Greyhound seats and fleet questions

[Swadian Hardcore]

The G4500 was offered at bus shows and anybody could purchase them if they wished to. I'd imagine many people got confused with the E/G/J lineup which went to bus shows together. Eventually, the J4500 proved to be the most popular. I'd imagine part of that was that the G4500's launch customer, Greyhound, soon panned at the model as crap, while the J4500's launch customer, Peter Pan, gave rave reviews and continue to be a major operator.

The G4500 and J4500 both entered revenue service in 2001, months apart from each other.

 

[railiner]

Perhaps the Greyhound driver said he would rater drive a D4505 in the snow because GLI reportedly locks all their tag axles, disabling the Prevost's lifting tag system.

I doubt J4500s and D4505s can match the Prevosts' performance.

On three of those D4505s (all but #86333), I sat in Seat 13, which I found to be one of the best seats on the D4505 because of its extra legroom and normal view out the window. The wheelchair position seats on the right have a blind. On #86333, I saw n Seat 17 which was also good. However, the smell and swaying ride was still noticeable., though not as bad as before.

I've heard about A, B, C, and D checks for motorcoaches, but I'm not sure what most of them mean.

I checked an X-3 today.....the tag lift system works just fine.

The letters refer to different levels of Preventive Maintenance....'A' being the simplest and most frequent, and progressive letters more complex and less frequent.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Oh no! Poor #40195 in the RHD graveyard: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ploafmaster/22779927531. They didn't have to do that. Even if it wasn't operational, some people bought it to keep as a big toy.

Poor Shortys #1052 and #1064, too. They might not have carried as many passengers, but they ran well and weren't that old.

I'm surprised to see two blue buses in the background. I don't know what the one on the left is, but the one on the right is a X3-45 under that blue tarp. What happened to it?

 

[andrewlhe]

As for 6-sep and 10-oct, schedule 1539s (7124 & 60682) and 2-nov schedule 1511 (30515), all from Richmond, VA to Dallas, TX were G4500s. 1400 miles in a G bus... I was lucky cuz my destination is the first stop which is Charlottesville...

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Those are all Blue G4500s. I certainly wouldn't mind riding one. Matter of fact, I rode #7028 on Sked 7304 Dallas-Denver a few months ago. The new D4505s and X3-45s are far less comfortable. Plus, them G's go fast and have lots of luggage capacity.

Speaking of range, does Prevost list their fuel tank capacity in useable capacity or max capacity?

Greyhound's stupid fees and painful buses are forcing me to boycott them.

Edit: BTW, #30515 is ex-TNM&O and is running Orlando-Houston right now.

 

[andrewlhe]

But I thought the Gs burn a lot. Did they solve that problem too? I don't know...

I just know 102DL3 list fuel tank capacity as usable one which is 208 gal.

Actually I still have a lot to learn cuz I am a Chinese student who came here this August...

I am a rail fan back in China, and honestly speaking, I don't like Amtrak though. It transports as much passengers in each year as China Railway does in each 3 days... So I guess I will stick with greyhound while I'm here.

Photo irrelevant, CRH-380BL EMUs at Beijing South Station for southbound schedules

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

LOL, I'm Chinese too!

But anyway, the 102DL3 has a 192-gallon standard tank with 182 gallons of useable capacity. Now, Prevost says their X3-45 has 208 gallons of "fuel tank capacity". And the H3-45 has either 230 or 235 gallons. But that is confusing because I don't know if all that is useable or not. I'll ask some people and see what happens.

The G4500s used to burn a lot, but the Blue G4500s haven't had a fire yet. The blue ones have been remanufactured. The last G4500 fire I could remember was when an Americanos plain-white G4500 burned up on the San Ysidro-Los Angeles. Now Greyhound's most fire-prone bus is the D4505, of which at least three have burned since entering service in 2010.

 

[andrewlhe]

Seems Chinese people are everywhere... Anyway, last time I took this photo of #6940 which is actually DL3 and it says legal capacity of 208 gal... I'm confused.

 

[andrewlhe]

Ok since blue G no longer burns, I wouldn't mind taking one either. I have never seen a D4505 yet, maybe because they are restricted to the west where you are. I'm riding to Dallas this December, and I should be able to see one there... BTW greyhound is still way better than our LD trains, so I wouldn't mind riding one longer than 24 hours as long as there is no safety issue. I once rode YZ from Wuxi to Chengdu which was 36 hours, and I was fine.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

That is indeed a 102DL3. I'm not sure why it says 208 gallons. All I know is that Prevost X3-45s have 208. But I did figure out that the Prevost figures list total tank volume, only 95% of which is useable.

The D4505s are used all over the West but never to Vancouver. Very little of anything else operate around here. Some X3-45s and that's it.

Beware going to Dallas on GLI, they did terrible scheduling. On that route, they have one-hour-long stops in the middle of the night for refueling and cleaning (you'll have to get off the bus). The only schedule that doesn't do that (1539) arrives in Dallas at 2:30 AM.

 

[andrewlhe]

Actually I get a transfer from 1529 to 1227 at Memphis. My way back will be 1508 on Jan 10, 2016

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

1529 has a one-hour stop in the middle of the night in Nashville. It also has a 55-minute stop in Knoxville for inexplicable reasons. So, you're still screwed. 1227 is a Chicago-Dallas schedule that will be refueled and cleaned in Memphis. The Chicago-Dallas is often a Blue G4500.

1508 has a 75-minute stop in Nashville right after midnight followed by a 55-minute stop in Knoxville again. Moreover, there's a 110-minute stop in Memphis at dinnertime. At least I guess you'll be able to have dinner somewhere, but the Memphis station is south of downtown in the middle of nowhere.

You can check schedules at http://extranet.greyhound.com/Revsup/schedules2/pageset.htmland http://bustracker.greyhound.com/.

Also, beware of the Richmond-based X3-45s which often rotate to Dallas for intra-Texas operations, even though Dallas is GLI HQ and has a large Maintenance Center with body shop. Dallas is a nice city, though the CBD-West area is dangerous and the Greyhound terminal is surrounded by suspicious people. BTW, X3-45 #86669 was stolen today in New York City: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/serial-mass-transit-thief-arrested-stealing-bus-n-article-1.2431732.

 

[andrewlhe]

I know the bus tracker thing which I had great fun with when daylight saving time ended two weeks ago... I was trying to catch 1510 on early morning to Richmond, and initially it was about one hour late, and when the time switched, it arrived Lynchburg "on time"... And departed there "early".

Do I need to get off with all my stuff at both Knoxville and Nashville for 1529? If that's so I am a little pissed off... Anyway, I can get sleep as soon as it runs again. Besides, it's just one night.

For the food thing I guess I'll just bring some instant noodles and eat them dry, my old tradition when I travel alone and hot water is not available.

For the suspicious people thing... I got a friend to pick me up upon arrival... Plus, I've seen crowds of them when I was walking to GLI terminal in Richmond at early morning to catch my 1511...

I must admit am a guy who operates at extremely disorganized schedules... Still awake at 3am cuz have a paper due Friday...

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I'm not sure about the bags. Sometimes they make you take everything off, sometimes not. I suggest that you buy a hamburger at Greyhound Food Services or at one of the meal stops rather than eating instant noodles dry. I know people eat instant noodles on Chinese trains, but you are in America now. Don't stay up at 3 AM, there's better times to write papers than that.

Yes, you can sleep as soon as it runs again, but the timetable will still make you very uncomfortable, especially if you don't get a 102DL3. If it's a X3-45, expect painful seats. I agree that DL3s are better than YZ in China, but you shouldn't equate the two to each other. What works on YZ doesn't work on Greyhound. Take it from me, I've done both.

 

[andrewlhe]

Ah, speaking of the hamburger from station, I tried one at Richmond and that was actually fine, although a little bit overpriced. I also tried X3-45 once, it was 86687 on schedule 3561 from Richmond for Virginia Beach. I got off at Williamsburg, wasn't any painful since it was just one hour. I did feel the seat is somewhat different, and of course they look different. I am expecting to ride another X3-45 this thanksgiving to DC, the Charlottesville-Baltimore schedule. Although last time I saw it it was 102DL3 though. If this time it's X3-45 I will try to feel it more comprehensively.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

#86687 was built in 2014, so it's only a year old and the seats shouldn't have deteriorated that much yet. But you should feel that the seat lacks lumbar support and ergonomics, while being relatively hard and flat.

Charlottesville-Baltimore is almost always a X3-45. I'm not sure where it rotates to, though. Baltimore doesn't have a Maintenance Center and the only schedules that can rotate out is to New York City, but New York City also doesn't have a Maintenance Center, so it'll have to rotate again.

 

[andrewlhe]

Yes 86687 was brand new, clean and neat from both outside and inside. It's bathroom was also pleasing, compared to the one of 6578 that day. I went into the toilet and it instantly it reminded me of YZ22B... Some photos of #86687 and the poor 6578

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

The DL3 restroom is good if you keep it clean. The X3-45, not some much because it has a flushing toilet that used recycled water, and is prone to clogging. Overall, the DL3 is the superior bus, it's just old and GLI doesn't exactly have great maintenance.

I heard GLC has better maintenance. Their DL3s should be cleaner. I always sit at the front of the DL3, but not on the D4505 because the D4505's front seats have less legroom. Too bad D4505s are all they run out here. Can't believe how big of a disappointment these buses have been. In fact, the D4505 uses more fuel than both the DL3 and the X3-45, so it has no good to compensate for its shortcomings.

Please refrain from attaching many photos onto your posts as it takes up too much space.

 

[andrewlhe]

If D4505 sucks so much in all respects why are they still buying it? This doesn't make any sense, although they can't have anymore DL3, they can have X3-45 instead right?

I didn't care too much about where to sit, but last time I arrived at the station late and got the back row middle seat of DL3. The engine was sort of noisy and there were a great deal of vibrations.

Sorry for the photo thing, cuz I use the mobile app, and the photos looks just fine but I realized it's terribly large on desktop version.

 

[Caesar La Rock]

As for why the D4505s are being bought and not anything else from MCI, that's all pretty much on Greyhound. They choose to buy those buses. I've personally never ridden one, since the last time I rode Greyhound, it was a whole different ball game back then.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

No need to apologize. You could upload them somewhere online and then provide the link.

They made a mistake buying the D4505s, but they aren't buying them anymore. They did get some state-owned D4505s this year. Greyhound isn't buying anything right now, though I do feel like they may be oblivious to some of the D4505s problems. Regardless, Greyhound still has 443 X3-45s as opposed to only 202 D4505s.

If you sit in the back middle seat, your ride will suck every time unless you get all 3 seats to yourself. The X3-45, Blue G, D4505, and some GLC DL3s don't have the middle seat in the back, so they have one less seat overall.

As for the painful seats, I don't know why Greyhound keeping buying them, but something fishy may be behind the scenes. I found a picture of a GLC DL3 interior, which has the best seats: http://www.letmestayforaday.com/photo/1057214946MVC-011S.JPG.

 

[andrewlhe]

Hopefully they can rebuild their D4505 in the future, or just get rid of them and buy something else. I'm a little curious how much longer will their DL3s last. 15 years old and still running with great efficiency is a miracle itself. Before I came here I was under the impression that buses hardly last for more than 10 years, since most transit bus in China get replaced in every 6-8 years.

I must admit that stuff built in US are much more substantially built than stuff from China. Take GE C36-7s which China imported in 80s as an example, approximately 100 out of the 422 total are still running (mostly as switchers) despite the age of 30 years, in comparison with most of the Chinese locomotives which retire in 20 years. (But anyway, they have the money to buy 2 thousand 13,000hp electrics a year, why keep the old ones) And looks like most of Amfleet cars will eventually outlive the guys who built them.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

Unfortunately, many American products are not nearly as sturdy as they were before. The D4505 is a perfect example. The roof is simply glued together without rivets, as are the windows. All kinds of measures to save production costs were put into the D4505. Greyhound used to own MCI, and the DL3 is the last MCI that was designed under Greyhound ownership.

The American Seating on the D4505s and X3-45s are also low-quality. I took these pictures of the seats in 2010 D4505s:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95851032@N07/21239540590/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95851032@N07/20047415836/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95851032@N07/19885675550/sizes/l.

Greyhound is selling some white (not rebuilt) DL3s right now that have around 2 million miles. They're cheap and I would buy one if they weren't all in Atlantic City, NJ. The rebuilt ones probably have close to 3 million miles now.

Actually, the 1946 and 1947 Budd railcars running in Canada have probably already outlived their builders. Here's one: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2176372.

 

[rickycourtney]

I've been meaning to mention it for a few days, but the new Greyhound website has launched. Unfortunately while the print at home tickets have been redesigned, eticketing still hasn't launched.

The big difference is that Greyhound now has multiple fare categories:



The website also outlines the higher prices you'll pay if you purchase at the station.

 

[Swadian Hardcore]

I saw the new website too, but didn't post about it after finding that its fleet page and route map are still inaccurate. Also, Greyhound still charges the $2.50 booking fee.

Also of note is that driver Jason Futch is all over the website, along with his mustached buddy, who no longer works for Greyhound.

#86549 is featured in the exterior and interior bus shots. The footage was filmed in Sacramento. Incidentally, that was the first Cummins-powered D4505 I rode and I photographed it in Sacramento before security told me to stop taking pictures. From the interior shot, #7191 can be seen departing for Reno, even though Blue G's are rarely seen in Reno. #7191 was the first Blue G I saw, and I photographed it in Reno at the Denver-bound gate.

I am exasperated at Greyhound's incompetence and can only hope the worst for them. If you can't make an accurate map of your own routes, then you deserve liquidation.