Greyhound seats and fleet questions

[fishbusone]

We'll NYC had six G models including a non refurbed G model in a one hour span so fleet is just trying to move the masses in leiu of pool assignments! ( I myself borrowed a former Rockford Peoria G model for a eastern overnight return assignment!)! By the way three of the G models came from other companies!

 

[fishbusone]

Garages tend to only stock parts for the equipment prevalent in that region! A perfect example is NYC not even stocking turn signal bulbs for G models!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Man, I haven't heard of Peoria-Rockford in a long time! Did you happen to note any of the G numbers? Which one was Peoria-Rockford? I heard #40205 from Vermont Transit got repaired after being smashed in "The Dark Knight Rises."

So I guess New York city don't have turn signal bulbs for D4505s either as those have the same headlights as the G's. This explains why Kit was so uptight about Greyhound using a malfunctioning X3-45 on the Denver-Reno. He said it came from the East and already had HVAC problems running to Denver, then the Denver guys wrote it off saying they couldn't fix it, and the dispatcher put it on 1347 to Reno! Kit says it should've gone back East for repairs instead of going farther west to Reno.

He always reports problems with the buses he drives. I saw him reporting "low transmission fluid" on #UT86398 after pulling in from Denver/Salt Lake City overnight. Hopefully the Reno guys added more before sending it back to SLC.

Honestly, I see that moving equipment around could get really bad fast. Perhaps the last "freezing cold passengers" incident could have been prevented if the X3-45 hadn't been dispatched to Minneapolis.

 

[fishbusone]

6998 is the coach I'm referring to! 40205 is a pretty solid bus! By the way all of the foreign g models are 2002 models with the poorly designed thermo king HVAC System! VTL actually put small fans on the windshields due to the poor design!

40205, 30522, 6998, 7061, and 7258!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Fishbusone, aren't you hemmt973? I remember reading your posts on GTE! I'm "JW",but I'm sure you knew that already.

Looks like GLC #1124 is Greyhound's worst DL3 at the moment, with heavily damaged seats: http://140735925.r.worldcdn.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Greyhound-Bus-to-Vancouver.jpg.

The exterior is dirty and has no side dog logo: http://140735925.r.worldcdn.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Greyhound-Bus.jpg.

#1064 is the other one that seems to be really beat up. Both GLC.

 

[mightyjoe1201]

Wow. Those seats look like hell. I would hope at least some of those passengers complain about them. GLC should b ashamed to send a bus out with that much inside damage.

I hope they wash their buses every so often at major stations. I do know given what was on the ground in the pic it doesn't take long for the bus to get dirty. I've had a bus get dirty just traveling the few miles from our garage to our station in that stuff.

 

[fishbusone]

They do heavy internal cleaning every three months or so!

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

That one was reportedly running GLC 5161, Calgary-Kelowna. 5161 is the overnight "Koots" service via Lethbridge and Cranbrook on Crowsnest Highway; the exterior photo was taken after Castlegar when the bus broke down. It had run 7 hours in the snow. I found them on a blog post. What I really about the exterior was that the door is clean but the front and sides are both very dirty. The seats covers are the originals from 2000. #1124 used to be "Vancouver 2010" bus, with a Winter Olympics wrap: http://www.kevinsbusrail.com/greyhound/d/gry_1124.jpg.

The other really shoddy DL3 is this: http://www.kevinsbusrail.com/greyhound/d/gry_1064.jpg.

And then you have #1063 which is carrying only stripes and legal lettering: http://www.kevinsbusrail.com/greyhound/d/gry_1063.jpg.

So many weird liveries at GLC with either no dog logo or no lettering.

 

[rickycourtney]

Saw G4500 #7173 on I-5 today heading north to Vancouver BC. It's sporting the blue livery.

 

[railiner]

We have one old J4500 (62980), with a light blue 'wrap-job' advertising some online travel site....I hate it! I am very much against all wrap jobs on buses....especially when they cover the entire rear and sides, including the windows.... I hope passenger's complain about the windows reduced visibility, but I doubt they will....

The extra revenue was too much for the 'boss' to resist, I suppose....I hear we may do some more, soon....

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Weren't you guys were selling those J's? I saw tons of them for sale.

I agree, they suck for visibility. But companies will do anything for money.

Just found out that Greyhound has a contract with Holiday Inn for driver lodging. Is this nationwide or only in regions? No activity on GTE.

 

[railiner]

Yes, we are selling the J's....but not all at one time....a few each year, as we get new deliveries.

*

Re: GL lodging....they are still using the old driver's dormitory in the MTA (former GL) garage here in NYC. I don't know where they send the occasional overflow..

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Hey Railiner, here's another series of blog posts on Greyhound:
https://habitualrunaway.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/bussing-across-canada/
https://habitualrunaway.wordpress.com/2014/10/02/bussing-through-bc/
https://habitualrunaway.wordpress.com/2014/09/10/entering-alberta/.

OK, just found out Greyhound contracts with La Quinta in Oakland for driver lodging. I assume this includes San Francisco layovers as well. All Greyhounds in and out of SFD deadhead to OAK for servicing.

 

[rickycourtney]

I think it's very interesting that Greyhound still owns and operates driver dormitories at some of its terminals. It seems somewhat rare in this day and age.

I think Amtrak has contracts with hotels in certain cities (I guess where they can fill a lot of rooms) but on the San Joaquin all the crew members had CheckINN cards. It's a national program that pairs employees with cheap hotel rooms.

 

[railiner]

Yes...the driver dorms are a real 'throwback' to the early days (1920's -1960's) of Greyhound history, when many of the old art-deco terminal's had driver dorms built in, usually on the second floor....shades of the even older 'Railroad YMCA' dorms located in many railroad yards and stations for train crews...

The two level dorm in the former (now MTA) Greyhound garage basement, was perhaps one of, if not the last one built (1968). When the old Greyhound Corporation divested the bus line, much of the expensive real estate was not included. Since the MTA acquired it from the corporation, they had no use for the dorm, and it could not be easily converted into any other use for them, so they leased it to GL, and it was a good deal for all.

I wonder how many other dorms are still in use around the Greyhound system?

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I just did my daily browsing on Flickr and saw that Mel has just posted a photo of #7160 rolling around without part of its bumper. I must admit my shock at seeing such heavy damage on a blue Greyhound: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mbernero/16429104593/sizes/l.

Furthermore, the headsign is displaying "GO GREYHOUND".

 

[railiner]

A couple of white G's have found their way into the Academy lot...

 

[rickycourtney]

Well that's the thing about fiberglass... it looks good, but it isn't very resilient. One slow speed crash and it's done.

Also this is the G4500 we're talking about here. Just because they gave it a cost of fresh blue paint doesn't mean it still won't fall apart after a few years.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The same thing happened with a D4505. I saw it in San Francisco. It wasn't a Greyhound D4505, but it was a D4505. Entire bumper was gone. Looks like the D4505 is the new equivalent of the G4500.

I wonder if the same thing would happen with the J4500. Those are not exactly known for durability. I'd certainly prefer rubber bumpers over fiberglass. The old DL3s did it right.

Here's an old MC-8 in Denver with aluminum bumpers: http://wyomingcreativearts.org/images/joomgallery/details/wyoming_area_creative_arts_community_40/arnie_lahds_gallery_18/denver_bus_station_in_morning_light_20120424_1241805225.jpg.

 

[rickycourtney]

Fiberglass bumpers have pretty much been the industry standard since the E4500 first hit the streets. They're stylish and they provide a level of energy dissipation similar to a rubber bumper. But the downside is they're brittle and usually break when they're struck.

About the only bus that still comes standard with a rubber bumper these days is the X3-45, although they're still available as an option on the D4505 & D4500CT.

But Greyhound has not opted to spec the rubber bumpers on their D4505 purchases, so it must value the aesthetics of the fiberglass bumper over the durability of the rubber bumper... or they don't think rubber bumpers provide enough of a benefit to justify the added cost.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm not sure if even the X3-45 still has a full rubber bumper. It looks like a composite bumper with a rubber strip over it. The H3-45 originally had a rubber bumper, but Prevost replaced it with a fiberglass bumper.

The thing is, when I knocked on the D4505 bumper, it felt like a stele bumper. It did not have the crisp sound that a fiberglass bumper feels like, such as the G4500 bumper. But I think it's just a different type of fiberglass, because I doubt the D4505 would have a steel bumper.

Greyhound's new X3-45s and D4505s also have aluminum wheels instead of steel wheels like all the previous models did. Aluminum looks better than steel, but steel is definitely more durable.

Perhaps a thin layer of Kevlar over the fiberglass bumpers would be best overall, even though Kevlar is expensive. The G4500s have Kevlar underneath their fiberglass outer shell. I think Kevlar smells in heat, which may explain why the G4500 has a distinct smell.

 

[rickycourtney]

Well no matter if it's covered in fiberglass or rubber... at the heart of a bumper is a metal bar that absorbs and dissipates energy in a crash.

But I think you're overthinking it. The fiberglass bumpers are perfectly durable in normal use if you don't bump into anything. But if you do... it really shouldn't be a tough fix. A competent mechanic should be able to replace one in just a few hours. To my knowledge they are just bolted on.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

That reminds me, on GTE, I heard that Prevost's H3-45 uses embedded bolts that fasten the fiberglass/Kevlar outer shell to the stainless steel tubing frame. This was reportedly patented by Prevost, so MCI decided to simply glue on or clip on the fiberglass. The clips fail at high temperatures, so MCI told operators not to run their E/G/J models in "extreme conditions." All three MCI fiberglass models, plus the D4505, have all been reported with parts falling off. OTOH, no Prevost H3-45 has even been reported with such failures and their hatches don't even dislodge. I dug up tons of pictures of old H3-45s and they still have no damage more than wear and tear. The claim was that Prevost dropped a H3-45 from a crane and it took no damage.

So, the H3-45 is supposed to be the most durable bus in production, but it burns to a crisp if a fire breaks out.

 

[rickycourtney]

So, the H3-45 is supposed to be the most durable bus in production, but it burns to a crisp if a fire breaks out.

Well that's how fire works... it burns stuff... even durable stuff.
Fires have become an industry wide issue now that emissions control systems are running a lot hotter (especially while regenerating). There isn't a whole lot that can be done other than proper maintenance (poor maintenance is responsible for most fires) and installing fire suppression systems as a last line of defense.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

You have a good point. Greyhound's 86300s seem to catch on fire a lot more than the 86500s. I assume the 86500s have the latest Amerax fire suppression systems while the 86300s don't. Still, even a fire suppression system can't really prevent a fire, it can jut put out the fire before major damage is done to the bus.