Buses Evacuated From Annex Today

With Hurricane Sandy threatening the East Coast and with many of the forecasts calling for the storm to make landfall somewhere between Delaware & New England, a decision was made to evacuate the buses stored at the annex today. Ken McNelis and Tom Mozer drove the buses that could be moved from the annex to the museum parking lot. Tom Collins assisted as the chase driver. Mark Watson happened to stop by, unaware that the evacuation was taking place. Mark took Tom Collins' place so Tom could go to the museum to finish the last minute preparations for tomorrow's annual meeting. A handful of buses are still at the annex as of the time of this posting. The Long Beach RTS and the Michaud GM "Little Spike" would not start and the Peter Pan MC-5 needs a jump start. Ed Wolf will assist Ken & Tom Mozer tomorrow after the meeting to get those buses started and moved. Worst case scenario if they can't be started: Ed will pull them into the annex garage. The CAT Fishbowl (air bags) and SEPTA Volvo (engine) cannot be moved and unfortunetly are stuck outside the annex. The Richmond AM General is also outside, but has been sold for scrap and will be removed from the annex property soon. Mark, Ken & Tom Mozer also moved various tools, battery chargers and other items to the highest points possible inside the annex, and after tomorrow's efforts to move the remaining buses, the annex will be secured as we keep our fingers crossed and pray that the storm does not inflict any serious damage or flooding such as was seen last year. Thank You to Ken, Tom, Tom & Mark for your help today

It's Almost Annual Meeting Day

We're getting ready to welcome those who will be attending the MBT annual meeting this Saturday. A full day is planned, mixing business with fun. We are also looking forward to welcoming Maureen Leo from Lakeland Bus Lines and her presentation on their operation. A reminder that coffee & danish will be served from 8:30-10:00AM followed by Maureen Leo's presentation. After a brief pause for the raffles, the annual MBT business meeting will take place, followed by a buffet lunch and the afternoon bus fan tour on one of Lakeland's new MCI coaches. For those who will not be taking the bus tour, the annex will be open, however no transportation will be provided, you may drive your own vehicle to the annex. The detailed schedule for this Saturday is listed in a previous post.

For those who are attending, we can't wait to see you and safe travel to all.

MBT Annual Meeting Saturday October 27th

The MBT will take place Saturday October 27th at the museum in Hershey. The annual meeting registration form and election ballot have been mailed to all members, those need to be returned in the envelopes enclosed in the mailing no later than Monday October 22nd.


The agenda for the day is as follows:

Social period with coffee & danish served 8:30-10:00AM

20% off any bus related item in our gift shop.

Lakeland Bus Lines will have a new MCI coach on display in front of the museum, along with their former 4515 (given to the MBT several years ago) and other Lakeland artifacts are planned for display.

10:00-11:15- The first portion of the annual meeting begins with our guest speaker, Maureen Leo, VP of Lakeland Bus Lines sharing the history of their 60 years of operation.

11:15-11:30-50/50 raffle and door prizes

11:30-12:30- the business & financial portion of the annual meeting, with flood & fleet recap.

12:30- full buffet luncheon catered by "What If", one of Hershey's outstanding restaurants.

2:15-Bus fan tour to charter bus destinations in the Lancaster area and will also check out what's new at Red Rose Transit (Lancaster) & Lebanon Transit. Coach provided by Lakeland Bus Lines. Bus returns to Museum approx. 5:30PM

The museum gif shop will be open till 5:00PM. For those who do not want to go on the bus tour, the George M. Sage annex will be available to view. There will be no transportation provided but you may drive your own vehicles to the annex.

Hope to see you October 27th

Indian Trails Coaches Now "In The Loop"

From Bus Ride magazine, here's an article on how Indian Trails, a Michigan based motorcoach company that has been in operation for over 100 years is now one of the first companies in the country to install technology in 17 of their coaches used in line run service throughout the state to enable passengers who are hard of hearing to clearly hear the PA system announcements made by the bus driver. Indian Trails teamed up with the Michigan DOT on this project.


http://busride.com/2012/09/motorcoaches-are-now-in-the-loop/

Bob Beard Silver Eagle Plaque

A special plaque featuring a Silver Eagle, inscribed in honor of the late Bob Beard has been completed and Bob's name has also been placed on the front window of the George Sage Annex.

Board Meeting Reminder

A reminder that MBT Board meetings are open to all members to attend and are now back to starting at 6:30PM. We had experimented with starting the meetings at 6:00 but with several of the board members still working they found getting to the museum on time for 6:00 was a challenge. The schedule for the remaining MBT Board meetings for 2012: Sept.4th, Oct. 2nd, Nov. 6th and Dec.4th.

COLTS Bus Driver Dies While On The Job

Angelo Dominick, the senior driver for COLTS in Scranton PA died while on the job yesterday. He had been with COLTS for 39 years and had just celebrated his 44th wedding anniversary last Friday. Click the link to read more about Mr. Dominick in this article from the Scranton Times-Tribune.


The MBT extends it's condolences to Angelo Dominick's family, friends and co-workers.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/colts-driver-dies-doing-what-he-truly-truly-enjoyed-1.1358503