With the success of the annual MOBT Spring Fling and buses positioned to appear on the big screen, our Collection Chronicle’s focus, of course, is buses. This 1998 MCI D3 was bought by Hegins Valley Lines. A typical charter coach of the period, it has a Detroit Diesel Series 60 engine and Allison transmission.
York PA-based Bailey Coach purchased Hegins Valley Lines in 2005 and acquired this coach. After operation for Bailey for several years, the coach was sold to Lincoln Bus Lines in Hanover, PA. Several years later Bailey bought Lincoln Bus Lines and this immaculate D3 finished its working career where it began.
To meet Bailey’s requirements, this Coach is unusual for its era. At a time when most new highway coaches were 45′, Bailey specified a 40′ model to meet the customer’s needs. In 1998 the trend was to have coaches painted all the way to the bottom, but this coach was ordered with stainless steel siding below the floor. Most highway coaches had painted “lowers” until 1954 when the style changed to metal for ease of maintenance. In the late 1980s, following the trend of European imports, North American builders switched back to painted lowers and offered stainless as an option.
This coach looks like it has been restored; it has not. Its pristine condition is the result of decades of excellent maintenance. Take a virtual ride in the “Bailey Bus” with Museum Curator Stan Sipko behind the wheel.
