Hi,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7zn5ZJbx2M
I am very enamored of this clip by Brandon (landoverdivision321) of his filming of the Silver Spring Transit Center's construction and some of the buses WMATA and RideOn were operating that are seen in the clip at the time of the construction.
This makes me wonder what buses we would have seen during the SSTC reconstruction in 1995. So instead of all these New Flyers roaming around, the buses listed below (many with the 2-cycle Detroit Diesels to boot) would've been seen. In 1995, WMATA and RideOn had the following buses in their fleet:
WMATA
6300-6381 -- 1963 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-DCT)
2570-2577 -- 1964 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WV&M)
6400-6499 -- 1964 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-DCT)
3401-3404 -- 1964 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WMAT)
6500-6579 -- 1965 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-DCT)
3511-3520 -- 1965 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WMAT)
2588-2607 -- 1965 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WV&M)
3601-3612 -- 1966 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WMAT)
6600-6699 -- 1966 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-DCT)
3613-3620 -- 1966 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WMAT)
2625-2640 -- 1967 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-WV&M)
6700-6724 -- 1967 GMC "New Look" TDH5304 (ex-DCT)
3801-3840 -- 1968 GMC "New Look" T6H5305 (ex-WMAT)
6800-6884 -- 1968 Flxible "New Look" 111CD-D5-1 (ex-DCT)
2656-2672 -- 1969 GMC "New Look" T6H5306A (ex-WV&M)
8000-8144 -- 1976 Flxible "New Look" 53096-8-1
8201-8312 -- 1977 Flxible "New Look" 53096-6-1
101-112 -- 1977 Flxible "New Look" 53096-8-1
8401-8661 -- 1978 Flxible "New Look" 53096-6-1
5551-5570 -- 1978 Flxible "New Look" 35096-6-1
5000-5043 -- 1979 AM General/MAN SG220-16.5-2A
9000-9115 -- 1979 GMC RTS II T8W603
5100-5133 -- 1983 MAN SG310-16.5-2A
9500-9575 -- 1984 Neoplan AN440/A
8700-8774, 8800-8874 -- 1986 Flxible Metro "A" 40102-6T
8775-8799, 8875-8925, 8950-8970 -- 1987 Flxible Metro "B" 40102-6T
8971-8975 -- 1987 Flxible Metro "B" 40102-6C
9201-9239 -- 1988 Flxible Metro "B" 40102-6T
9241-9269 -- 1988 Flxible Metro "B" 40096-6C
9271-9289 -- 1988 Flxible Metro "B" 40096-6T
5080-5099 -- 1988 Gillig Phantom 30/96TB/6V92 (5080 was ex-Gillig demo to MUNI of San Francisco, CA)
5150-5185 -- 1989 Flxible Metro "B" 30096-6T
9301-9413 -- 1990 Flxible Metro "B" 40102-6C
9421-9463 -- 1990 Flxible Metro "B" 40096-6C
9481-9498 -- 1990-91 Flxible Metro "B" 35102-6C
9601-9660 -- 1992 Orion V 05.501
9701-9785 -- 1993 Flxible Metro "D" 40102-6C
9801-9818 -- 1994 Flxible Metro "D" 40102-6M
9819-9835 -- 1994 Flxible Metro "D" 40102-4D
Buses on the way to WMATA in 1995:
5201-5245 -- 1995 American Ikarus 436.06 (to replace the 5000 series MAN artics)
4000-4104 -- 1995 Flxible Metro "E" 40102-4D
Montgomery County RideOn:
5102-5133 -- 1979 TMC CityCruiser T30
5134-5244 -- 1980 TMC CityCruiser T30
5245-5256 -- 1981 TMC CityCruiser T30
(above three fleets were rebuilt and renumbered into low 5400s in 1990; many repowered with Cat 3208T engines)
5257-5297 -- 1984 (BIA) Orion I 01.502
5300-5356 -- 1989 Gillig Phantom 30/96TB/3208T (when they still had Cat 3208T engines)
5500-5526 -- 1991 (BIA) Orion I 01.502
5527-5538, 5540-5545 -- 1992 (BIA) Orion I 01.502 (5540 series have hammerhead fronts)
5546-5547 -- 1993 (BIA) Orion V 05.503
5360-5362 -- 1994 Gillig Phantom S50/T35/96
Buses on the way to RideOn in 1995:
5363-5377 -- 1995 Gillig Phantom S50/T35/96
5550-5566 -- 1996 Orion V 05.503 (Cummins M11E Plus engine, Voith D863.2 transmission)
5567-5569 -- 1996 Orion V 05.503 CNG (Cummins L10G Alpha engine, ZF 5HP590 transmission)
~Ben
Hmmm....I do remember 1995 somewhat, and a bunch of buses never saw Silver Spring in 1995, such as Ride On's M11 and CNG Orion Vs. The 1984 Orion Is ran solely out of Gaithersburg from my recollection.
On the WMATA side, you would never find a Neoplan or Gillig Phantom at Silver Spring as well.
Wow, I can't believe it was 15 years since 1995... I remember when WMATA experimented with the Alcoas on the L10 Metro Bs - they looked AWESOME. Does anyone have pictures of them with such wheels?
Gee, I remember the first time I saw 5546 (or 5547) at Silver Spring so many years ago. I was certainly taken aback, as I knew of WMATA's brand new Orion Vs, and Ride On "copied" WMATA and got their own.
Wow, I actually feel a bit bad right now because I'm really going to miss the old Silver Spring station. I had sooo many great memories there growing up as a kid.
The AM Generals were long gone by 1995. They were actually off the streets by 1986 or 1987. The 8000 and 8200 Flxibles were gone too.
There were however many Fishbowls still roaming around.
5000-5043 -- 1979 AM General/MAN SG220-16.5-2A
I believe these buses apparently were the first batch of MAN artics...didn't these have roll signs?
I think I was lucky to have moved to the DC area when I did in 1996. When I arrived WMATA still had plenty of GMC and Flxible new looks in service and the Metro-Es and American Ikaurus 436 were the new kids. I rode the 85/8600 Flxibles many times on Montgomery routes as well as the 5100 series MANs and the RTS. As much as I disliked the RTS, it was cool to ride them on as Montgomery operatos really pushed tham and their DD 6V-92TA engines were music to my ears, especially at speed.
The fishbowls were a bonus, but I wasn't too pressed for them as I had ridden many of them when NYCTA borrowed 150 WMATA new looks in the early 80s.
I remember riding those RTSs all of the time on the good old K6 (which was my home base for the Flxible New Looks too, although I don't remember the numbers at all), even before I remember riding the SEPTA RTSs. They were pretty cool - I sure did like those "round" buses.
I dunno what happened to them in the mid 90's - they seemed to disappear for a while from my limited observations, then reappeared near the end of their lives in the later 90's. I guess they went through rehab at that time?
The RTS's were pulled in the early 90's after a horrible accident on one of the L routes going round Chevy Chase Circle where the rear doors popped open and threw a girl out of the bus and she got badly hurt. They changed the doors from the sliding type to the ones that pushed out. Coach 9048 was the culprit in that accident.
And yes, the 5000 series MAN's had the roll signs at first.
When I was at MK in the early 90's, I'd usually get an RTS, although occasionally when I'd take the T6, I'd get a variety of good stuff from the Fishbowls to a Flx New Look to once in awhile a MAN artic. I also had a 100 series Flx on the Q2 once...that was fun.