Tag Archives: GMC TDH-5106 Old Look

Bus Photo of the Month: January 2024

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1956 GMC TDH-5106 Old Look 3100

Location: West 42nd Street & 9th Avenue, New York, NY
Operator of Vehicle: MTA New York City Transit
Date of Photo: December 12, 2012

In addition to running the vintage train during the holiday season as I wrote about yesterday, for some number of years, the MTA also ran vintage buses in service during the December holiday period.  Most years, the service was limited to Manhattan, but there were other years the buses ventured out into other parts of the city, including the other four boroughs.  I don’t believe the vintage buses have run since 2018.  It was often hard to catch one since even the slightest bit of precipitation would result in them being pulled off the road for safety reasons, plus they were subject to traffic delays and the like.  However, I did get to ride some of them in 2012.  

Would you want the MTA to try bringing back the vintage buses in a future year?

For more photos of MTA New York City Transit’s GMC Old Look Buses, please click here.  

Bus Photo of the Month: December 2022

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GMC TDH-5106 Old Look 9098

Location: Circle Line Pier, New York, NY
Operator of Vehicle: MTA New York City Transit
Date of Photo: December 12, 2012

In addition to the holiday vintage train featured in this month’s rail photo of the month post, in some years, the MTA has also operated buses from its vintage fleet in revenue service at this time of year.  A quick Google search suggests this hasn’t happened since 2018 and it isn’t happening this year, but it is a nice complement to the vintage subway trains that get run on Sundays in December.  Typically, the buses have operated on a route in Midtown Manhattan during weekday rush hours, but there have been years in which they were spread out to the other boroughs as well.  Unfortunately, catching them was always a bit harder than the vintage trains.  Not only do traffic conditions impact the schedules (and gridlock is a sure thing in Midtown Manhattan at this time of year), they also would not operate even if there was light precipitation in the forecast.  

I was in New York in December 2012 and had a chance to ride some of the buses in the vintage fleet.  Have you had this opportunity?

For more photos of New York City Transit’s GMC “Old Look” buses, please click here.