glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Posted (2 years 2 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 6287 times:
For the last 5 days, this has been my bus on the Amtrak Thruway Bus. Its a 2001 VanHool C2045 packed with a Cummins M11 engine and Allison B500 trans. with Jake Brake. Coach America is one of few carriers that have contract with Amtrak to operate the Thruway Bus
San Ana, Ca
Bakersfield Amtrak Station
Riverside Metrolink Station ... almost to Indio
After driving 457 miles from the yard Long Beach-Santa Ana-LAUS-Bakersfield-San Bernardino-Indio, I was happy to see the hotel parking lot.
Just a few VanHools out of the pack in Bakersfield
This VanHool is owned and operated by Silverado Stages. Looks really nice.
Taken at the UCLA/Westwood Amtrak Bus Stop
...waiting for a group at KLGB
...Universal Studios
Parking a charter bus in Santa Monica can be a challenge. So I head to the OTHER suitable place that has bus parking...Venice Beach
2008 MCI D4505 taken at Long Beach, Ca.
It has a CAT C13 engine and a Allison B500 trans.
This is a 2006 MCI J4500
Early morning charter in Palm Springs, Ca. Waiting to transport a Canadian group from a hotel to KPSP
cockpit of my J4500
Interior of a NABI 42BRT for LA Flyaway Airport Bus. These are mainly used on the LAX-Irvine ( Orange County ) route...although a few have sprung up on the Westwood/UCLA Route
Braniff747SP From Spain, joined Oct 2008, 2649 posts, RR: 1 Reply 1, posted (2 years 2 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 6275 times:
Nice, thanks for posting. I remember you saying that you got rehired by Orange County, right? Did that happen, and you're doing both jobs, or did they decide not to rehire anyone?
The 747 will always be the TRUE queen of the skies!
Go3Team From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 3266 posts, RR: 21 Reply 2, posted (2 years 2 months 4 days 10 hours ago) and read 6263 times:
M11 or C13? M11 always seemed underpowered for me, although I was trying to pull 80K with it. If you find a bus with an N14 let me know, maybe I'll get my P endorsement.
L410Turbolet From Czech Republic, joined May 2004, 5411 posts, RR: 18 Reply 4, posted (2 years 2 months 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 6225 times:
Why do the buses in the US always have split winshields? Is there any legal requirement for this or is it just a tradition? I noticed that even European buses modified for US market have them while the Euro version has a single piece windshield.
glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Reply 5, posted (2 years 2 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 6119 times:
Quoting Braniff747SP (Reply 1): Nice, thanks for posting. I remember you saying that you got rehired by Orange County, right?
Correct. I did the OC thing full-time. At the same time, it was getting real busy at CoachAmerica. Then the operations manager gave me the opprotunity to help out our sister yard in Los Angeles on the Amtrak runs. Needless to say, I chose this over transit. I seem more happy here. Not to mention more healthier and less stressed.
Quoting Go3Team (Reply 2): M11 or C13? M11 always seemed underpowered for me, although I was trying to pull 80K with it. If you find a bus with an N14 let me know, maybe I'll get my P endorsement.
Yeah Im not a big fan of the Cummins M11 for a motorcoach. I prefer the DD Series 60 ( non-egr of course ). Love the power of a Detroit. The newer MCI posted has the C13...i havent had an opprotunity to drive it yet, as it was transferred from our sister yard in San Francisco.
Quoting GBLKD (Reply 3): Great to see your pics again Glid, I'll get some for you next time I'm out and about
Thank you. im looking forward to see yours and others.
Quoting L410Turbolet (Reply 4): Why do the buses in the US always have split winshields? Is there any legal requirement for this or is it just a tradition?
Its not a legal requirement to have buses with split windshield. Its pretty much old tradition ever since buses were built in the US. There are some newer models for the US & Canadian markets that have a single piece windshield. Ever since 2006, Hungarian-based bus manufacturer NABI ( North American Bus Industries ) has built the ever-so popular -BRT model in 42 and 60ft ( articulated / bendy ) models. The NABI Sirius looks almost like the BRT model with the Eurpoean concept still in mind. Los Angeles MTA was one of the first customers for the BRT model with over 300 articulateds and 6 hybrids in service. Other manufacturers such as NewFlyer, Gillig, and El Dorado National are following the same concept...and actually have orders from both US & Canadian transit companies.
747400sp From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3301 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (2 years 2 months 4 days ago) and read 6099 times:
Quoting glid4500 (Reply 5): Correct. I did the OC thing full-time. At the same time, it was getting real busy at CoachAmerica. Then the operations manager gave me the opprotunity to help out our sister yard in Los Angeles on the Amtrak runs. Needless to say, I chose this over transit. I seem more happy here. Not to mention more healthier and less stressed.
I glad you chose to stay with driving motorcoaches, because they seem more fun to drive. With their big horsepower engine and tight turning radius, motorcoach seems like sport bus compaired to transit and school buses. I love the history, looks and heavy wieight of MCI coaches, but they do not carry near as much fuel as a Van Hool or Prevost coach.
I hope you have much sucess with your new company.
glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Reply 7, posted (2 years 2 months 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 6073 times:
Quoting 747400sp (Reply 6): I hope you have much sucess with your new company.
Im still with CoachAmerica. As mentioned, we operate the Amtrak Thruway Buses. Im helping out our Los Angeles yard since theyre short drivers over there.
czbbflier From Canada, joined Jul 2006, 935 posts, RR: 2 Reply 8, posted (2 years 2 months 2 days 22 hours ago) and read 5978 times:
Glad to know you're still around, Glid. Nice to have a choice. Moving back to Coach America with Amtrak seems like a great choice. It seems that transit services are very dependent on local taxpayers and Pierce Country Transit in the Seattle area just cut its service hours by about 1/3. That's a lot of hours and a lot of drivers.
Meanwhile, AMTRAK is federally funded- if you can get on with that I dare say you'll be safe for years to come!
Quoting L410Turbolet (Reply 4): Why do the buses in the US always have split winshields?
Replacement cost. If you have a rock chip / crack in a windshield, it's only $500 to replace a 1/2 windshield. To replace an entire front of a bus, it can be very expensive.
In most of North America, where there is snow, "sand" (read: gravel) is generously spread on the roads so there is a good chance every bus in non-coastal areas will need new front-glass on one side or the other over the course of a winter season. (And then there are remnants of that "sand" (read: gravel) on the shoulders and even the pavement over the course of the rest of the year, causing a need to replace glass on one side or the other on about a fifth of all highway coaches outside of the winter months.
Transit buses are moving to full glass because in cities because they can- there is generally much less gravelly sand spread out on the roads and the slower speeds don't cause such damage should a rock fly up and hit the windshield. So for cosmetic and esthetic reasons (possibly visibility reasons, but I doubt it), the manufacturers are moving to single panes.
When I was with Gray Line, I was always writing up windshields for chips and cracks. We were constantly replacing glass on our highway coaches. In fact, we always had a stock of windshield panes ready to go: 5 to 10 at a time.
In over three years at transit, I have only ever seen about a half-dozen rock chips in windscreens. None of them spidering and none of them large enough to require a glass change. No cracks at all in the hundreds of transit buses I've looked at and driven in that same time.
KingFriday013 From United States of America, joined May 2007, 1278 posts, RR: 10 Reply 9, posted (2 years 2 months 1 day 21 hours ago) and read 5879 times:
Just took my first one of these on Sunday, boy they're nice. I was on Greyhound; their (new-ish) Prevost X3s are nicer inside and the power outlets are more conveniently placed... but I feel like the MCIs are built more solidly. Been years since I've been on something other than a Prevost and it was a welcome change. However the 102DL3 I took after that (from BUF to ROC) seemed REALLY old compared to the last two buses I was on.
Quoting L410Turbolet (Reply 4): Why do the buses in the US always have split winshields? Is there any legal requirement for this or is it just a tradition? I noticed that even European buses modified for US market have them while the Euro version has a single piece windshield.
The bi-level VanHool TD925 has a single windshield... per deck
Anyway I visited Toronto this past weekend, took several pictures myself to contribute to this thread (totally forgot to get any photos of the new GLI Prevost X3s, please forgive me). Had a great chat with the GLC driver from YYZ to BUF. His favorite bus to drive is the H3 (glid I saw in the self-pic thread you're getting trained on that... what do you think?); however he felt if there's snow and ice the bus you want to be on is the MC-9. Anyway here are my photos:
Coach Canada MCI J4500 (I think?) outside the CN Tower, across the street from the Steam Whistle Brewery and the roundhouse
All-white MCI D4500 outside the CN Tower
Pretty new-looking Coach Canada Prevost Car H3-45
Bus station in Toronto, entering the departures area (I spy 102DL3s, D4500s, and a Prevost H3-45)
Front of a Greyhound Lines Canada MCI 102DL3
Back of the previous bus
MCI D4505 operating NeOn the route for GLC (would end up being my bus to Buffalo, making local stops)
GLI MCI 102DL3 repainted in the new retro Greyhound livery
My GLC D4505 pulling in to bay 7
No denying this one
Had a great trip, visited fellow a.netter HOONS90. Thanks again man (and don't worry I did more than just take photos of buses ).
Here are some relevant photos I took from the Monster Ball in NYC back in February:
The tour bus
It's a Prevost LeMirage XL II
Mother Monster
One more thing: if anybody's interested, I found this sorta-old but really interesting article about the MCI G4500. You can see it here in PDF format.
czbbflier From Canada, joined Jul 2006, 935 posts, RR: 2 Reply 10, posted (2 years 2 months 1 day 14 hours ago) and read 5820 times:
Quoting KingFriday013 (Reply 9): One more thing: if anybody's interested, I found this sorta-old but really interesting article about the MCI G4500. You can see it here in PDF format.
Yeah- nice article. Kinda makes the G4500 out to be mutton dressed up like lamb though. They may be a success in the US, but in Canada, the weather is generally too cold for them.
Another thing: the MC12 was not the standard coach for Greyhound in Canada. The D4500 was the base model. And a very successful one at that.
aerdingus From Ireland, joined Dec 2006, 2495 posts, RR: 18 Reply 12, posted (2 years 2 months 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 5792 times:
I don't know much about coaches & buses...but here;s some Finnish examples...
This one had fold down LCD screens of our route from Helsinki to Turku! Very impressed.
This is the one I took to work in Loviisa, felt so heavy, solid & safe! I'm guessing it was a Volvo...the gear change sounded like a giant snoring, & the suspension was the best thing ever! And big lights on the roof, to see in those Finnish winters....impressive sturdy beasts. A lot of them had big cracks in the windscreen...moose? And there was water trapped in the dbl glazed windows, like an aquarium!
BA EI FH FR LX RE SK TS VY ZB 3K 5G A300 A310 A319 A320 A321 A333 ATR72 B735 B738 B744 B772 MD82 BCN BOH BRU CPH CRL DUB
KingFriday013 From United States of America, joined May 2007, 1278 posts, RR: 10 Reply 13, posted (2 years 2 months 20 hours ago) and read 5740 times:
Just found this sitting on my phone; it's a VanHool C2045 operated by Atlantic Express doing a charter here at U of R. Taken on March 18th.
EDIT: Here are a couple of photos my friend Tom took on a trip to Florida:
Clean-looking C2045 (the warm weather and palm trees look almost as good )
An oldie but a goodie! Although I hated these older ones, I prefer the T2145s so much more. This is a T...800...I think? Can anyone clarify? I want to say it's a T824.
GBLKD From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2011, 345 posts, RR: 0 Reply 14, posted (2 years 2 months 16 hours ago) and read 5693 times:
I had to go into work this morning to get the paperwork for the 4 day tour based in Eastbourne I'm doing this weekend so I snapped a few shots of what was in our yard.
2 Van Hools and a Plaxton Panther. I'm using the one in the middle this weekend
The Boss's T9
The Scania Irizar PB
And the Irizar poking out from behind the 2 "bread vans" which are 33 seater Mercedes chassis. The one in the foreground is a Sitcar Beluga and the one behind is a Plaxton Cheetah.
My good old Futura is out all week so no pics of it.
I'll snap a few during the weekend and post a Glid style "captain's log" on tuesday.
747400sp From United States of America, joined Aug 2003, 3301 posts, RR: 2 Reply 15, posted (2 years 1 month 4 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 5597 times:
Quoting KingFriday013 (Reply 9): he felt if there's snow and ice the bus you want to be on is the MC-9.
MC-9 are solid, and very well built. Some body has written that MC-9 are almost as well built as an airplane.
Nice pics but why all the Van Hools. I love the MCI's myself. How does the Van Hool compare driving it?
Quoting czbbflier (Reply 10): Another thing: the MC12 was not the standard coach for Greyhound in Canada. The D4500 was the base model. And a very successful one at that.
I think Greyhound Canada's MC-12s were all 7-speed manuals, do you know if that's true? I believe the last year Greyhound USA bought a new manual transmission bus was 1972 (MC-7) and always wondered why Canada went back to sticks.
Quoting 747400sp (Reply 15): MC-9 are solid, and very well built. Some body has written that MC-9 are almost as well built as an airplane.
The MC-9 is a great bus. Wish MCI would have just widened it to 102" but kept everything else exactly the same, Greyhound and other line haulers might still be buying it.
glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Reply 17, posted (2 years 1 month 4 weeks 3 hours ago) and read 5530 times:
very nice pictures guys. thanks for contributing to this thread and hopefully more to come.
Just got home not long today. Finally enjoying my weekend after driving 1878 miles the past 5 days.
The following pics was my assigned bus in different locations. I will upload the video later on my youtube if anyone is interested. It has a Cummins M11 engine and Allison transmission. This bus has a lot of personality...and has a nice takeoff. This bus is real bassy, a real "throaty" sexy-sounding....almost like a Cummins L10.
Taken at the Amtrak stop in El Segundo, CA ( south of LAX )
...We overnight at a company-paid 5-star hotel in Indio, CA...so we can get rested and start our run the next day. The bus behind mines is the later departure to Bakersfield.
WarRI1 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 6548 posts, RR: 8 Reply 19, posted (2 years 1 month 4 weeks 1 hour ago) and read 5513 times:
Quoting glid4500 (Thread starter): For the last 5 days, this has been my bus on the Amtrak Thruway Bus. Its a 2001 VanHool C2045 packed with a Cummins M11 engine and Allison B500 trans. with Jake Brake. Coach America is one of few carriers that have contract with Amtrak to operate the Thruway Bus
Thanks for the pictures and information. I am not familiar with this operation with the buses. Where do you drive to and from on the Thruway Bus? Do you connect to train lines/stations?
It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees.
KingFriday013 From United States of America, joined May 2007, 1278 posts, RR: 10 Reply 20, posted (2 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 5490 times:
Quoting 747400sp (Reply 15): MC-9 are solid, and very well built. Some body has written that MC-9 are almost as well built as an airplane.
Maybe it's something about the number 9... lots of people say the DC-9 was built like a tank
Quoting glid4500 (Reply 17): I will upload the video later on my youtube if anyone is interested.
*raises hand* I am!!
Quoting glid4500 (Reply 17): FINALLY ... a VanHool with a Recaro seat
I think a lot of the city buses in NYC have Recaro seats... I know I've seen them on some of the not-so-new Orions.
glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Reply 21, posted (2 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 12 hours ago) and read 5461 times:
Quoting WarRI1 (Reply 19): Thanks for the pictures and information. I am not familiar with this operation with the buses. Where do you drive to and from on the Thruway Bus? Do you connect to train lines/stations?
The Amtrak Thruway motorcoaches are contracted out to various charter/tour operations to provice thruway service to cities not directly serviced by train. The service is a vital tool since there isnt any train service over the Tejon Pass. Buses meet and connect with the trains at the Bakersfield Station...where passengers are guaranteed their connections. We have buses between the following
-Las Vegas, Barstow, Boron, Mojave
-Victorville, Littlerock, Palmdale, Lancaster, Tehachapi,
-Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Moorpark
-Los Angeles Union Station, Fullerton, Santa Ana, O'side, San Diego
-Santa Clarita/Newhall, Burbank, Van Nuys, UCLA, Westchester, El Segundo, Torrance,
-Glendale, Long Beach, San Pedro
-La Cresenta, Pasadena, Claremont, Ontario, San Bernardino, Riverside, Cabazon, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta, and Indio. Theres also a bus that continues south of Riverside to Moreno Valley, Perris, Sun City, and Hemet.
Passengers connecting from the train to the bus board the buses. After Bakersfield, the buses go "Discharge Only" vise versa with the exception of Van Nuys, and LA Union Sta, since they are staffed locations. There is also a overnight Thruway bus that acts as a train substitution where anyone can board/alight at any stop between Bakersfield and San Diego.
WarRI1 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 6548 posts, RR: 8 Reply 22, posted (2 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 5442 times:
Quoting glid4500 (Reply 21): The Amtrak Thruway motorcoaches are contracted out to various charter/tour operations to provice thruway service to cities not directly serviced by train. The service is a vital tool since there isnt any train service over the Tejon Pass. Buses meet and connect with the trains at the Bakersfield Station...where passengers are guaranteed their connections. We have buses between the following
Thanks for the information, when you live in a small place like I do, it is hard to conceive of such an operation.
It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees.
glid4500 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, RR: 8 Reply 23, posted (2 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 5438 times:
Quoting WarRI1 (Reply 22): Thanks for the information, when you live in a small place like I do, it is hard to conceive of such an operation.
A couple new stops were recently added ... like Palm Desert, La Quinta, Cabazon ... and sometimes you wonder....well who goes there. The Torrance stop rarely sees passengers. Needless to say, the Amtrak bus used to stop in a more centralized location of Torrance. The city of Torrance pretty much made them move to a more desolate part of the city. We shall see how well these new stops do
WarRI1 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 6548 posts, RR: 8 Reply 24, posted (2 years 1 month 3 weeks 6 days 10 hours ago) and read 5429 times:
Quoting glid4500 (Reply 23): A couple new stops were recently added ... like Palm Desert, La Quinta, Cabazon ... and sometimes you wonder....well who goes there. The Torrance stop rarely sees passengers. Needless to say, the Amtrak bus used to stop in a more centralized location of Torrance. The city of Torrance pretty much made them move to a more desolate part of the city. We shall see how well these new stops do
I have been in out in that area, amazing. Here, 30 miles is long way to go.
It is better to die on your feet, than live on your knees.
25 czbbflier: Greyhound Canada never used MC-12s. They moved from the MC-9 to the DL3, upgrading to the 45' version as soon as it was available. The automatic tran
26 L410Turbolet: Thanks for the explanation, makes perfect sense. While we are at it, can someone please explain me the reason behind different angle/shape of each se
27 czbbflier: The only reason I can think of, and it only occurred to me once I started driving transit buses (at night) is reflection. Although usually in the fro
28 71Zulu: Ok, must have been the MC-9 Special I was thinking about with the 7-speeds. Canada did use a few MC-12's but they were automatics from Greyhound USA.
29 KingFriday013: Not related to your question, but in regards to the earlier one about Recaro seats... this model DEFINITELY has a Recaro driver's seat. -J.
30 czbbflier: Glid- Do your seats come with arm rests? I don't see any in your shots. I always found that armrests are a real added bonus. Doing transit now without
31 747400sp: Back in 2003, when I first came home from Boot camp, my flight from ORD to SAN landed after Amtrak last train to Los Angeles departed, so I had to ca
32 glid4500: yes some of our buses are 57, 51, and even 49 seaters...which offers more legroom and thicker superior seats. The ISRI drivers seats on our VanHools
33 czbbflier: I just realized I have a pic for this thread.... It's almost a trip report into history! My dad and I went on a short road trip a couple of weeks ago.
34 NZ767: Hi glid4500, Thanks for the pics. Very nice. Here are some of the coaches I drive here in NZ. This one taken during a light snowfall.
35 glid4500: Oh wow thnks for posting. I cant wait to see project 2001 after its all done. definitely love the snow or any weather pics. Also love the bumper on t
36 NZ767: A few more...... Here's another snow pic. All Scanias so far. These last two are from yesteryear (25 years ago). Man, now I feel old 1983 Volvo B10M 1
37 ShyFlyer: Not sure of the model, but the make is Newflyer... Both photos taken at Albuquerque's Alvarado Transportation Center.
38 glid4500: This is a NewFlyer DE40LFR diesel electric hybrid. I think they purchased more of these to replace their CNG Neoplans[Edited 2011-05-07 19:22:05]
39 glid4500: Intresting motorcoaches down in New Zealand. Who make those double deckers ?
40 NZ767: Double deckers are built here by Kiwi Bus Builders on a Scania chassis. They look nice but are hard on the ol' back. Luggage lockers are above the rea
42 NZ767: Oh cool. Just showing a blurry image of the A.net front page with the words "Default Image" on my screen. Must be my comp. I'll figure it out one day.
43 glid4500: oh yes. i cant wait to see yur collection
Sponsor Message: 
From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 587 posts, 
From Spain, joined Oct 2008, 2649 posts, 
From United Kingdom, joined Jan 2011, 345 posts, 
From Czech Republic, joined May 2004, 5411 posts, 
From Canada, joined Jul 2006, 935 posts, 
From Ireland, joined Dec 2006, 2495 posts, 
)
Printer friendly format 
