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As the “website guy”, I am not the source of deep bus historical knowledge, but I keep asking questions that trigger fun conversations. For example, I was trying to understand some of the confusion around the naming of our Austin “Utility Coach”. I’m happy to report that our Pacific Bus Museum, in-house historian, Eli Bail, did a lot of work to help try to answer these questions. He worked closely with Leslie Mark Kendall, the Chief Historian, of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Presented here is Eli Bail’s Austin continuation of the history of Pickwick. – PBM Member Tom Baker |
Dwight Austin, El Segundo
When the Pickwick Corporation went into bankruptcy, subsidiary Pickwick Motor Coach Works, Ltd. continued manufacture until mid-1933. At that time its former general manager, Dwight Austin, leased the factory from the receiver to build a unique bus of his own cosign. The Utility Coach, utilizing Austin’s patented angle drive, was the forerunner of the modern rear-engined transit bus.
The aluminum-bodied, 22-passenger Utility Coach was visually as well as mechanically unique with its Hercules WXRT engine mounted transversely under a bustle at the rear. At least 28 are known to have been built. The first ran locally in Los Angeles, but the majority went to the Utah Light and Traction Co. in Salt Lake City.
Production ended in 1934 when Yellow Coach, the bus manufacturing division of General Motors, hired Dwight Austin who brought with him the angle drive patent. Austin became lead engineer at General Motors Yellow Coach Division until he went out on his own in 1943. Angle drive remained the key element of Yellow Coach and General Motors bus design until GM ended bus production in 1986.
The Utility Coach concept also remained a key element of transit coach design. ULATCo. management would not allow it to die. With Austin out of the manufacturing business, solicitations to the industry resulted in responses from several established manufacturers, all with less space-efficient right-angle drive. Kenworth and Mack built almost photographic copies and Twin Coach responded with a smoother look adding a slant aft-end over the bustle complete with an extra rear window. Mack won the next Salt Lake order and later redesigned the rear end as well. Both the Mack and Twin models remained in their catalogues into the 1940’s. (See Pickwick)
– PBM In-House Historian Eli Bail
The Austin Utility Coach — one of a group that went to Salt Lake City in 1933.
The Austin Utility Coach
Perhaps many of our members have not seen a bus with a bustle, but the coach was just such an animal. The Utility Coach was a lightweight, low to the ground, 21-passenger transit coach. It was designed by Dwight Austin, and built by his Austin System facilities in California. Dwight Austin was originally in charge of the body shop of the Pickwick operation in California until that firm became a casualty of the 1933 depression. During 1933 and 1934, Austin built the 21-passenger buses the bear his name. At least thirteen went to Utah Power and Light Company in Salt Lake City, and four to Los Angeles Motor Coach Company, numbers 3401 to 3404. Pacific Electric also had three, numbers 100 to 102. In addition to the motor in a separate compartment at the rear of the bus, the Utility Coach also featured the emergency door at the front, alongside the driver. It was designed to have a low floor for ease of entry and exit and because of this resulted in some wasted space. Instead of a five passenger rear divan seat, only three seats were across the back, as the wheel well covers protruded into the bus quite high. In late 1934, Dwight Austin joined Yellow Coach as a development engineer. Some people say GM’s Col. Green brought Austin to Yellow Coach so GM could use Austin’s angle drive patent. Others feel that Greyhound was mainly responsible for bringing the two together. Austin had a hand in designing the 719 and 743 Yellow cruisers, and he was a remarkable engineer. Possibly his thinking was too advanced to be compatible with others at Pontiac, and as a result, friction developed and Austin left GM in 1940. Austin in later years had an airplane seat manufacturing business in Kent, Ohio. He passed away during 1960.
The Austin Utility Coach had the following specifications Overall height from the road was 8 feet, 6 inches. The overall body length was22 feet, 10 inches. The door width was 23 inches. A 29 by 5 inch emergency door was located alongside the driver. The bus was 92 inches wide, had an inside height of 6 feet, 4 inches. Seat centers were 30 inches, and the wheelbase was 16 feet, 8 inches. Front overhang was 4 feet, 7 inches plus 8 inches for the bumper, and the rear overhang was 4 feet, 3 inches plus the bumper.
The coach was copied in 1935 by Mack Trucks, who delivered an order of 21-passenger model CW buses to Salt Lake City. It was also copied in the Pacific Northwest by Heiser on a Kenworth chassis. Photos will show the similarity. If any MBS member knows of other such buses, or knows of other Utility bus delivered, please write the editor.
