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The bus is leaving.
This is the Pickwick 'Nite Coach" Alsacia sleeper coach of 1929
And I naively thought I'd catch this one!
Actually I have it as 1928 (launched in August of that year) before entering service with Pickwick Stages System.
Fabulous idea with 13 sleeping compartments for 26 people, en-suite bathrooms for all and kitchen for hot food.
Then along came the aeroplane to spoil everything.
This was the first of 4 different models before it went pear-shaped.
I have two more photos of a Pickwick Nite Coach taken in Los Angeles in 1932.
This one differs from the puzzle in that its' rear compartment appears to have been removed and the ground clearance is greater.
It was operated by Pacific Greyhound when the photo was taken.
After some digging I´ve found those on my HD:
Wow!
Thanks Grob.
They all seem to differ in one way or another.
Quote from: woodinsight on October 21, 2010, 01:11:34 PM
Wow!
Thanks Grob.
They all seem to differ in one way or another.
These are the later versions; they appeared gradually more modern with each new iteration (4 in total, although some claim 5; there is no evidence anywhere of a fifth).
Only the very first one (the puzzle photo and named as you rightly say Alsacia after Pickwick owner Charles F. Wren's eldest daughter) had the flat part at the rear; all the others had either a 'fastback' or full upper deck. The theme of naming after Wren's daughters continued when the second NiteCoach was named Gladys after the younger of his two daughters and having then run out of names No. 3 was named Morpheus after the Greek god of dreams and sleep; strangely the name of the fourth and final coach has been lost to posterity.
(see also '38 Phutney-Creech Land Yacht)
Is this one the Morpheus ?
I believe this is the sequence:
That's superb Carnut.
I guess the photos I posted earlier were of Morpheus.
Are you also a bus/coach expert/fan?
Quote from: woodinsight on October 23, 2010, 03:18:53 PM
That's superb Carnut.
I guess the photos I posted earlier were of Morpheus.
Are you also a bus/coach expert/fan?
Yes, they've always fascinated me although I wouldn't claim to be an expert!
I have a large collection of bus models; how sad is that?!
Interesting!
I have a large collection of bus & coach photographs and was wondering whether anyone was interested before I post some.
They range from 1920s to 1970s and cover the world.
If they are as fascinating as this amazing Dickensian machine, please don't hesitate to post some more.
Thanks to Otto for making me discover this one, and to the others for filling up the story.
Quote from: woodinsight on October 24, 2010, 12:39:17 AM
Interesting!
I have a large collection of bus & coach photographs and was wondering whether anyone was interested before I post some.
They range from 1920s to 1970s and cover the world.
Perhaps you could post some of them as puzzles? 8)
I´m not that much interested in commercial vehicles, but I´d also welcome unusual experiments like that, of course.
Yes I'll post some of the more interesting ones as puzzles.
Some coachbuilders who built car bodies also built coach bodies - I'm working on a group puzzle along those lines.
I also have many early American bus/coach photos - not just the vehicles but the locations - that may be of interest to our friends across the pond.
few more:
They claim it's a "Pickwick" motor and I have read that the engine was their own make, but I understood it actually had a Sterling Petrel 6-cylinder petrol engine with Brown-Lipe transmission.
I think it's highly unlikely that they actually made their own engine, but more likely branded the Sterling as their own!
Another Coach. But I do have no additional information about this photo...
That one looks like Morpheus.
Here's another picture of Gladys:
The 1929 bus again:
A rare rear view:
A rare front shot of the 1929 Pickwick bus: