PD-4501 Scenicruiser

Last updated

PD-4501 Scenicruiser
Scenicruiser Greyhound.jpg
Greyhound ad showing a Scenicruiser
Overview
Manufacturer GMC
Production1,001 units
Assembly GMC Truck and Coach Division, Pontiac, Michigan
Body and chassis
Class Tri-axle coach
Body style Single-decker (Split level) coach
Doors1 door, front
Floor type High-floor
Powertrain
Engine
  • Two 4.7L (281 ci) GM 4-71 I4 Diesel (1954-1960)
  • 9.3L (568 ci) GM 8V-71 Diesel V8 (after 1961)
Capacity10 on lower level, 33 on upper level.
Total 43 seats
Transmission
  • One 3-speed manual + 2-speed clutch (1954-1962)
  • 4-speed manual (starting in 1961)
Dimensions
Length40 feet (12.19 m)
Width96 inches (2,438 mm)
Height134 inches (3,404 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor GX-2
Successor GM Buffalo bus

The GMC PD-4501 Scenicruiser, manufactured by General Motors (GM) for Greyhound Lines, Inc., was a three-axle monocoque two-level coach that Greyhound used from July 1954 into the mid-1970s. 1001 were made between 1954 and 1956.

Contents

The Scenicruiser became an icon of the American way of life due to its presence throughout the United States in cities and along highways and popularity with the traveling public. The name was a portmanteau of the words "scenic" and "cruiser".

The high-level design concept of Scenicruiser resembles some of the rolling stock of the passenger-carrying railroads of the United States and Canada, particularly their popular stainless steel dome cars. This type of two-level motorcoach body was common in the late 1940s in Western Europe, including Great Britain, where it was known as Observation coach. [1]

The concept of two-level monocoque body had been used earlier in the Spanish Pegaso Z-403 two-axle coach, designed in 1949 and entered production in 1951. [2]

Overview

The Model PD-4501, as GMC called it, was the most distinctive American parlor bus design of the modern era. It was the result of seven years of effort by Greyhound and GM Truck and Coach Division. The first GX-1 prototype was based on a design by Raymond Loewy as U.S. patent 2,563,917 . Originally conceived as a 35-foot (10.67 m) bus, Greyhound later used a tandem-axle 40-foot (12.19 m) prototype by Loewy called the GX-2 to lobby for the lifting of length restrictions of buses longer than 35 feet in most states at the time.

Prototypes

The first design prototype for the Scenicruiser, the GX-1, was a double decker with access from the lower deck and the driver seated on the upper deck. It was soon decided that a split-level design would be better because the GX-1 was too tall for many Greyhound garages and lacked luggage space for 50 people. The GX-2 had a lower level containing the driver's area and entrance with ten seats plus a restroom on the passenger's side and an upper level with 33 more seats. This arrangement also allowed a large baggage compartment underneath the second level. This design was called the GX-2. Both the GX-1 and GX-2 were actually built by Greyhound from 1947 to 1949 with help from GMC. In late 1951, GMC started work on its first prototype, called the EXP 331. It was completed in 1954 and had some unique features that were not used on the production versions. After the last PD 4501 prototype was built, it was rebuilt as a production model with serial number PD 4501-1001.

Production Model

The Scenicruiser was equipped with air-ride suspension and air conditioning. The coaches were unusual in having ten wheels. Each of the two rear axles had four wheels but only the forward axle was powered.

Power for the production models was originally provided by a pair of GM Diesel 4-71 four cylinder engines of 160 HP each connected by a fluid coupling and arranged side by side in a shallow V formation. Two engines were necessary because GM had not yet built a V8 version of its Series 71 Diesel engine. Each coach had a single three-speed transmission with a manual two-speed clutch for six forward speeds. There were some problems when the coaches were new because all of Greyhound's other models had four-speed manual transmissions that shifted differently than those in the Scenicruiser. This meant additional training for drivers, who mostly disliked the new system. This installation proved to be less than successful, and the 979 buses remaining in 1961-62 were rebuilt with 8V-71 engines and four-speed manual Spicer transmissions by the Marmon-Herrington Company.

A preserved Scenicruiser on display in the London Bus Museum during 2013 London Bus Museum Transportfest 2013 019 (10383698196).jpg
A preserved Scenicruiser on display in the London Bus Museum during 2013

The Scenicruiser's popularity with the public inspired GM's later PD 4107 and PD 4903 Buffalo bus 35- and 40-foot models, which arrived nearly a decade later. They had a less obvious "second level" which ran most of the length of the coach, side windows from GMC's line of transit coaches and a smaller upper scenic windshield in the front because second passenger seats were positioned higher than the driver and first row passenger seats. Unlike the Scenicruiser, these models were available for sale to all operators.

Impact on the North American bus industry

1955 Flxible VistaLiner (VL100) 1955 Flxible VL100.jpg
1955 Flxible VistaLiner (VL100)

Problems

As introduced, the Scenicruiser had some significant problems, particularly the drivetrain and cracking of the frame structure around the side windows in the rear quarter of the coach. GMC was not about to put a non-GM engine into its flagship coach nor did it have a V8 version of its Series 71 Diesel engine at the time. Therefore, GM's solution was to use a pair of 4-71 engines. One Greyhound historian wrote of the Scenicruiser's early technical issues:

"Maintenance on the Scenicruiser was a constant headache – partly because of the complicated nature of some of the new systems (in the manner of Rube Goldberg, some of the critics suggested), partly because some of the components were too new and unimproved (using new, unproved, and unimproved technology), partly because the diagnostic tools and techniques were inadequate, partly because the training and availability of mechanics (and maintenance supervisors and managers) for the new model were less than optimum, partly because the technical support and repair-parts support were less than optimum, and largely because of a combination of several of those factors – along with a few other explanations – including, sadly, occasional incidents of careless or intentional abuse of the new coaches by disgusted drivers or mechanics." [3]

GMC solved one major problem in the factory as the 1955 models were being produced. The original clutch was electrically operated. That meant the drivers could not make the clutch smoothly engage; it was either in or out. This caused lurches and jolts every time the driver started from a stop or changed gears. Both the passengers and drivers didn't like it. The electrical clutch linkage was replaced by a mechanical one which solved the problem. GMC gave Greyhound enough sets of parts to convert all of the previously made coaches. At the same time the windshield wipers were changed to a pantograph design, which kept them in full contact with the glass at all times and this was also retrofitted to older coaches. The other problems were mostly solved starting in 1961 when all 979 Scenicruisers were rebuilt, costing Greyhound over US$13 million.

Effects

The Scenicruiser caused GMC's top competitors, Flxible and Beck, to bring out similar offerings. Flxible introduced the semi-deck and a half Vista-Liner 100, a 35-foot coach (208 produced between 1955 and 1959) and Beck produced three similar 35-foot coach models for a total of 29 coaches. Beck also built twelve 40-foot Scenicruiser lookalikes in 1955 powered by the 300 HP Cummins NHRBS Diesel engine. They were Beck's model DH1040 and some were delivered new to Queen City Trailways (later Continental Southeastern Lines). Most of Beck's 40-foot coaches were sold to operators in Cuba and Mexico. Beck had to repossess several of them and they later returned to the United States and were resold as used buses. A number of Vista-Liner 100s and at least one of the later Becks have been converted to motor homes and are still on the road.

Mack Truck and Bus also produced a single model MV-620-D prototype in 1957 that was also 40 feet long, but it found no takers, even though Greyhound leased it for several months. This coach still exists in private hands in Ohio. Other two-level models introduced after the Scenicruiser were the Western Flyer T-36-2L, and the impressive four-axle twin-steer Sultana Crucero Imperial.

The problems with the Scenicruisers greatly soured relations between Greyhound and GMC. Greyhound continued to buy GMC coaches with the PD 4104 up through 1960 and the PD 4106 from 1961 to 1964. Given the problems with the PD 4501, Greyhound had no interest in asking GMC to produce a second version of its signature coach based on the PD 4106's mechanicals and styling. Greyhound also bought some PD 4107 buses from GMC which were known as the "Buffalo" model. Greyhound purchased 362 of these buses in two orders (162 in 1966 and 200 more in 1967, with the 1966 units being trouble-prone). The company never bought another GMC coach afterwards. In 1958 The Greyhound Corporation acquired a controlling interest in Motor Coach Industries (MCI), Limited, of Canada and by 1961 had full ownership of it. This led to the end of its need for GMC coaches by 1968. GMC's sales soon went into terminal decline as both Greyhound and Trailways were building their own coaches.

Beck left the bus and coach market in 1957, a year after being taken over by Mack. In 1960 Mack left the market except for a short time as an importer of rebadged Renault FR1 coaches between 1986 and 1989. In 1978, Flxible was sold to Grumman, with the sale including the sale of two prototypes of what would become the 870. Flxible built its last intercity coach in 1969 and its final transit coach in 1995. GMC exited the new coach market after producing the 1980 models and continued transit coach manufacturing until 1987.

Companion model

GMC also introduced its model PD 4901 in 1954 so as to have a 40-foot model for non-Greyhound operators. It was mechanically identical to the Scenicruiser, but the driver and passengers were all at nearly the same high level as the Scenicruiser's upper deck. Like the PD 4104, the PD 4901 had a flat floor so the seats were a few inches lower than in the PD 4501 which allowed larger overhead baggage racks. The only one produced was clad in gold anodized aluminum and GMC called it the Golden Chariot. No American operators in the country wanted to take on the additional complexity and fuel consumption of this dual engine model. Greyhound's troubles with its Scenicruisers were already well known, keeping potential buyers away and none were ordered. GMC leased it to Greyhound and then to several other smaller carriers in the northeast and finally sold it as a used bus. This coach is currently owned by Wilson Bus Lines in Massachusetts who plan to restore it to its former glory.

Super Scenicruiser

In 1961 and 1962, Marmon-Herrington rebuilt the existing Scenicruiser fleet for Greyhound, 22 having already been totaled in accidents. The rebuild included installing the newly available Detroit Diesel 8V-71 engine and a 4-speed unsynchronized Spicer manual transmission in place of the twin 4-71 engines and 3-speed transmission with 2-speed splitter. Side reinforcement plates above the rear wheels and below the upper deck windows under the skin were added. The interiors were also freshened up, but this was done by Greyhound. After the rebuilding the Super Scenicruiser name replaced the Scenicruiser name on the sides of each coach.

In spite of the reinforcements, structural problems continued and the Scenicruisers that made it into the 1970s again had some external panels removed and further reinforcements added.

Specifications

Legacy

A preserved Scenicruiser in England, 2013 London Bus Museum Transportfest 2013 022 (10383676926).jpg
A preserved Scenicruiser in England, 2013

About 200 Scenicruisers were still in service when Greyhound withdrew them around 1975. As of 2015, some of these remain, many converted to motorhomes. Other owners are committed bus enthusiasts who have restored their buses to like-new condition. A number of them were bought as used buses and ran in the colors of their new owners for some years after leaving Greyhound. A few even ended up wearing Trailways red and white after they were bought by Trailways affiliate carriers.

Despite large amounts of quality problems, the Sceniccruiser (like the GM New Look bus which shared many design similarities and parts did for transit buses) became the definitive Greyhound bus for decades and an icon of 1950s design, even well past the buses' retirement. The influence of the Scenicruiser and its predecessor the Spanish Pegaso Z-403 may be seen in GM's 1964 Buick Sport Wagon and Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagons, both of which had stepped-up roofs and a raised skylight over the second row of seats. [4] The coaches of the Aerotrain, which GM's Electro-Motive Division introduced in 1955, had bodies that resembled parts of the Scenicruiser. [5]

Other manufacturers also make similar split-level coaches, such as Mexico's Sultana Panoramico, first manufactured in 1956.

Art, music and literature

The Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces , by John Kennedy Toole, includes many obsessively sarcastic references by his main character to a trip in a Scenicruiser coach, which he recounts as a traumatic ordeal.

Country singer Hoyt Axton (1938–1999) used a remodeled 1955 Scenicruiser, purchased from Commander Cody, as his tour bus in the 1970s and '80's. "An Old Greyhound," a song he wrote about the bus, appears on his 1976 album Fearless.

Scenicruiser 472, a 1955 model, gained regional fame as the tour bus for the Mission Mountain Wood Band from the mid-1970s to 1987. It was said to have traveled over two million miles and as of 2014, was still roadworthy. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flxible</span> American manufacturer of coaches and buses from 1913 to 1996

The Flxible Co. was an American manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars, funeral cars, ambulances, intercity coaches and transit buses, based in the U.S. state of Ohio. It was founded in 1913 and closed in 1996. The company's production transitioned from highway coaches and other products to transit buses over the period 1953–1970, and during the years that followed, Flxible was one of the largest transit-bus manufacturers in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greyhound Lines</span> North American intercity bus service

Greyhound Lines, Inc. (Greyhound) is a company that operates the largest intercity bus service in North America. Services include Greyhound Mexico, charter bus services, and Amtrak Thruway services. Greyhound operates 1,700 coaches produced mainly by Motor Coach Industries and Prevost serving 230 stations and 1,700 destinations. The company's first route began in Hibbing, Minnesota in 1914 and the company adopted the Greyhound name in 1929. The company is owned by Flix North America, Inc., an affiliate of FlixBus, and is based in Downtown Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMC motorhome</span> American recreational vehicle

The GMC Motorhome is a recreational vehicle that was manufactured by the GMC Truck & Coach Division of General Motors for model years 1973–1978 in Pontiac, Michigan, USA — as the only complete motorhome built by a major auto/truck manufacturer. Manufactured in 23 and 26 ft lengths, the design was noted for its front-wheel drive and its low profile, fully integrated body.

The Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company was an early manufacturer of passenger buses in the United States. Between 1923 and 1943, Yellow Coach built transit buses, electric-powered trolley buses, and parlor coaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle bus</span> American motor coach

The Eagle was a make of motor coach with a long and interesting history. During a period of over four decades, some 8,000 Eagle coaches were built in four countries on two continents. The coaches were a common sight on American highways and were strongly associated with Continental Trailways for over three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM New Look bus</span> American public transit bus

The GM New Look bus is a municipal transit bus that was introduced in 1959 by the Truck and Coach Division of General Motors to replace the company's previous coach, retroactively known as the GM "old-look" transit bus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Transit Series</span> American transit bus type

The Rapid Transit Series (RTS) city bus is a long-running series of transit buses that was originally manufactured by GMC Truck and Coach Division during 1977, in Pontiac, Michigan. First produced in 1977, the RTS was GMC's offering of an Advanced Design Bus design (the other entry was the Grumman 870 by competitor Flxible) and is the descendant of GMC's prototype for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transbus project. The RTS is notable for its then-futuristic styling featuring automobile-like curved body and window panels; the Advanced Design Buses were meant to be an interim solution between the high-floor transit buses that preceded them, such as the GMC New Look (which had a curved windshield, but flat side glass and body panels), and modern low-floor buses that would facilitate passenger boarding and accessibility. Most current buses are now made by specialized coach manufacturers with flat sides and windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMC Astro</span> Motor vehicle

The GMC Astro is a heavy-duty cabover truck that was manufactured by the GMC Truck and Coach Division of General Motors from the 1969 to 1987 model years. Succeeding the F/D-series "Crackerbox" cabovers, the Astro was marketed by Chevrolet as the Titan, serving as the largest cabover truck ever produced by General Motors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM "old-look" transit bus</span> GM bus manufactured from 1940 to 1969

The GM "old-look" transit bus was a transit bus that was introduced in 1940 by Yellow Coach beginning with the production of the model TG-3201 bus. Yellow Coach was an early bus builder that was partially owned by General Motors (GM) before being purchased outright in 1943 and folded into the GM Truck Division to form the GM Truck & Coach Division. The Yellow Coach badge gave way to the GM nameplate in 1944. Production of most "old-look" models was stopped upon the release of the GM New-Look bus in 1959, however some smaller "old-look" models continued to be built until 1969. Approximately 38,000 "old-look" buses were built during the 29-year production run. The "old-look" name is an unofficial retronym applied to this series of GM buses after the release of the GM New-Look series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM Buffalo bus</span> Motor vehicle

The GM "Buffalo" bus is a colloquial term referring to several models of intercity motorcoaches built by the GM Truck and Coach Division at Pontiac, Michigan, between 1966 and 1980. "Buffalo" coaches have a stepped roof in front, and the first three rows of seats are at different levels, mounted on stepped floors resembling some types of theater seating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flxible New Look bus</span> American passenger transit bus

The Flxible New Look bus is a transit bus introduced in 1959 by the Flxible Company, and produced from 1960 until 1978, when the New Look was replaced by the "870" Advanced Design Bus. Over its 17-year production run 13,121 Flxible New Look buses were manufactured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixie Greyhound Lines</span> American commercial intercity bus service

The Dixie Greyhound Lines, a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it became merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown Supercoach</span> Motor vehicle

The Crown Supercoach is a bus that was constructed and marketed by Crown Coach Corporation from 1948 to 1991. While most examples were sold as yellow school buses, the Supercoach formed the basis for motorcoaches and other specialty vehicles using the same body and chassis. While technically available outside of the West Coast, nearly all Crown school buses were sold in Washington state, Oregon and California.

GAC Ireland was a bus and coach manufacturer based in Shannon, County Clare, Ireland. It traded from 1980 until 1986, and almost all the vehicles it built were for the Irish state-owned transport company Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) with the first delivery out of a 749 order in November 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chevrolet van</span> Motor vehicle

The Chevrolet Van or Chevy Van is a range of vans that was manufactured by General Motors from the 1964 to 1996 model years. Introduced as the successor for the rear-engine Corvair Corvan/Greenbrier, the model line also replaced the panel van configuration of the Chevrolet Suburban. The vehicle was sold both in passenger van and cargo van configurations as well as a cutaway van chassis that served as the basis for a variety of custom applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GM PD-4103</span> Motor vehicle

The GM PD-4103 was a single-decker coach built by GMC, in the United States, in 1951 and 1952. It was a 37- or 41-passenger Parlor-series highway coach and was an improved version of the earlier PD-4102 "transition" model. A total of 1501 were built, 900 in 1951 and 600 in 1952, plus one that was converted by GMC from a PD-4102. In early 1953, this model was replaced by the groundbreaking PD-4104 "Highway Traveler". The PD-4103 competed directly with, and surpassed in sales, a similar model from ACF-Brill Corporation, the IC41.

Ansett Pioneer was an Australian long distance coach operator. Founded in 1905 as the AA Withers Bus Company, the company maintained continuous operation under a variety of corporate monikers until its 1993 merger into Greyhound Pioneer Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GX-1 (bus)</span> Concept bus by Greyhound

GX-1 was the first post-WWII concept bus from Greyhound that evolved into the Scenicruiser PD-4501.

The GX-2 was a prototype bus built for Greyhound that was eventually developed into the Scenicruiser. It began in mid-1948 as a 35-foot design, but, in part to accommodate more passengers, Greyhouse President Orville Caesar directed his engineering department to add five feet in length to the upper deck of a PD-3751 obtained from GM. After Greyhound's initial experiences with GX-1, a 50-seat double-decked bus, Caesar decided that the next prototype would be a deck-and-a-half style, which led to the silhouette of the Scenicruiser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flyer 700/800/900 series</span> Canadian bus model series

The Flyer 700/800/900 series were a series of transit buses built in three generations by Western Flyer and its successors Flyer Industries and New Flyer, of Canada, between 1967 and 1987. Except for brief overlap during transition from one generation to the next, they were not in production concurrently. All individual model designations included a prefix of either D, for diesel propulsion, or E, for electrically powered trolleybuses, with the first digit indicating the generation and the last digit indicating a variant within the generation. The introductory model was the D700, originally released in 1967 for the Canadian transit market, and the last series group to be produced, D900, was discontinued in 1987. Flyer had become New Flyer only the year before, in 1986.

References

  1. "Hargreaves of Bolton: Foden PVSC6 19??: Whitson RC35C". Old Bus Photos. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013..
  2. "Pegaso Monocasco (monocoque) brochure 1951". Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013..
  3. Duncan Bryant Rushing. "The Scenicruiser and Previous Exclusive Coaches plus Related Pieces of the Historical Puzzle". Bluehounds and Redhounds, the histories of Greyhound and Trailways. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  4. (1) "1964-1972 Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser". HowStuffWorks. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
    (2) "Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, 1964-1977". Eric Peters Autos. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original on August 15, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
  5. "LOOK magazine: The train that rides on air". Automotive Hollywood: The Battle for Body Beautiful. carofthecentury.com. June 1955. Archived from the original on July 28, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  6. Madison, Erin (October 2, 2014). "Mission Mountain Wood Band bus finds Great Falls home". Great Falls Tribune. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2017.