Behind the Wheel...on Route 66 - Softcover

Suttle, Howard; Johnson, Linda; MacNeish, Joan, M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1889915009 ISBN 13: 9781889915005

Publisher: Data Plus Printing & Pub, 1996

Synopsis

In 1951, Howard went to Greyhound Driver School in Dallas, and drove from 1951 until 1979. His driving was largely done in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico along "old 66." He has traveled literally over two and a half million miles over the length and breadth of the Southwest during his twenty-eight years of Greyhound service. Observing the land and its people, studying its colorful history, and putting to canvas the realism of everyday lives of the cowboy, Indian, the good times and the bad times, hardship and triumph of life in this often harsh and brutal environment. Enjoy these nostalgic, true-life accounts of Main Street USA.

About this title

About the Author

Howard Suttle was born and raised in the cotton and cattle country of West Texas and, except for service with the US Army in Europe during World War II, has spent his life in the wide open spaces of the Great Southwest. Howard was born just prior to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s, one of seven children of a pioneer Baptist preacher who died when Howard was ten years old.

Being the second oldest son meant awesome family responsibility. He picked cotton, "soda-jerked" in a drug store, was a movie projectionist, and held numerous other jobs to help the family survive. In World War II he was a tank commander for two years, until he was wounded and sent back stateside, where he married his hometown sweetheart and settled down to raise his own family.

In 1951, Howard went to Greyhound Driver School in Dallas, and drove from 1951 until 1979. His driving was largely done in Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico along "old 66." He has traveled literally over two and a half million miles over the length and breadth of the Southwest during his twenty-eight years of Greyhound service; observing the land and its people, studying its colorful history, and putting to canvas the realism of everyday lives of the cowboy, Indian, the good times and the bad times, hardship and triumph of life in this often harsh and brutal environment.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

THE BUS THAT WOULDN'T DIE In 1954, we received our first multilevel buses called Scenicruisers. They had ten seats on the lower level, plus the restroom and thirty-three seats on the upper level. The power for these buses was two six-cylinder diesel engines located in the rear of the bus. They drove a semi-automatic transmission, or torque converter, and it seemed that everything had to depend on air pressure to operate properly. If the air pressure fell below a certain point, several systems were inoperable. You couldn't even shift gears if air pressure was too low. Since the bus had two engines, it also had two exhaust pipes under the rear bumper.

Late one afternoon, a driver was approaching Oklahoma City from the west, when the air pressure warning buzzer came on, warning him of a malfunction. Since the buses were new, they had several bugs to be worked out. The driver, instead of stopping the bus as soon as the buzzer came on, decided to try to make it a few more blocks to the station. He didn't realize how much trouble he was getting into. Just as he crossed the intersection, before turning into the station, he found he had no brakes. He tried to shift into neutral, but the clutch was also air-operated and he found that he could not take it out of gear.

The driver told us later that the only thing that worked was the electric horn, so he circled the bus station, blowing his horn for attention. The dispatcher ran along side and yelled for him to hit the emergency stop switches. The driver advised him that he had already tried that, and the bus refused to stop. Someone, seeing what was taking place, called the shop and was told by the mechanic that the emergency stop switch was designed to cut off the air to the engine, causing it to stop running. He was told that one of the engines would not stop running, and the mechanic replied that he would have to call his boss real fast and see if he knew anything else to do.

Meanwhile, the dispatcher, several drivers, and the police were stationed around the bus station keeping everything cleared so he could keep circling safely. The mechanic called back a couple of minutes later and told the dispatcher that the one engine still running was getting just enough air through the exhaust pipe of the dead engine to keep it idling. He told the dispatcher to try sticking a rag into the dead engine's exhaust pipe. But, after about three times around the station, this proved to be unsuccessful, also.

About that time, someone decided that, since the drive train was equipped with a fluid coupling, perhaps the driver could ram into a large pipe retaining fence located at the rear of the station. It was thought the bus would not have enough power to do much damage. This idea was quickly followed, as everyone was tired of trying to stuff a rag up the rear end of this bus while it was still moving. The pipes the bus rammed into were about eight inches in diameter and set in concrete. The driver picked two that the bumper would fit and ram them he did! He said the stop was kinda' sudden and while it stopped the bus, it didn't stop the engine. It continued to run as it sat there bucking and smoking. The passengers were unloaded as quickly as possible and escorted into the station.

By this time, the shop mechanic had arrived and opened up the engine compartment and disconnected the fuel line. After a few more bucks and snorts, the old girl finally died. After this ordeal, several of us had greasy hands from trying to do something to help, and after we all got in the drivers' room to wash up, I've never heard so much laughing in all my life. Many times, I've wished I'd had a tape recording of that.

The driver commented that it was so embarrassing to him, circling the station twelve or thirteen times, especially with all the ribbing he took from the passengers. He said that they were yelling at him, mostly in fun of course, for he was an older driver. Such remarks as, "Did you only start today, driver? Driver, could I please get off now...if you don't mind!" One fellow said he saw his wife wave to them when they arrived, but after about the tenth time around, he saw her leaving with another man. Another passenger asked him if this was what these new Scenicruisers were supposed to do. A lady asked him if all the stations between there and Chicago had to be circled thirteen times, would they be able to make it this year? The driver said that sitting there circling with those buzzers sounding off made him kind'a red-faced. As everyone was about to regain their composure, the old dispatcher started in. He pointed to the driver and said, "You? What about me? I'm the professional man around here, the only one with a tie on, and I'm chasing that booger around the station trying to stuff this red rag up its rear end!" Well, that started the laughing all over again. I've never laughed so hard...my sides were really killing me by that time. I'm sure there was some exaggerating going on, but it only added to the humor. One driver said he noticed a wino out by the dumpster, and after about the tenth trip around, he poured his wine out on the ground and walked off.

We noticed that in the months ahead, changes in the systems started coming fairly rapidly and safety features were re-designed from top to bottom. Greyhound's new Scenicruiser didn't make much of an impression on people around there that afternoon, except maybe for the drunk who swore off wine and, of course, the driver...who said he had to go home and "unwind."

Edition details

• Publisher: Data Plus Printing & Pub
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1889915009
• ISBN 13: 9781889915005
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 342