Guest Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 I used to take this route bi-weekly to a relatives house - back in my big bus fan era. I can remember 8012... of course 8023, 8035, 8038, 8065 and I 8148... which I hae audio of somewhere in my house. These are just a few off memory, including your pics. I think they later adopted a couple safeway buses... i.e 157 etc which previously operated by Nortran. I gotta search the 'crypt' cause I've got more 606 stuff somewhere. Also Robinson had contracts in the Schaumburg area with the creation of 416 (later merged with 699) 696 (now dead) and 699. All routes using the mighty T6H-4523A's. CW had 326, 606, 616. P.S. GREAT PICS 5750...,MUCH APPRECIATED Thanks for sharing this info. I hope you have more info ion what buses were run on the 606 in past years. Quote
PACE 834 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 Anybody got pics of these GMC fishbowls? I'm a big fan of fishbowls too, but I guess by the time I moved to Chicago in 2000, they were long gone. Here are a few pictures I took of the fishbowls(some before PACE) 2 Quote
artthouwill Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 Heres a couple more cool pics of PACE GMCs on the 606 Route. I wish I was working there back then. Does anyone know what bus numbers operated these routes? Did any Nortran or Safeway 40ft buses ever operate these contract routes? The majority were 35'm like 8012,8026, 8053, 8065, 8126, 8153, 8023, and a few others I can't remember. There were some 40. buses which I think came from Southwest Transit Systems (now Pace SW). Those buses were 146, 157, 159, 164, 165. Quote
twyztdmynd Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 The majority were 35'm like 8012,8026, 8053, 8065, 8126, 8153, 8023, and a few others I can't remember. There were some 40. buses which I think came from Southwest Transit Systems (now Pace SW). Those buses were 146, 157, 159, 164, 165. The southwest buses were at Nortran first. Then with the Orions flooding in, they were given to Keeshin. Quote
Busjack Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 Here are a few pictures I took of the fishbowls(some before PACE) It seems that after the Pace takeover, they uglied them up with the new Pace logo in the advertising frame, and gave up on standardized headsigns, or even silkscreened ones. The only one that seems to have the proper sign is 8099. As far as TWhatH4523A they were, I don't have independent knowledge of the number of cylinders, which is what I assume that the second character is. Quote
west towns Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 liked the old Nortran 40 ft GMC repainted in Pace white/yellow (they still had the thick padded blue seats inside Quote
i8itall4u Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 Here are a few pictures I took of the fishbowls(some before PACE) Those pics are great. Thanks for posting them. I too am a big of GM new looks. Can you (or anyone else) share pictures of Southwest Suburban's 150-165 series? Those were the best maintained buses in the region during the mid-to-late 70s. Quote
PACE 834 Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 According to a book I purchased years ago,the model #'s for the "new" fishbowls(RTA #s 8000-8150) were T6H4523A.The 6 indicates the number of cylinders,H=mechanical transmission,45=nominal capacity,23=96 inch width and the A=air conditioning. Quote
Busjack Posted January 13, 2011 Report Posted January 13, 2011 According to a book I purchased years ago,the model #'s for the "new" fishbowls(RTA #s 8000-8150) were T6H4523A.The 6 indicates the number of cylinders,H=mechanical transmission,45=nominal capacity,23=96 inch width and the A=air conditioning. The 23 basically only meant the model series of a 45 seat bus. Apparently, old looks were up to 4515, and New Looks were 4516 to 4523. New Look 40 footers started with 5301, because the old looks were 5101s. Also, according to OMOT, New Looks got up to 5310, although what was received in this area in the 1970s were 5307s (5309s and 5310s only to NYC). OMOT has Regional Transportation Authority T6H4523A 8000-8155. 8155 is the correct last number. Quote
Guest Posted January 14, 2011 Report Posted January 14, 2011 According to a book I purchased years ago,the model #'s for the "new" fishbowls(RTA #s 8000-8150) were T6H4523A.The 6 indicates the number of cylinders,H=mechanical transmission,45=nominal capacity,23=96 inch width and the A=air conditioning. Awesome fishbowl pics!. Its cool to see what the #606 route looked like in earlier times. You rekindled my interest in the GM RTA "pumpkins" :) Quote
twyztdmynd Posted January 16, 2011 Report Posted January 16, 2011 Off topic... I have a newspaper article picturing the generations of cta buses (or busses... whats the correct way?) It's from the Chicago Tribune. Can I post this...any permissions? :unsure: Quote
mbta9244 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 It seems that after the Pace takeover, they uglied them up with the new Pace logo in the advertising frame, and gave up on standardized headsigns, or even silkscreened ones. The only one that seems to have the proper sign is 8099. As far as TWhatH4523A they were, I don't have independent knowledge of the number of cylinders, which is what I assume that the second character is. I realize others have already responded to this but I wnated to add that one thing to keep in mind is that the 35 foot Fishbowls from GM were never available with the 8 cylinder engines. They were all built with the Detroit Diesel 6V71 engines. Quote
mbta9244 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Here are a few pictures I took of the fishbowls(some before PACE) BEAUTIFUL Photos 'PACE 834'. Not enough photographers grab many rear shots of buses it seems. Rear shots come very handy for art work. Especially when it comes to the GM Fishbowls as there were so many variations for the rear engine door and other details. Thanks for sharing these! Quote
twyztdmynd Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 Here's a link for the Ol' Nortran Fishbowls http://busexplorer.com/PHP/MidPage.php?id=183 and more Nortran Fishbowls from BusTalk http://gallery.bustalk.info/thumbnails.php?album=189&page=1 and another of 157 - Safeway bus in Pace livery... http://gallery.bustalk.info/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=17&pos=7 Quote
Busjack Posted January 17, 2011 Report Posted January 17, 2011 and another of 157 - Safeway bus in Pace livery... http://gallery.busta...up&cat=17&pos=7 The last one is a Suburban Transit bus, as the Safeway ones were 700s, and most ended up on the CTA during the Green Line reconstruction. The caption so states. However, the way this thread is going, nothing to say that it ended up at SW. Quote
geneking7320 Posted January 20, 2011 Report Posted January 20, 2011 Here's a link for the Ol' Nortran Fishbowls http://busexplorer.com/PHP/MidPage.php?id=183 and more Nortran Fishbowls from BusTalk http://gallery.bustalk.info/thumbnails.php?album=189&page=1 and another of 157 - Safeway bus in Pace livery... http://gallery.bustalk.info/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=17&pos=7 Thanks! Those Nortran fishbowls are just what I was referring to in my post. I used to ride them on route #290. Quote
artthouwill Posted February 14, 2011 Report Posted February 14, 2011 I guess my favorite Pace bus is actually the 6900s (MCI 102D3) that are currently out of Pace South. Behind those I would definitely give the most love to the 8200 Flxbles of the RTA. Yes I know the cracked frames did them in, but they were aweeome looking and awesome riding buses. Quote
Guest ctafan630 Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 You can see bus 8006 parked at the Public Storage lot off Route 34 and Route 30 in Montgomery. It is still in the brown and blue livery paint scheme. Quote
Guest Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 You can see bus 8006 parked at the Public Storage lot off Route 34 and Route 30 in Montgomery. It is still in the brown and blue livery paint scheme. That bus belongs to CHBM. Chicagoland Historical Bus Museum CHBM.org Quote
Guest ctafan630 Posted February 15, 2011 Report Posted February 15, 2011 That bus belongs to CHBM. Chicagoland Historical Bus Museum CHBM.org Is that the only bus left in their collection? Quote
Guest Posted February 17, 2011 Report Posted February 17, 2011 Is that the only bus left in their collection? There are several buses in the collection but #8006 is the only bus of that type left. Quote
qwantae Posted February 17, 2011 Report Posted February 17, 2011 I'll go for #2379 (w/ rest of Nova Classics) I say 2379 because it was the very last one were active and last Classic I rode only couple days until got off the rooster. Quote
Guest ctafan630 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Posted February 17, 2011 There are several buses in the collection but #8006 is the only bus of that type left. The old RTA fishbowl #8006 is the only bus that is at the Public Storage location. Do you know where the other buses are being stored? Quote
Guest Posted February 17, 2011 Report Posted February 17, 2011 The old RTA fishbowl #8006 is the only bus that is at the Public Storage location. Do you know where the other buses are being stored? The rest of the buses are stored in a lot on Illinois Rt.53/Caton Farm Rd. north of Joliet. Quote
PACE 834 Posted August 4, 2011 Report Posted August 4, 2011 BEAUTIFUL Photos 'PACE 834'. Not enough photographers grab many rear shots of buses it seems. Rear shots come very handy for art work. Especially when it comes to the GM Fishbowls as there were so many variations for the rear engine door and other details. Thanks for sharing these! Here is a shot of 8007 I took back on the 523 North Lake Route,at the end of the line@K-Mart in N.Aurora. 1 Quote
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