THE SHOWBUS AMERICA BUS IMAGE GALLERY

USA
Preserved Buses
Page 6
A visit to the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke in August 2010 found a few road transport exhibits alongside an impressive collection of restored railway equipment. From the capital city DC Transit Company PCC Streetcar 1470 dating from 1945 was on display outside. Manufacturered by the St Louis Car Company it was one of 485 operated between 1937 and 1962. The Washington system deployed the third rail plow method of picking up current enabling the city to avoid having overhead wires near the city's many historic monuments.
 
The first Highway Post Office bus was inaugurated on February 10, 1941, on a route running from Washington, D.C. to Harrisonburg, Virginia. The second route was not established until 1946 due to the outbreak of World War II but the services lasted until 1974. Every time a new route was established, there would be a special first day cover. The first highway post office bus was designed and built by the Whites and an example has been preserved as part of the collection at the National Postal Museum. This example however awaits restoration at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The HPOs were intended to replace the Railway Mail Service with the sorting facilities built on board almost identical to those on railcars.
 
 
USA
Preserved Buses
Page 6