Friday, July 18, 2014

The 1948 Mustang

The 1948 Mustang - A Short-Lived Streamliner: Roy McCarty of Seattle, Washington, designed this unique mid-engined tear-dropped shaped car. It had a number of unusual features and actually went into limited a production.

Source: The Old Motor

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Twin Coach Buses

A restored 1940 Twin Coach trolley bus in Seattle

Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, based in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Motor Company in 1927. They established the company in Kent to manufacture and sell buses with a new concept design. The body structure of this new bus was unique in that the body also became the frame and two engines – "twin" engines –were used to allow for larger passenger loads. This concept was patented by William B. Fageol.

Twin Coach "Pony Express" postal van, circa 1953

Over the years, Twin Coach made transit buses, trolley buses, small delivery vehicles, Fageol six-cylinder gasoline/propane bus and marine engines, Fageol four-cylinder marine engines, and aircraft and truck components. The company was sometimes referred to as "Fageol-Twin Coach". The company was acquired by Flxible in 1955 and merged with it, but use of the "Twin Coach" name in marketing continued for a few years, and the name was briefly revived (as a brand name only) in the late 1960's by a related company called Highway Products, Inc.

Production Overview:

Trolley Buses:

Trolley bus production lasted from 1928 to 1951. Notably, the company's very first order and its very last were also its only export orders ever for trolley buses: eight vehicles for Manila, Philippines, in 1928 and four for Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1951. All other orders went to U.S. cities., none to Canadian cities.

In the 1930's and 1940's, Twin Coach was one of the largest producers in the very limited field of trolley bus manufacturing in North America. Until the late 1940's, only three other U.S. companies built more trolley buses: the Brill companies (J.G. Brill and successors ACF-Brill and CCF-Brill), Pullman and St. Louis Car Company. Another builder, Marmon-Herrington, only entered the field in 1946, but eventually surpassed Twin's total. All told, Twin Coach manufactured only 670 "trolley coaches" – as such vehicles were commonly called at the time – but sold them to 16 different cities (all in the U.S.), which equates to around one-third of all of the trolley bus systems ever to exist in the United States. Overall, the company's best customer for trolley coaches was the Seattle Transit System, which bought a total of 177, all between 1940 and 1943.

In 1940, Twin Coach also pioneered the development of the articulated trolley bus in North America, although the first such vehicle in the world was built in Europe slightly earlier, in 1939 (by Isotta Fraschini/Stanga in Italy). The company built only two articulated trolley buses, and each was marketed as a "Super Twin" model. Both were originally built as demonstrators. The 1940 unit was eventually sold to the Cleveland transit system and entered service there. The second was built as a gas-powered bus in 1946, but was converted into a trolley bus in 1948, leased to the Chicago Transit Authority and was sold to CTA in 1954. With both vehicles, the articulation joint allowed only vertical, not horizontal, movement. These two prototypes never led to any series production, so each remained unique. The 1948 Chicago vehicle is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum. Until 1985, these two vehicles remained the only articulated trolley buses ever built in North America by any manufacturer.

Motor Buses:

A Twin Coach/Herkules 38-S-DT (1948) in Lucerne, Switzerland

Twin Coach also built motor buses (buses powered by internal combustion engines). Fuels included at least gasoline and propane. Between 1927 and 1934 alone, the company built more than 1,100 motor buses, including 21 with gas-electric drive. Bus production continued through to the time of the company's acquisition by Flxible, in the 1950's.

Sale of bus division

In 1955, the bus manufacturing operations were sold to Flxible, which was also based in Ohio. For a time, Flxible used the Twin Coach name – along with its own – in its marketing and some buses carried front name plates that gave both names and combined the companies' two logos into one. By 1963, use of the Twin Coach name on buses had been discontinued.

The marine-engine and aircraft divisions continued as Twin Coach. In 1958, the company sold the marine division and moved its remaining production to Cheektowaga, New York. In 1962, the company's name was changed to Twin Industries.

A portion of the company called Highway Products produced a number of products, such as small Post Office vehicles, mobile post offices used in rural areas, small boats for military and commercial uses, missile launchers and a variety of other products. This later became an Alco Standard company, and it produced a small bus which was sold under the "Twin Coach" name from 1969-1975.

Fageol Motors

Fadgl Auto Train or Trackless Train at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, 1915, San Francisco

Fageol Motors was a U.S. manufacturer of buses, trucks and farm tractors.

History:

The company was founded in 1916 to manufacture motor trucks, farm tractors and automobiles in Oakland, California.

Fageol produced two luxury automobiles, but production was halted when the supply of Hall-Scott SOHC six-cylinder engines was diverted to build airplanes for the World War I effort.

The initial Fageol farm tractor was a re-labeled Hamilton model, designed and built by Rush Hamilton of Geyserville, California. As a result of the many tractor performance trials of the day, the tractor was redesigned to be more compatible with the needs of the West Coast. The Fageol version was designed by a team led by Horatio Smith with the cooperation of Hamilton. In about 1923, the tractor business was sold to the Great Western Motors Company of San Jose. Hamilton and Smith went with the sale.

In 1921, Fageol became the first company to build a bus from the ground up. This new style bus was initially called "Safety Bus". The goal was to build a bus that was resistant to overturning when cornering. It had a wide track, and was lower to the ground for ease of entry and exit. Following the successful introduction, the vehicles were renamed "Safety Coaches", a term intended to imply greater value.

Fageol trucks were well built and became favorites of the industry, owing in part to the dual range, mid-mounted transmission. This gearbox allowed for extreme ranges in gearing for slow speed heavy hauling and for highway speeds with lighter loads. These vehicles were easily spotted by the large number "7" painted on the front of the radiator.

The Fageol brothers left the company in 1927 to form the Twin Coach Company, manufacturing buses in Kent, Ohio.

The company lead by the President, L.H. Bill, did not survive the depression of the early 1930's. It went into receivership, and the bank assumed control and re-organized under the name Fageol Truck and Coach. In 1938, T. A. Peterman bought the factory and its contents. In 1939, the first Peterbilt was produced in the Fageol tradition of building the best possible product.

The South Australian Railways (SAR) operated a number of Fageol buses. In 1932 that system introduced into service the first of four railcars converted from their road buses. These vehicles initially operated on the SAR 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge Port Lincoln Division, however some were transferred to the South East Division branch line to Kingston, South Australia, prior to the line's conversion to 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge. The last railcar was condemned in 1961.

Products:

Fageol Tractors
Fageol Trucks
Safety Coach

Cars:

Fageol Supersonic
PataRay also known as Fageol Special

External Links:

Flxible
Twin Coach, another company founded by the Fageol brothers
book "Fun at Work, Hudson Style (Tales from the Hudson Motor Company)" by Harry F. Kraus
Oakland History Room, photo collection. Fageol Motors. Groundbreaking ceremony at Foothill Blvd and 106th, Oakland, California, June 9, 1917
Oakland History Room, photo collection. Fageol Motors. First unit under construction in Oakland
Oakland History Room, photo collection. Fageol Motors. Another view of the factory under construction, with a Fageol truck in the foreground
Oakland History Room, photo collection. Fageol Motors. Second unit under construction
Oakland History Room, photo collection. Hall-Scott Motor Company. 150 horsepower straight-6 engines being assembled were formerly destined for Fageol products

Source: wikipedia

Greyhound Buses

Go Southeastern Greyhound Lines and Leave the Driving to Us.

Click Here to read this post. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Source: oldmotor.com

Monday, July 7, 2014

1948 DeSoto S-11C Suburban

Although it was as long as a limousine, the 1948 De Soto Suburban was a medium-priced sedan intended for family transportation and utilitarian purposes such as carrying luggage, sports equipment and camping gear both on the roof and inside. The Suburban's wide-opening rear deck lid and cavernous cargo area could be extended from the trunk into the passenger compartment by folding down the rear seats. This rare survivor remains in original condition with the exception of new paint.

1948 DeSoto S-11C Suburban Image