Preserved Chicago Transit Authority maintenance work bus BW 47. The Midwest Transit Bus Museum. Cresthill Illinois. September 2000.

 

 

From 1999 until 2001, I was employed as a delivery truck driver

for a small company based in Romeoville Illinois. Located about

2 miles south of my company on Route # 53 and Caton Farm Road

in the neighboring town of Cresthill  Illinois not far from the

city of Joliet, was a small relatively unknown museum known as

The Midwest Transit Bus Museum.

 

Located inside a fenced and secured industrial storage rental yard

used primarily for truck trailers, this museum featured a collection

of privately owned retired vintage city transit buses. Some were

operational, while others that were rescued from Junk yards, often

were not, and would wind up in use as museum storage sheds.

 

One of the operational buses in the museum collection, was retired

Chicago Transit Authority work bus # BW 47. This bus was an ealy

1950's era General Motors bus, that was ordered and delivered to the

former Chicago Motor Coach Company. After the Chicago Transit

Authority purchased the Chicago Motor Coach Company in 1952, this

transit bus operated in CTA service, until the early 1970's. It was then

removed from daily service, and demoted to a non revenue maintenance

Work Bus, were it operated until the 1980's.

 

The Midwest Transit Bus Museum, was like an Antique Car Club

for people who were in to buses.

 

Thanks.

Eddie K.