BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"Connections".......

Back in the heyday of GREYHOUND and CONTINENTAL TRAILWAYS, I'm curious as to what private carriers these companies would have (might have) connected with at Phoenix?

Generally speaking, Arizona is generally not discussed all that often when on the subject of bygone intercity bus travel, back in the day.

In that intense Arizona heat, it had to have been top priority to keep engines from overheating, especially when traveling through arid, desert areas.............

"NYO"

["EXPRESS"]

[Cyberider]

There were Sun Valley Bus Lines and, if I remember correctly, LTR Bus Lines. I think LTR stood for Las Vegas, Tonopah, and Reno. LTR may have taken over the Sun Valley routes at some point. Sun Valley also provided what was then "suburban" transit between Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa. Sadly, there is nothing suburban about it anymore and it's all handled by Valley Metro.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

Appreciate the info!

Many areas in North Jersey, which were QUITE suburban in my day, are now small cities.

Areas that were once quite rural, likewise, are now almost totally built over.

Outside of "LAKELAND", not a one of the old suburban bus companies from North Jersey survive today; it's all New Jersey Transit, and the oh-so-boring black and white buses all look more like rolling milk cartoons or giant caterpillars, than any sort of bus.

Not even the SLIGHTEST hint of the "old days" remains........

"NYO"

["RIDE THE RED & TAN LINES"]

[Cyberider]

If I remember correctly, both Sun Valley and LTR operated out of the Greyhound terminal.

There was a ham radio convention held in Las Vegas each year that I attended a few times and I took the bus in the late 70's and early 80's. I also took the bus frequently between Phoenix and LA in the early and mid 70's through the hot deserts. I don't remember any overheating problems and the buses were nice and cool inside. The buses were GM's and MCI's, all with 8V-71's and 4-speed transmissions. "Music" all the way unless there was an inexperienced driver who didn't know how to shift a "crashbox" transmission.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

cyberider:

GREAT memories!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU for sharing!!

The following is from: "OLD LOOK BUSES" (Luke/Metler)..........

"..........in 1952, Sun Valley Bus Company (Phoenix) purchased several TDH-4509s (single-door suburbans)......."

(The a/c units were added in 1964, giving the buses an appearance quite similar to the many that operated in New Jersey into the 1970s)

".......for local services, they rostered six 4512s......."

".....the company started as Valley Transit Lines in the 1940s, including city service in Phoenix......."

"......an intercity route between Phoenix and Las Vegas was also operated......"

".......Greyhound owned the company between 1979 and the late 1980s..........."

"NYO"

["AIR-CONDITIONED"]

[Cyberider]

NYO:

The 4509's ran on the Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa route and I rode them many times. They lasted well into the 70's and frequently filled in for SV's New Looks that had a penchant for breaking down. They were sometimes referred to as the "Queen Mary" because they were so stately looking compared to the New Look transits.

SV's operation of Valley Transit was before my time but it seems to me that in the 60"s and early 70's, Valley Transit was owned by Chromealloy or something like that. It was a company that owned bus lines in various cities. This was just before the City of Phoenix took over. Anyway, all of the Phoenix bus lines had a number designation except for Sun Valley which was still a separate entity. There were transfer privileges between them, though, and I still have a couple of transfers with "SV" instead of a number.

[Cyberider]

Here's a photo of one of the 4509's in Mesa, in 1978, according to the poster.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/115965036@N07/12366312763/in/photostream/

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

In general, our Fishbowls here were most reliable, although they DID often have issues with climbing hills that were particularly steep.

Way back in the day, WHITES pretty much struggled with steep grades, although the less-excessive grades/hills gave them little problem.

MACKS also pretty much lumbered up grades, but, in my general area, stiff grades were pretty much few and far between.

In my area of New Jersey, the transit buses (the Old Looks/Fishbowls) were automatic transmissions, whereas the suburban models were all either "stick" or ato (hence "TDH"/"TDM")........LOVED the "music" of a GM "shifter", going through its paces!

"NYO"

["RIVER ROAD EXPRESS"]

[Cyberider]

NYO:

I don't know what the problem with the SV Fishbowls was. They usually held down the runs in the 70's but if they broke down, then the 4509's came out. They all had automatics. I think they were the 3-speed model. If they got going fast enough, which didn't happen often, they'd shift into high.

Sadly, I missed out on the Macks and the Whites.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]