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D.S.R. EQUIPMENT PHOTOS — 1940's |
The transit vehicles displayed in this 1940's Photo Gallery were purchased by the city-owned D.S.R. between 1940 and 1949. After World War II, various makes of gasoline powered coaches, GM diesel coaches, PCC streetcars, and electric "trackless" trolley-coaches were placed into service in Detroit. |
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FOR D.S.R. 1940's MACK, GM AND TRANSIT BUSES (PAGE 2) CLICK-ON 'NEXT'(Below) |
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Please click-on link to return to the "PHOTO GALLERY" Main Page. |
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The DSR survived through WW-II with a remaining (and worn out) fleet of 1,850 Ford Transit buses purchased between 1936 and 1942. After having purchased nothing but small-size (21–27 passenger) coaches since 1934, the DSR would begin an aggressive campaign after the war to update its aging bus fleet with larger-size (mostly 35–45 passenger) coaches. By January of 1948, the DSR would have already placed 1,192 new motor coaches into service, with additional fleets of new buses still on the way by the end of the decade. |
The next make of postwar coaches to arrive in Detroit were the dual-motored or twin engine coaches manufactured by the Fageol Twin Coach Company of Kent, OH. Probably the most distinctive feature of the postwar Twins was its six-piece windshield made entirely of flat glass. Three types of Twin coaches were purchased by the DSR. Coach #4906 was representative of the first thirty 44-passenger Twins (#4901-4930) that were delivered in December 1946. The original Twins (Model 44-D) had dual 6-cylinder gasoline engines that were turned on the side and mounted beneath the floor. However, the 44-D's were later rebuilt with single motors. [photos courtesy of the Sycko and Schramm photo collections, respectively] |
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(1940's D.S.R. Bus Fleet Not Pictured) Beginning in August 1940, the DSR leased forty-one (41) buses from the Detroit Board of Education for school run service. These school buses remained on the DSR roster until 1945. The 41 Board of Education leased buses included: #8001-8026 — (26) Ford Motor Co - Model BB-18 (conventional style) #8501-8507 — (7) International - Model D-30 #8601-8608 — (8) Dodge Brothers - Model K-34, (8606,8608) Model RE-32 |
BACK TO THE 1930's |
A total of 310 gasoline-powered Twins were purchased between 1946 and 1947. As can been seen in this 1963 photo of #4834 at the Highland Park Terminal, the Twins, like other postwar DSR buses, were repainted during the 1950's, with red trim added at the bottom and both doors repainted mostly cream. The majority of the 44-D and 41-S model Twins were retired in 1965. [Jim Husing Collection photo, courtesy of James Husing — see disclaimer below] |
While most of the DSR's gasoline-powered coaches were retired by 1962, the gasoline-powered Twins would remain in service a few years longer, being primarily used on lighter-service routes such as John R. North and Woodrow Wilson. In the above photo, also taken in 1963, three of the DSR Twins can be seen parked and ready for service at the DSR's Highland Park Terminal. [Jim Husing Collection photo, courtesy of James Husing — see disclaimer below] |
Of the 1,962 postwar coaches purchased by the DSR, the Twins—the last of which were retired in 1965—would be out-lived only by the postwar GM diesels. However, a number of the smaller- size #4500-series 38-S's were retired earlier. All but five were retired by 1964, with 86 out of that 100-coach fleet retired between 1963-64. In this photo, a number of the Twins can already be seen parked at the Coolidge Terminal graveyard in September of 1963. Also partly visible is the huge MichCon natural "gas-holder" tank, then located just north of the Coolidge property. [Jim Husing Collection photo, courtesy of James Husing — see disclaimer below] |
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In this promotional photo, taken on October 16, 1945, new larger size diesel coach #1003 is compared along-side a smaller (27-passenger) Ford "Rear-Engine" Transit Bus (Model 09-B) that was delivered back in November 1939. Prior to the arrival of these 45-passenger GM's the entire DSR bus fleet consisted entirely of small-size Fords. Also note the "DEXTER" route sign displayed on all of the new GM diesels. The TD-4506's were initially assigned exclusively to the busy and heavily patronized Dexter line, which operated out of the Highland Park bus garage. [photo source: online – unknown (unidentified) photo collection] |
This photo shows an interior view of one of the DSR's GM TD-4506 "old look" coaches. Absent from these coaches was the large "Thermo-Matic" blower unit (made standard on GM transit buses in 1946), which was located directly above the driver's compartment. The interior colors included a cream color above the belt-line, and green color doors, lower walls and front dash. Although the majority were retired in 1966, the last TD-4506's remained in service until 1968. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
Many of the DSR's Ford Transits often displayed war-time messages during the war. Here, coach #2790 proclaims "Buy War Bonds." In 1943, during the height of WW-II, the DSR had a fleet total of 2,239 motor coaches — the world's largest bus fleet — which included 2,182 Ford buses, 15 Chevrolets, and one DSR built coach. Used to supplement the department's fleet of 908 streetcars, all DSR bus routes, including heavily traveled lines such as Dexter, were all serviced by these little buses operating under frequent headways—a practice unique within the industry. [photo courtesy of the Carl D. Dutch photo collection] |
While the 44-D's were the largest of the DSR Twins, the next group of Twins, the #4500-series, would be the smallest in size, not only of the Twins but of all DSR "large-size" postwar coaches. Beginning in January of 1947, a fleet of 100 (37-passenger) Twins (#4501-4600 — Model 38-S) began arriving. Unlike the 44-D's, the gasoline-powered 38-S's had a single underfloor-mounted engine. All of the DSR Twins sported the standard DSR livery of mostly cream with red trim. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
The third and last type of Twin to be purchased by the DSR (and the most numerous) were the #4700-4800 series. Beginning in August of 1947, one-hundred and eighty (180) 35-passenger Twins (#4701-4880 — Model 41-S) began arriving. Although built to seat more than 35 passengers, the seating arrangement was configured to accommodate high-capacity rush-hour crowds, resulting in the DSR's 41-S model Twins arriving with single seats on the operator's side. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm collection ] |
The first of the DSR postwar buses arrived on September 9, 1945, after the U.S. Navy had cancelled part of a long-standing 80-coach order after the war. Thirty of these GM TD-4506's, built to U.S. Navy specifications, were diverted to Detroit. These 35-foot, 45-passenger GM coaches (#1001-1030) were the DSR's first diesel buses and its first bus fleet built by GM Coach. The fleet came equipped with a Detroit Diesel 6V-71 diesel engine with a Spicer angle-drive two-speed hydraulic (automatic) transmission. The 4506's also introduced a new DSR paint scheme of mostly cream with red trim, which by the 1950's would be used system-wide. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
One of the unusual features about the DSR's first postwar buses were the single roll-curtain signs which displayed only the route name—a feature not found on other DSR coaches. During their unusually long service lives, the TD-4506's also sported varied versions of the cream with red paint scheme. By the early-1950s, red trimming was added to the lower skirt, while the front and center doors were repainted solid cream. Used primarily for light service and school runs by the early-1960s, a 1967 DSR Annual Report listed eight of the 22-year-old buses still on the roster. In this photo, Dexter coach #1019 is west along W. Outer Drive east of Lesure St., circa 1951. [T.C. VanDegrift photo, courtesy of the Carl D. Dutch photo collection] |
Here's an interior view of one of the DSR's 41-S model (35-passenger) Twins. Although the 41-S Twins had the capability of seating up to 41-passengers, the street-side single seat configuration instead allowed for additional standing passengers during rush-hour high passenger loads. The interior colors have been described as cream upper panels and ceiling, light-green window posts, tan color doors and plastic-covered yellow stanchion bars. The Twin coaches came equipped with torsilastic (rubber) suspension springs, which offered passengers a softer "velvet-like" ride. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
After their arrival in Detroit, a number of the DSR's new GM TD-4506's were lined-up for this promotional photo taken at the DSR Highland Park Shops. Actually, this 30-coach order was part of a total 120-coach order, the remainder of which wouldn't arrive for two years. Visible on each roof-top is the non-mechanical ventilation system, consisting of six roof-mounted fresh air vents or "ears" that was standard on GM (and Yellow Coach) "old-looks" built prior to 1946. [photo courtesy of the S. Sycko photo collection] |
In this photo, coach #4094 can be seen traveling north along Woodward Avenue while working the Hamilton line. This photo looks southward from the east side of Woodward at the corner of Monroe Street. The Whites, like the early Twins that followed, were underfloor-engine buses. Also note the billboard in the background proclaiming "Maxwell House Coffee, Good to the Last Drop"—a slogan still used some fifty-plus years later. By the way, that entire block would one day become the 17-story home of the National Bank of Detroit, now known as the Chase Tower. [photo courtesy of the S. Sycko photo collection] |
Even though there was a push after the war to purchase larger-size coaches, it appears that additional fleets of small-size buses were still on the DSR's agenda. In August of 1946, the DSR accepted the delivery of another 300 small-size 27-passenger Ford Transit buses (#2901-3200) now being promoted by Ford as its "Universal Bus." These Fords (Model 79-B) were assigned to smaller lines and replaced the older front-engine Fords purchased between 1936 and 1937. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
The DSR's postwar large size buses, including the smaller 38-S model Twins, were basically used interchangeably on the heavier routes, although some makes, from time to time, were assigned to specific routes. These postwar buses were also used to replace the Peter Witt streetcars. The Hamilton and Grand River routes were the first rail lines in 1947 to be substituted with these larger size coaches. The 38-S model Twins were also the first Twin coaches to see retirement. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
In August of 1941, a fleet of 300 more 27-passenger Ford Rear-Engine Transit Buses (#2301- 2600 — Model 19-B) were delivered to the DSR—in addition to the 500 already received in late 1939. The DSR already had 331 of the old conventional Ford buses (purchased in 1934-35) and 750 of the "front-engine" Ford Metropolitan buses (delivered in 1936-37) in its bus fleet. The DSR was able to order an additional 300 of the new model Fords (#2601-2900 — Model 29-B) prior to an Office of Defence Transportation (ODT) temporary shut down of bus production during WW-II. These were delivered beginning in May 1942. In total, the DSR had 2,181 of the Ford buses. The last of these "black-bottom" Ford Rear-Engine Transits were retired in 1951. [photo courtesy of the Stan Sycko photo collection] |
This August 1941 photo shows how prominent the Ford Transit buses were in the DSR bus fleet. Both front-engine and rear-engine Fords can be seen parked here at the Highland Park Garage, located on Second near LaBelle in Highland Park. On an interesting side note: The Ford Transits built prior to the end of the war were topped by a wood-framed padded rubber canvas roof. *ADDED NOTE: To conserve fuel, rubber and manpower during the war, the DSR also adopted the downtown storage of buses at night and during off-peak hours in vacant parking lots. This practice of street dispatching, using two-way radio cars, reduced dead-head millage to garages. [Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University photo #29983 — see disclaimer below] |
*ADDED NOTE: To conserve fuel, rubber and manpower during the war, the DSR also adopted the downtown storage of buses at night and during off-peak hours in vacant parking lots. This practice of street dispatching, using two-way radio cars, reduced dead-head millage to garages. |
In this May 1955 photo, DSR coach #4087 can be seen boarding passengers at the very first bus shelter erected by the DSR, on W. McNichols at Southfield Road, while inbound on the Second Blvd. line. For some reason, many of the Whites, like the Macks that would follow, would have their front decorative chrome removed and would also undergo a redesigned paint scheme. With the exception of two, which were retired early, the majority of the White Motor built buses were retired in 1960, shortly after the first fleets of GMC "New-Look" coaches began arriving. [Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University photo #29975 — see disclaimer below] |
The DSR's next fleet of postwar coaches were manufactured by the White Motor Company. A total of 130 of these 44-passenger gasoline-powered Whites — Model 798 — were delivered in 1946. Coach #4004 was one of the first five (#4001–4005) diverted from a Chicago Surface Lines order and delivered in early February. The remaining 125 coaches (#4011-4135 ) were delivered between September and December of that year. Meanwhile, five "used" 40-passenger Whites (#4006-4010 — Model 788) were picked up from the Erie Coach Company in March. A number of Whites were used to replace the older Peter Witt cars on a number of lines. Initially, the Whites sported a dark green and cream livery with a silver roof, but were later repainted. [site-owner's collection photo, courtesy of the Schramm photo collection] |
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This last fleet of DSR post-war Ford Transits (#2901-3200) were similar to the "black-bottom" Ford Transits delivered prior to the war. However, the canvas-covered wooden roofs that had been used on the earlier fleets were now replaced by an all-metal aluminum-skinned steel framed roof. The paint scheme also differed in that cream with red trimming now replaced the cream with black trim. The above 35mm slide image shows two unidentified DSR employees posing along-side Ford Transit coach #2953. The last of these Fords were retired in 1954. (former DSR Service Inspector Marvin F. Floer slide collection photo—courtesy of Chris Floer) |
During the war, record numbers of Detroiters patronized the DSR, with bus ridership averaging 1,800,000 patrons daily. In this 1942 photo, crowds of Detroiters can be seen lining-up along Campus Martius street preparing to board two Ford Transit buses working the John R-Oakland line. In spite of ODT requirements limiting bus millage, the DSR was able to handle the record- breaking crowds by working with area manufacturing plants to stagger working hours which helped to double bus capacity. Although some riders had to stand, these small buses did the job! [John Vachon photo, courtesy of U.S. Library of Congress: American Memory Collection] |