Tuesday, October 9, 2012

.....Greyhound's Still at Work.....


I've had my '69 MC-7 since 1997. It runs & drives very well. These rugged, proven older coaches are still used in front line daily revenue service, especially in Latin America, where they are worked very hard. Guatemala has a lot of older MCIs operating there with several 'Guate'-based bus lines. I always look forward to crossing Guatemala on my road trips to and from Panama, because I see so many vintage buses still pounding the pavement there. Retired MC-12s are showing up in larger numbers as Greyhound sells them off to new owner-operators outside of North America. I saw two of these MC-12s passing each other in the Guatemala-Mexico border town of Tecun Uman; both buses were still wearing the telltale red & blue Greyhound paint job, minus the Greyhound dog logos and the letters. They had not yet been repainted, and were already in use. There are some ex-NJT MCIs with their unique oversized destination signs and bi-fold doors, former Greyhounds and other charter coaches from the US and Canada now living out their long service lives there and elsewhere in Latin America. These buses are regularly loaded with many standees to maximize the ticket fares collected for each trip. Delta, D.S. Fortaleza, Rapidos del Sur, and Rapidos del Norte are some of the Guatemala companies with large fleets of veteran MCI coaches. I've seen some old MC-5As, as well as the "B" & "C" models. The primary highways in Guatemala are in surprisingly good shape....Rusty....Robert (Rusty) Moore


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