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P.O. Box 601105 Sacramento, CA 95860-1105
About GM Four-Cylinder Parlor Coaches
GM built two wartime parlor coach models nominally seating 33 or 37 passengers. Differing from larger GM parlors, their rear engines, either gas or diesel, were mounted straight-in and coupled to a four-speed transmission. Models built during World War Two had steel bodies, beacuse aluminum went to aircraft production. For years these small parlor coaches were commonly called “ODT’s” for the Office of Defense Transportation which allocated them to bus companies according to wartime needs. GM went on to build 7,541 parlor coaches of 29 to 41-passenger capacity between 1944 and 1953.
In this story, you will meet the Pacific Bus Museum’s various Greyhounds… and “honorary” Greyhound.
General Motors, Greyhound, Mack, Motor Coach Industries (MCI), Parlor
This 1955 PD-4501 Scenicruiser was delivered, new, to Pacific Greyhound Lines in 1956.
In the mid-1960s Western Greyhound re-seated these “Travis” buses to 47 passengers to service route between San Francisco-Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA.
In Spring of 2003, the Pacific Bus Museum acquired this bus from the used equipment dealer.
4-Speed Manual, Detroit Diesel, Equipment Broker (Phil Monte), General Motors, General Motors, Greyhound, Marmon-Herrington, Melni Bus Service, Pacific Greyhound Lines, Parlor, Spicer, Western Greyhound Lines
This 1955 PD-4501 Scenicruiser was delivered new to Southwestern Greyhound Lines in January 1956.
This Scenicruiser was customized for promotional use by the makers of Red Bull energy drink.
It was donated to the Pacific Bus Museum by Steven Hofmann in June 2023
4-Speed Manual, Allison, Automatic, Detroit Diesel, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Greyhound, Parlor, Red Bull, Southwestern Greyhound Lines
Originally this GM, PD-4151 “Silverside” was delivered new to Pacific Greyhound Lines in San Francisco in April 1948.
In early 1972 Greyhound sold its last group of Silversides to a bus company in Peru but the very last Silverside bound for Peru was never shipped. This bus became part of Greyhound’s Historic Bus Fleet.
The Pacific Bus Museum acquired #1947 in January 2023 from Greyhound.
4-Speed Manual, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Greyhound, Greyhound Historic Bus Fleet, Intercity Coach, Pacific Greyhound Lines, Parlor, Unknown Peru, Western Greyhound Lines
This General Motors PD-4106 was delivered new to Las Vegas-Tonopah-Reno (LTR) Stage Line in 1964.
The bus was donated to the PBM in 1996 along with the five other buses of Richard Twining’s historical bus collection.
4-Speed Manual, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Intercity Coach, Las Vegas-Tonopah-Reno (LTR) Stage Line, Office of Defense Transportation, Oregon Coachways
This GM TDH-5301 “New Look” was purchased new by Western Greyhound Lines in 1961.
It was later acquired by the Santa Clara County Transit District (San Jose, CA).
#4708 was was acquired by the Pacific Bus Museum in 1994.
2-Speed V-Drive Hydraulic, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Greyhound, Intercity Coach, Santa Clara County Transit District (SCCTD), Western Greyhound Lines
This “Old Look” TDH-4801 in an order of 21 buses for Key System Transit Lines that were delivered, new, in 1958.
#2103 was the first bus in revenue service for AC Transit when the agency took over operations from Key System Transit Lines
#2103 was donated to the PBM in April 2013.
2-Speed Hydromatic, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit), General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Key System, Key System Transit Lines (KSTL), Santa Clara County Transit District (SCCTD), Transit, Western Railway Museum
Three General Motors TDM-4512’s (#244-246) were delivered to Peerless Stages, Inc. of Oakland, CA in April 1955.
In 1996 Richard donated #246 along with the five other buses in his historic bus collection to the Pacific Bus Museum.
4-Speed Manual, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Intercity Coach, Peerless Stages, West Coast Motor Coach Museum
This GM TDM 5103 was part of a group of 37 TDM 5103s bought by Greyhound in 1951. Affectionately known as “Queen Marys” or “Queens” for their large (53-passenger) carrying capacity.
The PBM acquired the bus in 1994 in a trade
Stephen Schwarzwald acquired the bus from Antelope Valley Bus Lines in 1975. Stephen was the Vice President of the WCMCM and later was the Secretary of the PBM. He donated the bus to the PBM in 1992.
2-Speed Hydromatic, Antelope Valley Lines, General Motors, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (LAMTA), Pacific Electric, Southern California RTD (SCRTD), Transit, West Coast Motor Coach Museum
This GM PD 3302 coach was delivered to Missouri Pacific Stages in 1945 as #821.
The bus was donated to the PBM in 1996 along with the five other buses of Richard Twining’s historical bus collection.
4-Speed Manual, GM Truck & Coach Division, Missouri Pacific Stages, Office of Defense Transportation, Pacific Greyhound Lines, Parlor, Western Greyhound Lines
In 2017 PBM Member, Ron Medaglia, wrote this article on the history of the Pacific Bus Museum, entitled “The Pacific Bus Museum From Hobby to Formal Museum”, for the National Bus Trader magazine.
American Stage Tours, General Motors, GM Truck & Coach Division, Niles Canyon Railway, Niles Coach Lines, Royal Coach Tours, Scenic Hyway Tours, Twin Coach, UC Davis Transit System, Union Pacific Railroad, Unitrans UC Davis, West Coast Motor Coach Museum
