…the American factory. It was just not worth setting up production here. Today’s subject is this old transit bus. GM quit the bus business in 1987 with both factories being sold off at that time. The Canadian plant today operates under the name Nova Bus. That make is pretty popular…. (Search hits: 1 in title, 38 in body, 5 in comments.)
…couple bus nuts wanting to document it ask, well, he’s more than accommodating. His suggestion…let’s go for a ride! Big Red Bus: 1960s era, ex-Calgary Transit GMC Fishbowl/Newlook Bus out cruising the streets of Edmonton. Researched, written and photographed by Chris Doering and Connie Biggart (BIGDoer.com/Synd/Canada.com) The maker of the… (Search hits: 1 in title, 54 in body, 27 in comments.)
…Fishbowl Trolleybus! Calgary Then & Now: Ogden Bus Loop – DinnerInABucketInAMinute! They Live! Calgary Transit GMC Fishbowls in 2013 – The final year. Something to say and no one to say it to? Go here: contact us! Date of Adventure: August, 2021. Location: Calgary, AB. Article references and thanks: Nicholas… (Search hits: 0 in title, 38 in body, 0 in comments.)
…this century. The transmission is an Allison Bus Series automatic. Is it me, or do all transit bus transmissions seem to whine loudly? This bus last ran in CTS service in early 2020, about the time the last Detroit Diesel powered examples were stricken off the roster (all D40LFs numbered… (Search hits: 0 in title, 32 in body, 0 in comments.)
…very popular transit bus of the 1960s-1980s era. Some lasted in service into the 2010s (see: They Live! Calgary Transit GMC Fishbowls in 2013. Fishbowl buses were made in both the US and Canada. This example was retired around 1990 and is a less common 35 foot model (most we’re… (Search hits: 0 in title, 15 in body, 5 in comments.)
by Chris Doering · Published November 23, 2012 · Last modified January 24, 2022
…The Springbank Lights Fleet Kelts’ Collection Mike’s “Fordtown” Collection Wandering the Alberta Railway Museum Old Jack’s CNR #1158 at the Western Development Museum Canadian National Railways #1392 Argosy 28 Stettler County Collection – Part 2 Stettler County Collection – Part 1 The Big Red Bus Crowsnest Collection – Reprise Autocar… (Search hits: 0 in title, 14 in body, 0 in comments.)
…National Railways #1392 Argosy 28 Stettler County Collection – Part 2 Stettler County Collection – Part 1 The Big Red Bus Crowsnest Collection – Reprise Autocar Coal Hauler Crowsnest Collection – Finale Crowsnest Collection – Second Helping Crowsnest Collection – Round 1 SS Hosmer Case Steam Tractor DNR Excavator GMC… (Search hits: 0 in title, 12 in body, 0 in comments.)
…history….great work…much appreciated by those who follow.” Rob Graz. More buses! Old Metal Sandon BC – Trolley Bus Overload! The Big Red Bus – Come ride along! They Live: Calgary Transit GMC Fishbowls in 2013 – The last holdouts. If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by… (Search hits: 0 in title, 32 in body, 3 in comments.)
Here’s an old Calgary Transit “Fishbowl” bus in retirement. For decades it roamed the streets of Cowtown, but today languishes away in the back lot of a small town fire department. We’re looking at CTS #898, built in 1977 and one in an order of thirty five. Transit systems all… (Search hits: 0 in title, 11 in body, 2 in comments.)
…old photos there used to be a White Rose gas station next door. Oh, it was beautiful. In behind a 1940s Ford Two Ton, in “BIGDoer Yellow” begs to be photographed. Further east, at the town’s only business, a repair shop, an old Calgary Transit “Fishbowl” bus in retirement is… (Search hits: 0 in title, 12 in body, 0 in comments.)
…Retro styled vehicles are quite the rage right now. Within sight is a 1970s era ex-Calgary Transit “Fishbowl” Bus. It’s still in CTS colours. This should get a good looking at when we come back. Big fan of old transit buses. Loverna is only about half a click from the… (Search hits: 0 in title, 6 in body, 0 in comments.)
…Facebook Help keep new content coming… Or © 2012-2024 Chris Doering, Johanna (Connie) Biggart & the BIGDoer.com Society. 🍁🎀 Calgary’s Ogden Bus Loop many decades apart (org: Motor Bus Society). Some loops had facilities for drivers. Buses no longer stop here and haven’t for a couple years. An overall view…. (Search hits: 1 in title, 21 in body, 9 in comments.)
…take the main route from here on. We have to motor. But what a good little diversion it was. Wait, an old transit Fishbowl Bus. These were very common in the 1960s-1990s period (and even beyond in smaller numbers) and nearly every transit agency in the country operated some. Take… (Search hits: 0 in title, 2 in body, 0 in comments.)
…of the show. Today we’re speaking of the Motor Bus Society, who’ve allowed us to pull from the vast Gerry Squier collection for this series. He had a thing for transit buses and over many decades travelled the continent to photograph them. Hopefully we can honour this legacy while using… (Search hits: 0 in title, 21 in body, 0 in comments.)
…North – there is a small section of Centre South) ends unceremoniously at a side street just south of busy Beddington Trail. Here, it’s a quiet boulevard for a few blocks, but for most of its length is much more busy. Park at Bergen Crescent in the Beddington Heights Neighbourhood…. (Search hits: 0 in title, 7 in body, 0 in comments.)
…bus made into a motorhome. It’s a GM model New Look and this example was made in the early 1960s, at the GM locomotive plant in Ontario and once worked for Edmonton Transit. This series, nick-named “Fishbowls” was into the 1980s and perhaps even a bit beyond, the most common… (Search hits: 0 in title, 6 in body, 1 in comments.)
…end. They needed to keep busy and buses are no all that different to construct, so why not. Aircraft related work continued but seemed to dry up after the late 1950s. Buses were made until 1962 (Trolleybuses: 1945-1954) and while sales were promising in the early years, demand trailed off… (Search hits: 0 in title, 25 in body, 0 in comments.)
Not all that long ago Greyhound Bus Lines owned the Western Canadian market when it came to intercity ground transportation for us humans. Their buses went nearly everywhere and business seemed to be doing fine. If there was a town of any reasonable size, it was probably served. Passenger volumes… (Search hits: 0 in title, 20 in body, 21 in comments.)
…the children? We need answers! Oops, forgot to turn off soapbox mode. Our old photo comes courtesy of the Gerry Squier collection at the Motor Bus Society and for this, we’re in their debt. Gerry, who’s gone now, shot bus photos all over North America for decades and the group… (Search hits: 0 in title, 9 in body, 0 in comments.)
…intersection in a residential area of North Glenmore, a small shopping centre and a passing bus. Our mission: take the old photo and do our best to duplicate it in both angle and composition. Bus included. Getting good results (never guaranteed) is most satisfying, but the fun of doing it… (Search hits: 0 in title, 21 in body, 0 in comments.)
…Bus – let’s go for a ride! Autocar Coal Hauler – massive, imposing and spotless. Baby Fishbowl – a pocket sized transit bus. If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us! Date: November, 2018. Location: MD of Willow Creek, AB. Article references and… (Search hits: 0 in title, 8 in body, 0 in comments.)
…substation, turn left. Over there’s the Spring Gardens Transit Garage. It’s huge – lots of buses if you’re into that kind of thing. Back when Calgary Transit had old GMC Fishbowl and MCI Classic buses, we used to stake ourselves out in this very spot and photograph them heading out… (Search hits: 0 in title, 8 in body, 0 in comments.)
by Chris Doering · Published February 4, 2019 · Last modified September 3, 2020
…its school buses. And the dogs remind us to keep our distance. 1) A blue Blue Bird. 3) Here’s a rare bus, in front, from a maker called FitzJohn. In addition to US operations, they had a small factory in Ontario that produced only about a couple hundred buses give… (Search hits: 0 in title, 18 in body, 2 in comments.)
…bus, go here: Baby Fishbowl. And a look at the watch tells us it’s time to leave. The road calls. We ponder the building’s future, on looking back one last time. Will it be here when next we visit Nelson? A voice inside suggests change. Maybe good, maybe bad…who knows?… (Search hits: 0 in title, 4 in body, 0 in comments.)
…and here’s the maker’s badge. Canadian Car was once a industrial juggernaut in this country, making at various times, buses, aircraft, rail cars of every description and all manner of metal work. Brill refers to the US designer of the buses, which were made under license by “Can Car”. 6)… (Search hits: 0 in title, 15 in body, 0 in comments.)
…yet – now scroll down and enjoy the pics. Night all… A random post picked just for you… Baby Fishbowl – an old junior size transit bus. Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts… (Search hits: 0 in title, 1 in body, 0 in comments.)
…of figurines glued to the dash of a car. Who knows… 9) A 1960s Dodge Power Wagon four b’ four. They made two styles, this one with a brutish get-down- to-business military-esque look and one based on the conventional Dodge Pickup. The former, to many hard core aficionados, is the… (Search hits: 0 in title, 1 in body, 0 in comments.)
…“Terrance T” for sponsoring this post. Do the same… Even after Lew sold the business (to one Leo Chang), the Lew’s/Lewie’s nickname still stuck around for a time it seems. The Royal Cafe remained in business into the early 1980s although for a year in the early ’70s does not… (Search hits: 0 in title, 12 in body, 0 in comments.)
…to keep the rest of their extensive “CC&F/Brill” fleet running. All buses in Sandon come from that maker and all either worked for Vancouver Transit directly at one point (earlier BC Hydro Transit) or were parts buses keeping others running, some by way of other Canadian Trolleybus operators, including Calgary,… (Search hits: 0 in title, 11 in body, 2 in comments.)
…loss of business but still, Beattie’s remained in business into the late 1950s. The structure has some rustic fieldstone work and it would be quite easy to imagine a couple globe pumps sitting out front. And grandpa’s old International pickup getting a fill. Over there, it’s lot full of old… (Search hits: 0 in title, 11 in body, 0 in comments.)
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