The first few busses i fell in love with were...
Fairfax Connecter's Orion I's w(disabled 1st gear)
WMATA's Orion v's (2100 series)
Dash's Orion I's.
Definitly the Flxible Metro-B (8000 series)
GM Fishbowl
Flxible Metro-D
Flxible Metro-E
MAN Artics
NABI 60-SFW
What's this disabled first gear you've spoken of? How do you disable first gear? I'm not a transmission expert I guess.
But to answer the question:
-Orion Is - all Orion Is - to this day, still my favorite classic bus. I loved DASH's (hence the avatar) because they had L10s, which was relatively rare, but I equally loved the 6v92 units. I would pay a significant sum of money for an Orion I model for my collection.
-93-9400s - I grew up on them and remember them so fondly I get memories just from smelling the exhaust. Sounds crazy but I've been on buses all my life so cut me some slack.
-9600s BEFORE REPOWER - They had a few things that made them sound just a little different from other 6v92 Orion Vs, plus the holes in the seats were fun.
That's all I can think of for now.
there is no 1st gear" torq convert shift.(disabled first gear)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csuxfj6HBDs&feature=channel_page
this bus has the first gear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqcH-drgFQ&feature=related
In the DC area my favs have been:
Flxible Metro B & E
NFI C40LF
NFI DE40LF
Honorable mention goes to Orion I with 6V92.
For me it was the Flxible New Looks. I always liked the 8500 and 8600 series, although the 82 and 8300's were pretty fast. Then I liked the Metro B's, all of them except the 9300's. I preferred the Detroit Diesels over the Cummins. I think what did them in for me was riding the 9360's on the F2, there were a couple that rattled so bad. I much preferred the 87-8900's.
The ones I hated riding: AM Generals, RTS, 9600's before and after repower and the MAN artics because they were so darn slow. One time I was trying to get to MC in Rockville and I was on a MAN bus on the Q2 and it was taking so long that I was going to be late for an exam, so I got off the bus at Rockville Station and took a cab from there.
Perry,
I agree about the Metro-Bs. I've never been too fond of the 93/9400 for the same reason. That cummins engine vibrates way too much at idle. I'd take the DD 6V92 Metro-Bs first, but they got really slow in their last years.
Back in the day Bee Line had 5 Metro-Bs with the Cummins L-10, but I never rode any of those for years. The first Cummins L-10 equipped Metro-B I rode was one of MARTA's 3400 series. When it started vibrating, I thought something was wrong with the bus until I rode others and they did the same.
They really do vibrate a lot. I don't know if it was the engine/tranny combo or what, but there was a tremendous difference between those and the 6V92. When I drove at Shuttle UM I ended up trying to drive the 6V92 over the L-10's towards the end of my driving stint there.
It's the powertrain, because our '91 Orion Is (same powertrain) had the same issue; in fact, the unit that Commonwealth Coach & Trolley (Roanoke, VA) got was the first Orion, the first Cummins, and the first Voith they had ever gotten, and between the growling from 1st to 2nd and the vibration, they thought they got a lemon.
For me it would be Ride On's Orion Is and any 1st generation 6v92 Metro-B. I never cared much for the 9300/9400s either, or pretty much any 2nd generation Metro-Bs.
WMATA Flxible metro B
"DUH" BUS Gillig Advantages
WMATA NABI buses
- Definitely SEPTA's Neoplan AN440s (especially the 3000 series) - I loved everything about them, from the (in)famous Neo-jerk to the unique sound of the brake squeal. Those buses sounded great, and the latest ones were in service for over 18 years. May they rust in peace, as none of them were saved much to my dismay. :'(
- I loved Ride-On's TMC Citycruisers. The one panel slide-guide front door with the plug 2 panel rear door was always intriguing to me. I LOVED the rear window back then - I'd look out the back and see the cloud of smoke coming from the exhaust pipe, where the opening was right next to the rear window. Also, the engine sound was great, and I will never forget that high "aaaaaaahhhhhhh" sound that came from the exhaust. It's too bad I never managed to have a farewell ride on them...the 96' Gilligs replaced them before I had a chance to!
- Ride-On's 1989 Gilligs were awesome too (what Brandon, a Gillig?!). The sound of the engine was great, (one of the very few times I actually liked a C-series Cummins engine in a bus...the HT transmission sure helped) and there were these other sounds that were intriguing to me, like the sssssSSSSHHHHHHP! sound they made, and the fan sound blended so well with the engine.
- Ride-On's Orion Is. I don't remember much about the 1984 models (all I knew back then is that they were different from the TMCs from the color of the front bumper - the TMCs had a white front bumper). The 1990's series have been great. These buses got me hooked on the 6v92TA/HT series powertrain, and I was always intrigued at how the back wall was further forward than the back part of the side window. Also, the tailpipe with the flipping lid was one of the coolest things in the world to me!
I still remember when these buses were brand new, and I was just a little kid back then. I saw one parked at some mall (Wheaton?) and they were letting kids on board and allowing them to sit in the driver's seat. Of course I begged my mom to let me go on "the new bus", and she allowed me to. That was one of my fondest childhood transit memories, if not the fondest. I hope Ride-On still does stuff like that these days, because that's a memory I won't soon forget.
- WMATA 93/9400 series Flxibles - the "L10 Bs". These were always my favorite series of WMATA Flxibles. Back then, Voiths weren't really that common around these parts, so it was very interesting to hear a bus with gears that long. Plus, the engine sound is just at the right tone where it sounds smooth and...soothing for lack of a better term. The rattling (especially at idle...omg on some of them!) was/is a part of their charm.
I guess since NJT also had (and still has) Flxible Metro Bs with the 6v92TA/Allison V731 powertrain, I found the 93/9400 series more interesting to ride, and therefore liked them a lot better. Of course, I didn't ride the NJT Metro Bs until about 2004 when the RiverLINE started running.
I must admit that these were the first buses where I witnessed wheelchair lifts in action. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to see the front steps "turn into a wheelchair lift" for people in wheelchairs.
Wow...what a nice walk down memory lane! At the risk of sounding cliche, I will say this: They sure don't build them like they used to. Essentially all of these buses mentioned have been/are in the process of/or will very soon be retired...growing old, I am!
The first buses I fell love in with were all intercity coaches:
1. Flxble Clippers
2. GM PD-3751 Silversides
3. ACF-Brill (DC Transit used them)
4. GM PD-4104
5. GM PD-4501 (Scenicruiser)
6. The Silver and Golden Eagles made for Trailways
7. GM PD-4106
8. MCI MC-7
9. GM PD-4903
It took me long enough to post to this one, but of course growing up when I did the GM and Flx new looks were on the top of the list. I was actually one of the few people who liked the AMGs. As I grew older the Flx Metros became my fav.
WMATA's Orion Vs (42,43,4400s)
WMATA's Flxible Metro Es
Ride-On's Orion Is
Ride-On's Flxible Metro Ds
Ride-On's 5546 and 5547
Ride-On's Orion Vs (upper 5500s/5600s)
The brand new Ride-On Gilligs
Broward County Transit's New Flyer D40LFs (9700s...RIP)
What got me in love w/ transit coaches were the D.C. Transit GMC Old Look type buses, similiar to the one in my photograph. Every day, growing up, a Z4 or a Z6 would ramble past my house, to its end of the line & 5 minutes later come rumbling back up the street. I was really happy when my Grandmother & Mom, would travel to either Silver Spring or PG Plaza (J8) & there would be an GMC Old Look that we would travel on.
I'd didnt much care for the DC Transit 35' fishbowls (4700 series) with the rear door that folded outwards.
The FLX's (6800 series) looked awesome. I would see one doing a S9 trip, making the big sweeping U-Turn at Dennis & Edgewood, and I thought WOW them buses were sleek.
I LOVED 2 TMC's that Ride-On had in its fleet. 5140 & 5142.
When I got to drive them (late '80's & Early 90's) neither bus had a working (govorner) and deheading from Montgomery Mall down 270, you could reach 70+ M.P.H. (I once passed a new driver driving a 5500 Orion on 270 when they were brand new, coming from the Golf Tourney). I passed him as if he was sitting still. By the time he got to brookville garage, I was at the top of the hill almost to my car. Also, the A/C on 5140 & 5142 were so cold, you needed to wear a sweater.
I liked 5546 & didnt like 5547.
5514 was my favorite Orion. I just wished the brakes woulda grabbed better, so I coulda won the Bus Roadeo in 1990, instead of finishing 2nd.
My ONLY regret, well one that I can state publically, is I never got to drive the FLX's that Ride-On has in its fleet.
I share your regret in that I never rode the Ride On Flxs either.
Sorry you guys missed the Ride On Flxibles. Those buses were awesome. They seemed to be in pretty good shape. I rode them several times when they used to own the 70. The bad part was that they were governed to a low 55 MPH.
Some here might think I am some kind of nut, but I have always been somewhat fond of the AM Generals. Those dam rattletraps would run like a scalded dog when asked.
RTS II
And of course the perennial favorite Flexible Metro.
Northern had a cpl of AM Generals that were "Hi Speed" models. Buses that had a governor set higher.
7476 was one that my Step Dad used to drive on the Z3 (SS to OLNEY).
Once past Seizure World & MD 28 on GA ave, he would open it up.
Yeah I didnt Ride, the Ride-On FLX's either. But I woulda LOVED to have driven 1 or 2 of em.
I actually liked the AM Generals from a standpoint that they were much different than the Fishbowls. I actually prefered the 35 footers as they had a slightly different sound than the 40 footers, I can't describe it but it was definitely different. On the R8 we'd get AM Generals all the time, not so much on the C2, but every now and then they'd get them. I never got to ride one of the AMG's painted in the second scheme, although I'd see it every now and then.
The AM Generals (numbered 7000-7619) were the 1st group of buses (720 of them) that METRO bought after the merger of all the bus companies.
The buses were interchangable on the destination signs, by putting a roll from the garage into the head of the bus. meaning that the bus could be a 38B, or a Z6, or a T18, of a 9A very easily.
Only the head destination sign had a motor to change the destination. The front number sign, side numbers & destination, and rear numbers were all hand crank. Even the block numbers were hand crank, as well as the LIMITED/EXPRESS/LOCAL sign in the front window well. The AM Generals also had a headlight switch on the control panel, that you could run w/ all your lights on, and kill the headlights while your parked at a layover & keep the bus running.
When those buses were new, it had carpeting even on the ceilings & floors. The seats were made of a material that was cloth like & uneasy to clean. It retained stains.
Some drivers would hand crank the rear route number signs to B-Y-E
Your running for the bus, wondering what the route was, and you would see BYE.
Not very good from a customer service standpoint.
I remember those seats very well. They were incredibly itchy in the summer and was very happy when they were replaced with the vinyl ones.
Quote from: WayneNYC on August 29, 2009, 12:30:26 AM
Sorry you guys missed the Ride On Flxibles. Those buses were awesome. They seemed to be in pretty good shape. I rode them several times when they used to own the 70. The bad part was that they were governed to a low 55 MPH.
Yea. I didn't get a chance to ride them when they were with us at Baltimore. I did ride one on the 70 a couple years back. I rode another one on the 100, but it broke down just inches from GTC on Germantown Road.
For me (its gonna be mainly Bmore ones)
Flx Metro As (8519, 8556, 8467)
Flx Metro Bs (8713 (had a Twinvision LED sign), 8730s (the L10s))
Flx Metro Cs (9064, 9079-9080 (the 6 WC sections), 9200s (6v71 baby. My favs were 9202, 9204, 9211, 9213, 9214, 9222, 9231, 9233, 9245, 9247, 9250)
WMATA
MAN SG310s (even I remember them though I never got a chance to ride them)
RideOn
C40LFs
Orion Is
Orion V (5546)
Orion V CNGs (the cricketing sound)
Connector
Orion I (I rode my first and last trip on one on the 380 from Springfield to Pentagon)
Quote from: Sand Box John on August 29, 2009, 01:31:11 AM
RTS II
When I worked at Disney World in 1987-1989, the buses we used at the time were the GMC RTS II's.
Awesome ride. . like sitting on a cloud (this was WDW of course)
Downside. . before the advent of the A.D.A. all the wheelchair controls & access were thru the rear doors of the 40' buses. Front doors too narrow & from a customer service standpoint, dont wanna load ppl, then ask them to clear the seats to put in 2 wheelchairs thru the back door. . . also wasnt nice to let off your guests (we called them guests there, not passengers), close the door on the waiting guests, to run to the back door, open the panel & operate the wheelchair lift & secure the guests.
The 87/88/8900 Metro B's
The 92' Orion V's when they first came out
The MAN artics
The 95' NABI artics (In the Old paint)
Quote from: NewFlyer97BCT on June 14, 2009, 05:25:42 PM
WMATA's Orion Vs (42,43,4400s)
WMATA's Flxible Metro Es (my very first ride on a metrobus was on 4006)
Ride-On's Orion Is
Ride-On's Flxible Metro Ds
Ride-On's 5546 and 5547
Ride-On's Orion Vs (upper 5500s/5600s)
The brand new Ride-On Gilligs
Broward County Transit's New Flyer D40LFs (9700s...RIP) (that's why my name is NewFlyer97BCT)
to add to this list (more specific buses this time)...
Ride-On's 5518 (in my earlier days of busfanning, this bus was going nice and FAST, plus the convenience store noise it makes sometimes (like when you open the door), I just loved it, RIP)
Ride-On's 5541 (first Hammerhead Orion I that I ever saw and rode. before the Orbital system came into effect on all Ride-On buses, I think this bus had its own next-stop system (like 5610 had as well))
Ride-On's 5546 and 5547 (I remember riding them on a cold winter day on the 55...back when the sign said "Dorsey Mill", gotta love the engine, RIP 5547))
Ride-On's 5576 (I just love everything about this bus. Try riding it every morning on the 74 northbound, it's a fun ride through Great Seneca Hwy, trust me)
Ride-On's 5623 (The first bus that I actually saw and remembered the number to (built my way from there and eventually understood the Ride-On numbering system), I used to ride this all the time on the 56)
Ride-On's 5720 (makes a noise while accelerating, now it doesn't make the same noise but it still makes a cool noise)
WMATA's 9761 and 9823 (love that screaming whistle)
Quote from: Annex4421 on September 17, 2009, 08:24:41 AM
The 87/88/8900 Metro B's
The 92' Orion V's when they first came out
The MAN artics
The 95' NABI artics (In the Old paint)
Also THE BUS's Gillig Phantoms