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Fageol advertisement from the Archives, donated by Eli Bail
The Complete Encyclopedia of Commercial Vehicles, edited by G.N. Gerogano (©1979 Krause Publications Inc.) describes Fageol this way:
Fageol (US) 1916-1939
- Fageol Motors Co., Oakland, Cal. 1916-1932
- Fageol Motors Co., Kent, Ohio 1925-1926 (buses only)
- Fageol Truck & Coach Co., Oakland, Cal. 1932-1939
This company was formed by Frank R. Fageol, Willian B. Fageol, Louis H. Bill (president) and others to mak luxury cars and orchard tractors. Car production wa killed by America’s entry into the war, and the tractor were over-priced, but as the Fageol brothers had built few trucks before the formation of the company it was decided that these should be the main product. Fageols were conventional assembled trucks in the 2½ to 6-ton range, with 4-cylinder Waukesha engines, some paircast some monobloc, Fageol’s own transmission and a Timken worm rear axle. They had solid tires on artillery wheels with the option of duals at the rear. A distinctive styling feature, used on nearly all subsequent Fageol vehicles was the row of finned ventilators along the hood top. In the early 1920s the range was shifted to 1½- to 5-tonners and prices ran from $3000 to $5700, substantially highe than the average American truck, but typical of California-built vehicles which had to be capable climbing long, steep grades.
Georgano Encyclopedia – 1922 Fageol Safety Coach
Georgano Encyclopedia – 1921 6-ton truck
Concurrently the Fageol brothers developed a bus business which eventually involved several other companies. By 1920 the passenger stage business achieved sizeable proportions in California, but neither extended touring cars nor light truck chassis were suitable, and to fill this need Fageol launched their Safety bus, shortly re-named Safety Coach, in 1921.
This achieved a phenomenal success, and not only in California. It featured a 4-cylinder Hall-Scott engine and a fully-enclosed 22-passenger body carried between wide track wheels, the vehicle being lower than anything that had been seen before. Soon there was a 6-cylinder bus for 29 passengers, which had a luggage boot at the rear. An eastern sales agency was opened in Cleveland in 1924 by Frank Fageol, and the former plant of the Thomart Motor Co. in nearby Kent, Ohio was acquired for assembly of Safety Coaches. 260 were sold in 1923 and 503 in 1924.In 1925 the American Car & Foundry Co. of Detroit, desiring to enter the transit vehicle manufacturing business, acquired the J.G. Brill Co. of Philadelphia, a major maker of streetcars and trolley coaches, and offered to buy the Fageol plants too. The Fageol brothers and most of the Ohio stockholders agreed to sell, the brothers becoming A.C.F. vice-presidents, but the Oakland plant remained independent. It also remained quite small, producing about 100 buses and a rather larger number of trucks per year in the late 1920s. Their buses included some double deckers. A.C.F. transferred Fageol production from Kent to Detroit in 1926, and continued to use the Fageol name on a type of bus that strongly resembled the Safety Coach, but other models introduced after 1927 used the name A.C.F. The Fageol brothers left A.C.F. in 1927 to form the Twin Coach Co. at Kent.
Georgano Encyclopedia – 1932 10-ton truck
The Oakland plant kept pace with developments in the truck industry, with pneumatic tires, electric lighting and starting, full pressure lubrication and, in 1929, 4-wheel hydraulic brakes. The range expanded to include a 10-ton 6-wheeler with a 6-cylinder Hall-Scott engine as an option. A merger with Moreland was proposed in 1930 but fell through because of Fageol’s operating losses, which led to receivership and a reorganization with bank leadership as Fageol Truck & Coach Co.
Diesel engines, by Cummins and Waukesha, were available from 1932, as were aluminum frames. In the mid 1930s a new streamlined cab with V-windscreen Was adopted, and a cab-over joined the range in 1937. At this time the range ran from 2- to 10-tonners, with prices from $1340 to $10,800. A 1938 tandem tractor with a two-section Fruehauf lowbed trailer measured 74 feet overall length, and hauled a transporter weighing 104 tons. As a result of continuing financial difficulties Fageol’s assets were sold in November 1938 to Sterling of Milwaukee, and on January 1st 1939 Fageol truck production was suspended. Sterling retained the sales outlets and sold the rest to T.A. Peterman who renamed the truck Peterbilt and continued production.
– R. Wawrzniak/Motor Bus Society
Georgano Encyclopedia – 1938 articulated truck
Gerogano continues:
FAGEOL (US) 1950-1954
- Twin Coach Co., Kent, Ohio
In 1950 Twin Coach revived the Fageol name for a line of furniture moving vans using many International components, with Twin’s own integral construction. Fruehauf stampings were used for the bodies, which resembled Fruehauf trailers in their lines. They came in eight wheelbase lengths, from 108 to 222 inches. Though made by Twin Coach and sold through International dealers, the vans were known as Fageol Super Freighters. There was also a short-lived multi-stop delivery van of 1954 known as the Fageol Pony Express.
– G.N. Gorgano
“By 1921 bus transportation in the US was growing and poised for greatness. All it lacked was… a bus.
From 1900 when Mack mounted seats on a truck chassis, through the beginnings of Greyhound that used 1914 Hupmobiles… buses were wood bodies mounted on truck or automobile chassis (or just jam packed cars)
Enter the Fageol brothers who had been manufacturing trucks, cars and farm tractors in Oakland, California.
In 1921 they became the first to build a “complete” bus. Fageol designed a chassis that had a wide track and low center of gravity making it resistant to rolling and easier to enter and exit. It had special springs and axles that improved ride and handling as well as powerful hydraulic braking.
Fageol mounted their own specially designed bus bodies on it, and were early adopters of optional air brakes and steel bodies. Renamed the “Safety Coach” they were a leap forward in the safety and comfort of passenger transportation.
There are only 4 examples of these groundbreaking buses known to exist, and the Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum has two of them in its’ historic fleet. Although early examples had multiple side doors, Fageols rapidly evolved into the center aisle configuration used today.
Fageol built a number of body styles, Their innovative ‘Streetcar’ concept is a precursor to modern transit buses, and the ‘Parlor’ type was the premier highway coach of the era.”
Dave Millhouser – Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum
March 14, 2022
“Reportedly there only four Fageol buses still exist… and (one is in the historic bus collection of the AACA Museum in Hershey PA and another is in the collection of the Pacific Bus Museum in Fremont, CA).
By 1921, bus transportation in the US was growing and poised for greatness. All it lacked was…a bus.
From 1900, when Mack mounted seats on a truck chassis, through Greyhound’s beginnings that used 1914 Hupmobiles, buses were wood bodies mounted on truck or auto-mobile chassis (or just jam-packed cars).
Enter the Fageol brothers, already manufacturing trucks, cars, and farm tractors in Oakland, CA. In 1921, they became the first to build a “complete” bus. Fageol designed a chassis with a wide track and low center of gravity, making it resistant to rolling and more comfortable to enter and exit. It had unique springs and axles that improved ride and handling as well as powerful hydraulic braking.
The innovative “low floor’ concept is a precursor to modern transit buses. Although early examples had multiple side doors, Fageols rapidly evolved into the center aisle configuration that we use today. Fageol mounted their own specially designed bus bodies on it and were early adopters of optional air brakes and steel bodies.
Renamed the “Safety Coach,” they were a leap forward in passenger transportation’s safety and comfort. There are only four examples of these groundbreaking buses known to exist, and the AACA Museum, Inc. has two of them in its historic fleet. Fageol built several body styles. The “Parlor” type was used on intercity runs and featured an interior luxurious for the times. Parlor coaches stored luggage in rear compartments or on overhead roof racks.
The Museum’s 1927 model, acquired and donated by the late Dick Maguire, came from Empire Lines in Spokane, WA. Fageol offered, at the time, both Waukesha and Hall Scott engines. The bus is powered by a Hall Scott 6-cylinder that developed approximately 90 HP at 2200 RPM.Fageol also built a “Streetcar” body, a precursor to modern transit buses. It featured different seats, entrance doors, and other details. It was intended to re-place streetcars on routes where it wasn’t practical to lay tracks.
The Museum’s 1924 Fageol is an example of this model, donated by Peninsula Charter Lines of East Palo Alto. CA. It was reported to have originally operated for the Pacific Electric Railway of Los Angeles. A Hall Scott 4-cylinder engine initially powered it, and it was replaced somewhere in its long service life by a Hercules.
Production records are scant and incomplete, but Fageol built a wide variety of specialty coaches, including sightseers and double decks. In addition to the Oakland, CA plant, some Fageols were built under license in Kent, OH.
In 1927, the Fageol brothers left the company to form Twin Coach that manufactured in Kent. Twin, named due to two engines’ arrangement to compensate for the lack of power, built transit and trolleybuses and small delivery vehicles until the Flxible Company bought it in 1955.
After the departure of the brothers, the leadership of Fageol fell to company president L. H. Bill. After going into receivership during the Great Depression, in 1938, T. A. Peterman purchased Fageol’s Oakland factory and inventory. In 1939, they built the first Peterbilt truck.
Now part of PACCAR, Peterbilt remains a highly respected builder of heavy-duty trucks. While these buses seem quaint by modern standards, they were a giant leap forward in transportation safety, reliability, and comfort.
The (AACA Museum & PBM) Fageol’s represents the peak of front-engine bus design. It took more than a decade for technology to advanced enough to allow the building of coaches with rear diesel engines, underfloor baggage storage, and air conditioning that we take for granted today.”
Dave Millhouser – Museum of Bus Transportation/AACA Museum
December 15, 2020
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