BusTalk Forum Index BusTalk
A Community Discussing Buses and Bus Operations Worldwide!
 
 BusTalk MainBusTalk Main FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups BusTalk GalleriesBusTalk Galleries   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Southwestern Greyhound's Railbuses/SWG history/Pickwick
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also:

"......to close the gaps in its expanding network, 'SOUTHLAND GREYHOUND' purchased a Waco-Bryan route from 'CENTRAL TEXAS COACHES' in November, 1929, and the Big Springs-Pecos local certificate of George W. Page in December, 1929. Regularly scheduled service from San Antonio to Laredo and Eagle Pass began in January of 1930........"

"........".....'SOUTHLAND GREYHOUND LINES' organized its operations into four divisions. The route from Dallas and Fort Worth to El Paso , and its branches, acquired from 'WEST TEXAS COACHES', formed the 'WEST TEXAS DIVISION'. It was managed by Robert L. Miller, who came from 'DIXIE MOTOR COACH CORPORATION' of Dallas, and had previously been with 'NORTH TEXAS TRACTION' for 20 years......"

"......the 'SOUTH TEXAS DIVISION' was based at the San Antonio terminal, and comprised the lines that radiated from there to Corpus Christi, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Austin, and Houston. The Waco-Houston-Lake Charles line constituted the 'EAST TEXAS DIVISION', with a garage in Houston, and the northern part of the old 'RED BALL LINE' between Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth was the 'CENTRAL TEXAS DIVISION'........"

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:39 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From William A. Luke's "TRAILWAYS BUSES".......

''.....'BOWEN MOTOR COACHES' was formed in 1937 and joined the NATIONAL TRAILWAYS BUS SYSTEM in 1940. 'BOWEN had very choice routes in Texas: Dallas, Amarillo, and Dallas-Houston......."
_____________________________________________________________

From: "FLXIBLE INTERCITY BUSES" (William A. Luke).........

".....'PANHANDLE STAGES' of Amarillo, Texas, began in 1934 with several routes east and northeast of Amarillo. The route between Amarillo and Oklahoma City was an important link east and west, which led 'PANHANDLE' to become a member of the 'NATIONAL TRAILWAYS BUS SYSTEM' in 1936......"
___________________________________________________________

Also (from same book):

".....the 'BEE LINE COACHES of Waco, Texas, operated for a short time (using FLXIBLE "AIRWAY" buses) on a route between Waco and Palestine, Texas......"

"......'BOWEN MOTOR COACHES' of Fort Worth, was an important FLXIBLE customer for a number of years. This company was created in 1936 from an amalgamation of several Texas bus companies, and became a TRAILWAYS member in 1943......"
_____________________________________________________________

From: "HOUNDS OF THE ROAD" (Carlton Jackson):

"......in the southwest, the 'GOLDEN EAGLE SOUTHERN LINES' melded into 'SOUTHWESTERN GREYHOUND'......"

"NYO"


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:41 am; edited 5 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A page on "DIXIE GREYHOUND" (note reference to "BOWEN").......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Greyhound_Lines


Last edited by NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 on Wed Aug 05, 2020 5:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teche_Greyhound_Lines
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Historic relics of both GREYHOUND and TRAILWAYS in modern-day Texas, silent reminders of the heyday of intercity bus travel........

https://www.roadarch.com/bus/tx.html

(courtesy: RoadsideArchitecture.com)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the "MOTOR COACH AGE" article, mentioned earlier in this topic:

".......after the formation of 'MOTOR TRANSIT CORP.' as a holding company in 1926, 'The Greyhounds' appeared in Texas......"

"........other early GREYHOUND bus lines were all based in Chicago: 'SAFETY MOTOR COACH LINES, 'INTERSTATE STAGES', and 'GREYHOUND LINES' (of Indiana)......"

".......use of the name 'RED BALL' recalls the early era of intercity highway buses, when the adoption of easily-remembered symbols became popular: ('WHITE STAR', 'BLUE GOOSE', and others); these were commonplace among early carriers. In some instances, these were corporate names as well......"

".......the 'red ball', actually a painted disc and not a sphere, denoted high-priority supply trucks on the Western front, during World War Two. It became a commonly-used symbol on many Texas bus routes, not at all related to one another, and mostly operated by individuals........"

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Further:

".....other early operators also competed for traffic over segments of the 'SOUTHLAND-RED BALL' route, in late 1927, Edwin C. Ekstrom (former president of 'MOTOR TRANSIT CORP'., later president of 'RED BALL MOTOR BUS CO.') began to buy them out......"

".......the first to sell was 'PARKER TRANSPORTATION CO.' (Austin-Waco, with five buses) and its affiliate 'PARKER MOTOR LINE' (Dallas-Austin, with four buses). Three more new FAGEOL coaches were delivered to 'RED BALL' at about the same time......

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wanted to include this photo from the 1963 film, "THE CARDINAL", as it reminded me of the early highway coaches that have been mentioned in the course of this topic.

The bus is lettered "VALLEY TRANSIT, INC."; this scene was set in the South, circa-1930.

Recall, early highway coaches (early FAGEOL "Safety Coaches") where each passenger had a door on the right-hand side......

http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_343270.html

(courtesy: imcdb.org)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Scroll down this page (on left-hand side) for "SAFETY COACH" photos, brochures, etc........

www.fageol.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From: "MOTOR COACH AGE":

".......five new FAGEOL 'Safety Coaches' were placed in service during October, 1926, while the equipment taken over from 'RED BALL' continued to operate for the time being. Delivery of nine additional FAGEOLS (some of which were built by ACF in Detroit) during November and December. The five new buses were all lettered 'SOUTHLAND RED BALL' from the beginning....."

"......both 'RED BALL' and 'SOUTHLAND' ran from Fort Worth and Dallas to Antonio through Waco and Austin. The 275-mile route was the main highway pf north-south travel in Texas. Dallas and San Antonio were the two largest cities in the state, and Fort Worth was the fourth largest. The territory lay in the 'black land' belt of Texas, devoted to the growing of cotton and small grains. The roads used by the 'main line' buses were entirely paved. Short branches were operated bt 'RED BALL' from Alvarado to Cleburne, and from Hillsboro to Hubbard, mostly over gravel roads......"

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Further:

".....typical of the era, 'WEST TEXAS COACHES' promoted itself as part of a system of connectiing bus lines. The westward connection at el Paso was 'PICKWICK STAGES' and the northward connection at Tulsa (from 'TEXAS-OKLAHOMA COACHES') was 'PICKWICK-GREYHOUND LINES'......"

".......moreover, the 'PICKWICK CORP.' had a bus line from Laredo into Mexico, and 'PICKWICK-GREYHOUND LINES' reached New Orleans. 'PICKWICK STAGES' was sold to the new 'PACIFIC GREYHOUND LINES', in with the SOUTHERN PACIFIC had a one-third interest, effective may, 1929. The new partnership of 'GREYHOUND', 'PICKWICK', and the SP then went after R. C. Bowen........"

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

More on the diverse "PICKWICK".......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pickwick_Corporation
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

While on the subject of "PICKWICK", enjoy this most interesting collection of rare "PICKWICK" bus photos! Wink

www.justacarguy.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-nitecoach-greyhound-bus-big-oh-yeah.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also of interest (more neat photos!):

www.theradiohistorian.org/pickwick.html
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
BusTalk's Offical Welcoming Committee



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 22282
Location: NEW JOISEY

PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From "GOING THE GREYHOUND WAY" (Robert Gabrick):

"........in 1934, GREYHOUND displayed a 'Nite Coach' for inspection by moviegoers attending San Francisco' s Orpheum, to watch 'Cross Country Cruise', which featured GREYHOUND buses......"

".......while a compartment-based sleeper, the 'Nite Coach' included some features that would appear on future GREYHOUND buses. It offered inside storage of luggage below the passenger compartment, as well as below the elevated driver's compartment, accessible through the grill-door......"

".....a rear-mounted engine powered the bus that was also equipped with front and rear WESTINGHOUSE air brakes. A microphone in the engine bay allowed the driver to monitor 'motor operation'........"

"NYO"
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    BusTalk Forum Index -> General Bus Forum - All Bus Topics All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 2 of 4

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group