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Favorite Pace Buses from the past


rotjohns

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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.

I know it dosent belong in this blog but I remember when I would see the CTA GM #300 Series, I was used to the type of tailgate lamps they had originally. I remember thinking how unusual those buses looked when a few of them had a 5307 style tailgate installed on the buses. If anyone has pics of this please pos.

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I know it dosent belong in this blog but I remember when I would see the CTA GM #300 Series, I was used to the type of tailgate lamps they had originally. I remember thinking how unusual those buses looked when a few of them had a 5307 style tailgate installed on the buses. If anyone has pics of this please pos.

Do you mean like this? This is the rear of #301. post-304-13125632867088_thumb.jpg

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Couldn't help but notice how bright "Regional Transportation" is and how faded "Authority" is on that picture.

Prophetic foreshadowing?

... or just the death of some decals. "8007" on the A/C isn't looking so good either.

I'm moving my "date" post to below so it isn't affected by intermediate posts.

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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.

Come to think about it, do you have a date for the picture?

The reason I'm asking is that West Towns originally got the lower numbers, and Aurora got somewhat higher. Also, this seems to reinforce that Pace abused them. Looking back at your first group of pictures, the Aurora ones have Pace decals, while the one bus in still fairly pristine condition with the Elgin sign doesn't.

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Come to think about it, do you have a date for the picture?

The reason I'm asking is that West Towns originally got the lower numbers, and Aurora got somewhat higher. Also, this seems to reinforce that Pace abused them. Looking back at your first group of pictures, the Aurora ones have Pace decals, while the one bus in still fairly pristine condition with the Elgin sign doesn't.

Most of these pictures are from 1984,right around the time PACE was formed.The picture of 8099 was on the 526 West Plaza route taken on Sept.25th,1984.I'm not sure why the headsign was showing the 549 McLean Rt.The original bus #s assigned to Aurora were 8009-8014,8095-8099.

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Do you mean like this? This is the rear of #301. post-304-13125632867088_thumb.jpg

Yes! This I thought looked weird, but it looked cool when they first appeared. I liked both versions. I wouldve loved to have seen this on CTAs 800s. Milwaukee County also used this style of tailgate when they rehabbed their fishbowl fleet in the 80s.

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I know it dosent belong in this blog but I remember when I would see the CTA GM #300 Series, I was used to the type of tailgate lamps they had originally. I remember thinking how unusual those buses looked when a few of them had a 5307 style tailgate installed on the buses. If anyone has pics of this please pos.

I'm just the opposite. I was fascinated with the uniqueness of the 300's as they were originally delivered. No other 5301's anywhere were like them, with their small, chrome "bullet" markers, bezel-less front turn signals, and close-set tail lamps. All unique, CTA specifications, I assume. I also liked the solid green front end.

2re1qaw.jpg

The 800's (as I remember them) came with standard 5303, wide-spaced tail lamps. They also arrived with white "faces." Like the repainted 300's, the bright front end apparently made the bus more visible as it approached, especially at night.

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I'm just the opposite. I was fascinated with the uniqueness of the 300's as they were originally delivered. No other 5301's anywhere were like them, with their small, chrome "bullet" markers, bezel-less front turn signals, and close-set tail lamps. All unique, CTA specifications, I assume. I also liked the solid green front end.

2re1qaw.jpg

The 800's (as I remember them) came with standard 5303, wide-spaced tail lamps. They also arrived with white "faces." Like the repainted 300's, the bright front end apparently made the bus more visible as it approached, especially at night.

The 800's had the same tailights as the #100's. post-304-13126076352449_thumb.jpg The #300's had taillamps like this originally. post-304-13126077579967_thumb.jpg I do agree with you. I really like the 100/800's tailights. They have this vintage 1950's look to them that makes them unique, alot like the #6000 railcars. The 800's that were temporarily at the glen in the early 80's also had this style. post-304-1312608262532_thumb.jpg

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The 800's had the same tailights as the #100's. post-304-13126076352449_thumb.jpg The #300's had taillamps like this originally. post-304-13126077579967_thumb.jpg I do agree with you. I really like the 100/800's tailights. They have this vintage 1950's look to them that makes them unique, alot like the #6000 railcars. The 800's that were temporarily at the glen in the early 80's also had this style. post-304-1312608262532_thumb.jpg

I still remember how loud the 300s were. They sounded so cool!

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Most of these pictures are from 1984,right around the time PACE was formed.The picture of 8099 was on the 526 West Plaza route taken on Sept.25th,1984.I'm not sure why the headsign was showing the 549 McLean Rt.The original bus #s assigned to Aurora were 8009-8014,8095-8099.

Thanks.

I guess then that the City of Aurora was solely responsible for abusing them. Then, according to twy's pictures, at least one of them, after being painted white, ended up in Rosemont.

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  • 1 month later...

I noticed the bus is no longer at the Public Storage facility. Was the bus moved or scrapped?

The collection, I was told was split up. A couple of buses are now at IRM. I was there the day CTA #9799 was transferred over to the museum. Where the other vehicles are, you can ask "T8H5307" or "CTA5555"

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