Hi! We have been looking for a yellow school bus for our HO layout. Several that we have seen, marked 1:87 scale, seem to have a range of actual measurements.
? What would you consider the proper measurements (in inches) of a traditional American yellow school bus? As always, many thanks.
Real school busses come in different sizes (capacities), so you first need to find the dimensions of the one you want to model, deternine its length, and then convert to HO.
If you go to a web site of a company that makes school buses, they should have the dimensions. Try Blue Bird. They're still making school buses.
http://www.blue-bird.com/product.aspx?category=school&item=Vision
30' would be a good starting point. If it seems a little big for the layout shorter would be fine. As stated above, they come in many sizes (capacities). The one I drive is about 36' long (4.9") and is rated for 77 students. The 71 passenger one I used to drive was about 33' long (4,5"). There are a lot of shorter ones on the road too.
Have fun,
Richard
I think the OP might be referring more to the proper width and height as opposed to length.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Is there any particular era you are looking for?
I searched for years and years for a suitable mid to late 1950s school bus. I finally found one that worked great. A 1956 Chevrolet made by Johnny Lightning. Billed as 1/64 scale, but actually seems a lot closer to 1/87. It's metal and comes fully painted. It has rubber tires too.
True the front hood section should be narrower, but I can live with it given how long I have been looking for anything suitable.
Matt from Anaheim, CA and Bayfield, COClick Here for my model train photo website
Con Cor made a nice looking school bus years back, 1980s-early 90s body type which would also fit in today's era since a lot of them are still running in service. With minor modifications a unit can be back dated to the early 70s. I believe it was a scale 38 ft. long, but that would have to be verified.
I don't know if Con Cor offers it in yellow anymore. But plenty show up on ebay and, imho, the prices aren't bad.
Here's Con Cor's page with a "blue" school bus: (scroll down to the middle of the page)
http://www.con-cor.com/YardSale/Rt66page4.htm
Here's a typical ebay listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Con-Cor-HO-School-Bus-Grand-Rapids-Public-Schools-SPECIAL-ORDER-NEW-/180862118658?pt=Diecast_Vehicles&hash=item2a1c38eb02
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Cacole; Cowman; Dave; Southwest Chief; AntonioFP45:
Thanks for your replies, links and photos. We'll keep working on it. Guess our really main problem is the visual perspective ie. length and width of the bus near other vehicles on the layout. Again, many thanks.
One way to check for correct proportions is to compare the hood/front clip to a truck you know is correct.
This brings up another point. If you have a good coach body, you can change the hood section out for one is either earlier or later, within reason of course. Until about 20 years ago when they had the fiery, tragic crash in Kentucky(?), coaches bodies had been pretty much the same for years before. new safety stadnards brought in changes, but that has resulted in coach bodies that are pretty similar from year to year. It''s only the front clip that keeps up with current model year looks in most cases.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL