Unitrans 4507-4508

Unitrans 4507 & 4508 were two ex-Sacramento Regional Transit District, General Motors "old-look" buses operated in regular service by Unitrans in Davis, California. Originally, they were part of a fleet of 30 identical buses built between 1956 and 1958 that operated in Sacramento, CA. While at Unitrans, they were commonly referred to as the "prison buses" due to their smaller sized windows, even though they were never used as such. Having been sold, they are no longer part of the Unitrans fleet.

4507 was purchased and restored by the [http://www.pacbus.org Pacific Bus Museum] in Fremont, CA. It is now [http://www.pacbus.org/nilescoachlines/index.shtml Niles Coach Lines #128] and is used for historic bus tours which operate in conjunction with the Niles Canyon Railway.

Technical specifications

Manufacturer: General Motors Corporation, Truck & Coach Division

Model: TDH-4512 "old-look"

Date built: October, 1958 (4507), September or October, 1958 (4508)

Engine: Detroit Diesel 6-71 diesel with an Allison VH 2-speed automatic transmission.

Length: 35 feet

Width: 8 feet

Seating capacity: 45

Original operator: Sacramento Transit Authority (until 1973), Sacramento Regional Transit District (after 1973)

Original fleet number: 128

Date acquired by Unitrans: Late 1970s/early 1980s

Current status: 4507 was retired and sold in 1997 to the Pacific Bus Museum, 4508 was retired and sold between 1997 and 1999 to a private party in Placerville, CA.

References

* [http://www.unitrans.com/ Unitrans Homepage] , "unitrans.com", retrieved on 2006-12-17

* [http://www.pacbus.org Pacific Bus Museum] , "pacbus.org", retrieved on 2006-12-26

* [http://photos.loft22.com/unitrans Mark's Unitrans Photo Gallery] , "loft22.com", retrieved on 2006-12-17

* [http://www.omot.org/roster/GMOldLookList/index.html Ohio Museum of Transportation - GM/Yellow Coach Old-Look Transit Production Lists] , "omot.org", retrieved on 2006-12-20

* [http://www.flickr.com/groups/unitrans/pool/ The Unitrans Pool] , "flickr.com", retrieved on 2006-12-18

*Stauss, Ed (1988). "The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses", Woodland Hills, CA: Stauss Publications. ISBN 0-9619830-0-0

*McKane, John H. & Squier, Gerald L. (2006). "Welcome Aboard the GM New Look Bus", Hudson, WI: Iconografix. ISBN 1-58388-167-0

External links

* [http://www.pacbus.org/roster/pbm128.html Pacific Bus Museum - Sacramento Transit Authority 128]
* [http://www.pacbus.org/nilescoachlines/ncl3.shtml Picture of 4507 operating as Sacramento Transit Authority #128 in 1966]
* [http://www.celebratefremont.org/tours.html Niles Canyon Lines Heritage Bus Tours information]