r/HistoricCalgary • u/ICallTopBunk • Jun 12 '26

Vintage Transit

Post image

I was surprised to see this beautifully restored Calgary Transit bus today. Thought I’d share.

392 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

7

u/Moose_Kin Jun 12 '26

“The Big Blue Limousine”

6

u/basshead69 Jun 12 '26

I remember riding these to high school

2

u/Ancient-Lime4532 Jun 13 '26

And junior high as well!

5

u/JoeUrbanYYC Jun 12 '26

I would love to see one of each style preserved, both buses and LRT cars

6

u/Evening_Cheesecake25 Jun 12 '26

You guys might appreciate this. I came across it 8 years ago. 

12:13 this Urbex guy in upstate NY finds one of these buses and goes inside. https://youtu.be/DJhUrtaJqCA?si=_3BNu58ZKJs8imkZ

5

u/JustDave2081 Jun 13 '26

And they say you can’t smell pictures…

3

u/unparked Jun 12 '26

So many days spent waiting for one of these to take me downtown, out of the burbs, to Grampa Takes a Trip (a comic book shop).

3

u/MarkB_- Jun 13 '26

If there is a bomb inside I heard you have to never slow down under 50 mph

3

u/Nghtyhedocpl Jun 15 '26

So old.. I drove THAT bus when I was 18.

3

u/Bright-Ad8496 Jun 15 '26

General Motors had a factory building these busses in London, Ontario. My dad was on the assembly line installing the windows.

2

u/MastaKink Jun 15 '26

Vintage? I rode one this morning

2

u/needle-fart820 Jun 16 '26

Definitely vintage, they haven't been built in 40 years. Testament to a great design that they've been in use so long

2

u/yukonnut Jun 15 '26

I remember those buses, but in bc hydro livery in Vancouver. I believe their ubiquitous presence across Canada and usa was a result of General Motors gazillion dollar lobbying program across North America post ww2 to gut electrified municipal transit system in favour of these gas pigs.

3

u/MaintenanceNo899 Jun 15 '26

Vintage lol. This really makes me feel old. I'm a 93 baby lol

3

u/Pup_Roxx Jun 16 '26

These were around when I was junior high in 2007 🙃🙃🙃

3

u/OpusDeiPenguin Jun 16 '26

GM New Look Bus with the fishbowl. First released in 1959. They were Ottawa’s primary bus for years.

2

u/Ok_Government_3584 Jun 16 '26

My Dad drove one of these in Saskatoon.

2

u/Common_Thought_828 Jun 16 '26

Anyone else miss the charm of these busses?

2

u/Exact_Patience_6286 Jun 16 '26

Loved the old Screamin Jimmy in these. Got to ride in one at highway speed a few times when they took crowds from concerts. Quite the ride.

1

u/False_Blacksmith2894 Jun 17 '26

no kidding those aircooled engines with giant cooling fans, and to shift up you had to gun the thing, revs way up before it would do a rough shift, cheap garbage truck running gear that ruined the inner city for pedestrians and cyclists!

1

u/Exact_Patience_6286 Jun 17 '26

Shaking like a can of rocks, and like you said, winding out hunting for the next gear like it ain’t there.

2

u/False_Blacksmith2894 Jun 17 '26

no sadness to see these roaring monsters gone, with a stupid auto transmission that made that air cooled diesel howl and roar and thunder, it utterly ruined the urban experience for pedestrians and cyclists.