Model Railroading > Riding the 'Dog...

Not a fan of the long-distance motorcoach per se. But they're a ubiquitous and familiar backdrop for the railroad-adjacent scene.

Also, when "civilians" come over and visit our place, do they ever ask about the trains? They do not. But everybody has something to relate to or a story about the buses!

In general, diecast models can't compete with the crispness of an injection-molded plastic shell for details. But Iconic Replicas has figured out how to make some pretty amazing models that enhance any depot scene or roadway, and will stand up to closeup scrutiny. The company -- available through Awesome Diecast among others -- doesn't have the widespread brand awareness of other plastic or diecast vehicle makers in HO, and deserves to. There's something in the IR catalog to enhance any model railroad highway, city, or depot scene.

The new-for-1968 Motor Coach Industries Model MC-7 "Challenger" was released back in 2020. (I remember wiping down the shipping box with a disinfectant disposable cloth; recall those days?)

The 1969 Continental Trailways Model 05 "Golden Eagle" was released last December. Built by Belgium-based Bus & Car with Detroit Diesel power.

The 1959 version of the GM Model PD-4104 is a new release, and features a livery for the Chicago Greyhound Lines, similar but not identical to the 1960s "Gold Stripe" scheme (also modeled in previous runs by Iconic Replicas). Very common bus as a train bus, and IR did a Santa Fe version of that very service.

The models are well-done, with fine attention to detail. IR also produces U.S. city coaches and contemporary highway coaches. Well worth a visit to Awesome Diecast's website. (I'm a superfan, but not affiliated!)

~ BZ

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Those all are nice models. I recall seeing a greyhound bus like the first one in the very late 70's as a kid. But it seems that style of bus was retired right about then or the early 80's as I didn't see that style later in the 80's

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

funnelfan Wrote:
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> Those all are nice models. I recall seeing a
> greyhound bus like the first one in the very late
> 70's as a kid. But it seems that style of bus was
> retired right about then or the early 80's as I
> didn't see that style later in the 80's

I seem to remember the same Ted. I want to snag one of those models eventually.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Yeah, the PD-4104s lasted through the 70s for sure. (New in '53, built up to 1960.) Lots of church groups and smaller operators got them secondhand. They were almost the generic "bus" for decades. Still out there as conversions to motorhome-campers.

There's this, for an index:

https://utahrails.net/ajkristopans/GM-PD4104.php

 

Oh, the different grey dogs that handled the Oakland-San Francisco connection for the SP

Very nice models and photos.  I've been a collector of Iconic Replicas HO buses for the past 5 years.  Each one a masterpiece.

WAF Wrote:
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> Oh, the different grey dogs that handled the
> Oakland-San Francisco connection for the SP

I have some decent 1968-era slides of the Walnut Creek fleet -- PD-4103s including Silversides and "Whitesides" (Korean War period), the original PD-4151 or PD-3751 "Silversides," and a fair number of PD-4501 Scenicruisers, looking very tired and saggy!

Dad used to walk down Las Lomas in the dark to ride a stuffy old Silversides into The City for his job at the BofA. We moved from Fresno to Walnut Creek because BART was supposed to be done soon and Dad could take a job at the new (ugly) 55-story tower after bank HQ was moved from 300 Montgomery. After delay upon delay, we finally moved back to Fresno before BART ever commenced!

Dad did not like riding the 'dog either. :-)

~ BZ

PasadenaSub Wrote:
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> Very nice models and photos.  I've been a
> collector of Iconic Replicas HO buses for the past
> 5 years.  Each one a masterpiece.

There have been few duds, it's true! The Flxible city coach -- their version of the GM "New Look" -- had some QC issues with decals on my AC Transit version, and it wasn't as finely detailed as the ones I originally posted up top. Awesome Diecast were gracious and happily exchanged it for the LA version here. But mostly they are gems, agreed, like the Seattle "Buffalo" -- and I can't wait for the next round!

Sadly, looks like they're not going to do the original Greyhound postwar "Silversides" -- they need more available and popular operator liveries to sell a sufficient run.

~ BZ

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That SCRTD bus brings back memories, mostly on how bad they stank if you were behind them. The exhaust smelled terrible! Supposedly because they used the cheapest diesel fuel they could get.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/25 11:11 by PHall.

Thanks for the tip! 

I had had no idea these people existed. But between having a layout set in the 1970s and having two brothers who drove the ‘hound, I had to get a couple, plus the Adirondack Trailways asks again for the tip!

Besides direct from Awesome Diecast (Jeff is a great guy), you can also find some of their older releases at the reincarnated Model Train Stuff (formerly MB Klein), often at lower prices than direct from AD.  I've had a hard time keeping up when the list price for these has gone well above $40 each - so it's nice to find a source (other than eBay and Amazon) that comes closer to that:

Search Results

Both AD and ModelTrainStuff tend to have sales from time to time as well.

Burbank's House of Hobbies also has a fair amount of Iconic Replicas buses, with great prices on the Brill CD-44s:

HO Scale Vehicles – Burbank's House of Hobbies



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/25 11:55 by PasadenaSub.

Great tips here too! 

~ BZ

funnelfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Those all are nice models. I recall seeing a
> greyhound bus like the first one in the very late
> 70's as a kid. But it seems that style of bus was
> retired right about then or the early 80's as I
> didn't see that style later in the 80's

Right you are Ted. The MC7s lasted on the I5 corridor until the early 80s accept by then they were in the " pepsi scheme". The huge influx of the 79 order of MC9s killed them off. They lived on for years in cast off tour bus service. In the late 80s I drove for Redwood Empire Lines and ended up driving Ex Greyhound MC5As, MC7s, MC8s, and a MC9. Probaby more models than most Hound drivers drove. The MC7s well pretty gutless with very square tooth 4 speed transmissions. Very prone to overheat above 110 degrees and shut off and bog down to  35 or 40 on the modest of hills. But they were fun for their historic value as long as you didnt have it on a multi dayt charter. I ended my Bus carrer in a MCI 102D3 and D4005. Smoother ride, incredibly quiet and huge horsepower. I also had to add the Greyhound MC7 to my layout. It is a great reproduction.

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Very cool. In 1967 my brother gave me a one way ticket on SP LA to Salem, OR. I connected at Martinez. Spent five or six weeks up there then road Continental Trailways back to LA for twelve dollars.
JB

Very nice models - thanks for posting these photos and the information about them.

I drove for Greyhound for several years in the 1980s, and drove many MC-7s. Here in the Midwest, they stayed in regular service for quite some time through the period when MC-8s predominated.. They were getting worn, but were still well maintained, and the big 8-cylinder Detroit Diesel engine gave them plenty of power for cruising across the mostly flat prairies of Illinois where I worked. You could keep a schedule with them, and they were still reasonably comfortable for passengers.

Of the coaches shown in this thread, I also drove one Eagle one time, and the hunchbacked GM PD-4107 "Buffalo" (the sixth image, after the transit buses) a few times. The Eagle (it had been a Silver Eagle - the Golden Eagles for deluxe service were long gone by that date) had somehow found its way into the fleet through some acquisition that Greyhound made, probably of some Trailways affiliate years before the general acquisition of Trailways.

I hated both of them. The Eagle's torsion bar suspension, which tended to kind of wallow and float, was quite different in driving feel and handling to the MCI /TMC MC-7, MC-8 and MC-9 coaches that I usually drove. I did not find it comfortable, either as a driver or passenger, although I will admit that some drivers and many passengers liked the ride quality. As for the GM "Buffalo", its manual transmission had a very imprecise, rubbery feel that made it hard to shift well, in contrast to the sharper, crisper notches on the MC-7 manual transmissions. It really took some getting used to. If you got one only every so often and didn't get a lot of regular practice with that shifter and the clutch, it could be a challenging coach to drive. On a local (where there were sometimes assigned out of Chicago), you'd be exhausted by the end of the trip, and your left leg felt like it was ready to fall off after all of the double-clutching with that crazy gearbox.

Great memories of a job I really enjoyed, and some fine models here. Thanks again for the tip about these. As an N-scaler, these won't end up on my layout. But I definitely think there are a few of these that will be fine for display on my bookshelves, and maybe in due course on my club's HO layout. Even the models of those d$%^ Eagles and Buffaloes.

MC



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/25 21:50 by ironmtn.

> The MC7s lasted on the I5 corridor until the early 80s except by then
> they were in the "pepsi scheme".

I had to have one of these myself. They were so common running across I-90 in the Northwest. That Pepsi scheme was a refreshing change from the old version. You CAN change the spots on a dog!
Dano
 

Very nice models!

I have traveled on Greyhound and other intercity bus companies from my college days up through much of my adult life (my most recent intercity bus ride was 2019 Greyhound trip).  I wish I paid more attention to Greyhound and Trailways buses and terminals during the 1970s and 1980s, but at the time intercity buses were just travel options when I couldn't afford Amtrak fares or when Amtrak did not serve my travel destinations.

In later years, I took more of interest in buses by attending a "Bus Bash" in Harrisburg, Penn and buying a book about Greyhound published in 2014 during its 100th anniversary.