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IC
Top Member

USA
3413 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:08:21 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
http://www.examiner.com/a-439440~Students_taken_to_hospital_after_bus__dump_truck_collide_in_Montgomery.html

I'm pretty sure it's a rear engine transit (note vented side doors laying open at rear)...either a Thomas or a Blue Bird.

Whatever she is....she did a good job protecting those students! A 10-wheel dump truck packs a WALLOP!

Bus Boy 39
Top Member

USA
1315 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:11:18 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
It's a Thomas

I'll show you my air brakes if you show me yours.
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IC-RE
Top Member

USA
4117 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:11:26 PM  Show Profile  Visit IC-RE's Homepage  Reply with Quote
That is a Thomas ER you can tell by the way the roof slopes in the front, and the ribs in the body

bus 1980, a 2008 IC RE 300 for Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, Virginia.
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IC
Top Member

USA
3413 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:17:37 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I was pretty sure it's a Thomas because of those rear doors...but it has ribs on the side that mine didn't.

Anybody know about what age it is?
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IC-RE
Top Member

USA
4117 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:22:54 PM  Show Profile  Visit IC-RE's Homepage  Reply with Quote
It didn't look that old, I know only a handful of our 95 Thomas ER's have ribbed sides, IC, In our county it seems that we get most of our buses with smooths sides other than our Blue Birds


It is probably a late 90's early 2000's because the engine access doors are not as huge as they were on the older Thomas pushers, it can't be younger than 2001 because after that the HDX came out

bus 1980, a 2008 IC RE 300 for Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, Virginia.
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722
Senior Member

United States
129 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:45:11 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The reeded panel is still optional on the HDX. Bus yes, the bus in the picture is a Safe-T-Liner MVP from the 90's.
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IC-RE
Top Member

USA
4117 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  6:59:07 PM  Show Profile  Visit IC-RE's Homepage  Reply with Quote
May I ask, what is the purpose of these ribs on the sides of many buses?

bus 1980, a 2008 IC RE 300 for Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, Virginia.
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IC
Top Member

USA
3413 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  7:21:39 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by IC-RE

May I ask, what is the purpose of these ribs on the sides of many buses?



I think the ribs stiffen the sheet metal...in addition to looking good. Sight down the sides of our '06-'07 buses (ribless)...and the panels are wavy. Then sight down the sides of an '04 ribbed bus...looks way better.
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IC-RE
Top Member

USA
4117 Posts

Posted - 12/07/2006 :  7:27:54 PM  Show Profile  Visit IC-RE's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I like the way the smooth sides look better, like on our Thomas' I think the smooth sides look better than the ones with ribs, the ribs seem to trap grim and stuff. But you make a good point, I bet it adds strength too

bus 1980, a 2008 IC RE 300 for Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax, Virginia.
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Thomasbus24
Administrator

USA
4544 Posts

Posted - 12/08/2006 :  02:56:08 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The ribs are also very helpfull in the start of rust-out. When the panels are stamped, that area is made thinner by the streching action so it's easier for the internal rust to poke through. I was so glad to see the ribs going away (never could get the school to order flat sides).
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Thomas Ford 85-16
Top Member

USA
4177 Posts

Posted - 12/08/2006 :  06:24:12 AM  Show Profile  Visit Thomas Ford 85-16's Homepage  Send Thomas Ford 85-16 an AOL message  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by IC-RE

I bet it adds strength too


It might make the panels more dent resistant, but I'm not sure how overall strength in major collisions would go. I've heard before that the ribbed panels were 16 gauge steel, while the flat panels were 14 gauge (heavier). It's a trade off, but of course I don't know which would be the better option in tests. Thomasbus24 makes an interesting point about the corrosion...I've seen plenty of buses where the only rust spots had just poked through on the ribbed panels. I like the look of them, though. As IC says, the flat panels tend to look wavy, and personally I think having those extra lines sort of tie the look of the bus together from the front to the back.

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

USA
1865 Posts

Posted - 12/08/2006 :  1:23:10 PM  Show Profile  Visit Jared's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Ribbed side panels caused quite a controversy at the Wayne Plant in Richmond in 1984 and then again in 87. Baltimore County demanded FLAT side panels on there Wayne buses for some reason in this decade. Wayne had to bend over backwards to reconfigure the manufacturing process to roll flat side sheets. Something I have never ever seen on any other Wayne made between 1964 and 1995. Note: We also had a load of 1983 Wards with the same spec, although I have seen one or two others like it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredg21/sets/
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