[PRCo] Re: New buses for Community Transit in PAT colors

[Edward H. Lybarger]

One of them ended up, at least for a while, with McCarthy Lines in
Canonsburg.  Nominally a school bus operator, this company provided charter
service for a variety of clients, among them a church in Peters Township who
hired it to travel around the area both before and after church to bring in
those who couldn't/wouldn't drive.  The route included the red dog road in
front of our house.  It was always amusing to see this out-of-place behemoth
(at least to an 8-year-old) pass by!

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Dwight
Long
Sent: Sunday, September 05, 2010 1:24 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: New buses for Community Transit in PAT colors

Fred

I would like to see a fot of that!  Sort of like the latter day use the Dog
put aging Scenicrushers to-------

Dwight

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Fred Schneider
  To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
  Sent: Saturday, 04 September, 2010 13:32
  Subject: [PRCo] Re: New buses for Community Transit in PAT colors


  Right.   I photographed them in Pittsburgh and in Uniontown.  

  There was a story that I never confirmed that one of them went to
Hagerstown and Frederick for the Thurmont service and it allegedly had a
baggage door cut into the side.   


  On Sep 4, 2010, at 1:19 PM, Dwight Long wrote:

  > Fred
  >
  > An interesting sidelight on Community Transit and its buses, but not
those covered by this article, relates to the recent exchanges between Ed
Lybarger and me on West Penn Railways.  The same buses that Ed and I stated
would be easy for WP to resell if their bustitution of the Uniontown cluster
of rail lines did not work out, were in fact resold.  To none other than
Community Transit Service!
  >
  > I'm not sure if Harold Geissenheimer was at CTS then and engineered the
purchase or if it happened before his time there--but if he had anything to
do with it, he would have known the high standards of care applied by West
Penn, and that they would be well-cared for machines.
  >
  > Dwight
  >  ----- Original Message -----
  >  From: Fred Schneider
  >  To: Pittsburgh-Railways at Dementia.Org ; Matthew R Barry ; Ed Lybarger
  >  Sent: Saturday, 04 September, 2010 13:01
  >  Subject: [PRCo] New buses for Community Transit in PAT colors
  >
  >
  >
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wcEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ck8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=1638%
2C4138279
  >
  >
  >  Pittsburgh Press, August 28, 1963, page 1
  >
  >
  >
  >  Lines 'Authorize' New Bus Preview
  >
  >
  >
  >  By RALPH BREM
  >
  >
  > 
  >     Commuters here will get a good look within the next month at what's
coming down the road for them.
  > 
  >      The clue is a new 51-seat bus that showed up on the Community
Transit Service, Inc. Bridgeville and Tarentum lines this week.    It was on
the Tarentum run yesterday, then made an excursion trip to Forbes Field last
night and is running between Bridgeville and downtown today.   Tomorrow it
will be sown at the County Fair.
  > 
  >      It's the first of its type to carry the new County Port Authority's
colors and also the forerunner of some 17 others that will go into service
here on various routes next month.
  > 
  >      Which is a pretty good trick since the authority won't be
officially in business until January 1
  > 
  >     It's part of a deal worked out between Harley Swift, executive
director of the Authority, and some of the bus company owners.
  > 
  >     Already decided is the fact the authority will buy out some 30
transit firms for 39 million dollars, probably condemning the Pittsburgh
Railways Co. to get control of its holdings.
  > 
  >     However, the time between the decision and the actual takeover is
long; some of the companies involved have found a need to replace worn out
buses.  Instead of buying whatever model struck their fancies, they talked
to Mr. Swift.   He suggested they all buy the same type that the authority
plans to buy later to beef up its service.   The county plans to put about
150 new buses in service in the first year of co-ordinated operation.   So
far 17 new buses have been ordered by Bigi Bus Lines, Horrell Transportation
Co., Oriole Motor Coach Lines, Deere Brothers Bus Lines and Community
Transit.
  > 
  >   Delivery is expected to start Sept. 13 and continue into October.
Cost runs about $27,000 a piece.   Most of them will sport the authority's
new colors aluminum (silve) sides split by a green strip with a gray roof. 
  > 
  >     Mr. Swift said these colors were picked for two reasons -
brightness, so that the bus is highly visible on the road, and maintenance.
"These colors are easy to keep clean and in case of an accident we will be
able to cut the bad section out and replace it and then paint only the panel
because this aluminum metallic paint blends within 24 hours," Mr. Swift
said.
  > 
  >   [Transcriber's note:   Harley Swift came from Harrisburg Railways.
The colors chosen were the Harrisburg colors.   They were not the colors
that were used by PAT in 1964 and by then Swift had been replaced by John
Dameron.] 
  >
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