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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 07/24/2010 :  4:23:13 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
We are building a new garage but the lot is to small to house the fleet. go figure.

keep those buses rolling
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/schoolbushistory
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hardybusman
Advanced Member

United States
470 Posts

Posted - 07/29/2010 :  4:04:10 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
You gotta wonder who plans these things. Powhatans bus shop is smaller and older than ours. They have 80 some buses and we have 12. Ha

Mr. Courtney Hardy
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 08/07/2010 :  4:23:03 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Mr. Hardy you have got some great pics Isle of Wight Academy has some cool buses. I am happy to be rolling in the same bus for the 4th year maybe the next 4 years will be as good. I have only done about 20,000 this last calendar year but going back on the longer runs so let see how it holds up . I just no dont like the newer buses very unusual for me but then done of them are specked out as nice as mine without ac i enjoy the 2 roof vents.

keep those buses rolling
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hardybusman
Advanced Member

United States
470 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2010 :  06:58:21 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I've been driving my 90 GMC for 5 years now and I really am going to hate to see it be put down. I know it wont last forever but with money as tight as it is here I may be in it for a long while. Only 3 more weeks till school starts here. Does any one know if there are any more 4 light buses left in Va? I know of a couple private schools but I am curious of the public schools.

Mr. Courtney Hardy
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2010 :  10:29:04 AM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
i think most 4 light buses are gone now there is a private school still running a 1983 Ford Thomas.

keep those buses rolling
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2010 :  10:57:13 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Why don't private schools' buses follow the same things that public school buses do? I noticed many of those private school academy buses have logos.
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 08/08/2010 :  1:50:55 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
They are not gov't owned buses only requirement to be a school bus is routine state inspection. Some of the bigger private own companies come pretty close to the city school buses.The Virginia Pupil Transportation office for the state has specific guidelines regarding school buses funded by the state.

keep those buses rolling
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hardybusman
Advanced Member

United States
470 Posts

Posted - 08/09/2010 :  3:08:14 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
As a private school, bus operator I have to follow federal regs. for a School Bus such as lettering, color, and safety equipment but we are not bound to Virginia Department of Educations regulations. We are a private organization and do not transport public students, only our own. We have our own in-house set of guidelines for our fleet. If we had to meet state standards we would have to either buy our buses new, speced. for Va. or buy used buses from Va. schools. Most of our buses come from Maryland. Bsaund09 is right on the guidelines.

Mr. Courtney Hardy
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 08/12/2010 :  5:03:32 PM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Thanks hardy, i rode by powhatan the other day, one of the freightliners grill is gone and the hood looks busted up. Also, how long will you keep driving your gmc, why are you putting it down. I like the fact that private schools are still running the older buses.
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hardybusman
Advanced Member

United States
470 Posts

Posted - 08/14/2010 :  2:10:33 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Well I dont plan on putting it down its just that its getting a little ragged. If the bus was a liitle newer I would probably consider a new engine. Its making a strange noise and smokes a lot on the highway, other than that it drives and rides REALLY good and is very comfortable to drive on long trips. Private schools dont run older buses because we want to its because its all we can afford. lol. I have friends at several academys and we all do agree that the older mechanical diesels especially the Internationals are far more dependable than the newer ones. I'm not sure who bought those buses from Powhatan, Three of them needed transmissions but 2 were in great shape, I'm not sure why they sold them being they havent bought a bus since '08. and not looking to get any more for another year or 2.

Mr. Courtney Hardy
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 08/17/2010 :  12:40:31 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Wow, Mr. Hardy those are the fasted most viewed photos I have seen yet.You have a great selection thanks very much for the sharing . It does make me miss those days time never stops but they were fun days . Looking forward to the new school year 3 weeks from today we still dont have route sheets yet but I am sure they are working on them.

keep those buses rolling
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hardybusman
Advanced Member

United States
470 Posts

Posted - 08/17/2010 :  5:29:36 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
We get back to rolling on the 30th. Those were some good 'ol buses and most were retired with well over 200-250k miles. I looked yesterday and we only have 3 buses with less than 200k, three buses with over 300k and one with 430k miles. I'll send you the rest of our old buses when I geta chance to scan them. Thanks again for posting them I'm glad people enjoy them!!

Mr. Courtney Hardy
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 08/23/2010 :  5:07:27 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Found an interesting sell item on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260654047701&viewitem=&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D2&category=6728

keep those buses rolling
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SuperiorGMC1963
Top Member

USA
1079 Posts

Posted - 08/23/2010 :  8:51:06 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by bsaund09

Found an interesting sell item on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260654047701&viewitem=&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D2&category=6728



It certainly is interesting! The chassis, according to the manufacturer's plate was manufactured in June of 1978 and the body in May of 1981. Seems strange for a chassis to sit around that long. I liked the looks of those ol' Ford chassis.

Ted

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Thomas Ford 85-16
Top Member

USA
4177 Posts

Posted - 08/24/2010 :  06:40:47 AM  Show Profile  Visit Thomas Ford 85-16's Homepage  Send Thomas Ford 85-16 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Ted, I'll agree with you in that I like the old Ford hoods from that era, but not because they were good looking. I'll call them nostalgic and beastly, but they are somewhat plain, bordering on ugly. I have to wonder who designed that, stepped back and said, "Damn that looks good."

Mike's Bus Yard - http://buses.zwebpages.com - Since 1999
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 08/24/2010 :  3:37:15 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
^He must've helped design the Vista, too.
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 09/27/2010 :  5:02:39 PM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I went by two scrap yards, one in Farmville, Va (Prince Edward county) and the other in Kenbridge, Va (Lunenburg county). I see that it must be cheaper to sell buses for scrap than to auction them off. Nottoway county has sent several of their early 90's fords to the businesses.
Sadly, they looked like they were in pretty good shape.
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 09/27/2010 :  7:47:26 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
yes, they are worth lots of to scrap yards . they do sell some that way and i guess if it is damaged they pay to have it scraped . just about every piece is worth something to recycle.

keep those buses rolling
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/schoolbushistory
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 10/25/2010 :  8:59:19 PM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
It's a shame, i drove passed ABC recycling in Lunenburg county and saw a 67-68ish thomas dodge that was apparently in someone's yard that was sold to them..The old bus actually looked really good,enough to restore, i couldn't see the name of what county it may have came from. shucks i wonder if they will resell it?
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 10/27/2010 :  06:49:26 AM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Considering age and location I doubt it is up for a resell. It would be cool to see a pic of it. The 67 Dodge was the coolest look to me of the Dodge years. Great find .

keep those buses rolling
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 11/04/2010 :  2:42:40 PM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I will try the next time im off...by the way love your pic website and the additions by hardy bus man is superb..by the way...Hadybusman..where is richmond outreach center located? midlothian turnpike?
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 11/14/2010 :  5:27:00 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
hey "old school" Mr. Hardy wanted me to pass the info about ROC it is located on Midlo. Pike right next to the old Overnite Terminal. He is having troubles logging into the Forum.

keep those buses rolling
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 11/15/2010 :  04:31:33 AM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
10 4 thanks
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old_school
Active Member

United States
29 Posts

Posted - 12/27/2010 :  08:58:51 AM  Show Profile  Visit old_school's Homepage  Reply with Quote
To Fairfax Drivers.

Do "yall" have any waynes as spares in your fleet?
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IC
Top Member

USA
3413 Posts

Posted - 12/27/2010 :  8:51:29 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by old_school

To Fairfax Drivers.

Do "yall" have any waynes as spares in your fleet?




No. The last Waynes were 1989's (64 pax on a Ford chassis). I believe they were auctioned in the summer of '07...they gotta go when they're 18 years old. My first assigned bus was one of these '89 Ford/Waynes. (Man, the air brakes were noisy on those buses!).

After '89, they started buying 78 pax BB TC-2000s in '90 & '91...they're gone now too. (They also had a handful of '89 BB AAFEs)

Current spares are mostly '97 & '98 Thomas ERs and a few '99 AmTran REs.

For some reason, unknown to me, they just got rid of all our '94 Thomas ERs. They hadn't reached mandatory retirement age and I can't imagine that ALL of them needed major repairs that were not worth it. They were pretty good buses...they had high headroom and Cummins engines....the '97s & '98s are low headroom with Cat engines.
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Jake
Top Member

USA
3527 Posts

Posted - 01/02/2011 :  4:10:13 PM  Show Profile  Visit Jake's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I figured I'd reply to this thread.. i've been reading through the other pages trying to catch up. I've really started to gain interest in VA buses since I visited VA for the first time over the summer while I was participating in a church mission project.

VA is a really nice state and I always thought VA buses looked pretty bland due to the lack of logos, small fonts, etc.. but it was really cool to see the buses in person. I visited the VA Beach area and it was definitely worth the trip, what was also interesting was those huge tunnels that went under the ocean... never seen anything like it!

Bus-wise, I saw a lot of buses from Chesapeake Schools, they had a pretty nice fleet. Lots of Thomas ER's, HDX's and some first generation Visions. I have some pics I'll share whenever I get around to updating my website. I was also surprised to see some early 90s ER's on the road there, they looked to be in pretty good condition. The highlight, though, was I saw a late 1980's Wayne Chevrolet that was converted into a "Mobile Store".. painted baby blue but it was still obvious that it was an ex. VA bus.

Overall I was very impressed and I think i'll probably start trying to keep up with this thread and contribute in if you all don't mind.

Also, saw this on flickr today.. I can't believe people have the nerve to do this kind of stuff:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bas68/5316853745/

-Jake

Edited by - Jake on 01/02/2011 4:11:08 PM
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 01/10/2011 :  04:14:26 AM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Yeah, I know that driver and bus she takes everything in stride i guess that was a vandlism job done on her bus the pic is at the garage. We do have a bland fleet in Virginia but everything is in uniform according to policy adopted by the state. Great comments Jake and yeah tunnels are a way of life here.

keep those buses rolling
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 01/23/2011 :  8:47:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
A 1995 Thomas International from Virginia Beach on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yr-1995-Thomas-Built-School-/120675629024?pt=Buses&hash=item1c18d3f7e0

Edited by - Tatum on 01/23/2011 8:47:36 PM
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BusFreak
Top Member

USA
798 Posts

Posted - 02/05/2011 :  05:58:49 AM  Show Profile  Send BusFreak an AOL message  Reply with Quote
http://www.floridachurchbus.com/02m6412amtr78/two.html

Look what I found! Clearly a piggy back from the FCPS 2002 order (Just without A/C). I'm 99% sure this is from Fluvana County, which is ironic that they'd be selling such a new bus since they are still running 89s. They used to send this on long distance trips. I guess they must not have a shop geared toward servicing REs, which we all know how the T444E likes TLC...

=
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 02/05/2011 :  07:45:59 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
^That 2002 AmTran RE is from Rockbridge County Public Schools (#31).

Later today, I'll post the rest of the buses from Florida Church Bus that are from Virginia along with the names of the school districts thay owned them becAuse I know who they previously belonged to.

Edited by - Tatum on 02/05/2011 08:01:40 AM
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 02/05/2011 :  5:32:29 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Here's what I know for sure, I'm 100% positive.

http://floridachurchbus.com/95m6371ford35p/two.html Greensville County Public Schools #44
http://floridachurchbus.com/02m6412amtr78/two.html Rockbrdige County Public Schools #31
http://floridachurchbus.com/00m6367thomfe.jpg Greensville County Public Schools #33
http://floridachurchbus.com/98m6423genesis.jpg Gouchland County Public Schools #32
http://floridachurchbus.com/99m6444genesis.jpg Gouchland County Public Schools #33

Now, since I've told you what all of the above previously belonged to, can you Virginians help me out? :)

http://floridachurchbus.com/91m6309gmc9rowgas.jpg 1991 GMC 366 5 speed/hydraulic brakes
http://floridachurchbus.com/98m6259gmc11rowgas.jpg 1998 GMC 366 5 speed/hydraulic brakes
http://floridachurchbus.com/95m6417genesis.jpg 1995 AmTran Genesis FE..From what I can make out, it looks like it's from Buena Vista County Public Schools #4. I'm not certain about this one, though.





Edited by - Tatum on 02/05/2011 5:45:39 PM
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 02/08/2011 :  5:58:00 PM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
hey great finds for sure good work

keep those buses rolling
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/schoolbushistory
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bsaund09
Top Member

USA
609 Posts

Posted - 02/11/2011 :  09:04:20 AM  Show Profile  Send bsaund09 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Tatum -- Mr. Hardy said to let you know the older gas GMC s your talking about are from Scott County.

keep those buses rolling
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Tatum
Top Member

United States
606 Posts

Posted - 02/11/2011 :  12:59:21 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
^Thank you to relaying the info to me.

If you get a chance, tell Mr. Hardy 'thank you' for me! :)

Here's a nice looking FS65 from Powhatan, VA up for auction on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2000-Frieghtliner-Thomas-School-Bus-/250771769830?pt=Buses&hash=item3a632989e6

Edited by - Tatum on 02/11/2011 1:56:32 PM
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BusFreak
Top Member

USA
798 Posts

Posted - 02/12/2011 :  9:48:54 PM  Show Profile  Send BusFreak an AOL message  Reply with Quote
Check that out! A full size automatic transmission bus in VA with hydraulic brakes! I thought you all said that was not possible unless it had the weird Lucas something break system. I KNEW I had seem this before, and was certain I had seen it in both Powhatan County and in King George County. COOL FIND!

=
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