For all you 'RTS' lovers

[Dan05979 1,028]

Found these adds for the new '78 rts online.

 

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

I wonder what it was like with those slanted backs? Thanks for posting this.

[KNIGHTRIDER3:16 198]

I care for RTS's and it shows

Great Homework (D)an ,(N)ow put up your damn trains :mad:B):mad:B) hurry up

[R32 3348 11]

It's amazing how long they lasted.

[SoSpectacular 771]

The funny thing about this advertisement is that GM actually stuck to their word (every last detail) and built a fine quality product that lasted 30+ years. Nowadays its false advertising and rushed products!

[Queens Surface 434]

GMC really built good quality buses that lasted a long time as well as TMC but with NovaBUS the quality went down a bit. Great Stuff Dan.

[mark1447 685]

Good Stuff. I wounder why the earlier RTS [01-03 i think] were slanted in the back..

[7LineFan 256]

Good Stuff. I wounder why the earlier RTS [01-03 i think] were slanted in the back..

 

The 04s added an air conditioning unit there... it's on the bottom panel.

[DevilBus65 1]

Of all the buses I ever drove the RTS II from GMC was always my favorite. At Steinway Transit we had one of those slant back buses. The rear doors opened in the same manner that the front ones did. Another thing about those slant backs was that they were FAST!

[Grand Concourse 2,690]

I could imagine, no heavy a/c unit in the back to slow it down

[Dan05979 1,028]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you liked the pics. The rts was the heart of the mta for a very long time. My fav's were in '94 when 8600 was the first with the new 4 cylinder engine, they had that throaty exhaust sound and the shiny Alcoa wheels. I'm pretty sure when 8600 came out its first home was on the M101. I rember the old depot on lexington ave around 99 street before they re-built it.

[SoSpectacular 771]

Yes... I remember the mid-90s when the newer TMC/Nova RTSs were rolled out with the Series 50 engines... Green Lines had 'em, Queens Surface had 'em, Jamaica Bus had 'em, and so did Triboro Coach... They did look awesome with the Alcoa rims, especially the Orion Vs but due to certain reasons they had to replace the rims after a while.

[Q25toJamaica 9]

I could imagine, no heavy a/c unit in the back to slow it down

And no heavy a/c to ruin recordings *drools*

[SoSpectacular 771]

And no heavy a/c to ruin recordings *drools*

 

Ehhh there's always the spring and fall for recordings :cool:

[Luis1985 1]

wow these buses bring back so much memories.

[RTS CNG Command 301]

Oh, how much do I really remember many of the older GMC RTS. They used to be the symbol of MTA Surface transportation and many older PBLs for so long. They're going to be a big part of my love for buses until the day I die.

 

My fav's were in '94 when 8600 was the first with the new 4 cylinder engine, they had that throaty exhaust sound and the shiny Alcoa wheels. I'm pretty sure when 8600 came out its first home was on the M101. I rember the old depot on lexington ave around 99 street before they re-built it.

They're some of my favorites, as well. I remember when I was young when I first saw these buses. I was in absolute awe. They looked new, clean, and DIFFERENT. I loved the whirring sound when either resting or in action, sound, the new Luminators, and especially the Alcoa rims. Those rims, God, they were my FAVORITES! I actually posed in front of one of them when I was a kid, and I still have one of them. Sometimes, until I saw one of those Novas, 8600s, or 400 Orions, I would not get on a bus at all. I would wait and wait until one arrived. Also, some of the '94 RTSs had the back sign occasionally in thin numbers (and tall seven-pixel letter), similar to the pre-8000s, before they disappeared completely in 1999. (I'm still a little upset at the MTA for getting rid of 'em. >_<)

[SubwayGuy 2,321]

Heh...that stuff is so 70's/early 80's its classic. The white lab coats, the color flash photography indoors...

[Dan05979 1,028]

They're some of my favorites, as well. I remember when I was young when I first saw these buses. I was in absolute awe. They looked new, clean, and DIFFERENT. I loved the whirring sound when either resting or in action, sound, the new Luminators, and especially the Alcoa rims. Those rims, God, they were my FAVORITES! I actually posed in front of one of them when I was a kid, and I still have one of them. Sometimes, until I saw one of those Novas, 8600s, or 400 Orions, I would not get on a bus at all. I would wait and wait until one arrived. Also, some of the '94 RTSs had the back sign occasionally in thin numbers (and tall seven-pixel letter), similar to the pre-8000s, before they disappeared completely in 1999. (I'm still a little upset at the MTA for getting rid of 'em. >_<)

 

When I first started high school in '94 I used the M15 to get to art & design. For some reason in the morning bus #pa16XX or pa22XX would come, those buses at the time were tired, they would lean with a full load of passengers, it felt weak. Many times I had to transfer to a different bus because the wheelchair lift broke. Those faded tinted windows and very faded front dest sign. But then came the new 8600, that bus when it was new was sharp and very fast but at the time it was only on the m101 so getting that bus for me was hard, but I caught it a few times. where's that bus now? did it die?

[IRT Bronx Express 373]

Very nice ads of the RTS. iirc, I remember seeing the red RTS on the QBx1 years ago.

[BNQtrain3912 3]

Yes... I remember the mid-90s when the newer TMC/Nova RTSs were rolled out with the Series 50 engines... Green Lines had 'em, Queens Surface had 'em, Jamaica Bus had 'em, and so did Triboro Coach... They did look awesome with the Alcoa rims, especially the Orion Vs but due to certain reasons they had to replace the rims after a while.

 

are those the rims that were silver? and i think they were on the 70xx and 75xx rts

[Novabus 5000 637]

Does anyone have a pic(s) of the PBL RTS' buses when they were first delivered?

[Dan05979 1,028]

Does anyone remember when they used a few brand new rts buses for the olympic's in '96 in atlanta? I know they were down there doing regular passenger service or something. I think those buses were in the 8500's someone? knightrider?????

[aemoreira81 979]

Yes... I remember the mid-90s when the newer TMC/Nova RTSs were rolled out with the Series 50 engines... Green Lines had 'em, Queens Surface had 'em, Jamaica Bus had 'em, and so did Triboro Coach... They did look awesome with the Alcoa rims, especially the Orion Vs but due to certain reasons they had to replace the rims after a while.

 

All that time, GMC continued to run RTS-03s until 2000. One of those slant-backs is sitting in the back of the Varsity lot.

 

Does anyone remember when they used a few brand new rts buses for the olympic's in '96 in atlanta? I know they were down there doing regular passenger service or something. I think those buses were in the 8500's someone? knightrider?????

 

It was 8900s and 9000s, 150 in all.

[Dan05979 1,028]

All that time, GMC continued to run RTS-03s until 2000. One of those slant-backs is sitting in the back of the Varsity lot.

 

 

 

It was 8900s and 9000s, 150 in all.

 

Ahh ok. thanks I couln't remember.

[Novabus 5000 637]

All that time, GMC continued to run RTS-03s until 2000. One of those slant-backs is sitting in the back of the Varsity lot.

 

 

 

It was 8900s and 9000s, 150 in all.

Which RTS-03 is in the lot? Is it Green Lines Bus #1012?