I'm gonna paint a Jack Rabbit on the side of my bus.....seriously

[Rick59-4104]

  My 1959 4104 was bought new by the Jack Rabbit Bus Line out of South Dakota. I just finished polishing the bumpers, buffing the paint and am getting ready to paint the top.  I think I will paint a running/jumping Jack Rabbit (jumping like the greyhound) on the front sides just above and slightly behind the wheel wells

My father-in-law was an old school sign painter in the days when everything was hand lettered... He passed away 20 years ago, I spent a lot of time watching him hand letter trucks, fire pumpers and even old tractors and steam engines. The old hand lettered, pin striped goldleaf artistic style of sign painting has pretty much gone by the wayside. My wife inherited his artistic ability and I think this is too cool an idea not to do it.

Rick

[Dreamscape]

That sounds like a great idea! Post pictures of your result so we can sobber all over the keyboard!

I do agree that hand work is much nicer to look at, and it might last longer too!

It's like comparing hand quilting to machine, lots of character and definition.

Paul

[bevans6]

A friend of mine, quite some years ago, had all of his  race cars hand-lettered by a sign painter.  All the numbers, names, even the sponsor logo's.  It was a nightmare when I got the cars in my shop, I lived in fear that my driver would scuff a hand-lettered door or something, but man those things just popped!   Such a subtle but important difference from everyone else's decals and vinyl signs.

Brian

[roadrunnertex]

Two photos in the US Snail of the Jack Rabbit Lines equipment before the take over by Jefferson Lines,Inc.
jlv

[Rick59-4104]

  John,
THANKS!, I will get copies made and get the originals back to you.. We are leaving in the morning for our first trip of any distance, we are going down to a campground on the Mulberry River in the Ozark National Forest for a few days.
Got the '04 lubed up, oil changed, fan blade seems tight and secure, drive line tight and lubed , new brakes/wheels/tires....... coach is spit and polished and just in case CoachNet is going with me.

Rick

[boxcarOkie]

Hate to shoot a hole in your bubble, but the Mexican equivalent of Greyhound already has a jack rabbit on the side of their coaches, I think the name translates into "The Rabbit" or something like that.

Mine used to have a couple of goats on the back of it, I could not wait to get it to the paintshop to have them removed.

Go for it!

BCO

[Runcutter]

Back when I was driving, one of the other companies in the shared terminal had a painted rabbit on the back as their logo (Almeida Bus in Massachusetts?).  The story - the rabbit is always ahead of the Hound.

Arthur

[Len Silva]

Johnny Almeida was our upstairs neighbor back when he was the owner operator of one bus, running New Bedford to Boston.  I think that was around 1945.

[Len Silva]

I have a VW Rabbit logo and could send it to you as a vector file that a sign shop could cut from vinyl if you like it.

[Runcutter]

Len, they grew the company.  By the time I was driving, late 1960's to mid 1970's, they had a bunch of schedules between the South Shore and Boston.  They ran into the Trailways terminal in Park Square, Boston - into which we ran from the north.  They had a good reputation.  I left that area in 1978, so I don't know what happened to the company.

Arthur

[usbusin]

My 1960 GM 4104 that I owned, was purchased new by Almeida Bus Lines in New Bedford, Mass.  The serial number was 4104-4153 if I remember correctly. 

Raincutter do you think you drove this one?  Did they have a route to Washington DC?

She was a wonderful bus - very reliable and just loved to run-and-run-and-run.

[Runcutter]

If I recall correctly, Almeida was a local, Boston/South Shore carrier, virtually all commuter work.  I don't know if they had any local service in and around New Bedford.  I suspect the 4104's were retired by the time I drove (for another company, Trombly Motor Coach).  That said, I have a photo in my office of me, driving a 4905 out of Boston in the early 1970's, with several Trailways Eagles and someone's 4104 in the background.  The 4104 could be an Almeida bus, but there isn't enough visible to really tell. 

Most of the carriers had extensive charter rights, so the coaches could be seen anywhere.  The company I worked for had 48 states, Canada, Mexico rights, and each summer there was a 1-2 bus, 49 day charter taking Boy Scouts across the country to the west coast and back.  The driver had to camp out with them.  So, Almeida may have had charter service that put the buses outside of Massachusetts.

Also, many of the companies (we did) would subcontract and run Greyhound work on major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas).  If Almeida also did that, it would explain Greyhound destinations on the destination sign.

Arthur   

[Rick59-4104]

 I did a destination sign today, it is vinyl I put a solid red background with the letters on top, I was surprised to see how well it backlights as the vinyl was not transparant.  Will try to put a picture up
Rick

[FloridaCliff]

Interesting side note on the hand lettering;

I remember many times sanding down to the metal and you could still make out the image or letters.

Not so with the vinyl.  Must have been the type of paint used ?

Cliff

[Rick59-4104]

 Another picture...