2200fan Posted September 16, 2008 Report Share Posted September 16, 2008 Hi all, I got a link from a Yahoo group for Flxible fans I belong to. There are several pages w/ GM Fishbowl and Flxible New Look pics. There are even some pics of the 50's Old Look GM's too. These are NOT CTA buses but I think it's cool just the same. I posted awhile back about 3695-3699 Flxible's w/the 8 cylinder engines. There's a mention on the above site about some very similar buses w/the 8 cylinder and 3 speed overdrive Allison automatics. They claim the top speed was in excess of 70 mph! That would have been a fun ride. PS: I'm STILL waiting for the book about Flxibles from Ebay. :angry: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 Hi all, I got a link from a Yahoo group for Flxible fans I belong to. There are several pages w/ GM Fishbowl and Flxible New Look pics. There are even some pics of the 50's Old Look GM's too. These are NOT CTA buses but I think it's cool just the same. I posted awhile back about 3695-3699 Flxible's w/the 8 cylinder engines. There's a mention on the above site about some very similar buses w/the 8 cylinder and 3 speed overdrive Allison automatics. They claim the top speed was in excess of 70 mph! That would have been a fun ride. PS: I'm STILL waiting for the book about Flxibles from Ebay. I once flipped through a Flxible book, an iconographix book written by William Luke. I think the title was Flxible through 1995. ( not the exact title). I remember they showed the Flxible factory from the front as well as a #6000 and #5300. I wish I could remember if I saw any Flxibles from the 60's in that book. With Chicago putting a major shot in the arm on manufacturing in the 60's with about 1000 buses ordered you would think there'd be a few pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trainman8119 Posted September 22, 2008 Report Share Posted September 22, 2008 I once flipped through a Flxible book, an iconographix book written by William Luke. I think the title was Flxible through 1995. ( not the exact title). I remember they showed the Flxible factory from the front as well as a #6000 and #5300. I wish I could remember if I saw any Flxibles from the 60's in that book. With Chicago putting a major shot in the arm on manufacturing in the 60's with about 1000 buses ordered you would think there'd be a few pictures. I do have that book, and yes, they do contain a number of pics of the Old Look as well as New Look (8500 through 3700) Chicago Flxibles, and Metros. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2200fan Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 I do have that book, and yes, they do contain a number of pics of the Old Look as well as New Look (8500 through 3700) Chicago Flxibles, and Metros. The book I'm STILL waiting for is by John McKane. It too is from 1953-1995. If you buy off Ebay. do NOT let the seller ship via "media mail". I paid for this book on august 30th, I hope to receive it this week! The book is coming from Maryland, I can't believe it takes this long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibebobo Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 The book I'm STILL waiting for is by John McKane. It too is from 1953-1995. If you buy off Ebay. do NOT let the seller ship via "media mail". I paid for this book on august 30th, I hope to receive it this week! The book is coming from Maryland, I can't believe it takes this long. What is the name of that book? I put the author's name in an e bay search and came up with nothing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted September 23, 2008 Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 What is the name of that book? I put the author's name in an e bay search and came up with nothing.... I know John Mccain authors an iconografix book about Gm new looks. Both books (the Flxible one too) were at Chicagoland hobby on Northwest Highway a few years ago. There long gone now. I think the Flxible book can be ordered from Borders book store. I'm not sure if it's out of print though, which means you would have to take the ebay route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2200fan Posted September 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2008 I know John Mccain authors an iconografix book about Gm new looks. Both books (the Flxible one too) were at Chicagoland hobby on Northwest Highway a few years ago. There long gone now. I think the Flxible book can be ordered from Borders book store. I'm not sure if it's out of print though, which means you would have to take the ebay route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2200fan Posted September 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Well, I finally got the book. It has many pics of very similar buses from various transit systems. There are a few CTA pics that I'll be scanning soon but not very many. There are some construction pics from the factory, anyone interested in these? There's also a pretty cool artists drawing of a new look articulated, proposed but never built. I was hoping for more CTA stuff, oh well....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Well, I finally got the book. It has many pics of very similar buses from various transit systems. There are a few CTA pics that I'll be scanning soon but not very many.I want to remind you that a book is copyrighted, and you shouldn't scan stuff in violation of the copyright and publish it online, unless you get permission from the author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Well, I finally got the book. It has many pics of very similar buses from various transit systems. There are a few CTA pics that I'll be scanning soon but not very many. There are some construction pics from the factory, anyone interested in these? There's also a pretty cool artists drawing of a new look articulated, proposed but never built. I was hoping for more CTA stuff, oh well....... The book mainly shows 1 of each particular model. I remember seeing 1 #5300 picture and 1 #6000. It would've been interesting to show #3240's Their first A/C bus? Sounds like there's been alot of cool stuff in the MCA books. Alot of the info from Bill V.'s site seems to originate from there. Especially the fleet lists. The problem is alot of it is out of print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 The book mainly shows 1 of each particular model. I remember seeing 1 #5300 picture and 1 #6000. It would've been interesting to show #3240's Their first A/C bus? Sounds like there's been alot of cool stuff in the MCA books. Alot of the info from Bill V.'s site seems to originate from there. Especially the fleet lists. The problem is alot of it is out of print. I like that cover shot of the soon to be Los Angeles RTD bus. Its nice to see how the bus looks out of the factory with not a dent or scratch on it. CTAs didnt look this good. Any CTA bus looks good only for a very short while, within two years it looks like the rest of the fleet, all busted up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2200fan Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 I like that cover shot of the soon to be Los Angeles RTD bus. Its nice to see how the bus looks out of the factory with not a dent or scratch on it. CTAs didnt look this good. Any CTA bus looks good only for a very short while, within two years it looks like the rest of the fleet, all busted up. Both you and Bushunter make some good points, maybe for a future book if the pics exist? I would love to see pics of the buses when brand new. I would also love to see the Flxibles that had a/c, I never saw one in person. Since this book is copyrighted, I guess I won't be posting anything here..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 I like that cover shot of the soon to be Los Angeles RTD bus. Its nice to see how the bus looks out of the factory with not a dent or scratch on it. CTAs didnt look this good. Any CTA bus looks good only for a very short while, within two years it looks like the rest of the fleet, all busted up.I guess it all depends. Considering that the New Look Flxs were retired fairly soon in their service lives, they looked pretty good, at least in the early 70s, and compared to the big greens. Around 55th Street, we had 8800s, which were phased out with the end of propane, and replaced with 100s (for about a year) that were in worse shape. The 8600s also looked pretty good, although their windows were weird. But it may be a matter of time. I thought that the pine and lime 5307s looked good in the 70s but were pretty beat up by the 90s. However, looking back at the busdrawings.com pictures, they don't look so hot in retrospect, but maybe the cameras were lower fidelity then. At least this cover looks like a 3000-3870 range Flxible we all remember on the CTA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 Both you and Bushunter make some good points, maybe for a future book if the pics exist? I would love to see pics of the buses when brand new. I would also love to see the Flxibles that had a/c, I never saw one in person. If your looking for more #3000 and #8500 pictures, there is a site called trolleybuses.net They show many of the older types of buses Marmons, Diesel and Propane buses. Alot of priceless stuff like electric bus wire in the Belmont/Blue line bus turnaround and bus wire at FG garage. They have a picture of #8650, a former demonstrator bus used in NYC. Recently someone just posted a picture of #3018. They also have a Mack bus photo next to three quarters of an #8500 all in color. A pretty good site if your into oldies buses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPTA42 Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Both books (the Flxible one too) were at Chicagoland hobby on Northwest Highway a few years ago. There long gone now. Try Grayland Station at Devon & Caldwell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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