BusTalk

[Q65A]

MSBA (forerunner of today's LIB) was an "assembled" bus system, not unlike MABSTOA or MTAB. Many of the historical constituent companies of today's LIB are old memories today. I found a bus map inside a 1960's edition of Hagstrom's Nassau County Atlas. I compared this map with LIB's 2003 map, and here are the route comparisons I had found (originally posted at BTN sometime last year):


Historical Operators: Historical Routes
(circa 1967): Most Similar
Current LIB Route(s):
Bee Line Freeport-Jamaica N4
Bee Line Grant Park-Jamaica N1
Bee Line Hempstead-Jamaica N6
Bee Line Valley Stream-Elmont N1
Bee Line Valley Stream-Floral Park N2
Bee Line Valley Stream-Franklin Square N3
Bee Line Valley Stream-Green Acres Portions of N2, 3, 8
Branch Bus Pt. Lookout-Long Beach None
City of Long Beach Long Beach City Local N33
Clara Leigh Amityville-Farmingdale N71 (eastern portion)
Hempstead Bus E. Meadow-Hicksville N48
Hempstead Bus Freeport-Mineola N40
Hempstead Bus Hempstead-E. Meadow N46, 47, 48, 49
Hempstead Bus Hempstead-Hicksville N49
Hempstead Bus Hemp./Lynbrook-Baldwin N36 & N40
Hendrickson Bus Glen Cove-Oyster Bay None
Jamaica Buses Jamaica-Far Rockaway Q113
Jerusalem Ave. Bus Line Hempstead-Seaford
N54
Jerusalem Ave. Bus Line Merrick-E. Meadow N51
Jerusalem Ave. Bus Line Massapequa Park Loop N19
LI Airports Limousine Service Airport Limo Service None
Mid-Island Transit Bellmore-Hicksville N50
Mid-Island Transit Bellmore Loop (Local) Portions of N46 & N50
Mid-Island Transit Bellmore-Roosevelt Field N45
Mid-Island Transit Glen Cove-Hempstead N27
Mid-Island Transit Glen Cove-Sea Cliff Portions of N21 & N27
Mid-Island Transit Hicksville-Farmingdale N70
Mid-Island Transit Hicksville-Oyster Bay None
Mid-Island Transit Hicksville-Plainview N94
Mid-Island Transit Hicksville-Roosevelt Field N78, N79
Mid-Island Transit Massapequa-Farmingdale N81 (southern portion)
Mid-Island Transit Massapequa-Hicksville N80
Mid-Island Transit Roosevelt Field-Walt Whitman Mall
N79
Historical Operators: Historical Routes
(circa 1967): Most Similar
Current LIB Route(s):
Rockville Centre Bus Hempstead-Long Beach N15
Rockville Centre Bus Oceanside Loop None
Rockville Centre Bus Rockville Center Loop N14
Roosevelt Bus Line Freeport Loop N62
Schenck Transportation Flushing-Glen Cove N21
Schenck Transportation Jamaica-E. Williston N22A
Schenck Transportation Jamaica-Hicksville N22
Schenck Transportation Jamaica-Mineola N24
Schenck Transportation Lynbrook-Great Neck N25
Schenck Transportation Mineola-Hicksville N22 (eastern portion)
Schenck Transportation Mineola-Manorhaven N23
Semke Bus Line Hempstead-Baldwin N16
Semke Bus Line Hempstead-Westbury N35
Stage Coach Lines Hemp./Levittown-Farmingdale N70, 72
Stage Coach Lines Hicksville-Wantagh N73 & N74
Universal Autobus Service Great Neck-Kings Point N58
Utility Lines Freeport-Amityville N19

Notes:
1.) “Historical Operators” and “Historical Routes (circa 1967)” determined from Bus Route System: Nassau County, NY (Prepared by Nassau County Dept. of Franchises) as shown in Hagstrom’s Atlas of Nassau County (5th Edition) (New York: Hagstrom Company, 1967; page 11)
2.) “Most Similar Current LIB Route(s)” determined from LIB Map dated 06/03

[Mr. Linsky]

Bob,

It's looks as though Nassau Bus Lines has been treated as a stepchild once again because it's not on the above list either!

Founded in the early twenties, Nassau Bus Lines serviced at least two lines that I am aware of and did so continuously until its takeover by Long Island Bus in the early seventies.

The first was the Lynbrook to Far Rockawy route which carried it via Broadway through Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Lawrence and Inwood (a/k/a 'the Five Towns') to the Green Line terminal at the original L.I.R.R. station in Far Rockaway (an excellent picture of a Nassau 'ACF' may be seen waiting at the station - bottom of page 15 - MCA New York City's Green Bus Lines).

The second route from Long Beach to Far Rockaway carried it via Atlantic Beach into Far Rockaway through Beach 9th. Street to the same terminal.

The company was franchised by NYC and did have an official 'Q' number for the city portion of both routes.

At the time I rode their buses from Atlantic Beach in the late forties and early fifties they were using 1946 vintage Fords in all gray liveries.

Their last order for buses before the takeover were three GM T6H5306A's numbered 100 to 102 (ser# 0031 to 0033) delivered in February of 1968.

I hope this information completes your otherwise flawless historic register of Long Island companies.

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc,. Jamaica, New York

[Q65A]

Excellent catch, Mr. L!
I must apologize for omitting Nassau Bus Line from my list; the goof definitely belongs to me and not the Nassau County Dept. of Franchises.
I checked the map and I found that Nassau Bus Line, Inc. indeed had 2 routes: Far Rockaway-Long Beach and Far Rockaway-Lynbrook.
The former route appears to be today's N33.
The latter route appears to be covered between Lynbrook and Far Rockaway by the southern portions of today's N31 and N32.
You definitely are an expert beyond GBL!

[Mr. Linsky]

[Mr. Linsky]

I could never figure out how Nassau Bus Lines, Inc. survived all through the years with only two short routes (Lynbrook to Far Rockaway and Long Beach to Far Rockaway!).

They were no 'whirlwind' revenue wise with their basic trade being household help just as Green Line's Far Rockaway to Bayswater run was.

However, information culled from a memoir of a gentlemen in a essay at www.ILoveLBNY.com seems to answers the question!

Back in the thirties, a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Elsworth Combs owned both the Rockville Centre Bus Corporation and Nassau Bus Lines, and subsequently purchased the Long Beach Bus Company, Inc. (which was taken over by the City of Long Beach early on). Both Rockville Centre and Nassau became part of Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority and then Long Island Bus.

Nothing about the Branch Bus Line from Long Beach to Point Lookout was mentioned, but I would venture to say that they probably owned that as well.

I would suppose that this is another mystery (at least for me) solved, and the information certainly adds to the Long Island transit historic record.

Mr. Linsky
"The Green Hornet"
Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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