Wednesday, January 19, 2011

RTA # 890 "The Tiger Bus. The Midwest Transit Bus Museum. crest Hill Illinois. september 2000.





One of the more intersting suburban transit buses that rolled around Chicago's western suburbs during the 1970's and early 1980's, was RTA # 890.

This bus, is a 1967 35 foot GMC fishbowl windshield TDH series transit bus, that originally worked for the West Towns Bus Company.
Sometime after the Chicago area RTA was formed around 1974, this bus was "Handpainted" ( No. Not shrink wrapped with decals.) in to this very striking Tiger color scheme promoting Chicago's Brookfield Zoo.

Retired by the mid 1980's, it is preserved today at The Midwest Transit Bus Museum in Cresthill Illinois near the city of Joliet.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Midwest Transit Bus Museum in Crest Hill? I work in Crest Hill and I've never heard of or seen this before.

Do you have any other information about the museum? Is it open to the public?

Eddie said...

Hi!
Yes I do have some information about The Midwest Transit Bus Museum.

I used to work in nearby Romeoville Illinois just north of here. The museum is located on the east side of Illinois U.S Route # 53, at Caton Farm Road. The museum is actually more like an antique car club for people who enjoy buses.

The buses are kept on what is normally an industrial storage yard. The museum group does not have a website. (Sorry.) A Mr Dave Buzek is the museum president.

You might be able to catch him or one ofthe other members sometime in the afternoon, when the gate to the lot might be opened or somebody may be on duty in charge of the lot.

I was a member Myself from 2000 until 2002, and I enjoyed this very much, Some of the buses operate, and some don't as they were rescued from junk yards in some situations past.

Thank You.
Eddie K.