Riding a Fishbowl to Parkchester - 1998 NY Bus Service

The only better way to ride a fishbowl than sticking your elbow out the rear most side window was to ride in the front seat of an 8 cylinder express coach through scenic cityscape. Enjoy this ride as if you were an actual passenger on this last relic of the most recognizable 20th century North American diesel powered transit bus. The new look remained in production into the early 1980s in Canada. Some of these were imported by NYC private bus carriers. New York Bus Service was able to keep these running long after all the others let them go, and I believe, without extensive body rebuilding. Wear and tear was at a minimum since many coaches were only required for two rush hour trips per day. The Madison Avenue bus lane is the only dual bus lane in NYC and was introduced just before the 1982 delivery of this coach. As you can can see, it was well enforced in 1998 and provides substantial time savings. The NYC express bus system grew very rapidly in the late 1960s and early 1970s coinciding with both a decline in the quality of local bus and rail service plus and increased expectation of comfort such as air conditioning. Later in the video I move to the back of the bus where you can really hear the engine as well as the synchronized hum of the rear mounted A/C unit. I believe the model number is T8H-5308A based on my reading of on-line equipment rosters. It is definitely a 96" width with 8 cyinders and no center door and delivered in 1982.


The route begins at Madison Square Park and proceeds up Madison Ave, cuts over to Third Ave somewhere in the Upper East Side, goes up Third Ave to E124th Street in East Harlem, then over the Triboro Bridge, Bruckner Expressway and the entire 1+ miles of the Sheridan Expressway (I-895) then on to Hugh Grant Circle and Metropolitan Oval at the heart of one of the largest private housing developments, Parkchester (built and operated at the time by Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.) There are a few shots of Parkchester as well. Casement windows (the standard in thousands of mid-century NYC apartment houses) are still there. Note the lack of window air-conditioners. The 1930s designed wiring could not handle the load, so they were forbidden. The windows and wiring were upgraded a few years ago, after Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan were similarly upgraded by Met Life.

The song at 12:57 is Roberto Pregadio Claudia In Motoretta by Roberto Pregadio (Italy 1976)
My favorite 3 minutes of this video start 15:24, Madison and 3rd Avenues scenery floating by.

At 7:13 there is a discussion about one of the sealed beams not working.

By the way, you cowboys can learn a thing or two from the young bro at this big wheel!