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'AVENUE 'B' EX GBL'

 
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 2:00 am    Post subject: 'AVENUE 'B' EX GBL' Reply with quote

Pictured below is ex Green Line # G522 in Avenue 'B' and East Broadway livery and renumbered as A239.

The bus, a Mack model 6CX3S with cab over engine design, was part of a thirty five coach order delivered to Green Line sometime in 1935, and could be considered almost custom made for the company because only 50 such models were produced by the manufacturer.

Also posted below in a picture of a 500 in its familiar Green Line livery taken somewhere in the Rockaways before the war.

Avenue 'B' photo borrowed from BusTalk III gallery
Green Line photo courtesy Green Bus Lines archive.

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


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Cyberider




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

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice-looking bus for the era.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2007 8:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dave,

These 1935 6CX3S Macks were interesting buses in that they were the last of the front engines for the manufacturer, had some of the very first all steel bodies and, with a wheelbase of only 169", were ideal on routes with norrow streets and tight turns.

The only complaints came from mechanics who found the COE design difficult to service, and from drivers who suffered heat prostration in summer months.

After spending only one year on crosstown routes in Manhattan, the 500's spent much of the rest of their tour mostly on Green Line's Q9 and Q37 runs as well as Rockaway assignments.

Only two (# G522 and G528) eventually found their way to Avenue 'B' and East Broadway in Manhattan and continued in service well into the early fifties.

More information on these buses can be found in the March-April 1974 Motor Coach Age (devoted entirely to Mack) along with an unusual factory photograph (bottom of page eighteen) of G 502 in a very odd livery for Green Bus Lines.

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




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

PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the info, Mr. Linsky! This bus certainly resembled Mack's early rear-engined models except for the radiator up front. Does look like it would be hot and noisy for the driver. Hopefully the heat was an asset at least in the winter where it was lacking in some other newer, more well-known, buses. Unfortunately, I don't have that issue of Motor Coach Age as I didn't know anyone else was interested in buses until I got online seven years ago. Embarassed

BTW, I've always been fascinated by the Ave. B & E. Broadway buses. They had a lot of Macks that looked like they ran way past their prime. They actually looked derelict but apparently kept soldiering on until the end.

Dave
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 1:05 am    Post subject: 'Avenue 'B' and East Broadway' Reply with quote

Dave,

Your astute observation is corrcet when you say that Avenue 'B' and East Broadway had a lot of Macks through the years.

In fact, virtually their entire fleet was made up of used Macks from anywhere they could find them until they finally broke down and ordered new equipment in the late fifties.

Their fleet always took on the appearance of delapidation probably because of the dings and dents they received on Manhattan's tight downtown paths.

Despite that, their mechanics must have been top flight because they kept them running like clocks for years!

Pictured below is what Mack has said is a model 'LD' and is unusual because it combines a prewar body with the anti reflection angled windshield used on post war models.

This bus may have been either ex Schenck Transportation or Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company.

For larger picture see Avenue 'B' album at BusTalkIII Gallery




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




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

PostPosted: Mon Aug 27, 2007 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've got a much better appreciation for Mack buses after reading the article in Motor Coach Age, Mr. Linsky. That angled windshield is a lot taller than the ones on the post-war models. Must have been a late pre-war modification. How about some Buster Brown shoes? (Store behind the bus.) Haven't heard that name in a long time! Must have been great to have been around New York in those days.
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Mr. Linsky
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



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

PostPosted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While we're on the subject of Avenue 'B' and East Broadway, feast your eyes on the picture below;

This is a 1956 Mack model C-41-DT (ser# 5805) and fleet # 306 delivered 'new' to the company in June of that year.

By the look of the body, I would have to say that the picture was taken when the bus was no more than a week old (I've seen Hummers come back from Iraq in better shape!).

But, that was Avenue 'B' and East Broadway!

Photo borrowed for educational purposes only.

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

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