The Greyhound Scenicruiser was iconic, and set off a rash of imitators world-wide. Based on a design of Raymond Loewy supposedly inspired on an earlier patent by Roland E. Gegoux, it was hailed as a stylistic and practical breakthrough. But it was anything but new or original, as this 1937 Kenworth bus illustrates quite well. It was used in the north west for a number of years. But was it original? Is anything?
Here’s an even earlier inbusnation of the hi-lo design, from 1929. It also plied the northwest, some ten years earlier. And just for fun, here’s another unique design from the ever creative north west; the Sail Bus:
Thanks for sharing Bus Saturday with me. What shall we do next Saturday?
27 Comments on “Bus Saturday Finale: Scenicruiser Design Inspiration Discovered...”
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Wagon Saturday, nothing but station wagons! Every shape and size, V8, 4cyl, foreign and domestic, even bastard Cadillac conversions. That would be a great next Saturday the 13th, and right before Valentine’s Day, cause no car gives you more room for nookie than a wagon.
+1 on wagons front. You can also include old ambulance/hearse wagons, – just in time for Valentine’s (cue sinister laugh).
Wasn’t the Kenilworth bus used by Negro League baseball teams? ISTR seeing that bus in a film with Billy Dee Williams as one of the players..
These buses appear to have an impressively low center of gravity. It looks as if the engines are in front of the rear axle and not behind, so they’re mid-engined. I like this concept as a replacement for the ubiquitous school bus based on a two-ton truck chassis, with its high center of gravity, high step up height and long tail swing.
Neoplan X2 Decker
I’m 6′2″ and I can stand upright on either level. Not the entire length, but being able to do that anywhere in there is a feat of engineering. IIRC, front double axles are illegal here but they make this same bus with a single front axle for the states.
We used to have company outings where we would take one of these off the yard, insure it for the weekend, ask one of the mechanics to drive and go do something like play softball or run down to the Inner Harbor for the day. Large fun.
I rode in a double decker Megabus from Chicago to Minneapolis last September, and I was really impressed. It was quiet and smooth, and even though I sat up on top in front, there was no rocking around. Downstairs there were tables with facing seats. That’s what got me to thinking that school buses have the wrong morphology, that is, shape. School buses are noisy, rocky, cold, uncomfortable, and have no toilets. In fly-over country, our kids spend a lot of dead hours in an uncomfortable school bus. That 1937 Kenworth in the picture is intriguing. You could separate the grade school and high school kids and even hold classes during the bus route.
We would refer to school buses as ‘trucks with a lot of seats’.
Commercial chassis school buses are significantly cheaper than the fancy rides pictured here. Most school bus manufacturers offer a dedicated chassis version with superior ride, layout, and driver visibility, but the majority of schools districts crunch the numbers and go with cheap.
“School buses are noisy, rocky, cold, uncomfortable, and have no toilets. In fly-over country, our kids spend a lot of dead hours in an uncomfortable school bus.”
You left out ‘hot’ as I rode these in Florida. During high school, the school bus ride itself was not a problem relatively speaking, but getting up at 5:30 sure traumatized me.
Out here in California we rode in luxury (compared to delivery truck based) Crown Coach school buses.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Coach_Corporation
Paul:
Your write up on busses is as detailed and interesting to read as your write up on the pedals…great work!
That ‘37 Kenworth bus is wicked…I love the big ass tires and wheels on it…I can see one painted flat black with barbed wires over the widows cruising around in some post apocalyptic mad max type world.
This is GO Transit’s latest acquisition. It is a 78 passenger ENVIRO 500 double decker bus built in the UK by Alexander Dennis Ltd.:
http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/archer/2008/08-02/dennis-double-decker-07-25-08.jpg
Also, City of Mississauga, Ontario has some short buses: 2007 E-Z Rider II Low-Floor buses:
http://www.cptdb.ca/wiki/images/2/29/Mississauga_Transit_0704-a.jpg
London Transit recently took delivery of four new 2010 Eldorado EZRider II 30-foot buses, as initial replacements for the hated Orion IIs used on some specialized routes. Ours are still being prepped for service, but I have had the opportunity to get out in one, and they are very manouvrable. That short wheelbase really makes a difference.
hey fellow Londoner TCragg!
Why are those Orion II buses so bloody loud? They have an incredible roar when accelerating!
Is the EZ-Rider the same bus that Sarnia transit is using?
Mississauga Transit use to have Orion II as well few years ago, but they quickly disappeared. They were used for some routes to connect to GO station and as city buses around Square One mall. I feel sorry for the drivers, you could go deaf in it by the end of the shift!
i coulde be wrong, but my recollection is that the Orion-II is mid-engine and front wheel drive. If so, you are literally surrounding yourself with the noise-making parts of the bus. Low floor was nice, and a lot were used as airport shuttles. Most were used for scrap metal ASAP.
Don’t forget the Cyclops from the The Big Bus. It was the center piece of a spoof disaster movie. Easily the A380 of buses.
I don’t know anything about buses, but I really enjoy reading about them, looking at the pictures and following the discussion here. More, please!
I can so picture this in a wal-mart parking lot.
-C
I love those old photos
Props on the old Kenworth photos! I live in KW country and have seen lots of photos of old KW’s but these were new to me. I love the lowness of the 1937 “scenicruiser”.
Another topic for your next Bus Weekend might be the old flat-nose rear-engined Fageol transit buses; our local system here was still running some of those in the 1980’s, and I remember riding much newer ones in Tacoma in the 60’s.
In the 1980’s? Wow! Must have been fun finding parts for them.
Yeah, that was the main reason why they went out of service.
Whoa fellas, you should work on image size here. Why on Earth is that top image 1.6 Megs and 1.852 x 865 pixels?
If you are a bus-nut, you really should make a pilgrimage to Hibbing, Minnesota, birthplace of Greyhound Bus Lines and home of the Greyhound bus museum. They have nearly 20 restored and runable buses dating back to prehistoric times. Worth the trip, but come in the summer (cslose in the winter, and besides, who really wants to be here when it’s -30 degrees?). We just put newly remanned engines in two units, as they all get driven in parades.
For those who are unlikely to get to Hibbing,this link…
http://www.greyhoundbusmuseum.org/buses.html
…will give you a look at some of the buses.
Paul, you can’t talk about PNW buses without mentioning this Mt. Rainier beauty:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/1015/story/895172.html