Central Greyhound Lines
Encyclopedia
Central Greyhound Lines is a name used in six different contexts or applications in the intercity highway-coach
industry in the USA. In each of the first five instances, the name was used for a regional operating company (that is, a division
or subsidiary
) of The Greyhound Corporation (the parent Greyhound firm). In the last instance the name was used for an internal administrative department
of the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI, a separate, independent, unrelated firm, after the GLI bought the core bus business of The Greyhound Corporation.
, in February 1927, four months after its formation (as the MTC).
To comply with an Indiana
statute
(one which required that corporation
s doing business in the Hoosier State be domiciled there), the MTC had already (in November 1926, the same month as its own incorporation) created a wholly owned subsidiary, based in Indiana and named as the Greyhound Lines, Inc., of Indiana (called also the GLI of Indiana), to conduct the route between Chicago and Indianapolis (mostly in Indiana).
Thereby the GLI of Indiana became the first business unit of the growing Greyhound empire to make a public use of the name of the Greyhound Lines.
The GLI of Indiana also took over another firm, the Blue Goose Lines, running in the Hoosier State from Indianapolis southward to Evansville
and northward to Kokomo
and onward to Fort Wayne
(all four in Indiana), bought from Ralph Bogan and Swan Sundstrom, two original busmen from northern Minnesota
. [The two sellers continued as key players at Greyhound. Bogan served eventually as the vice president
of The Greyhound Corporation during the presidency of Orville Swan Caesar (1946–56), after the retirement of Carl Eric Wickman, the principal founder of Greyhound; Sundstrom served as a long-time president
of the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines.]
[In November 1926 the MTC created also a sister subsidiary, named as the Greyhound Lines, Inc., of Ohio (the GLI of Ohio), which in November 1927 began service between Detroit, Michigan
, and Cincinnati, Ohio
.]
[For a short time during 1927–28, there was also a third subsidiary (of the MTC) using the name of the Greyhound Lines, Inc. – the GLI of Delaware
, which came into existence to buy the Purple Swan Safety Coach Lines, running between Chicago and Kansas City
via Saint Louis (the two latter in Missouri
), and which became renamed as the Pickwick-Greyhound Lines, after the Pickwick Corporation bought a one-half ownership interest in that firm (hence the hyphenated name). Later the route segment between Saint Louis and Kansas City became transferred to the Southwestern GL, and the segment between Chicago and Saint Louis became transferred to the Illinois GL (then to the Central GL, then eventually to the Great Lakes GL
).]
In 1929 the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation (with an uppercase T, because the word “the” was an integral part of the legal name of the corporate entity).
The GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio developed additional routes, mostly by buying existing properties.
During the early years of the growth of the Greyhound empire, the GLI of Indiana performed an important function, by operating a number of significant routes before they became transferred to other operating companies.
The purpose of the Pennsylvania GL was to provide an entity in which the Pennsylvania Railroad
(PRR) soon bought a minority interest
, a subsidiary in a territory which coincided with the territory of the railway
firm – so that the rail company could supplement its train
service and substitute bus service in place of some of its unprofitable and marginally profitable passenger trains.
Greyhound then transferred the routes of the GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio to the new companies. The east-west routes went to the Pennsylvania GL, as did the other ones paralleling other lines of the PRR. The remaining routes [that is, those between Evansville and Indianapolis and between Detroit and Cincinnati and onward to Louisville
(in Kentucky
)] went to the (first) Central GL.
The GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio then went out of existence.
and the Northeast
, one in an area which coincided with the territory of another major railway company, the New York Central (NYC) System, one in which Greyhound transferred a minority non-voting interest to the NYC System. The Greyhound executives wished for the latter subsidiary to bear a name (Central) which suggested the kinship with the related railway firm (New York Central), as in the case of the neighboring Pennsylvania GL and the Pennsylvania Railroad.
[For several years during the 1930s, the coaches of the Central GL and the Pennsylvania GL bore (in addition to their usual Greyhound markings) the logo
s of the related railway companies – the oval
(or ellipse
) of the NYC System and the keystone
of the “Pennsy” Railroad.]
Despite the name of the Ohio GL, the firm was based in Indiana (as had been the GLI of Indiana and the first Central GL), to satisfy the statutory requirement of the Hoosier State for domestic corporations for operations there.
The Ohio GL continued to increase its route network throughout its area, mostly by the acquisition of existing carriers.
, as a subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation, and it continued until late in 1954, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania GL.
{In the next year, 1955, the enlarged Pennsylvania GL became redesignated as the Eastern Division of The Greyhound Corporation [called also the (second) Eastern GL], the first of four huge new divisions (along with Southern, Western, and another Central).}
The (second) Central GL came from three major components:
The first major part of the (second) Central GL, the Safety Motor Coach Lines, had been founded (with the backing of Wickman) in 1924 by Edwin (Ed) Eckstrom, an accountant
, born in Ludington, Michigan
, and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota
. [Eckstrom in -17 had become an investor
and participant in the Mesaba Transportation Company, based in Hibbing, the first incorporated firm (which replaced the Hibbing Transportation Company, a partnership
consisting of Eric Wickman, Ralph Bogan, and others) which led to the founding of the Greyhound empire.]
In 1926, after the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) came into existence, its first purchase was Eckstrom’s Safety Motor Coach Lines, and Eckstrom became the first president of the MTC.
[When the MTC bought the Safety Motor Coach Lines, Eckstrom’s company contributed to the MTC not only the name Greyhound and the image of a greyhound
dog but also the blue-and-white livery (color scheme) used on Eckstrom’s coaches. Eckstrom is said to have proposed the use of the name of the Greyhound Lines even before he left (with the support of his associates in Minnesota
) to go back eastward. For more details please see the article about the Great Lakes GL
.]
In 1929 the Safety Motor Coach Lines (as a subsidiary of the MTC) took over the Interstate Stages (which had used the brand name of the Oriole Lines and had named its coaches as the Oriole
Flyers), the Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Company, and the YellowaY of Michigan (a part of the YellowaY-Pioneer System, bought from the American Motor Transportation Company), all three of which firms Greyhound had acquired through a related company, named as the Automotive Investments, Inc., based in Duluth, Minnesota
.
In 1930 the Safety Motor Coach Lines became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of Michigan, then in -35 (briefly) as the (third) Central Greyhound Lines (CGL) of Michigan; then in -36 it became merged into the undenominated main (second) Central GL.
[In 1948 Greyhound transferred all the Michigan routes of the (second) Central GL (formerly those of the Safety Motor Coach Lines) to the Great Lakes GL, which had begun in 1941.]
The second major part of the (second) Central GL, the routes between Chicago and New York City via Cleveland, began in 1923, when Clark McConnell, a lawyer
in Cleveland, founded the Cleveland-Ashtabula-Conneaut (CAC) Bus Company, running about 71 miles from Cleveland to Conneaut
(both in Ohio), reaching to the east-northeast on the way toward Erie, Pennsylvania
, and Buffalo, New York
.
[McConnell had begun in the bus industry in 1919 by taking part in starting two other firms – the Cleveland-Akron Bus Company and the Cleveland-Elyria-Toledo Bus Company (which latter firm, despite its name, ran from Cleveland only as far as Norwalk
, beyond Elyria
but short of Toledo
); O.B. Baskett, a former driver and sometime manager for those two firms (1919–24), in 1925, after a brief stint in North Carolina
, began running coaches of his own in East Tennessee
between Knoxville
and Johnson City
, then in 1928 co-founded the Tennessee Coach Company
, which long (1929–56) cooperated (in part by running through-coaches on through-schedules in pool interline operations) with the Atlantic GL
, the Dixie GL
, and (especially) the Southeastern GL
, but which in 1956 became a member of the Trailways association (then named as the National Trailways Bus System), and which in 1966 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Continental Trailways.]
[While Baskett lived in North Carolina (1924–25), he worked for the Carolina Motor Coaches, which soon became a major part of the newly founded Carolina Coach Company, which in 1940 became a member of the National Trailways association (and thereby became known also as the Carolina Trailways), and which in 1997 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI.]
[One curious result of that last step is that now a Greyhound subsidiary (the Carolina Coach Company, the Carolina Trailways) is a member of the Trailways association (now named as the Trailways Transportation System
).]
The CAC Bus Company in 1927 extended its route to Buffalo.
CAC in the next year, 1928, became renamed as the Great Lakes Stages (GLS), and it extended all the way to New York City – via Buffalo and Olean
(all three in New York
), Port Allegany
, Mansfield
, Scranton
, and Stroudsburg
(all four in Pennsylvania), and Columbia
, Dover
, and Newark
(all three in New Jersey
). [Some of the trips of the GLS ran directly between Erie and Olean via Jamestown
(in the Empire State), thus bypassing Buffalo; others ran directly between Erie and Port Allegany via Warren
(in Pennsylvania), thus bypassing not only Buffalo but also both Jamestown and Olean.]
The GLS also developed a branch line between Erie and Pittsburgh (both in the Keystone State).
In 1929 the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) bought the GLS, and (in a separate transaction) the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation.
The GLS became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of Ohio (completely different and separate from the GLI of Ohio, which had gone out of existence in 1930, and the Ohio GL, which then still ran between Evansville and Indianapolis and between Detroit and Louisville).
The other route between Cleveland and New York City (the “water-level route” via Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany) came into existence during the development of the set of routes described next.
The prelude to the third major part of the (second) Central GL, the routes in upstate New York (with the two extensions), began in 1913 in the Thousand Islands
region, a resort area along the border between Canada and the USA, on the Saint Lawrence River
, which is the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean
from Lake Ontario
and therefore also from all five of the Great Lakes
.
In 1913 Fred Dailey began service (with a Cadillac
open touring car) between Watertown, New York, the nearest town with a train station
(in the US), and Alexandria Bay
, on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River, a distance of about 32 miles.
Dailey and others, with various degrees of success (or lack of it) developed a number of routes throughout the region. Dailey also extended downstream from Alexandria Bay to Ogdensburg
.
In 1923 Walter Aldrich and others started a bus firm to run from Syracuse
to Watertown, about 73 miles to the north. [Aldrich already owned a firm running from Syracuse to Norwich
, about 66 miles to the southeast, using Fageol
Safety Coaches.]
By the next year, 1924, Aldrich alone ran the line between Watertown and Syracuse, using Fageols, on the first highway
link between that part of northern New York and the rest of the Empire State. He also took over the two routes between Watertown and Alexandria Bay.
In 1925 a group of investors in Watertown set out to assemble a bus line between Binghamton
(in the Empire State) and the Canadian border, a distance of about 180 miles. They formed the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, which then bought Aldrich’s routes from Watertown to Syracuse and from Watertown to Alexandria Bay.
Colonial then developed routes from Watertown to Utica
and to Plattsburgh (via Canton
, Potsdam
, and Malone
) plus several branch and feeder lines, mostly by the purchase of existing firms.
By 1928 Colonial had indeed extended from Syracuse – not only just to Binghamton but also all the way to New York City – along two routes – one via Binghamton and Scranton (in Pennsylvania) and one via Utica, Albany, Kingston
, and Newburgh (all four in the Empire State), in part along the west shore of the Hudson River
, and via Ridgewood
(in New Jersey).
[The route segment between Scranton and New York City, with interstate rights only (that is, without intrastate authority), duplicated a segment of the Great Lakes Stages on its route between Cleveland and New York City.]
Colonial continued to increase its route network within its area (that is, in the central part of upstate New York).
Late in 1928 Colonial extended westwardly from Syracuse to Rochester
, then early in 1929 eastwardly from Albany to Boston (in Massachusetts) and westwardly again from Rochester to Buffalo.
In 1928 Colonial began acquiring the intrastate rights between Syracuse and Buffalo, by buying existing firms; that process continued until 1930, after it had become a member of the Greyhound family.
In 1929 the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) bought the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, and (in a separate transaction) the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation.
Colonial became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of New York.
[When Greyhound bought Colonial (in 1929) and renamed it as the EGL of New York, Greyhound thereby made its first presence in New England
(between Albany and Boston, along the entire width of Massachusetts).]
In 1929 the MTC bought both the Great Lakes Stages and the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, then in 1930 renamed the GLS as the EGL of Ohio and renamed Colonial as the EGL of New York. [Those two operating companies, the EGL of Ohio and the EGL of New York, became operating subsidiaries of the undenominated main EGL (the holding company), as did the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) and the EGL of New England (which began running in 1930, between Boston and New York City).]
Even before the MTC completed its purchase of Colonial, a number of Colonial coaches began to appear in the Greyhound livery, including lettering for the Colonial Greyhound Lines (which never existed at all as a distinct or separate entity) – in part (for a short time) to take advantage of the goodwill
attached to the name of Colonial.
Likewise the names of the GLS and Colonial were retained and used in public for a while.
In 1928 the MTC bought the Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland Bus Company, which served the cities which the name indicates, then in 1931 Greyhound merged it into the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines), then transferred that route to the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages).
Thus by 1933 Greyhound consolidated the entire service between Cleveland and Chicago (including the branch from Toledo to Detroit) in the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages).
Later in 1933, however, Greyhound transferred the routes from Cleveland to Detroit and to Chicago (from the EGL of Ohio) back into the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines), then merged the remainder of the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages) into the EGL of New York.
Thus the former GLS routes between Cleveland and New York City and all the former Colonial routes became consolidated in the EGL of New York.
(railway) System (in preparation for the pending transfer of a minority interest in the new Greyhound subsidiary, the Central GL, to the NYC System) – and Greyhound renamed the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) as the CGL of Michigan (the third Central GL), as a subsidiary of the main (second) Central GL.
The CGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) continued only until the next year, 1936, when (in a move as a part of a tax
strategy) Greyhound merged it into the undenominated main (second) Central GL.
[At the same time, however, the EGL of New England continued with the same name, because of its location, which was (and is) clearly eastern rather than central, and which was outside the territory of the NYC (railway) System.]
In 1936 The Greyhound Corporation began to eliminate its multiple (and often complex) intermediate holding companies (between the parent firm and the operating companies) – to avoid a hugely increased federal income tax
on the undistributed earnings of corporate subsidiaries – one under the Revenue Act of 1936, which the national Congress had passed as a means by which to cause (or force) a simplification of complex corporate structures in the public-utility
industries (including the transportation industries).
In that same year, 1936, Greyhound (by necessity) applied to the federal
Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC) for its mandatory approval to merge the EGL of New England (as a division) into The Greyhound Corporation and to merge both the CGL of Michigan and the CGL of New York (as divisions rather than subsidiaries) into the main (second) Central GL.
The ICC approved.
In 1936 Greyhound merged the EGL of New England as a division (formerly a subsidiary of the CGL, a subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation) into the parent firm, thereby converting The Greyhound Corporation into an operating company (rather than merely a holding company).
Thereby the parent firm, The Greyhound Corporation, became a carrier in its own right (for the first time) and with its own authority (with its own ICC-MC number).
Also in that same year, 1936, Greyhound merged the CGL of Michigan into the main CGL, which continued as a subsidiary of the parent firm.
However, the Public-service Commission
(PSC) of the State of New York, which also held jurisdiction
over the activities of the CGL of New York within the boundaries of its own state, withheld its approval – saying that the proposed merger would jeopardize its authority over operations within its state.
Therefore the CGL of New York remained (until the end of 1955) as a separate corporate entity and as a subsidiary (of the main second CGL), but as a subsidiary of a subsidiary (no longer as a subsidiary of a holding company).
In December 1955 the New York PSC finally agreed to drop its requirement for a domestic Greyhound subsidiary in New York – on the condition that Greyhound continue to obtain the vehicular base registration
in New York for all the coaches assigned to the routes operating in that state.
[In 1937 The Greyhound Corporation formed the New England GL
(NEGL, as the first direct subsidiary of the parent company itself), thereby becoming a carrier (for the first time) rather than merely a holding company; in 1939 the federal ICC gave its required approval, and the NEGL began operating; in 1940 Greyhound transferred to the NEGL the routes of the EGL of New England between Boston and New York City (on which the latter firm had begun in 1930); then the EGL of New England continued running to the north of Boston, on routes which it had acquired in the meantime, to Portland, Maine
, then on several lines in Maine, reaching eventually Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, on the border, across from Calais
, in the eastern part of Maine
, until 1950, when it became merged into the NEGL.]
In 1942 the CGL of New York bought the Champlain Coach Lines, thereby gaining its routes between New York City and Montréal, Québec, Canada, including a branch on the east shore of the Hudson River (via Hudson
, Poughkeepsie, and Beacon
) between Albany and New York City and a branch along each side of Lake Champlain
[on the west side via Plattsburgh (in New York) and on the east side via Rutland and Burlington
(both in Vermont
)] between Albany and Rouse’s Point, New York
, at the Canadian border.
In 1946 the main (second) Central GL bought the West Ridge Transportation Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Buffalo and Erie Coach Corporation, thereby gaining their route networks, roughly within an irregular polygon
enclosed by line segment
s connecting Ashtabula, Erie, Buffalo, Olean, and Pittsburgh, then back to Erie. The routes in the southwest corner of the Empire State became transferred to the CGL of New York.
in the Central GL which (in 1935) it had transferred to the NYC System. [It had begun to reacquire it in 1937.]
No longer having a need to maintain a subsidiary coinciding with the territory of that railway firm, Greyhound next reorganized some of its routes in the Midwest and the Northeast, seeking a more efficient operation.
During 1948 The Greyhound Corporation merged the Illinois GL into the main (second) Central GL. The routes involved, all in Illinois
except into three cities on state lines, were those between Chicago and Effingham
(in Illinois and on the way to Memphis
in Tennessee and New Orleans
in Louisiana
), between Chicago and Saint Louis (in Missouri
) via Springfield
(in Illinois), between Chicago and Louisiana
(not the state of Louisiana but rather the city of Louisiana in the state of Missouri and on a shortcut, bypassing Saint Louis, to Kansas City
, on the state line between Kansas
and Missouri), between Springfield and Champaign
(both in Illinois), and between Davenport
(in Iowa
) and both Champlain and Springfield.
On the last day of 1948, Greyhound converted the main (second) Central GL from a subsidiary into a division of The Greyhound Corporation, thus ending the separate existence of the CGL as a corporate entity – after the completion of reacquiring the stock in the CGL which the NYC (railway) System had held.
In 1954 Greyhound merged the main (second) Central GL (along with the Capitol GL
and the Richmond GL) into the Pennsylvania GL, then in the next year, 1955, the enlarged Pennsylvania GL (along with the New England GL) became redesignated as the Eastern Division of The Greyhound Corporation [called also the (second) Eastern GL], the first of the four huge new divisions (along with Southern, Western, and another Central)].
Thus ended the second Central GL, and thus began the second Eastern GL.
About the end of 1955 Greyhound merged the CGL of New York into the new Eastern Division [the (second) Eastern GL].
Thus ended the fourth Central GL.
At first they took part in relatively few pool interlined through-routes in cooperation with other Greyhound operating companies – those between Montréal and Washington, DC, and between Syracuse and Philadelphia [both with the Pennsylvania GL], between Cleveland and Miami
(in Florida
) [with the Atlantic GL
and the Florida GL
], and eventually between New York City and San Francisco
[with the Overland GL and the Pacific GL].
Starting in 1948 (after receiving the routes of the former Illinois GL), the main (second) Central GL took part in several more pool interlined through-routes – those between Chicago and New Orleans (in Louisiana) [with the Dixie GL
and the Teche GL
], between Chicago and both Houston
and Laredo
(both in Texas
) [both with the Southwestern GL], and between Chicago and Los Angeles
(in California
) [with the Southwestern GL and the Pacific GL].
Thus ended the Great Lakes GL and the Northland GL, and thus began the fifth Central GL.
Later (about 1966) The Greyhound Corporation reorganized again, into just two humongous divisions, named as the Greyhound Lines East (GLE) and the Greyhound Lines West (GLW); even later (about 1970) it eliminated those two divisions, thereby leaving a single gargantuan undivided nationwide fleet.
and other internal purposes), along with the Eastern GL, the Southern GL, and the Western GL.
– a separate, independent, unrelated firm, which was the property of a group of private investors under the promotion of Fred Currey, a former executive of the Continental Trailways (later renamed as the Trailways, Inc., also called TWI, also based in Dallas), which was by far the largest member company in the Trailways association.
Later in 1987 the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI, the new firm based in Dallas, further bought the Trailways, Inc., the TWI, its largest competitor
, and merged it into the GLI.
Later in 1987 the Greyhound Lines, Inc., the GLI, the new firm based in Dallas, further bought the Trailways, Inc., the TWI, its largest competitor, and merged it into the GLI.
The lenders and the other investors of the GLI ousted Fred Currey as the chief executive officer
(CEO) after the firm went into bankruptcy
in 1990.
The GLI has since continued to experience difficulties and lackluster performance under a succession of new owners and new executives
while continuing to reduce its level of service – by hauling fewer passengers aboard fewer coaches on fewer trips along fewer routes with fewer stops in fewer communities in fewer states – and by doing so on fewer days – that is, increasingly operating some trips less often than every day (fewer than seven days per week) – and by using fewer through-coaches, thus requiring passengers to make more transfers (from one coach to another).
After the sale to the GLI, The Greyhound Corporation (the original parent Greyhound firm) changed its name to the Greyhound-Dial Corporation, then the Dial Corporation, then the Viad Corporation
. [The contrived name Viad appears to be a curious respelling of the former name Dial – if one scrambles the letters D, I, and A, then turns the V upside down and regards it as the Greek
letter lambda
– Λ – that is, the Greek equivalent of the Roman
or Latin
letter L.]
The website of the Viad Corporation (http://www.viad.com) in September 2008 makes no mention of its corporate history or its past relationship to Greyhound – that is, its origin as The Greyhound Corporation.
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
industry in the USA. In each of the first five instances, the name was used for a regional operating company (that is, a division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
or subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
) of The Greyhound Corporation (the parent Greyhound firm). In the last instance the name was used for an internal administrative department
Departmentalization
Departmentalization refers to the process of grouping activities into departments.Division of labour creates specialists who need coordination. This coordination is facilitated by grouping specialists together in departments....
of the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI, a separate, independent, unrelated firm, after the GLI bought the core bus business of The Greyhound Corporation.
The first GLI
The Motor Transit Corporation (MTC), the original Greyhound firm, before it became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation, started a new route between Chicago, Illinois, and Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, in February 1927, four months after its formation (as the MTC).
To comply with an Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
(one which required that corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s doing business in the Hoosier State be domiciled there), the MTC had already (in November 1926, the same month as its own incorporation) created a wholly owned subsidiary, based in Indiana and named as the Greyhound Lines, Inc., of Indiana (called also the GLI of Indiana), to conduct the route between Chicago and Indianapolis (mostly in Indiana).
Thereby the GLI of Indiana became the first business unit of the growing Greyhound empire to make a public use of the name of the Greyhound Lines.
The GLI of Indiana also took over another firm, the Blue Goose Lines, running in the Hoosier State from Indianapolis southward to Evansville
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and northward to Kokomo
Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Indiana, United States, Indiana's 13th largest city. It is the principal city of the Kokomo, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Howard and Tipton counties....
and onward to Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
(all four in Indiana), bought from Ralph Bogan and Swan Sundstrom, two original busmen from northern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. [The two sellers continued as key players at Greyhound. Bogan served eventually as the vice president
Vice president
A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...
of The Greyhound Corporation during the presidency of Orville Swan Caesar (1946–56), after the retirement of Carl Eric Wickman, the principal founder of Greyhound; Sundstrom served as a long-time president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines.]
[In November 1926 the MTC created also a sister subsidiary, named as the Greyhound Lines, Inc., of Ohio (the GLI of Ohio), which in November 1927 began service between Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.]
[For a short time during 1927–28, there was also a third subsidiary (of the MTC) using the name of the Greyhound Lines, Inc. – the GLI of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, which came into existence to buy the Purple Swan Safety Coach Lines, running between Chicago and Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
via Saint Louis (the two latter in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
), and which became renamed as the Pickwick-Greyhound Lines, after the Pickwick Corporation bought a one-half ownership interest in that firm (hence the hyphenated name). Later the route segment between Saint Louis and Kansas City became transferred to the Southwestern GL, and the segment between Chicago and Saint Louis became transferred to the Illinois GL (then to the Central GL, then eventually to the Great Lakes GL
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines
The Great Lakes Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Detroit, Michigan, USA, from 1941 until 1957, when it merged with the Northland Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Central Division of The Greyhound...
).]
In 1929 the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation (with an uppercase T, because the word “the” was an integral part of the legal name of the corporate entity).
The GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio developed additional routes, mostly by buying existing properties.
During the early years of the growth of the Greyhound empire, the GLI of Indiana performed an important function, by operating a number of significant routes before they became transferred to other operating companies.
The first Central GL
In 1930 The Greyhound Corporation, the parent Greyhound firm, formed two new regional companies – the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines (GL) and the (first) Central GL.The purpose of the Pennsylvania GL was to provide an entity in which the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR) soon bought a minority interest
Minority interest
Minority interest in business is an accounting concept that refers to the portion of a subsidiary corporation's stock that is not owned by the parent corporation...
, a subsidiary in a territory which coincided with the territory of the railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
firm – so that the rail company could supplement its train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
service and substitute bus service in place of some of its unprofitable and marginally profitable passenger trains.
Greyhound then transferred the routes of the GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio to the new companies. The east-west routes went to the Pennsylvania GL, as did the other ones paralleling other lines of the PRR. The remaining routes [that is, those between Evansville and Indianapolis and between Detroit and Cincinnati and onward to Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
(in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
)] went to the (first) Central GL.
The GLI of Indiana and the GLI of Ohio then went out of existence.
Ohio GL
The (first) Central GL in 1935 (five years later) became renamed as the Ohio Greyhound Lines (completely different and separate from the GLI of Ohio, which had gone out of existence in 1930) – to allow Greyhound to reassign the name Central to a new subsidiary, in the MidwestMidwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
and the Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, one in an area which coincided with the territory of another major railway company, the New York Central (NYC) System, one in which Greyhound transferred a minority non-voting interest to the NYC System. The Greyhound executives wished for the latter subsidiary to bear a name (Central) which suggested the kinship with the related railway firm (New York Central), as in the case of the neighboring Pennsylvania GL and the Pennsylvania Railroad.
[For several years during the 1930s, the coaches of the Central GL and the Pennsylvania GL bore (in addition to their usual Greyhound markings) the logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
s of the related railway companies – the oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
(or ellipse
Ellipse
In geometry, an ellipse is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve. Circles are special cases of ellipses, obtained when the cutting plane is orthogonal to the cone's axis...
) of the NYC System and the keystone
Keystone (architecture)
A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
of the “Pennsy” Railroad.]
Despite the name of the Ohio GL, the firm was based in Indiana (as had been the GLI of Indiana and the first Central GL), to satisfy the statutory requirement of the Hoosier State for domestic corporations for operations there.
The Ohio GL continued to increase its route network throughout its area, mostly by the acquisition of existing carriers.
The second Central GL
Thus the second Central GL came into existence in 1935, based in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, as a subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation, and it continued until late in 1954, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania GL.
{In the next year, 1955, the enlarged Pennsylvania GL became redesignated as the Eastern Division of The Greyhound Corporation [called also the (second) Eastern GL], the first of four huge new divisions (along with Southern, Western, and another Central).}
The (second) Central GL came from three major components:
- first, the former Safety Motor Coach Lines, running from Chicago into MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
(including the routes between Chicago and Detroit) and throughout the western part of the lower peninsulaLower Peninsula of MichiganThe Lower Peninsula of Michigan is the southern of the two major landmasses of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is surrounded by water on all sides except its southern border, which it shares with Ohio and Indiana. Geographically, the Lower Peninsula has a recognizable shape that many people...
of the Wolverine State;
- second, the routes between Chicago and New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
via Cleveland (in OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
), including the route via BuffaloBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, RochesterRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, SyracuseSyracuse, New YorkSyracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, and AlbanyAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
(all four in the Empire State), paralleling the touted “water-level route” of the New York CentralNew York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
(railway) System [in contrast with the shorter mountainous route of the Pennsylvania Railroad between Chicago and New York City via Fort WayneFort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
(in Indiana), BucyrusBucyrus, OhioAs of the census of 2000, there were 13,224 people, 5,559 households, and 3,552 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,812.0 people per square mile . There were 5,955 housing units at an average density of 816.0 per square mile...
, MansfieldMansfield, OhioMansfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Richland County. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau, approximately southwest of Cleveland and northeast of Columbus....
, and CantonCanton, OhioCanton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(all three in Ohio), and PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, AltoonaAltoona, Pennsylvania-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
, HarrisburgHarrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, and PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(all four in PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
)];
- third, a large route network throughout upstate New YorkUpstate New YorkUpstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
, with one extension to Montréal, QuébecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and another from Albany to Boston via PittsfieldPittsfield, MassachusettsPittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...
, SpringfieldSpringfield, MassachusettsSpringfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, and WorcesterWorcester, MassachusettsWorcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
(all the last four in MassachusettsMassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.]
The first major part of the (second) Central GL, the Safety Motor Coach Lines, had been founded (with the backing of Wickman) in 1924 by Edwin (Ed) Eckstrom, an accountant
Accountant
An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...
, born in Ludington, Michigan
Ludington, Michigan
Ludington is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 8,357. It is the county seat of Mason County.Ludington is a harbor town located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Pere Marquette River...
, and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,361 at the 2010 census. The city was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range. At the edge of town is the largest open-pit iron mine in the world. U.S...
. [Eckstrom in -17 had become an investor
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
and participant in the Mesaba Transportation Company, based in Hibbing, the first incorporated firm (which replaced the Hibbing Transportation Company, a partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
consisting of Eric Wickman, Ralph Bogan, and others) which led to the founding of the Greyhound empire.]
In 1926, after the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) came into existence, its first purchase was Eckstrom’s Safety Motor Coach Lines, and Eckstrom became the first president of the MTC.
[When the MTC bought the Safety Motor Coach Lines, Eckstrom’s company contributed to the MTC not only the name Greyhound and the image of a greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
dog but also the blue-and-white livery (color scheme) used on Eckstrom’s coaches. Eckstrom is said to have proposed the use of the name of the Greyhound Lines even before he left (with the support of his associates in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) to go back eastward. For more details please see the article about the Great Lakes GL
Great Lakes Greyhound Lines
The Great Lakes Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Detroit, Michigan, USA, from 1941 until 1957, when it merged with the Northland Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Central Division of The Greyhound...
.]
In 1929 the Safety Motor Coach Lines (as a subsidiary of the MTC) took over the Interstate Stages (which had used the brand name of the Oriole Lines and had named its coaches as the Oriole
Oriole
Orioles are colourful Old World passerine birds in the genus Oriolus, the namesake of the corvoidean family Oriolidae. They are not related to the New World orioles, which are icterids and, belonging to the superfamily Passeroidea songbirds, are quite unrelated to the true orioles.The orioles are...
Flyers), the Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Company, and the YellowaY of Michigan (a part of the YellowaY-Pioneer System, bought from the American Motor Transportation Company), all three of which firms Greyhound had acquired through a related company, named as the Automotive Investments, Inc., based in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
.
In 1930 the Safety Motor Coach Lines became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of Michigan, then in -35 (briefly) as the (third) Central Greyhound Lines (CGL) of Michigan; then in -36 it became merged into the undenominated main (second) Central GL.
[In 1948 Greyhound transferred all the Michigan routes of the (second) Central GL (formerly those of the Safety Motor Coach Lines) to the Great Lakes GL, which had begun in 1941.]
The second major part of the (second) Central GL, the routes between Chicago and New York City via Cleveland, began in 1923, when Clark McConnell, a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Cleveland, founded the Cleveland-Ashtabula-Conneaut (CAC) Bus Company, running about 71 miles from Cleveland to Conneaut
Conneaut, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,485 people, 5,038 households, and 3,410 families residing in the city. The population density was 473.4 people per square mile . There were 5,710 housing units at an average density of 216.5 per square mile...
(both in Ohio), reaching to the east-northeast on the way toward Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
, and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
.
[McConnell had begun in the bus industry in 1919 by taking part in starting two other firms – the Cleveland-Akron Bus Company and the Cleveland-Elyria-Toledo Bus Company (which latter firm, despite its name, ran from Cleveland only as far as Norwalk
Norwalk, Ohio
At the 2000 census, there were 16,238 people, 6,377 households and 4,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,950.3 per square mile . There were 6,687 housing units at an average density of 803.1 per square mile...
, beyond Elyria
Elyria, Ohio
-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...
but short of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
); O.B. Baskett, a former driver and sometime manager for those two firms (1919–24), in 1925, after a brief stint in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, began running coaches of his own in East Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
between Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
and Johnson City
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
, then in 1928 co-founded the Tennessee Coach Company
Tennessee Coach Company
The Tennessee Coach Company was a regional highway-coach carrier, founded in 1928 and based in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It was in operation until 1976, when it became merged into the Continental Tennessee Lines, a subsidiary of the Transcontinental Bus System, called also the Continental Trailways...
, which long (1929–56) cooperated (in part by running through-coaches on through-schedules in pool interline operations) with the Atlantic GL
Atlantic Greyhound Lines
The Atlantic Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Southeastern Greyhound Lines , a neighboring operating company, thus forming the Southern Division of The...
, the Dixie GL
Dixie Greyhound Lines
The Dixie Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it became merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.- Origin :The Dixie Greyhound Lines began in 1925...
, and (especially) the Southeastern GL
Southeastern Greyhound Lines
The Southeastern Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Atlantic Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Southern Division of The...
, but which in 1956 became a member of the Trailways association (then named as the National Trailways Bus System), and which in 1966 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Continental Trailways.]
[While Baskett lived in North Carolina (1924–25), he worked for the Carolina Motor Coaches, which soon became a major part of the newly founded Carolina Coach Company, which in 1940 became a member of the National Trailways association (and thereby became known also as the Carolina Trailways), and which in 1997 became a wholly owned subsidiary of the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI.]
[One curious result of that last step is that now a Greyhound subsidiary (the Carolina Coach Company, the Carolina Trailways) is a member of the Trailways association (now named as the Trailways Transportation System
Trailways Transportation System
The Trailways Transportation System is an American group of 80 independent bus companies that have entered into a franchising agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.- History :...
).]
The CAC Bus Company in 1927 extended its route to Buffalo.
CAC in the next year, 1928, became renamed as the Great Lakes Stages (GLS), and it extended all the way to New York City – via Buffalo and Olean
Olean, New York
Olean is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County, and serves as the financial, business, transportation and entertainment center of the county. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern Tier region of New York.The city is...
(all three in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
), Port Allegany
Port Allegany, Pennsylvania
Port Allegany is a borough in McKean County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,355 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Port Allegany is located at ....
, Mansfield
Mansfield, Pennsylvania
Mansfield is a borough located in southern Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Tioga River valley. It is situated at the intersection of U.S. Route 6 and U.S...
, Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, and Stroudsburg
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state, approximately five miles from the Delaware Water Gap, at the confluence of the Brodhead and Pocono Creeks. It is the county seat of Monroe County. Stroudsburg is part of the...
(all four in Pennsylvania), and Columbia
Columbia, New Jersey
Columbia is a census-designated place within Knowlton Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07832.As of the United States 2010 Census, the population for Columbia was 229....
, Dover
Dover, New Jersey
Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey on the Rockaway River. Dover is west of New York City and west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the United States Census, 2000, the town's population was 18,188.-Geography:...
, and Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
(all three in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
). [Some of the trips of the GLS ran directly between Erie and Olean via Jamestown
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
(in the Empire State), thus bypassing Buffalo; others ran directly between Erie and Port Allegany via Warren
Warren, Pennsylvania
Warren is a city in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Allegheny River. The population was 9,710 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Warren County. It is home to the headquarters of the Allegheny National Forest and the Cornplanter State Forest...
(in Pennsylvania), thus bypassing not only Buffalo but also both Jamestown and Olean.]
The GLS also developed a branch line between Erie and Pittsburgh (both in the Keystone State).
In 1929 the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) bought the GLS, and (in a separate transaction) the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation.
The GLS became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of Ohio (completely different and separate from the GLI of Ohio, which had gone out of existence in 1930, and the Ohio GL, which then still ran between Evansville and Indianapolis and between Detroit and Louisville).
The other route between Cleveland and New York City (the “water-level route” via Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany) came into existence during the development of the set of routes described next.
The prelude to the third major part of the (second) Central GL, the routes in upstate New York (with the two extensions), began in 1913 in the Thousand Islands
Thousand Islands
The Thousand Islands is the name of an archipelago of islands that straddle the Canada-U.S. border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario, the...
region, a resort area along the border between Canada and the USA, on the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, which is the outlet to the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
from Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
and therefore also from all five of the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
.
In 1913 Fred Dailey began service (with a Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
open touring car) between Watertown, New York, the nearest town with a train station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
(in the US), and Alexandria Bay
Alexandria Bay, New York
Alexandria Bay is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 1,080 at the 2010 census.The Village of Alexandria Bay is in the Town of Alexandria.Keewaydin State Park is southeast of the village...
, on the southern shore of the Saint Lawrence River, a distance of about 32 miles.
Dailey and others, with various degrees of success (or lack of it) developed a number of routes throughout the region. Dailey also extended downstream from Alexandria Bay to Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 11,128 at the 2010 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden....
.
In 1923 Walter Aldrich and others started a bus firm to run from Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
to Watertown, about 73 miles to the north. [Aldrich already owned a firm running from Syracuse to Norwich
Norwich (city), New York
Norwich is a city in Chenango County, New York, United States. Surrounded on all sides by the Town of Norwich, the city is the county seat of Chenango County. The name is taken from Norwich, Connecticut. Its population was 7,355 at the 2000 census.Lt...
, about 66 miles to the southeast, using Fageol
Fageol
Fageol Motors was a U.S. manufacturer of buses, trucks and farm tractors.-History:The company was founded in 1916 to manufacture motor trucks, farm tractors and automobiles in Oakland, California....
Safety Coaches.]
By the next year, 1924, Aldrich alone ran the line between Watertown and Syracuse, using Fageols, on the first highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
link between that part of northern New York and the rest of the Empire State. He also took over the two routes between Watertown and Alexandria Bay.
In 1925 a group of investors in Watertown set out to assemble a bus line between Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
(in the Empire State) and the Canadian border, a distance of about 180 miles. They formed the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, which then bought Aldrich’s routes from Watertown to Syracuse and from Watertown to Alexandria Bay.
Colonial then developed routes from Watertown to Utica
Utica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
and to Plattsburgh (via Canton
Canton (village), New York
Canton is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The village is centrally located in both the town of Canton and the county of St. Lawrence. The population was 5,882 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Lawrence County...
, Potsdam
Potsdam (village), New York
Potsdam is a village located in the Town of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York, USA. The population was 9,425 at the 2000 census.The Village of Potsdam is in the eastern part of the town and is northeast of Canton, the county seat....
, and Malone
Malone (village), New York
-Notable natives:Notable natives include:*William Almon Wheeler served as Vice President of the United States under Rutherford Hayes. Is buried at Morningside Cemetery in Malone....
) plus several branch and feeder lines, mostly by the purchase of existing firms.
By 1928 Colonial had indeed extended from Syracuse – not only just to Binghamton but also all the way to New York City – along two routes – one via Binghamton and Scranton (in Pennsylvania) and one via Utica, Albany, Kingston
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, and Newburgh (all four in the Empire State), in part along the west shore of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, and via Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
(in New Jersey).
[The route segment between Scranton and New York City, with interstate rights only (that is, without intrastate authority), duplicated a segment of the Great Lakes Stages on its route between Cleveland and New York City.]
Colonial continued to increase its route network within its area (that is, in the central part of upstate New York).
Late in 1928 Colonial extended westwardly from Syracuse to Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, then early in 1929 eastwardly from Albany to Boston (in Massachusetts) and westwardly again from Rochester to Buffalo.
In 1928 Colonial began acquiring the intrastate rights between Syracuse and Buffalo, by buying existing firms; that process continued until 1930, after it had become a member of the Greyhound family.
In 1929 the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) bought the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, and (in a separate transaction) the MTC became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation.
Colonial became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of New York.
[When Greyhound bought Colonial (in 1929) and renamed it as the EGL of New York, Greyhound thereby made its first presence in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
(between Albany and Boston, along the entire width of Massachusetts).]
The first Eastern GL
In April 1929, as previously mentioned, the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC) formed the Eastern GL (EGL), as a holding company (rather than an operating company), to own a number of Greyhound subsidiaries (both existing ones and future ones) to the east of Chicago – other than the Pennsylvania GL, in which the Pennsylvania Railroad would hold a large but minority interest.In 1929 the MTC bought both the Great Lakes Stages and the Colonial Motor Coach Corporation, then in 1930 renamed the GLS as the EGL of Ohio and renamed Colonial as the EGL of New York. [Those two operating companies, the EGL of Ohio and the EGL of New York, became operating subsidiaries of the undenominated main EGL (the holding company), as did the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) and the EGL of New England (which began running in 1930, between Boston and New York City).]
Even before the MTC completed its purchase of Colonial, a number of Colonial coaches began to appear in the Greyhound livery, including lettering for the Colonial Greyhound Lines (which never existed at all as a distinct or separate entity) – in part (for a short time) to take advantage of the goodwill
Goodwill (accounting)
Goodwill is an accounting concept meaning the value of an entity over and above the value of its assets. The term was originally used in accounting to express the intangible but quantifiable "prudent value" of an ongoing business beyond its assets, resulting perhaps because the reputation the firm...
attached to the name of Colonial.
Likewise the names of the GLS and Colonial were retained and used in public for a while.
In 1928 the MTC bought the Detroit-Toledo-Cleveland Bus Company, which served the cities which the name indicates, then in 1931 Greyhound merged it into the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines), then transferred that route to the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages).
Thus by 1933 Greyhound consolidated the entire service between Cleveland and Chicago (including the branch from Toledo to Detroit) in the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages).
Later in 1933, however, Greyhound transferred the routes from Cleveland to Detroit and to Chicago (from the EGL of Ohio) back into the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines), then merged the remainder of the EGL of Ohio (formerly the Great Lakes Stages) into the EGL of New York.
Thus the former GLS routes between Cleveland and New York City and all the former Colonial routes became consolidated in the EGL of New York.
The third Central GL
In 1935 The Greyhound Corporation renamed the (first) Eastern GL, a holding company, as the (second) Central GL – to attach the name Central to the territory coinciding with that of the New York CentralNew York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
(railway) System (in preparation for the pending transfer of a minority interest in the new Greyhound subsidiary, the Central GL, to the NYC System) – and Greyhound renamed the EGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) as the CGL of Michigan (the third Central GL), as a subsidiary of the main (second) Central GL.
The CGL of Michigan (formerly the Safety Motor Coach Lines) continued only until the next year, 1936, when (in a move as a part of a tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
strategy) Greyhound merged it into the undenominated main (second) Central GL.
The fourth Central GL
In 1935, in connection with the renaming of the (first) Eastern GL as the (second) Central GL and the EGL of Michigan as the CGL of Michigan, Greyhound also renamed the EGL of New York as the CGL of New York (as subsidiaries of the (second) Central GL. [Thus the CGL of New York became the fourth entity to use the name of the Central GL.][At the same time, however, the EGL of New England continued with the same name, because of its location, which was (and is) clearly eastern rather than central, and which was outside the territory of the NYC (railway) System.]
In 1936 The Greyhound Corporation began to eliminate its multiple (and often complex) intermediate holding companies (between the parent firm and the operating companies) – to avoid a hugely increased federal income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
on the undistributed earnings of corporate subsidiaries – one under the Revenue Act of 1936, which the national Congress had passed as a means by which to cause (or force) a simplification of complex corporate structures in the public-utility
Public utility
A public utility is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service . Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and regulation ranging from local community-based groups to state-wide government monopolies...
industries (including the transportation industries).
In that same year, 1936, Greyhound (by necessity) applied to the federal
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...
(ICC) for its mandatory approval to merge the EGL of New England (as a division) into The Greyhound Corporation and to merge both the CGL of Michigan and the CGL of New York (as divisions rather than subsidiaries) into the main (second) Central GL.
The ICC approved.
In 1936 Greyhound merged the EGL of New England as a division (formerly a subsidiary of the CGL, a subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation) into the parent firm, thereby converting The Greyhound Corporation into an operating company (rather than merely a holding company).
Thereby the parent firm, The Greyhound Corporation, became a carrier in its own right (for the first time) and with its own authority (with its own ICC-MC number).
Also in that same year, 1936, Greyhound merged the CGL of Michigan into the main CGL, which continued as a subsidiary of the parent firm.
However, the Public-service Commission
Public Utilities Commission
A Utilities commission, Utility Regulatory Commission , Public Utilities Commission or Public Service Commission is a governing body that regulates the rates and services of a public utility...
(PSC) of the State of New York, which also held jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
over the activities of the CGL of New York within the boundaries of its own state, withheld its approval – saying that the proposed merger would jeopardize its authority over operations within its state.
Therefore the CGL of New York remained (until the end of 1955) as a separate corporate entity and as a subsidiary (of the main second CGL), but as a subsidiary of a subsidiary (no longer as a subsidiary of a holding company).
In December 1955 the New York PSC finally agreed to drop its requirement for a domestic Greyhound subsidiary in New York – on the condition that Greyhound continue to obtain the vehicular base registration
Vehicle registration plate
A vehicle registration plate is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies the vehicle within the issuing region's database...
in New York for all the coaches assigned to the routes operating in that state.
[In 1937 The Greyhound Corporation formed the New England GL
New England Greyhound Lines
The New England Greyhound Lines , an intercity highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from 1937 until 1955, when it became a part of the Eastern Division of The Greyhound Corporation The New England Greyhound Lines (called also NEGL),...
(NEGL, as the first direct subsidiary of the parent company itself), thereby becoming a carrier (for the first time) rather than merely a holding company; in 1939 the federal ICC gave its required approval, and the NEGL began operating; in 1940 Greyhound transferred to the NEGL the routes of the EGL of New England between Boston and New York City (on which the latter firm had begun in 1930); then the EGL of New England continued running to the north of Boston, on routes which it had acquired in the meantime, to Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, then on several lines in Maine, reaching eventually Saint Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, on the border, across from Calais
Calais, Maine
Calais is a city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The city has three United States border crossings or also known as a Port of entry with the busiest being on the St. Croix River bordering St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada...
, in the eastern part of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, until 1950, when it became merged into the NEGL.]
More growth for Central GL
The (second) Central GL continued to develop its route network, mostly and typically, by acquiring other properties.In 1942 the CGL of New York bought the Champlain Coach Lines, thereby gaining its routes between New York City and Montréal, Québec, Canada, including a branch on the east shore of the Hudson River (via Hudson
Hudson, New York
Hudson is a city located along the west border of Columbia County, New York, United States. The city is named after the adjacent Hudson River and ultimately after the explorer Henry Hudson.Hudson is the county seat of Columbia County...
, Poughkeepsie, and Beacon
Beacon, New York
Beacon is a city located in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The 2010 census placed the city total population at 15,541. Beacon is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport,...
) between Albany and New York City and a branch along each side of Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
[on the west side via Plattsburgh (in New York) and on the east side via Rutland and Burlington
Burlington, Vermont
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town of Chittenden County. Burlington lies south of the U.S.-Canadian border and some south of Montreal....
(both in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
)] between Albany and Rouse’s Point, New York
Rouses Point, New York
Rouses Point is a village in Clinton County, New York, United States, along the 45th parallel. The population was 2,209 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Jacques Rouse, an early settler....
, at the Canadian border.
In 1946 the main (second) Central GL bought the West Ridge Transportation Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, the Buffalo and Erie Coach Corporation, thereby gaining their route networks, roughly within an irregular polygon
Polygon
In geometry a polygon is a flat shape consisting of straight lines that are joined to form a closed chain orcircuit.A polygon is traditionally a plane figure that is bounded by a closed path, composed of a finite sequence of straight line segments...
enclosed by line segment
Line segment
In geometry, a line segment is a part of a line that is bounded by two end points, and contains every point on the line between its end points. Examples of line segments include the sides of a triangle or square. More generally, when the end points are both vertices of a polygon, the line segment...
s connecting Ashtabula, Erie, Buffalo, Olean, and Pittsburgh, then back to Erie. The routes in the southwest corner of the Empire State became transferred to the CGL of New York.
Further events for Central GL
In 1947 The Greyhound Corporation finished reacquiring the remaining shares of the non-voting common stockCommon stock
Common stock is a form of corporate equity ownership, a type of security. It is called "common" to distinguish it from preferred stock. In the event of bankruptcy, common stock investors receive their funds after preferred stock holders, bondholders, creditors, etc...
in the Central GL which (in 1935) it had transferred to the NYC System. [It had begun to reacquire it in 1937.]
No longer having a need to maintain a subsidiary coinciding with the territory of that railway firm, Greyhound next reorganized some of its routes in the Midwest and the Northeast, seeking a more efficient operation.
During 1948 The Greyhound Corporation merged the Illinois GL into the main (second) Central GL. The routes involved, all in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
except into three cities on state lines, were those between Chicago and Effingham
Effingham, Illinois
Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States. The population was 12,384 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Effingham County....
(in Illinois and on the way to Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in Tennessee and New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
), between Chicago and Saint Louis (in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
) via Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the third and current capital of the US state of Illinois and the county seat of Sangamon County with a population of 117,400 , making it the sixth most populated city in the state and the second most populated Illinois city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area...
(in Illinois), between Chicago and Louisiana
Louisiana, Missouri
Louisiana is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,863 at the 2000 census, making it the largest city in Pike Couunty. Louisiana is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River south of Hannibal....
(not the state of Louisiana but rather the city of Louisiana in the state of Missouri and on a shortcut, bypassing Saint Louis, to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, on the state line between Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Missouri), between Springfield and Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. The city is located south of Chicago, west of Indianapolis, Indiana, and 178 miles northeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Though surrounded by farm communities, Champaign is notable for sharing the campus of the University of...
(both in Illinois), and between Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
(in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
) and both Champlain and Springfield.
On the last day of 1948, Greyhound converted the main (second) Central GL from a subsidiary into a division of The Greyhound Corporation, thus ending the separate existence of the CGL as a corporate entity – after the completion of reacquiring the stock in the CGL which the NYC (railway) System had held.
In 1954 Greyhound merged the main (second) Central GL (along with the Capitol GL
Capitol Greyhound Lines
The Capitol Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.-Development:The Capitol Greyhound Lines came into...
and the Richmond GL) into the Pennsylvania GL, then in the next year, 1955, the enlarged Pennsylvania GL (along with the New England GL) became redesignated as the Eastern Division of The Greyhound Corporation [called also the (second) Eastern GL], the first of the four huge new divisions (along with Southern, Western, and another Central)].
Thus ended the second Central GL, and thus began the second Eastern GL.
About the end of 1955 Greyhound merged the CGL of New York into the new Eastern Division [the (second) Eastern GL].
Thus ended the fourth Central GL.
Through-coaches on through-routes
The main (second) CGL and the CGL of New York ran a large number of through-coaches along their own routes, including those between Chicago and Boston, Chicago and New York City, and Montréal and New York City.At first they took part in relatively few pool interlined through-routes in cooperation with other Greyhound operating companies – those between Montréal and Washington, DC, and between Syracuse and Philadelphia [both with the Pennsylvania GL], between Cleveland and Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
(in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
) [with the Atlantic GL
Atlantic Greyhound Lines
The Atlantic Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Southeastern Greyhound Lines , a neighboring operating company, thus forming the Southern Division of The...
and the Florida GL
Florida Greyhound Lines
The Florida Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, from 1946 until 1957, when it was merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.-Origin:The immediate predecessor of the Florida...
], and eventually between New York City and San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
[with the Overland GL and the Pacific GL].
Starting in 1948 (after receiving the routes of the former Illinois GL), the main (second) Central GL took part in several more pool interlined through-routes – those between Chicago and New Orleans (in Louisiana) [with the Dixie GL
Dixie Greyhound Lines
The Dixie Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it became merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.- Origin :The Dixie Greyhound Lines began in 1925...
and the Teche GL
Teche Greyhound Lines
The Teche Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, from 1934 until 1954, when it was merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.[Teche, pronounced as "tesh", is a word of French...
], between Chicago and both Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
(both in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
) [both with the Southwestern GL], and between Chicago and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
(in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) [with the Southwestern GL and the Pacific GL].
Meeting other Greyhound companies
The (second) CGL and the CGL of New York met the Eastern Canadian GL to the north, the New England GL and the EGL of New England to the east, the Northland GL, the Overland GL, and the Southwestern GL to the west, the Atlantic GL and the Dixie GL to the south, the Great Lakes GL at several points between Chicago and Detroit, and the Pennsylvania GL at various points along most of their routes.The fifth Central GL
In September 1957, in another round of consolidation, The Greyhound Corporation merged the Great Lakes GL with the Northland GL (called also Northland or NGL), a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Central Division of The Greyhound Corporation (called also the Central GL, making the fifth of six uses of that name), the second of four huge new divisions (along with Eastern, Southern, and Western).Thus ended the Great Lakes GL and the Northland GL, and thus began the fifth Central GL.
Later (about 1966) The Greyhound Corporation reorganized again, into just two humongous divisions, named as the Greyhound Lines East (GLE) and the Greyhound Lines West (GLW); even later (about 1970) it eliminated those two divisions, thereby leaving a single gargantuan undivided nationwide fleet.
The sixth Central GL
For a short time late in the 1980s, the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI, made the sixth and last use of the name of the Central Greyhound Lines, not as an operating division but rather as an administrative department (in bookkeepingBookkeeping
Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions. Transactions include sales, purchases, income, receipts and payments by an individual or organization. Bookkeeping is usually performed by a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping should not be confused with accounting. The accounting process is usually...
and other internal purposes), along with the Eastern GL, the Southern GL, and the Western GL.
Beyond Central GL
In 1987 The Greyhound Corporation (the original parent Greyhound firm), which had become widely diversified far beyond transportation, sold its entire highway-coach operating business (its core bus business) to a new company, named as the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., also called the (second) GLI, based in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
– a separate, independent, unrelated firm, which was the property of a group of private investors under the promotion of Fred Currey, a former executive of the Continental Trailways (later renamed as the Trailways, Inc., also called TWI, also based in Dallas), which was by far the largest member company in the Trailways association.
Later in 1987 the (second) Greyhound Lines, Inc., the (second) GLI, the new firm based in Dallas, further bought the Trailways, Inc., the TWI, its largest competitor
Competition (economics)
Competition in economics is a term that encompasses the notion of individuals and firms striving for a greater share of a market to sell or buy goods and services...
, and merged it into the GLI.
Later in 1987 the Greyhound Lines, Inc., the GLI, the new firm based in Dallas, further bought the Trailways, Inc., the TWI, its largest competitor, and merged it into the GLI.
The lenders and the other investors of the GLI ousted Fred Currey as the chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
(CEO) after the firm went into bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
in 1990.
The GLI has since continued to experience difficulties and lackluster performance under a succession of new owners and new executives
Executive officer
An executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
while continuing to reduce its level of service – by hauling fewer passengers aboard fewer coaches on fewer trips along fewer routes with fewer stops in fewer communities in fewer states – and by doing so on fewer days – that is, increasingly operating some trips less often than every day (fewer than seven days per week) – and by using fewer through-coaches, thus requiring passengers to make more transfers (from one coach to another).
After the sale to the GLI, The Greyhound Corporation (the original parent Greyhound firm) changed its name to the Greyhound-Dial Corporation, then the Dial Corporation, then the Viad Corporation
VIAD Corporation
Viad Corp is an S&P SmallCap 600 company that operates businesses that provide place-based marketing services in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Arab Emirates, as well as travel and recreation services in the United States and Canada. Viad’s businesses occupy leading...
. [The contrived name Viad appears to be a curious respelling of the former name Dial – if one scrambles the letters D, I, and A, then turns the V upside down and regards it as the Greek
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
letter lambda
Lambda
Lambda is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is related to the Phoenician letter Lamed . Letters in other alphabets that stemmed from lambda include the Roman L and the Cyrillic letter El...
– Λ – that is, the Greek equivalent of the Roman
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
or Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
letter L.]
The website of the Viad Corporation (http://www.viad.com) in September 2008 makes no mention of its corporate history or its past relationship to Greyhound – that is, its origin as The Greyhound Corporation.
See also
- The Greyhound Corporation
- Atlantic Greyhound LinesAtlantic Greyhound LinesThe Atlantic Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Southeastern Greyhound Lines , a neighboring operating company, thus forming the Southern Division of The...
- Capitol Greyhound LinesCapitol Greyhound LinesThe Capitol Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.-Development:The Capitol Greyhound Lines came into...
- Dixie Greyhound LinesDixie Greyhound LinesThe Dixie Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it became merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.- Origin :The Dixie Greyhound Lines began in 1925...
- Florida Greyhound LinesFlorida Greyhound LinesThe Florida Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Jacksonville, Florida, USA, from 1946 until 1957, when it was merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.-Origin:The immediate predecessor of the Florida...
- Great Lakes Greyhound LinesGreat Lakes Greyhound LinesThe Great Lakes Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Detroit, Michigan, USA, from 1941 until 1957, when it merged with the Northland Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Central Division of The Greyhound...
- Southeastern Greyhound LinesSoutheastern Greyhound LinesThe Southeastern Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Lexington, Kentucky, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Atlantic Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Southern Division of The...
- Teche Greyhound LinesTeche Greyhound LinesThe Teche Greyhound Lines , a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, from 1934 until 1954, when it was merged into the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company.[Teche, pronounced as "tesh", is a word of French...
- Tennessee Coach CompanyTennessee Coach CompanyThe Tennessee Coach Company was a regional highway-coach carrier, founded in 1928 and based in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It was in operation until 1976, when it became merged into the Continental Tennessee Lines, a subsidiary of the Transcontinental Bus System, called also the Continental Trailways...