BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Thanks for the link; will indeed enjoy this later this evening!

Quick question for the expert...........

What was the FIRST roller curtains NOT to use the traditional white-on-black?

Wouldn't this have been around the time that the "R-40s" were entering service?

"NYO"

["SS SHUTTLE"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

I see I was pretty much "on track" with this.

As with the roller curtains used on the buses, I wonder what transpired to replace signs with "all caps" to signs that utilized both upper and lower case letters (personally, I always thought that the "all caps" were much easier to read, not to mention looking more attractive)

These days, of course. "upper and lower case" signage (in/on trains, buses, stations, platforms, etc. is indeed the rule.

What were the first new buses to be equipped with "upper and lower case" roller curtains?

The first subway cars to have them, as delivered (as opposed to having them installed later, replacing the older signs)?

"NYO"

["LEXINGTON AVE THRU EXPRESS"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Appreciate the info.

In thinking back, PSNJ/TNJ (and the old "indies" I grew up with) never went over to the "upper-and-lower-case" format, but, instead stuck with the old, tried-and-true "all caps" format.

On a related note, ESPEE's famed Oakland Pier rail/ferry terminal (closed 1958) was utilizing "upper-and-lower-case" signs as far back as the 1930s.......

"NYO"

["Watch Your Step"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Where have 61 years gone........

On this day in 1963, the first of the handsome and iconic WF "Bluebirds" ("Blueboids") entered service on the #7 Flushing line.

Hard to believe these handsome, sturdy, reliable workhorses have now been gone 21 years.....we still miss them today..................

"NYO"

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4036 (a Fishbowl can just be glimpsed in the background in this photo)

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?4034

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?128505

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["7 WORLD'S FAIR"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

That "1964" was a typo on my part; thanks for the heads-up!

You now have me thinking; imagine, now, had the "WF" cars been built by BUDD instead of St. Louis ("Brightliner Jrs."?)

Perhaps, then, the cars would have been dubbed "Silverbirds" ("Silverboids" in "Noo Yawk" lingo?)

Think of the lightweight BUDD "Almond Joys" that had ruled the Market-Frankford El down in Philly for decades; I keep picturing cars like these as replacements for the elderly wooden "Q" cars on the "Moit", had the line not been slated for abandonment in the 1960s............

"NYO"

["BUDD"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Funny you brought this up; I've been long curious as to the type of signalling used for the AMF monorail trains at the Fair (did they, perhaps, utilize cab signalling of some sort?)

Man, I STILL recall the rides Mom and my older brother took on those sleek, futuristic "trains" (I STILL remember how new and "cool" they smelled, once aboard!)

Man, where has six decades gotten to?

"NYO"

["AMF"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

Just got this little bit of info..........

The 1964/1965 World's Fair AMF monorail ran seven two-car trains; three trains ran in one direction on one loop, while four trains ran on the other loop, in the opposite direction.

From what I read, all trains were "autromatically controlled" with an attendant on board.......

"NYO"

["AMF"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

See also:

https://untappedcities.com/2019/07/the-futuristic-monorail-that-ran-for-the-1964-worlds-fair-in-queens/

["AMF"]

[W.B. Fishbowl]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

W.B.:

All I can say is, had St. Louis built the "R-32s", they would have been STUNNING (to say the least!) in that handsome "Blueboid" scheme, for sure!

Now......just imagine the "AMF" monorail cars painted in the "Blueboid" scheme.......

"NYO"

["SUPER EXPRESS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

"Yesterday's future"...............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?23914

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?23915

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?23918

*courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["1964"]