Thursday, December 15, 2016

Chicago’s Experimental “Queen Mary” Articulated Trolley Bus History.

Chicago’s experimental “Queen Mary” articulated trolley bus, built by Twin Coach in Kent, Ohio, in 1946. She was originally built with two gasoline engines. The trolley bus was leased to the Chicago Surface Lines in 1946. 
NOTE: The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) was created in 1945 but didn't take control until October of 1947 when the CTA took over all Rapid Transit (trains) and Surface Lines in Chicago. 
The “Queen Mary” was converted to electricity in 1948, then bought by the CTA in 1954, and was renumbered to 9763. She spent her entire service life on either the #76 Diversey route or the #77 Belmont route in Chicago.
She was retired in 1963 and is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

4 comments:

  1. So it makes me wonder if another one was.built & used elsewhere.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. New CTA’s articulated buses, also known as the 4000 series, were manufactured by New Flyer and went into service in 2008.

      Delete
    2. Omaha had several Supertwins .... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Omaha_1947_Twin_Coach_bus_1312_at_Seashore_Trolley_Museum.jpg

      Delete

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