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2009 Roadeo Report

 
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Q65A



Age: 66
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 1764
Location: Central NJ

PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:48 pm    Post subject: 2009 Roadeo Report Reply with quote

Arguably falling into the "a day late and a dollar short" category is my report on the 2009 NYCT Bus Roadeo. I had the good fortune to have attended this event on Saturday July 25th. I was blessed with excellent weather that morning (which you New Yorkers know has been somewhat scarce in The Big Apple this summer). This year's Roadeo was a milestone in that it was the very first time that B/O's from NYCT, MTAB and LIB competed in a single event. (Last year was the first year for joint NYCT/MTAB roadeo participation). There were 19 buses on exhibit plus 3 service trucks. Most of the buses were members of the historical fleets of NYCT and MTAB; LIB did not exhibit a single bus (historical or modern).
MTAB's predecessors were well represented by JBI 3865, GBL 10001, LL 3006 , TCC 621 and NYBS 1502 (QSC 275 and CBC 4904 were absent).
For the first time in recent memory,there were many historical NYCT buses on exhibit, including some that had not been displayed at recent public events: FACCO 1263, FACCO 2124, NYCT 6259,NYCT 9098, NYCT 100, NYCT 1059, NYCT 3758, NYCT 5117, NYCT 8466, NYCT 8928, NYCT 4727, and NYCT 5227. Some of the "Roadeo Regulars" such as FACCO 303, NYCT 7340, NYCT 236, FACCO 3100 and NYCT 1201 were conspicuous by their absence. Perhaps even more unusual was the scarcity of modern NYCT iron: only NYCT 2185 (the 9/11 Memorial Cruiser based at UP) and NYCT 5596 (an NF D60HF not equipped with any depot logos) were on display for public inspection. I had been hoping to get the chance to inspect an Orion VII NG HEV or CNG first had, so I was a bit disappointed. There were 3 service vehicles on display: a modern Freghtliner FL60 road truck, a 1936 Autocar (actually part of the TA Power Distribution motorpool) and a modern NYCT Hazmat Response Truck (a single-axle Mack MR600). The actual Roadeo buses were Nova RTS's from various depots (including FB and GA). This year there were no historical bus rides, and there was no bleacher seating from which to observe the Roadeo trials. This year's Roadeo cap and golf shirt (distributed only to NYCT employees) were dark green with a specific 3-bus embroidered logo (i.e. one bus each from NYCT, MTAB and LIB). I always love these events, and I'm happy that NYCT does not restrict attendance by outsiders such as myself. For Big Apple busfans, it is a very nice event to see.
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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the report, Bob. I saw photos of the event elsewhere but without the written details.
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Q65A



Age: 66
Joined: 17 Apr 2007
Posts: 1764
Location: Central NJ

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

One thing that I noticed this year: an extra great amount of TLC appeared to have been devoted to all the historical buses. I was amazed at how much Armor All had been used to put such a high shine on these valiant old veterans of the streets. I sincerely hope that some of the more contemporary buses that currently are slated for imminent retirement (e.g. '93 Orion V diesels, '91 TMC RTS-06's etc.) will be preserved as well.
Tomorrow's history actually begins today. Kudos to MTA for having the interest in maintaining so impressive a vintage bus collection.
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Cyberider




Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 501
Location: Tempe, AZ

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Q65A wrote:
Kudos to MTA for having the interest in maintaining so impressive a vintage bus collection.


Agreed. This isn't happening in very many other places.
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Mr RT




Joined: 23 Apr 2007
Posts: 102

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 10:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

- This type of attitude comes and goes with changes in the administration.
The current guy at the top sees value (moral,etc.) in keeping & showing off the old buses.
- Future: If it was me I would see a lot of duplicates in the saved buses, so I would get rid of a few before I added some of the shortly to be retired fleet ... but that's just me.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 5:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There is no question that the health and welfare of the Museum is served at the pleasure of whomever is at the wheel so to speak, but that should never be deemed as a threat to its survival.

I think we need some form of insurance to guarantee that the Museum remains as a perpetual entity with all the care necessary for it to thrive and grow.

I'm not into the nuances of underwriting but it would occur to me that a trust of some sort should be set up for this purpose (I'll let the experts expand upon the idea).

I think that the fleet should be comprised of no less than one working specimen of each retired model, and it would also be a good idea to have a couple of parts buses on hand.

What I would really love to see before my time is up is an all under one roof showplace - but we've discussed this before and really gotten nowhere.

I guess we just have to be thankful that we really have one of the best transit museums in the country and hope that it continues to be!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY
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Q53 Limited




Joined: 03 Aug 2009
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Linsky wrote:
There is no question that the health and welfare of the Museum is served at the pleasure of whomever is at the wheel so to speak, but that should never be deemed as a threat to its survival.

I think we need some form of insurance to guarantee that the Museum remains as a perpetual entity with all the care necessary for it to thrive and grow.

I'm not into the nuances of underwriting but it would occur to me that a trust of some sort should be set up for this purpose (I'll let the experts expand upon the idea).

I think that the fleet should be comprised of no less than one working specimen of each retired model, and it would also be a good idea to have a couple of parts buses on hand.

What I would really love to see before my time is up is an all under one roof showplace - but we've discussed this before and really gotten nowhere.

I guess we just have to be thankful that we really have one of the best transit museums in the country and hope that it continues to be!

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY


I would like to see such too but it would take a historical bus society like the Motor Bus Society to undertake a transit museum for buses. The MTA would never do that and to want that would be like beating your head against a bus.
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Mr RT




Joined: 23 Apr 2007
Posts: 102

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Motor Bus Society ... yes that's a good idea, but then the ERA is an equlivent group & they "have" no equipment.

There is an organization in Penn with a building & fleet inside.

There is also a person at the Seashore (trolley) museum who has a lot of buses.

You need a group, like the Motor Bus Society A-N-D a facility A-N-D lots of money.

Question: what is the feeling here for how much public interest there is in this ? If the public won't come to see (pay admission), then this will never happen Sad

Me, I just work for a bus company Smile
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timecruncher



Age: 73
Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 456
Location: Louisville, Kentucky

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Operator Rodeos are a great way to foster comraderie among the troops, too! I participated in five or six (don't remember) while I was at Metro in Cincinnati. Came in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place -- not in that order -- and had a blast at the same time.

The last years that Metro had a rodeo, it was held jointly with TANK - Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky, and a 'gilded steering wheel' passed back and forth between the two bus operations depending upon which 'team' had the highest average score.

As with anything that might promote cooperation and harmony between management and hourly employees, the union found reasons not to support the annual event and eventually management decided it wasn't worth the expense and [considerable] effort and gave it up.

As for historic vehicles, for its size, there isn't any place like Cincinnati for preserved and restored historic vehicles:

http://bustalk.info/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2045

timecruncher
Schedulers give you the runs!
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