BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

Seen below in a factory photo is a 1926 Mack Model 'AL66' carrying New York Omnibus plate O638-263 but no road number and operating for the Third Avenue Railway System (TARS) of New York.

TARS was a dominating force in traction transportation from as early as 1853 and, by the turn of the twentieth century, serviced most of the east side of Manhattan, the entire Bronx and parts of Westchester County.

However, by the mid twenties, populations began to grow faster than did the company's ability to lay new tracks to their system which resulted in the formation of a bus division known as Surface Transportation System of New York.

The pictured bus was delivered during the period of transition and can actually be considered one of the first 'Surface' coaches.

While the 29 passenger Model AL66 was short lived along with its rather unconventional Mack front end, it did feature the manufacturer's first six cylinder engine in combination with an electric drive and was originally designed for highway service.

There are no records as to how many AL's were delivered to TARS but rosters do show that 47 were purchased by Capital District Transportation of Albany (NY) and, in total, about 600 were produced between 1926 and 1933.

Photo courtesy of the Mack Truck Museum.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, NY

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My Mack AL roster shows four buses delivered to TARS in January 1927.

Bob K