BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Crosstown depot, 1982.

The now-retired RTS was indeed the sophisticated "New Kid On The Block" when this timeless shot was snapped.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?3299

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Undated photo taken at the Brooklyn Army Terminal.

Though this photo does not depict a MaBSTOA depot/garage, it still is worth including here.......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?1231

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Getting back to the "EL"ement for just a moment......

Here's an interesting photo from 1980, showing Flex #4619 at Parsons & Jamaica; note the soon-to-be-removed column that once supported the old BMT Jamaica El, a few years back......

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?930

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Broadway & 230th St., 1981........

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2135

9courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Tremont & Boston, 1971.

Fishbowl #6584 looks quite "bare bones" in this gloomy gray-day portrait from 1971 (I'm lucky to have one of those classic 1960's Fishbowl bus stop signs in my archives today!)

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?2118

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

If the legendary Sherlock Holmes ever needed an assistant to help him investigate decades-old roller curtains that once served aboard London Transport's long-retired "RT" and "RM" fleets, rest assured, he could do no better than to contact yourself...I am SURE you discover (and solve!) many mysteries that others had previously thought were unsolvable....(!!)

All kidding aside, you can be quite proud of your astute, in-depth knowledge on the subject of old roller curtains......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A few MaBSTOA questions:

1:

When were the last GMC Fishbowls delivered to MaBSTOA (also, the last Flex New Looks)

2:

When did MaBSTOA receive its first GRUMMAN and RTS types?

3:

Do you think that, possibly, had the fates been different, MaBSTOA might still exist today?

Thanks for any info.......

"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Again, interesting historical facts....thank you!

Another aspect of "Noo Yawk" buses I have always found interesting are depot assignments, both "Tee-Yay" and MABSTOA.

I like thinking:

What buses remained at one depot until they were retired?

Which buses were shuttled between depots?

Regarding this, I would think that things had to be quite interesting in the 1960's, when more and more of the older buses were being retired as new coaches arrived; were some buses sent to other depots as new buses took their place at a "home" garage, before they were finally retired?

The 1960's, to a kid who visited New York more than often, was quite a colorful time for anyone who watched the MaBSTOA buses, both old and new.

As I've said before, the fancy script used on both 1960's "Tee-Yay" and MaBSTOA buses gave both old and new buses a little touch of "class"; certainly, we will never see the likes of those days again.....

"NYO"

[W.B. Fishbowl]

I know at least one bus that was at the same depot from beginning to end: NYCO / FACL / MaBSTOA 2969, from its arrival in December 1950 to its 1967 retirement, based out of 100th Street and largely holding down the 18 - 86th Street Crosstown route (now M86 SBS).

I'd say the 'Tee-Yay' led the pack in shuttling - or would that be shuffling? - whole sets of buses around from depot to depot. MaBSTOA did too, but not to the same extent. The final home of the 1958-59 FACL/ST 'protruding front sign box' buses - transferred after 1970 to the 'Tee-Yay', largely within Brooklyn - seemed to recall the controversy of the last months of the RTS when the Daily News said they were largely concentrated within the poorest neighborhoods while wealthier areas had the newer buses. So too, when most of the 1960 FACL and ST Fishbowls, after being scattered amongst FACO Division, NYCO Division, and ST garages in their first five years of operation (and such terminologies were unofficially continued on by MaBSTOA until c.1974 when 'Manhattan Division' and 'Bronx Division' began to come forth), were all gathered up and concentrated in the Kingsbridge depot until their 1973 retirement.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

GREAT info and narrative....greatly appreciate, as always, the input!

Re-numbering, also, I have also found very interesting when reading.

In Guy E. Martin's book "NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT BUSES", there is a photo of ST's #4013, a TD-4506.

According to the caption:

".........the bus is here lettered for SURFACE TRANSIT, but with the unmistakable slogan and colors of FIFTH AVENUE COACH COMPANY. (caption states that the bus was snapped when it was transferred to MaBSTOA)....."

".......#4013 would eventually be re-numbered #1153 for MaBSTOA, on April 23, 1963. It was numbered #2222 when FIFTH AVENUE COACH owned it. Before MaBSTOA, it was transferred to SURFACE TRANSIT in 1957........."

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

IMHO, MaBSTOA's most distinctive bus, the "bus with the sign that sticks out in the front" (dang shame not one of these classic and distinctive buses was saved)

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?788

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?791

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?792

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?793

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?794

http://bus.nycsubway.org/perl/show?797

(courtesy: bus.nycsubway.org)

"NYO"

[kdr3bt]

Crosstown depot, 1982.
The now-retired RTS was indeed the sophisticated "New Kid On The Block" when this timeless shot was snapped.......
--------------------------------------
Looks like the pole behind coach 592 is obscuring the Empire State Building.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]