his bulky, beefy physique indeed recalled the equally bulky "Pattons" and "Dangerfields"....TOUGH and NO FRILLS, for sure!

Regarding our old diesel-powered friends, now-gone "Dangerfields", I STILL believe that even those that survive in preservation today still do not get the proper respect they so profoundly deserve, and have deserved, for so long now..............

"NYO"

["FLXIBLE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Had to include this link for the popular BBC series of many years ago, "ON THE BUSES"* (not surpirsingly, this 'ere bloke has the entire series on dvd!)

Be sure to read the section: "FEATURED BUSES"

*(imagine this series being made here in the States, featuring a fictitious "Noo Yawk" company!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_The_Buses

["BRISTOL"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

I have long thought of "classic era" London double-deckers as "stiff upper lip Britsh gents", sporting bowler hats, always carrying that air of proud traditional, as they proudly plodded through London's historic streets.

Earlier, I'd mentioned the "Onslow" character from the BBC series, "Keeping Up Appearances".

He and his long-suffering wife "Daisy" (wonderfully and delightfully played by legendary British actress Judy Cornwell), when recounting their younger years (especially when they were courting) often recalled taking buses; in later years, they obviously took "hired" (chartered) coach trips for senior pensioners.

In one episode, Hyacinth complained:

"How can you love an Onlsow? The man sings on coach trips!"

Speaking of the iconic "RT" and "RM" class double-deckers, both enjoyed lengthy service lifes with LT.

The very first "RT" went into service in 1939; it would not be until after the War that the "RT" began to appear in larger numbers.

The last were retired in 1979, with quite a bit of media coverage, and, of course, the "spotters" and older Londoners were out in full force.

The first "RM" Routemaster entered service in 1959 (these were also the first LT buses to have florescent lighting, although some did have incandescent lights)

Interestingly, these buses were largely purchased to replace the last LT trolleybus lines; in the end, however, most of the remaining trolleybus lines were actually replaced by the older "RT"-types.

The "RM" were retired in 2005 (the last buses to use conductors); to say thast there was much fanfare and saturation coverage ny news crews and newspaper people is indeed an understatement.

"Last Day" souveniers marking the end of the "RM" era were quickly sold out at the vendor's stalls, that had popped out throughout London as the last day drew near.

An LT "Dangerfield"?

Perhaps an LT "Dangerfield" might have been the long-lived and hard-working "RF" single-deckers, which first entered service in the early 1950's (these buses sometimes were operated by a crew of two; suburban models were equipped with doors)

No on (except, perhaps, the "spotters" of the day) seemed tro make all that much of a fuss over them when new (certainly no pronounced hoopla), and they soon became "just another bus", doing what a bus is supposed to do............

"NYO"

["461 HERSHAM"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's an excellent site (numerous links on the left side of page) dedicated to LT's own "Dangerfield", the now-historic "RF"*..........

www.red-rf.com/the_rf_story.aspx

*(Unlike the "Em-Tee-Yay's" hard-workin' "Dangerfields", LT's "RFs" went out to much media coverage, and, of course, the "spotters" were out in full-force)

And here's an excellent page on the "RFs" that ran "GREEN LINE" suburban services...........

www.countrybus.org/rf/RF3.htm

["746 TUNBRIDGE WELLS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

And here we "Yanks" thought that our GRUMMANS were "hard luck buses"........(!!)

See:

www.countrybus.org/merlswft/swift.html

Not surprisingly, these otherwise good-looking buses were not to have a long service life with LT (again, like our "Bombers"!)

In addition to their other problems, these buses were so cold during the winter that they were referred to as "SMs" ("Siberian Morgues")

Some were originally two-man buses............

["286 HARROW"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[W.B. Fishbowl]