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Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 12:29:49 2019 The Motor Bus Society is an organization of bus enthusiasts. It publishes an excellent magazine called “Motor Coach Age” and offer field trips twice a year. The articles are well written and well researched and usually contain route maps and comprehensive roster. The most recent issue deals with the private bus lines of Nassau County. The society now has about 600 members. Unfortunately there are seeing a 10 to 15 percent drop in membership each year as older members die off. New members are needed. If you would like to join contact the Motor Bus Society II, Inc. at P.O.Box 261/Paramus, New Jersey 07653-0261 or www.motorbussociety.org. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sat Dec 7 16:07:58 2019, in response to Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 12:29:49 2019. I just sent in my renewal. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Bill Newkirk on Sat Dec 7 16:23:02 2019, in response to Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 12:29:49 2019. The society now has about 600 members. Unfortunately there are seeing a 10 to 15 percent drop in membership each year as older members die off. New members are needed.That is a disturbing fact of life. At the E.R.A. meeting, I see mostly the same members for were younger years ago who have aged. Not much new young blood for members at be seen. There may be some new young member who don't attend the meetings. Does this younger generation hold any interest in joining these organizations ? Sad, but true. Bill Newkirk |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 17:00:07 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Bill Newkirk on Sat Dec 7 16:23:02 2019. That is a disturbing fact of life. At the E.R.A. meeting, I see mostly the same members for were younger years ago who have aged. Not much new young blood for members at be seen. There may be some new young member who don't attend the meetings. Does this younger generation hold any interest in joining these organizations ? Sad, but true. Bill: I first started going to ERA meetings in the early 60's. There was a whole gang of young people there. There was always some one to talk to and meet up with when riding the trains. I think that the young people today just don't have the time. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by r17-6599 on Sat Dec 7 18:22:14 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 17:00:07 2019. The whole social scene has changed. Younger folks have more on their plates than we did. I joined ERA, MBS and other groups in the early-mid 60's too. We weren't afraid to plunk down a membership fee for things we considered worthwhile.Change is here and the challenges are quite overwhelming. MBS can't hold meetings like ERA does but exposure to the organization is a sure way to drum up members. Exposure to the magazine would be a plus, although from what I have gathered, there's a small percentage of young folks interested in anything older than an RTS or, at best, a fishbowl. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sat Dec 7 18:22:55 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 17:00:07 2019. I don't think it's so much there are less fans, than there are plenty of bus and train pics already on the internet. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by kcram3500 on Sat Dec 7 19:42:34 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Bill Newkirk on Sat Dec 7 16:23:02 2019. Does this younger generation hold any interest in joining these organizations ? Sad, but true.No, because the younger generation is more interested in free online groups. Why pay for MBS, wait for printed literature, and travel to meetings/gatherings, when a Facebook group costs nothing, there are no magazines to wait for, and it's as close as the nearest internet device? I was a member of Bob Redden's IBC from the start of its 4th year in 1983. Gladly paid for it, went to a couple of gatherings over the years, and learned so much from the club... and not just about buses. Bob's photography expertise and regular lessons on how to compose great pictures has stayed with me to this day. When Usenet became big, Bob tried to migrate the club there, then had an email newsletter to replace the club magazine, and finally he went to Yahoo Groups. Unfortunately, his health was never that great and declined to his death in 2004. There are still a few names I see around the bus hobby from IBC and years past in MBS, but I suspect clubs that don't base themselves in an easily accessible social media platform will find themselves dying off with their membership. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by northshore on Sat Dec 7 19:46:30 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by kcram3500 on Sat Dec 7 19:42:34 2019. I totally agree |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 21:47:11 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by r17-6599 on Sat Dec 7 18:22:14 2019. MBS can't hold meetings like ERA does but exposure to the organization is a sure way to drum up members. Exposure to the magazine would be a plus, although from what I have gathered, there's a small percentage of young folks interested in anything older than an RTS or, at best, a fishbowl. I've noticed that too. The folks on bus chat seem much more interested in current operations as opposed to historical information. (WB's excellent almanac not withstanding). History is very popular over on the sub-chat board. It may be that when a rail line is discontinued it usually leaves behind some kind of physical presence which prompts the question "where did it go". When a bus line is discontinued all that is left is the asphalt. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by r17-6599 on Sat Dec 7 22:06:43 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 21:47:11 2019. True, except for the occasional defunct terminal, which generates some interest with older fans. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Catfish 44 on Sun Dec 8 08:22:44 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 21:47:11 2019. Well I personally couldn't care less about what they do today. I'd rather hear about historic vehicles than anything else and I suppose GBL which was local to me. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 10:48:34 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by r17-6599 on Sat Dec 7 22:06:43 2019. True, except for the occasional defunct terminal, which generates some interest with older fans. The Orchard Beach Bus Terminal in the winter comes to mind. As does the bus terminal at Bear Mountain which is still used for school charter buses. Then there is the underground trolley terminal at the Manhattan end of the Queensborough Bridge. The trolleys stopped running in 1957 but the terminal was used by Steinway Transit buses for a few years after that. I was lucky enough to ride both trolleys and buses into the terminal. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by WayneJay on Sun Dec 8 12:36:22 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by kcram3500 on Sat Dec 7 19:42:34 2019. Agreed. Technology, as great as it is has also a major factor in the decline of membership and such in this hobby. I'm only 54, but I remember very fondly the days as a youngster of spotting new equipment (both buses and rail) as they were released for service, gone for rehab and so on. Sometimes it seems like yesterday when I spotted R68A #5200 at the plant in Yonkers and shortly afterward in service. What was great to me was that this happened in normal daily travels. When I saw that R68A, I was on a Metro North train that I rode often as my then g/f was a student at Vassar in Poughkeepsie. When I first spotted a Grumman 870, it was on the M15 route and I was working at a summer youth job. When I saw a Blitz rebuild for the first time... it was on the then M26 while I was a student at Baruch College. I remember seeing a riding a '77 Flxible for the first time as we were headed to my aunt's house, and brand new 7885 showed up as our bus on the Bx36. Couple of years later on my way home from school, I'm on the Bx40 bus, and when we reached Webster... I spotted a newly deleivered 9189 on the Bx36. Next my first ride was aboard KB's 9285 on the Bx2. So many of these type of scenarios. Nowadays, I can tell you that at least one DC area fan likely is usually technology in his "spottings" as it's very unlikely that he's covering that much terrority in such a short time and/or he may be driving around and noting his daily sightings. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by WayneJay on Sun Dec 8 12:41:14 2019, in response to Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 12:29:49 2019. Thanks for posting. I thought about this at this years' Spring Fling in Hershey, PA. When some of the guys were movign buses around I noticed that many of them were older guys, and my thought was it really should be more youngsters, especially for some of the grudge work like disconnecting/reconnecting batteries, some maintenance tasks and so on. We really need to step up. I can include myself as I'm a mid 50 something but still in decent physical shape, health and so on. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by r17-6599 on Sun Dec 8 13:04:17 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 10:48:34 2019. How about that bus turntable in the basement of a Manhattan hotel. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by kcram3500 on Sun Dec 8 15:26:48 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by WayneJay on Sun Dec 8 12:41:14 2019. One of the very real problems with older bus collections - particularly with suburbans and parlors, is younger people can't drive those non-synch manual transmissions. Double-clutching is just not that prevalent a skill, even in today's trucking industry thanks to the automated manual as well as full automatic transmissions. When my dad drove for Public Service in the 60s out of Lake Street Garage in Newark, it was mostly Old Look and Fishbowl transits, but they had a couple of suburbans to handle overflow on the 118 Newark-New York. With manual steering and the non-synch manual transmission, Dad said the guys earned a day's pay doing any suburban or parlor run. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 16:06:32 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by r17-6599 on Sun Dec 8 13:04:17 2019. How about that bus turntable in the basement of a Manhattan hotel. You're referring to the one at the Hotel Carter, formerly the Hotel Dixie. Its still there but I don't know if it works. I understand that at one time there was one in the Lincoln Building. Am I wrong? Also there's the Victor Moore Arcade at 74 Street in Queens which is alive and well. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by r17-6599 on Sun Dec 8 19:30:45 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 16:06:32 2019. Those are correct,sir. From what I heard, the turntable does not operate any longer.The Moore arcade was rebuilt a few years ago but still hearkens back to an earlier time. Not sure about the Lincoln building. |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sun Dec 8 20:00:00 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 16:06:32 2019. I never knew about the Hotel Dixie bus terminal. Can anyone enlighten me more about it. |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 20:31:44 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sun Dec 8 20:00:00 2019. I never knew about the Hotel Dixie bus terminal. Can anyone enlighten me more about it Before the Port Authority Bus Terminal was built several midtown hotels functioned as terminals for the bus lines. In addition to lodging they has restaurants, bath, western union and other services. The Hotel Dixie probably has the most elaborate setup. Buses would enter a ramp on 43 Street and descend to the lower level. There a turntable would switch to bus to anyone of twelve loading bays. Even after the PABT opened Mohawk Coach Lines continued to stop here for a few years. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sun Dec 8 21:42:23 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 20:31:44 2019. Thank you so very much for the information. All very interesting. Since my hotel I will be staying at next weekend is only a couple of blocks from it, I think I'll go walk by it and check it out. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Union Tpke on Mon Dec 9 06:36:34 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Bill Newkirk on Sat Dec 7 16:23:02 2019. I am a member, but can never attend the meetings because they are on Friday. I would never get home in time for Shabbat. |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by Bill Newkirk on Mon Dec 9 07:25:18 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by ChicagoMotorman on Sun Dec 8 21:42:23 2019. More about that bus stationBill Newkirk |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Mon Dec 9 08:42:28 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Bill Newkirk on Mon Dec 9 07:25:18 2019. Bill: What a great find thank you for posting it. The Hotel Dixie fell on hard times during the 1960's and became something of a dive. It was renamed the Hotel Carter sometime in the 70's. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by WayneJay on Mon Dec 9 11:54:06 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by kcram3500 on Sun Dec 8 15:26:48 2019. Good point. I've always wanted to learn the double-clutch technique, especially as I'm still a fan of the manual transmission. While my car has a manual transmission... I realize a non-syncromesh transmission is a very different animal. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Catfish 44 on Mon Dec 9 11:58:47 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by WayneJay on Mon Dec 9 11:54:06 2019. It's a craft |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by X-Astorian on Mon Dec 9 12:35:53 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Union Tpke on Mon Dec 9 06:36:34 2019. I am a member, but can never attend the meetings because they are on Friday. I would never get home in time for Shabbat.You might be confusing the MBS with the ERA. MBS does not have scheduled meetings. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by TransitChuckG on Tue Dec 10 13:21:39 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by WayneJay on Mon Dec 9 11:54:06 2019. I learned to double-clutch my 1957 Chevy- 3 speed ,column shifter,to pull it back into first while moving. It grunched ,but it worked! 1957 Chevy 210 |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Tue Dec 10 16:04:18 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Bill Newkirk on Mon Dec 9 07:25:18 2019. I was going to link that page.Back in the old days, a lot of railroads had terminals all over town. Howso? Little offices and bus depots where there weren't tracks. I suspect that's part of why this scenario of the garage depot came to be. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Tue Dec 10 16:08:14 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Bill Newkirk on Sat Dec 7 16:23:02 2019. Young people are nihlist who don't like nor are interested in anything.Even at a stamp show I'm the youngest bird there. Makes me feel like a kid. Coins? I dunno, probably the same, I haven't had a chance to see a coin show. Museums? Ditto. Models? Well, people bring their 3 year olds to see trains and model trains, but does that really count? One day in the future, I shall be the last hobbyist of ANYTHING on earth. By decades @ this rate. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Tue Dec 10 16:10:32 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by kcram3500 on Sat Dec 7 19:42:34 2019. Yeah, we can join an infinite number of facebook groups, and ignore 90% of it because at that point, in marketing you'd call it "noise".Least here I consciencly come online, and not just scroll mindlessly through things and miss all sorts of stuff as "blipverts". |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Tue Dec 10 16:13:24 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by TransitChuckG on Tue Dec 10 13:21:39 2019. I'll watch hundreds of hours of youtube videos, but you all will need to pay my travel expenses on exhibition day, and I want a snazzy uniform. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Tue Dec 10 16:58:24 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Tue Dec 10 16:08:14 2019. Young people are nihlist who don't like nor are interested in anything. I won't make a blanket condemnation of young people. They face problems and challenges that we never had to face. I was a kid in the 50's and 60's and vividly remember being told that we were worthless. Our songs were the music of the devil and the records had to be burned. I'm sorry but we didn't have the experience of World War 2 to validate our existence. I heard the same crap as I got older in the 70s,80,s and 90s. By this accounting the young people of today are the worst of the worst of the worst. No generation had an exclusive on excellence or a corner on stupidity. We all make our way as best we can with the tolls that we have. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 06:28:37 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sun Dec 8 16:06:32 2019. I worked for a while in the basement of the Lincoln Building, on 42nd St., Manhattan, for the phone company (Nynex/Bell Atlantic). No sign of any bus turntable, nor any way buses could have gotten in there. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Wed Dec 11 07:16:33 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 06:28:37 2019. Dan: I wasn't sure about the Lincoln Building. I had read a article in Motor coach Age that one of the building in that are also had a bus turntable. Maybe someone knows for sure. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Wed Dec 11 07:19:19 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 06:28:37 2019. Dan: I belive that is was the Chanin Building. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 07:35:31 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Bill Newkirk on Mon Dec 9 07:25:18 2019. Very interesting.Did you read the comments? For some reason, there is one from someone called "Old timer" that seems to refer to infamous 76th St. station in Queens. |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by Orange Blossom Special on Wed Dec 11 08:09:18 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 07:35:31 2019. I like a daily photo blog because a lot of the images from the big cities always seem to have someone old enough to have actually been there commenting. Sometimes they even know the people in the pictures.I think that's where I first heard of this place. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 09:12:51 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Wed Dec 11 07:19:19 2019. They're about a block apart, Chanin is SW corner of Lex and 42nd. Where could buses enter that? |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Wed Dec 11 09:21:10 2019, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 09:12:51 2019. They're about a block apart, Chanin is SW corner of Lex and 42nd. Where could buses enter that? I have walked by the Chanin Building several times over the years looking for the bus entrance. I did see what I believe to be garage doors on the 41st Street side but I can't be sure. Larry, RedbirdR33 |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by Bill Newkirk on Wed Dec 11 11:05:48 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Dyre Dan on Wed Dec 11 07:35:31 2019. Old TimerI like the turntable gizmo. Have you ever looked into the abandoned subway stations along Pitkin Avenue out in Queens? We snuck into one of them as kids. When my dad found out he gave it to me. Here we go again ! Bill Newkirk |
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Re: Hotel Dixie |
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Posted by TransitChuckG on Thu Dec 12 04:09:49 2019, in response to Re: Hotel Dixie, posted by Orange Blossom Special on Wed Dec 11 08:09:18 2019. Terrific photos, thanks for posting, Orange Blossom Special |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by chicagoMotorman on Wed Apr 19 13:42:20 2023, in response to Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 12:29:49 2019. bump |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by Allen45 on Wed Apr 19 14:19:46 2023, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by IRTRedbirdR33 on Sat Dec 7 17:00:07 2019. Or the younger people are just busier "conquesting" the subways and don't care for meetings like this. |
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Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members |
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Posted by W.B. on Thu Apr 20 07:32:14 2023, in response to Re: Motor Bus Society Need Members, posted by Allen45 on Wed Apr 19 14:19:46 2023. There are those who consider today's buses to be more like oversized milk cartons, robotic caterpillars, enlarged dust busters, or (in the case of the "artics") Slinkies on wheels.But then, today's subway cars don't have the lore the older rolling stock do, either . . . I also wonder if a deep-seated antipathy towards buses dating back to the elimination of streetcars in the 1920's-'50's period is also at play. |
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