BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

In a previous post in this forum entitled 'Green Bus Lines Goes to College' I tell the story with illustrations of how seven of Green Line's 1954 TDH 4512's found their way to Kent State University in Kent Ohio back in 1967.

The first picture shown in that forum and again below is of ex Green Line # 102 (repainted and renumbered as Campus Bus Service # 1234) - also shown below is # 102 in its original Green Line livery.

This group of 4512's (101 to 115 and the only set of such buses that Green Line bought) came with a second set of stainless steel wings under the windshields which was a decorative option.

However, a very observant student of 'Old Looks' from another site asked me why #102/1234 does not have the extra set of double wings (I was well aware of this and had mentioned it many times both here and on BusTalk.Net but really never explained fully the reason for the difference.

#102 was involved in an almost all consuming fire at the Jamaica Bus Terminal very soon after its delivery.

It was a toss up as to whether the remains would be repaired or replaced entirely with a new bus, and it was decided to make the repairs at Hudson Body Works in Hoboken New Jersey (these are the same people who resurrected # 926 (a TDH 4507 that was was squashed between a pillar and a trolley car at the foot of the Queensborough Bridge years before).

The cause of the fire was determined to be the fact that the driver, who had a long layover, parked the bus over a pile of dry leaves in a corner of the lot, and that they were either already smoldering or that the exhaust system may have ignited them.

In any event, # 102 returned several weeks leter in brand new condition but without the second set of stripes - I guess whoever worked on it felt that they really weren't necessary.

And that's the story of the missing strips.

Photos courtesy of Kent State Campus Bus Archives.

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica & Rockaway, NY

[Cyberider]

That bus looks just as good in it's "second life."