John Deere Trail Fire Track Length

Ward / Amtran / IC Bus (Part 1)

Ward School Bus Mfg. Co . (1933-1979)

DH "Dave" 1933 Ward built the helmet of a wood-bodied bus to Mr. Carl Brady of the Southside School District, using, as he put it, "with only a hammer, a square, and a saw. "

In 1936 began the manufacture of bus bodies all steel, one of the first in the U.S. of A. The first bus had seats along each side of the interior and windows. Ward sold at least two bodies this year.

school bus demand grew rapidly and the size of the company. Reason for a new building was built in the center at 805 Avenue of Harkrider. From an initial surface 10.000 square feet, it grew to 100,000 square feet.

expansion Ward Industries operations in 1956 led to the establishment of the company CS Sash Company windows maker Coach Ward patented and School Furniture Company, both in Conway.

In February 1947 opened a plant for buses in the city of Mexico, it was closed in 1954. To replace it built a new Ward Body Works in Austin, Texas. 71.600-square-foot plant was opened in March 1951, receiving parts for buses of the plant in Conway.

In 1953, Conway and Austin plants manufactured on 2 000 bus bodies. Steel was sent by the Jones & Laughlin and the Mississippi River. Ward School Furniture was sold to the mid-1950s to the Chamberlin School Furniture.

In 1954, Ward moved its assembly line in the Avenue Harkrider Conway Avenue to a plant of 114,000 square feet with about 170 empledaos just south of the city limits on Highway No. 65 Arkansas.

The company could build 100 carrocerias week and join up to 45 body, which were mounted on Ford and GM platforms, and then shipped directly to buyers. Their bodies were so tough that if being involved in an accident "could do a triple somersault on the pavement with 40 passengers without collapsing. The company expanded beyond the school bus, a manufacturer of air conditioners for buses and poultry mass transit. In 1960, the company added tourist buses in its line.

Sach In 1968 CS Surelite renamed.

Ward Body Works passed into the hands of Charles Ward, the eldest son of Dave. Charles had worked for the plant in Austin since he finished his studies in 1959.

The following picture shows a 1964 model tested in the facilities Ward. The first two tests included a car without a driver traveling at 45 mph (72 kph ) crashing into the side of the bus and then back. In these tests the bus suffered only minor mechanical damage. The third test showed the importance of using safety belts for passengers on a bus. The same day the bus was rolled 51 / 4 turns on steep hill 150 feet high, a total distance of 350 feet.

catalog Copies courtesy of Robert L. Smith

Austin

The plant remained open until 1970, when it was replaced by a new plant of 41,000 square feet in Darlington, Pennsylvania. All parts used in assembly came directly from the plant in Conway.

The following photo shows a model M62 RV Conventional , bodywork FRMA arches of a piece of high strength steel spaced 27 centers, "Hall 12" and a minimum of 71 "of headroom. Two-piece door operated manually. Ability to 24-72 pupils. IH platform.

The following picture shows a Model M62F front engine and a curved windshield , spray applied insulation on all exposed surfaces and in the bottom of the body. Box-type driver seat adjustable in four directions. Conditioning system so large front and rear, to keep the passengers warm in winter and cool in summer.


Model M62D had a flat-glass windshields, flat steel 14 gauge, 16 gauge apron, exterior panels were 20 gauge and 22 gauge interior panels. The central emergency door was standard. Seat springs covered with cotton pads and covered with a layer of vinyl of 27 oz. Window Operator 2 leaves. Capacity from 24 to 72 pupils. Chevrolet Platform

Model M62S " Safeguard (Safeguard) was a pusher type curved windshield and rear engine . engine and transmission assemblies are fully Free service work. A backdoor provided full access in a crash. A door provided access to compartment on the right side of the engine. The transmission and engine maintenance were available through access located under the rear seat and rear couch. Capacity 61-73 pupils.

bus line M-3000 was manufactured during the late 1960's in 9 models. It was easy to adapt as much as regular school bus for sightseeing, intercity travel or city use. It had capacity of 33 to 91 seats, depending on the size of the platform, seat pitch, and location of emergency exits.

catalog Copies courtesy of Robert L. Smith

catalog Copies courtesy of Robert L. Smith

styles had five seats and three types of windows.

catalog copy courtesy of Robert L. Smith

Other options were the location of the baggage that could be on the inside and / or under the floor, air conditioning through the cap or below the floor.

catalog copy courtesy of Robert L. Smith

In 1969, Ward introduced the use of seats with different colors according to the following announcement shows

By the early 1970s, buses Ward offered a variety of innovations in security, of which the most important was a high seat design cushioning. The seats were consist of steel frames covered with a minimum of 1 "thick polyurethane foam high density. These seats are offered in four combinations of colors. The same material paddings of high-density polyurethane was used in protection against impact and guardrails. A high impact plastic is used to protect the hood from the front. The same material was used in the main shell conditioning units.

The greatest improvements in buses Ward 1972, was a redesign in the frame of the seats was to use additional structural materials and stiffer than those used in other frames. Basic changes in the design They provided additional areas for spot welding in the rear of the frame base. To facilitate this work the company built and installed a welding machine to make these points simultaneously. The frame was covered with a plastic epoxy extremely durable, electrostatically applied introduced in 1971, also used on the rails, heating ducts.

In 1973 Ward was the largest school bus manufacturer in the world, with 25% market share. In January of that year, Charles Ward and his brother Stephen Ward Coachette acquired Carl Graham, Texas businessman, and moved the production of buses going to the old type Surelite building. A second plant was opened in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, but ceased operation in 1975.

In 1976, Ward built a prototype type D bus for school and commercial traffic on a platform International Harvester with front wheel drive, but not entered production.

In 1979, Ward Industries filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11. William J. Clinton then Governor of Arkansas was the instrument for a business group to take over Ward Industries. In 1980, the company became American Transportation Corporation ( Amtran ).

The data presented and photographic material in this first part were taken from the network and some editions of the magazine School Bus Fleet provided by Robert L. Smith . Unless otherwise specified, the photos were published by the journal.

Your server

José Ramírez Lozano

Monterrey, NL Mexico

Retaining Wall Cost Estimator

Scania Marcopolo bus

Viaggi 1050 G6 used by Pulmitan Liberia, LB 1702.

Mysore Malika Blue Flim

Volkswagen Trucks and Buses / MAN Latin America

Introduction

Volkswagen brand is well known for the famous Beatle, Beetle or Beetle (as it is known in Mexico) record global sales. range of Volkswagen cars built in several parts of the world is diverse. In the Americas include the factories in Brazil and Mexico.

Volkswagen

But also produces trucks and bus platforms. As this blog is dedicated only to buses, mentioned in this work share the transportation segment.

Volkswagen and Caminhões Ônibus

The origins of the company date back to 1958 when the company was formed Simca Brazil. In 1966, 92% of stock control of the company was purchased by Chrysler . Three years later, group opened the Dodge truck plant and launched the model D 700, which marked an era. Volkswagen became involved in the control of the corporation in January 1979, in a process that ended with the official emergence Volkswagen Trucks Limited in February 1981.

In the beginning the company was only dedicated to the production truck. It is in 1993 when the first bus platform, the Volksbus 16,180.

In November 1996 the factory was opened in the city of Resende in the southern state of Rio of Janeiro. It is up then when the company took a leap of technological and business management.

With an area of \u200b\u200b1 million square meters, the factory is located in a strategic point in the Rodovia (Road) President Dutra , 150 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro and 250 kilometers from São Paulo.

Photos taken from http://www.vwtbpress.com.br/ The line platforms for buses at this plant is comprised of the following models:

Midibus : 5140 VW EOD , VW OD 8120, 8120 € III del OD, OD 8150 (exportación) y VW 8150 EOD .

Microbus : 9150 OD (exportación) y VW 9150 EOD .

Medianos: VW 15 180 EOD , VW 15 190 EOD , VW 17 230 EOD , VW 17 230 EOD , VW 17 260 EOD , VW 17 260 EOT , VW 17 260 EOT.

Intercity
: 18,320 VW EOT

Some major bodybuilders who use platforms Volksbus in South America are: Marcopolo , Volare, Ciferal , Rosmo , Comil , Masarello and Modasa .

The following picture shows a bus platform Volksbus EOD 17230 and body Marcopolo.

This other picture shows a city bus 17240 platform Volksbus OT and body Marcopolo.

Photos taken from http://www.vwtrucksandbuses.com/en/vehicles_volksbus.aspx

Volkswagen Trucks and Buses in Mexico

Still with the name Volkswagen and Caminhões Ônibus the assembly began its operations in Mexico in October 2004 when it opened an assembly line for trucks and buses platforms Volksbus . Spare parts began to be imported from the Resende plant and assembled in Puebla, home of Volkswagen Trucks and Buses in Mexico (VCAM ). Authorized dealers were installed in several cities.

platform

Some models of buses and trucks are produced there. Mexican plant has an area of \u200b\u200b11 thousand square meters. The facility was built next to the plant cars Volkswagen which began operations in 1964.

Volkswagen models currently offered Mexican customers are equipped with platform Volksbus 8,150 and 8,150 FEB EOD

For bus manufacturing integral was associated VCAM with manufacturers of body Mexican include Autoparts & Components ( AYCO ) Novacapre and Centaur.

The next photograph is a unit with Volkswagen platform and bodywork Sigma model AYCO

The following photos show a unit with 8-150 Volksbus platform, body AYCO Orion model 2009, equipped with 4-cylinder engine turbodiesel, 5-speed transmission and capacity for 30 seated passengers.

The following picture is a group bus platform Volksbus 8150 and body Novacapre in urban transport service Linares, NL, Mexico .

The following picture corresponds to a unit Volksbus platform and body Tornado C5 Centaurus. Capacity of 30 seats.

South Africa

In August 2005, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa began operations another plant of Volkswagen Trucks and Buses where Volkswagen came and producing cars and light commercial vehicles since 1951.

MAN Latin America

MAN Commercial Vehicles arrived in Mexico in 2002, winning a contract to supply buses interstate. In 2004, opened a factory in Querétaro , dedicated to assembly platforms and bus bodies, and also focused its business operations there.

Factory

Querétaro is 200 km from Mexico City. It has 17 thousand square meters of built area. It has a line mounting for buses, workshop for technical assistance and a car parts store and accessories. This factory assembled, bus models currently MAN 4X2 and 6X2 LionsMex , and your sales team sells trucks and buses imported brand in Germany.

The following picture shows a bus MAN 6x2 Lions courtesy of Tecnibuses

the end of 2008, MAN Volkswagen acquired of Caminhões Ônibus and Brazil and then merged operations VW and MAN in South Africa in 2009. So same operations Volkswagen Trucks and Buses of Mexico is transferred from the city of Puebla to Queretaro as part of the integration strategy of the new company.

Mexico will be the first country in the world where a truck used Volkswagen engine MAN brand, product sales starting in the first half of 2011.

Until recently, some resellers Volkswagen also marketed in cooperation, models truck MAN , becoming the first country to use the marketing strategy Dual Brand on your network. Trucks and buses MAN and Volkswagen were seen together for the first time in the country during the 20th ExpoForo , a fair held in March 2010 in Mexico City.

recently presented to the transport authorities and local businessmen, with the smart choice: the MAN chassis Lion 's City low-floor for large cities with the system projected BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). In the bus segment foreign , the company sold the first units of the Lion 's Mex, bus chassis MAN and body assembled in Mexico by the Brazilian company Comil . The product is based on the model Lion 's Coach , originally manufactured by MAN Commercial Vehicles in Germany.

The Lion 's Mex has a platform MAN R33 or R37, two and three axes respectively is powered by a MAN ranging from 400 to 480 horsepower. Its main competitors in the Mexican market are Irizar PB / Scania, Volvo 9700 and Multego Mercedes Benz / Polomex.

The data shown in this study were taken from different publications made by MAN Latin America.
Any

observation or comment I remain.


José Ramírez Lozano
Monterrey, Mexico