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Southwestern Greyhound's Railbuses/SWG history/Pickwick
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back in ol' Texas:

In John Dockendorf's "GREYHOUND IN POSTCARDS", there are a number of Texas facilities shown; here is one caption of interest:

(Fort Worth): ".....the spacious loading area is large enough to accommodate eighteen buses at once. Sixty-eight arrivals and departures daily make this terminal a hub of activity twenty-four hours a day....."

The color postcard dates to the 1950's, and shows two SILVERSIDES and an ACF-BRILL IC-41 at the terminal......

"NYO"


.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From "MOTOR COACH AGE":

".......in 1930, bus travel 'in the South' had doubled in five years. 'SOUTHLAND GREYHOUND LINES' transported over a million passengers, and reported (in 1930) revenues of $1,953,000. The company also added 13 new buses that year, including big ACF's and smaller REO's, and had 103 buses in service by the end of the year......"

"....in October, 1928, the 'COTTON BELT Ry.' formed 'SOUTHWESTERN TRANSPORTATION CO." as a subsidiary, and offered to buy out its competitors. 'SOUTHWESTERN' then ordered 15 modern buses (eight WHITE 54's and four YELLOW W's, all with BENDER parlor bodies, as well as three BUICK-FLXIBLES)........."

"NYO")
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

PICKWICK "Nite Coaches"........

Back in the 1930's, cast iron/slush cast toys replicating the "Nite Coach" were available; today, of course, they are prized collector's items.

I still wonder, had WW2 not intervened, how far the "Nite Coach" concept might have gone, or, had it been revived in the postwar days.

The "Nite Coach" was, without a doubt, the most FEARSOME-looking highway bus ever to travel the highways and byways of America (imagine trying to STEER that brute, with NO power steering??) Shocked Shocked

Those drivers must have gotten one heckuva workout, when behind the wheel of these monsters!!!! Wink

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On an interesting note (from Carlton Jackson's "HOUNDS OF THE ROAD", the first generally-acknowledged "terminal" in the United States was in San Diego (PICKWICK STAGES)..

The San Antonio (Texas) terminal, when it opened in 1928, received much publicity, as it was also one of the first to be equipped with a baggage-handling mezzanine, enabling baggage handlers to more easily load the rooftop luggage racks/bins.

This terminal was also one of the few so equipped, for the transporting of luggage on top of the buses would soon be falling out of favor.......

"NYO"
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traildriver




Joined: 26 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 4:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
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

Some great photo's and info in that link...

I noticed a PRR Keystone on one of the "Duplex" coaches. (Not a Nitecoach).
The visible half of the destination signs reads "Washington". I will assume Pennsylvania Greyhound used it on the heavily traveled Washington/New York City route....
I didn't notice any mention of it in the text...
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
Scroll down this page (on left-hand side) for "SAFETY COACH" photos, brochures, etc........

www.fageol.com


Speaking of Fageol....I have always wondered about this rare bird that they built for American Buslines...there is very little info on them....scroll down about 2/3 of the way...one is a color rendering, the other a b&w photo...

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/t/twin_coach/oo1947_Twin_Coach_bus4.jpg
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
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......."
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
"......'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......"
____________________________________________________________

"NYO"


Bowen Motor Coaches evolved into "CBS"...Continental Bus System, Inc., later the core component of Continental Trailways. CBS routes extended from South Texas all the way to Denver, and when CBS bought Rio Grande Motorway, all the way to Salt Lake City.
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver wrote:
NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629 wrote:
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

Some great photo's and info in that link...

I noticed a PRR Keystone on one of the "Duplex" coaches. (Not a Nitecoach).
The visible half of the destination signs reads "Washington". I will assume Pennsylvania Greyhound used it on the heavily traveled Washington/New York City route....
I didn't notice any mention of it in the text...


traildriver:

I also spotted the PRR keystone on that "duplex"; I would tend to agree with you that the bus was used on PGL's DC-NYC route.

There is a photo on William A. Luke's "TRAILWAYS BUSES", accompanied by the following caption:

".......'SANTA FE TRAILWAYS' operated night coach service using 'Pickwick Sleeper Buses' between Kansas City and Los Angles in 1935. 'SANTA FE' had eight of these buses, which were originally owned and operated by 'COLUMBIA-PACIFIC NITE COACH' for a time. This service ended when WW2 began, and was never again re-instated......."

"NYO"
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Sleeper Bus".......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_bus
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

See also:

www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/pickwick/pickwick2.htm

(courtesy: Coachbuilt)
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Also of interest:

www.northeastnews.net/pages/pickwick-nite-coach-luxury-bus-tour/
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2020 1:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

Something is telling me that you will have a LOT of fun with the photos, etc., on this page, most especially the rare photo that depicts a former "Nite Coach" operating as the world's hulkiest RAIL BUS in Mexico!!!! Shocked Shocked Shocked (Imagine a scratchbuilt model of this behemoth, at an NMRA convention??) Shocked Shocked

Also, some neat "SANTA FE TRAILWAYS SLEEPER COACH" photos here, as an added bonus......enjoy! Wink

"NYO"

https://www.curbsideclassic.com/bus-stop-classic/bus-stop-classics-1928-1933-pickwick-nite-coach-whats-old-is-new-again/
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Regarding the link I provided in the previous post......

Today, it would be hard for most to imagine just how startling a massive, hulking "Nite Coach" must have been to folks back in the 1930's, especially when compared to the "typical" road vehicles of that era.

Its sheer size and towering majesty, indeed, must have turned QUITE a few heads, back in the day.

Reflecting, also, on the photos seen on the previously-linked page, it is amazing to think of such innovations in an era where it was slide rules, calipers, and drawing boards, and not high-technology computerized, electronic wizardry, that was behind the design of not only the "Nite Coach", but also, the sleek, futuristic streamlined passenger trains of that era.

Recall, also, on a smaller scale, such futuristic streamlined rapid transit trains such as the "GREEN HORNET" and the "ZEPHYR", that once ran along BMT rails, beginning in the mid-1930's.

Getting back to the "Nite Coach", it would be more than interesting, to say the least, to travel back in time and actually TALK to one of the drivers, and hear, first-hand, what it was actually like to be at the helm of such a massive road vehicle.......

"NYO"
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traildriver




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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 8:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If I can use my imagination to do that...
I suspect that many driver's of the day, would jump at the chance to drive one of those, just for the experience, the challenge, the prestige, and perhaps even higher pay....

But....I also suspect that once it became 'old hat'...they would much rather drive a conventional bus, that probably handled much better, was not as top-heavy, less affected by strong crosswinds, and had better performance.

It would be like choosing between a Prevost X-3, and a Van Hool TD-925 double decker....driver's would much rather drive the X-3...
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NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

traildriver:

Good points all; agree 100%.

When these buses were new, as you said, it would have indeed a tremendous honor among many drivers to get the chance to pilot one of those massive monsters down the highways of that era....."PRESTIGE" with a "Capital 'P'!" Wink

In later years, however, I can see them wanting to drive something newer and more conventional; as to "crosswinds", imagine a "Nite Coach" crossing a bridge like the GWB, on a day when the winds "kicked up", even slightly? Rolling Eyes

Even so, it is clear that, in their later years, drivers who once drove a "Nite Coach" could never forget the experience...... Wink

"NYO"
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