a few more interesting photos found on auslandern.tumblr.com

the above, it's brilliant. Why not put cellphone towers in fake cactus?

all found on auslandern.tumblr.com

Making a big impression, a double decker British bus

In TiJuana yesterday, I spotted some unusual buses. They have Semi-Truck exhaust stacks, and one has a trunk lid wing from a Honda or Toyota

Any cool little things like these get my attention and remind me of the Malta busses

The 1930 NiteCoach Greyhound bus built by Pickwick, big? Oh yeah. But special? Yes! It has Woodlite headlights!

The Success of the 1928 Nite Coach (on a Pierce Arrow chassis) prompted the introduction of a similar 53-passenger day coach, the Pickwick Duplex, in 1930.  Austin did not rest on his laurels and in 1932 introduced a totally new Sleeper Coach which featured aerodynamic breadbox styling that wouldn’t appear on his competitor’s coaches until the late 1930s.

It is generally agreed that only four Nite Coaches were built (Carlton Jackson claims five), the first of which was christened the Alsacia after Alsacia M. Wren, one of Charles F. Wren's two daughters. The Alsacia had an unusual flat rear roof over the rear-most first floor cabin, a feature not found on subsequent Nite Coaches which all featured a fastback rear roof with an enclosed luggage compartment.

 The next Nite Coach built, the Gladys, was named after Gladys I. Wren, Charles F. Wren's second daughter. The third coach constructed was christened the Morpheus, after the Greek god of dreams and sleep, while the name of the fourth and final first series Nite Coach has been lost to history.

What is known is that at least eighteen of the bread-box-style Nite Coaches were constructed. Ten were purchased by the Pacific Greyhound Line while the remaining eight coaches were sold to the Wren's Columbia Pacific Nite Coach Line. Whether they were constructed by Pickwick Motor Coach Works or by Columbia Coach Works remains unclear. At least one photograph gives a late 1932 date, although most state 1933 or later. Pictures exist of the coach in four liveries, Columbia Pacific Nite Coach Lines, Pacific Greyhound Line, Sante Fe Trail System Nite Coach and Santa Fe Trailways Sleeper Coach.

Columbia Pacific went bankrupt in 1935 and the route was taken over by the Burlington Line. The new owners elected to replace the two-year-old coaches with more cost-effective units so they were sold to the recently established Sante Fe Trailways Stage Line, who refurbished them for use on its daily Kansas City to Los Angles run.

Bus collector Eric McLain is the last recorded owner of the only Pickwick coach known to exist, a  1930 Duplex. Luckily a number of firms produced scale models based on the Nite Coach that are occasionally offered for sale.

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/pickwick/pickwick2.htm

above, in the lower right hand corner, the photo was annotated "Irish Hills Southern Mich"

what Woodlite headlights were:  http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/05/wood-lite-headlites-dim-and-useless-but.html

 Of course, you knew that, cause you've been looking at the posts about them that I've had here, because I appreciate their design. Everything I've read says they were terrible at actually lighting the area in front of a vehicle, but... well, they look great!

the photos and drawing I found at the Motor Transport Museum, and what a find! "Any and all photos taken on the museums property must include the wording: "By permission of the Motor Transport Museum, 31949 Highway 94, Campo, California, web site: http://www.motortransportmuseum.org"

Everything there is to learn about these, and all the below images are at http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/p/pickwick/pickwick.htm

Below info from http://www.nomadicista.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1018

Quite possibly the oddest buses ever made in the United States were two "observation buffet" cars constructed in the Los Angeles shops of Pickwick Stages in 1928. Named "Cherokee" and "Crow", they featured a tiny kitchen squeezed beneath a raised observation deck and a "conning tower" for the driver,

One of these buses is shown on it's assigned route between Los Angeles and San Francisco, where raised seats afforded views of spectacular scenery.

 The original design of Pickwick "Nite Coaches", of which only five were built, is represented here by "Morpheus".

Two Nite Coaches ran between St. Louis and Kansas City for Pickwick-Greyhound Lines for about six months in 1930 until they were ordered off the road as not meeting the size and weight limits of the Public Service Commission of Missouri. They reappeared later in San Francisco-Portland service.

"Morpheus" is pictured next to a Tri-Motor of Western Air Express, one of the predecessors of TWA. Not a Pullman car, but a bus: a compartment in a Nite Coach made up for overnight travel. Early bus lines, like early air lines, avoided night-time travel, and the Nite Coach was one effort to offer more effective competition to the railroads. The idea was periodically revived in the 1930's, but always foundered on the high operating cost because of the small number of overnight passengers that could be accommodated within legal size limits.

 One of the original four Pickwick Nite Coaches at a scenic overlook in Yosemite National Park. Not on the regular route, the park was a popular attraction for charter parties and tour groups.

 Buses built by Pickwick, Pioneer, Fageol and Yellow Coach are all visible in this 1934 view of Greyhound's San Francisco shop. The big power plant in the foreground with the instrument panel up high and almost over the radiator, is a six-cylinder Sterling "Petrel", the type of engine used in the original Pickwick Nite Coaches and Duplex day coaches. (I guess this explains why the engine on the model of the Nite Coach slides out the front, the engine and transmission were mounted on a sub frame that was removeable)

All text from Over The Road, A History of Intercity Bus Transportation in the United States by Albert Meier and John P. Hoschek, published by the Motor Bus Society, 1975

trains and things that look like trains, from Fifities50s.blogspot.com

above the 1959 Gatlinburg Tennessee tourist conveyor

Looks a lot like a train engine, but I can see bus dualie tires in the back, and people on the top

The Detroit Zoo train

the Virginian

The GM Aerotrain, more photos in this gallery: http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/12/gm-aerotrain.html

an 1850 boiler explosion left very little of the engine

above, the Mark Twain

Above, the El Capitan

All from various posts on http://fifties50s.blogspot.com

Disneyland Transportation Co doubledecker Ford bus, in 1969 was in Anaheim Disneyland, but in 2010 was in Tokyo Disneyland

a City of Los Angeles bus, very early 10 door example... anyone know what it's story is? Los Angeles is on the front window

click on it for full size

looks 1920's to me. Wood rims, 2 spare tires due to horse shoe nails being common problems

Dolores

from the movie Almost Famous. It's a really good movie, and gives a good look at was like for a rock band on the road in the early 70's. Watch Rock of Ages after that, and see another good rock and roll story

the only motorized vehicles in the 1933-34 Chicago "Century of Progress" exhibition were Greyhound tour busses

GMC T26 trucks, and the bodies were made by the Yellow Truck and Coach company http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/y/yellow_coach/yellow_coach.htm

Learned about these from http://dieselpunk.livejournal.com/511453.html

old and unusual vehicles that are getting emailed around this week

 I believe the above is a bread delivery truck... must be successful to afford the coachwork!

 very elegant tour coach tram... this would not be good in any area with weather, but terrific for Southern California... all we get is sun from March to December.. yes, I am bragging. It's expensive too.

 the above... is EARLY! 1890's? I think! Victorian to Edwardian for sure

 one tiny tracked tourer

 Movie studio lot transport? Tourist carrier?

 She must be in incredible muscular shape to push pull that cycle

 No notes with this email of photos to indicate why two images of this cycle car are here, it's the same motorcycle rear, and I guess the front is the same, but at a later time, when he added headlights and the trunk on the roof

 An orient buckboard above

Thanks to commentor Boonie, the above people carrier is identified as a Lister Auto Truck, and a website link I am grateful for was offered that displays a great number of images that demonstrate a variety of these small industrial motorized service craft used in the 1920's and 1930's  http://www.autotruck.org/apps/photos/album.jsp?albumID=3840394  and below is a better look at one

Another reminder that there is always more wheeled machines that I've never seen or heard of to discover! 

 I've posted about this motorwheel http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=dynasphere it's the Dynasphere of Dr Purve

it was too big to be able to turn when needed...