City Transit Buses - Part Two

[siberianmo]

I'm baaaaaaaack with the same question I asked just about a year ago on this forum: Does anyone know of the whereabouts of modern (1990's to present) U.S./Canadian city transit buses (HO scale)?

The last time I asked this question - the responses were overwhelming - lots of laughs - some good tips - some not-so-good tips, etc.

I noticed that Walthers has listings for Busch GMC "Fishbowl" city buses - but of course, they require advance reservations with an unknown delivery date. Great help! Anyway, those "Fishbowl's" look great, but really are too dated for the period I am modeling.

Sooooooooo, once again - any current skinny out there on modern U.S./Canadian city transit buses for HO layouts?

And, yes - I have done all the perfunctory searches on the manufacturers sites (Pirate models, etc.) - and haven't come up with anything yet.

Thanx in advance.

[Anonymous]

Buses..........are............the...............enemy!!!!!!!!!!!!

Haha, just kidding. I really can't give you much help, but I think Athearn or Walthers makes a pretty modern city bus.

[chutton01]

Assuming you are a US modeler, probably what people told you a year ago is best (and still holds true) - look in the Wiking and Herpa section for modern (boxy) European urban buses, find the closest match to whatever city-you- model transit system runs, and then buy and repaint them.
No HO late-model Blue-Birds, Gilligs, Neoplans, NABIs or Orions out there to my knowledge, but plenty of Euro-types to stand in for them.

And, although you may have gotten this yahoo group last time, doesn't hurt to repeat it:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hoscalebuses

[siberianmo]

For: 4884bigboy:

Yeah, I know - buses are evil. Nevertheless, they are part of the scene, especially when modeling part of a city. No luck with Walthers or Athearn. Thanx!

For: chutton01:

Thanx for the url - I'll give it a try.

Insofar as the Euro buses go - nope, that won't get it for me. I do have three Herpa models (North American tour buses) and they look fine for what they are supposed to be - but when it comes to a bona fide North American city transit bus as seen where I Iive (near St. Louis, MO, USA) or where our relatives are (Halifax, NS, Canada) - they just won't do.

Appreciate the response!

[METRO]

The buses I actually use on my line are from Roadmaster (a model car company that I'm not sure still exists) they released a set of city transit buses a few years ago in NJT and CTA among others. while the actual scale is a 1-90 I figured it was close enough for HO scale.

After some repainting and adition of some details they look great on the layout at my transit hubs.

Edit: I'm actually planning on picking up some of the Busch Fishbowls when they come out, they are still modern enough to be used in a current city scene. They are actually the favoured bus of the Toronto Transit Commission and several dozen still operate there. (In fact Toronto likes them so much they are buying and rebuilding many from other transit lines, most notably Montreal.) Milwaukee County Transit just retired their last fishbowls this past year and I've also seen them reciently in the Northeast and California. I figure these would add some contrast to the more modern roadmaster buses and give my transit line a better sense of believable history.

~METRO

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by METRO

The buses I actually use on my line are from Roadmaster (a model car company that I'm not sure still exists) they released a set of city transit buses a few years ago in NJT and CTA among others. while the actual scale is a 1-90 I figured it was close enough for HO scale.


~METRO

Metro, I think you mean Road Champs. They released a line of HO scale metro buses back in the 90s, then discontinued the buses. Road Champs is known for their police vehicles in several scales. The HO buses are available on e-bay, usually for $10 to $19 depending upon the city. They also had Greyhound buses and tour buses.

David Harrison

[AntonioFP45]

Siberianmo,

I remember our communications last year. It was on my "An American Icon" thread.

Did you try the 1/87th club? I no longer have their e-mail address but you'll find them on your search engine.

[METRO]

Right , sorry all, lol after looking at the Buses they are Road Champs not Roadmaster, good eye there David.

~METRO

[siberianmo]

For Metro:

I also will be purchasing some "Fishbowls" as they still are somewhat current. Unfortunately, who knows when they will make it to market ........

I don't know why the "Fishbowl" - Toronto connection didn't "click" for me. We usually get to Toronto at least once a year - I'll have to pay more attention. Admittedly, TRAINS are why Toronto is on the stopover list. Love to watch 'em - especially from our hotel room windows. I have been fortunate enough to get the desk clerks to provide us with a "room with a view ....... of the train tracks." Love that Union Station!

Thanx for the response.

For DHarrison:

I'll check out e-bay ......

For AntonioFP45:

Yes, we had some fun with the topic last February .......

The 1/87th club was checked out and same results.

I doubt that anyone is interested in providing these 1/87 scale buses.
Oh well, "Fishbowls" it will be.

Thanx again to all!

[willy6]

Try www.truckstopmodels.com .they are like the walthers for ho scale vehicles.

[siberianmo]

For willy6:

Just checked it out - bookmarked it too. Great site.

The bus line is rather sparce - but they also show the GMC "Fishbowls" as TBA for availability. Walthers has the price - they don't. I'm not too sure that any site will have a leg up on any other. The problem is - there just aren't any CURRENT U.S./Canadian city transit buses to be had in HO scale.

Appreciate the info .....

[METRO]

Here's a good site for anyone interested in Ontario mass-transit:

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/

I read up the section on buses today and it appears that the rebuilt TTC Fishbowls (or New Look models acording to GMC) seem to have been moded a bit with the back hump removed giving it a smooth roofline but otherwise they seem very much like the Busch models.

~METRO