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Buses and the Puerto Rican Day Parade/signs en Espanol, etc.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 2:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

You mentioned the opening windows on the RTS, in Balitmore, the MTA took delivery of the RTS about 1980; these buses were SWEATBOXES, and loathed by both drivers and riders.

Originally, the windows could not be opened, and the a/c's were QUITE unreliable; the little "pop up" emergency exit hatches in the roof did little to alleviate the stifling interior heat, during the hot, humid, Baltimore summers.

In fact, many Baltimore riders would let an RTS go by, to wait for an OLDER bus (one with decent AC) to head into view!

These buses were eventually refitted with opening windows

Regarding the NYC buses.......

Back in the later 1990's, ACADEMY purchased some ex-MTA RTS's, which I rode often on the #22 (I remember seeing MTA stickers and notices inside).

I enjoyed riding them as long as they lasted; it was a treat indeed to enjoy a ride on an "MTA" RTS, without having to make a trip into "Noo Yawk"! Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's an MTA (Baltimore) RTS, back in 1980.

Note the non-opening windows, a feature NOT welcome in Baltimore, during warmer months (also, note roller curtain)......

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156805

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From:

"RAPID TRANSIT SERIES BUSES" (McCausland).......

"..........Having forced their customers to purchase air conditioning with the 01 and 03 series coaches, GM felt the need for an RTS without the "climate" system was great enough to warrant an "A/C DELETE" package........"

"......the exact rationale behind this coach is uncertain. GM claimed it was mainly for fleets operating in much colder climates, It may also have been an attempt to sell the RTS to operators who were still unsure about the reliability of the new climate system......"

"......ultimately, GM never built and RTS without a/c for purchased orders. It would take nearly a decade before later RTS models began offering the delete as an option. The sliding window sashes, however, soon become a popular option; most Series 04 buses were built with them......."

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 1:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also from the aforementioned book.......

"......the large panels of acrylic windows were not only flush to the body, but completely sealed as well......"

"......this concept was proven technically with the 1966 Turbo-Cruiser II and artistically with the RTX, but the RTS marked the first production implementation of a sealed climate-control system......"

(Speaking of non-opening windows, I know that, late in domestic Fishbowl production, all-fixed windows were entering the picture; I know that CTA rostered such Fishbowls, and, if memory serves me correctly, "MOUNTAIN COACHES"* (Trackless Transit) also operated the type, back in the 70's).................

*By 1975, repainted buses were receiving the "black window" treatment

**I'm curious, too, as to why the MTA's newest Fishbowls did not receive "black windows", nor why "fixed window" buses (Fishbowls) were never ordered......

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 27, 2021 8:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

.......IMHO, buses with permanently-sealed windows simply did not/do not make sense; such windows would only make sense of the a/c units were FOOLPROOF and NEVER broke down.

Small vents (of any sort) are certainly not enough to allow for decent air flow/ventilation, in case of a/c failure.

Back in the days of non a/c buses, opening windows, were, of course, a necessity.

At least, with Old Looks and most Fishbowls, the windows COULD be slid open during warm weather (or, in the case of a/c'd buses, when the a/c unit was OOS)

Even more peculiar were the the 1974 T8H-5307A's, which operated in Los Angeles; these fixed-window buses DID have (oddly enough) a set of opening rear (side) windows, one per side.

The ill-fated GRUMMAN had the distinction of being the first MTA bus to be furnished with non-opening windows; which, I am sure, was NOT appreciated by riders on hot, humid "Noo Yawk" summer days when the a/c was on the fritz......

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only experience I've had with "black windows" viz Fishbowls weren't direct, but rather via trips on "Bison" (plural for the "Buffalo" type buses GM made with the rear ends resembling same). Didn't they also black-window the rear windows as well, at one point?
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
The only experience I've had with "black windows" viz Fishbowls weren't direct, but rather via trips on "Bison" (plural for the "Buffalo" type buses GM made with the rear ends resembling same). Didn't they also black-window the rear windows as well, at one point?


W.B.:

Funny you mentioned this.

In the late 1960's, Frank Sinatra posed for an album cover ("SinatraJobim"), leaning against the rear of a GREYHOUND "Buffalo" (#7973).

The rear windows are black.

In jogging my memory, I now recall the rear windows of "Bison"' being black........

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here's a handsome TNJ (ex-PSNJ) "Buffalo" 603A outside the PABT, back in 1972.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?154497

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 11:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Black windows":

A "spot on" rear view photo caption for a Trailways EAGLE in "AMERICAN BUSES" (David Jacobs, 1985) refers to the black rear windows as "pretend windows"...... Rolling Eyes

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Here's a handsome TNJ (ex-PSNJ) "Buffalo" 603A outside the PABT, back in 1972.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?154497

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

And an Inter-City Lines suburban Fishbowl lurking at far left.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 12:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B. Fishbowl wrote:
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Here's a handsome TNJ (ex-PSNJ) "Buffalo" 603A outside the PABT, back in 1972.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?154497

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

And an Inter-City Lines suburban Fishbowl lurking at far left.


Yup!

And notice, too, the miniscule glimpse of an interesting "Hound" (MC-6?), as well as a lot chock-full of RED & TAN Fishbowls (I've heard that lot has long since been built over)......... Sad

"NYO"
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
And notice, too, the miniscule glimpse of an interesting "Hound" (MC-6?), as well as a lot chock-full of RED & TAN Fishbowls (I've heard that lot has long since been built over)......... Sad

Indeed . . .
https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/transparentcity/uploads/images/000/040/006/original/555_10th_Avenue_Exterior3.jpg?1603904051
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

W.B.:

I cannot believe how drastically that area has changed since I last was in the city (that was when I retired in 2003)

That neighborhood, just outside the PABT, had been quite familiar to me from the time I was a kid; today, it looks like a totally different city, and, I must admit, it all leave me cold. Sad

Do they even still park buses under the elevated roadways of the PABT these days?

"Progress"....t'aint for me...... Sad

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Nostalgia ON and BELOW the PABT ramps" (1981)

Cannot believe it's been 40 years since these photos were taken*.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?155330

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?154517

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156428

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156412

Note the variety of color schemes on the buses in these old photos; Fishbowls certainly dominated! Wink

Today, NJT is THE dominant player, and the parade of bland, insipid "shoe box" buses in and out of the terminal now has about as much appeal as a kitchen sink...... Razz


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
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W.B. Fishbowl



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
"Nostalgia ON and BELOW the PABT ramps" (1981)

Cannot believe it's been 40 years since these photos were taken*.....

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?155330

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?154517

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156428

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?156412

Note the variety of color schemes on the buses in these old photos; Fishbowls certainly dominated! Wink

Today, NJT is THE dominant player, and the parade of "shoe box" buses in and out of the terminal now has about as much appeal as a kitchen sink...... Razz

It'd probably be the same case way uptown at the GWB Bus Station . . . when that first opened in 1963 there was the same diversity of buses one saw at the PABT. Now . . . oversized milk cartons galore.
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