Tennessee Coach Company
Encyclopedia
The Tennessee Coach Company (TCC) 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. Continental Trailways was by far the largest member company in the Trailways trade association, which was then named the National Trailways Bus System.
.
with Onnie Bruce "O.B." Baskette. He drove first for the Cleveland
-Akron
Bus Company, then for the Cleveland-Elyria
-Toledo
Bus Company (which, despite its name, ran only between Cleveland and Norwalk, Ohio
, beyond Elyria but short of Toledo). He then returned to the former firm in a management job.
Baskette moved to North Carolina
during the winter of 1924-25 and started working (albeit for a short time) for the Carolina Motor Coaches (running between Raleigh
and Greensboro, which in November 1925 became a major part of the newly founded Carolina Coach Company. [In May 1940 the latter firm became a member of the Trailways association (and thus became known also as the Carolina Trailways); in 1997 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greyhound Lines
, Inc., the 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
].
While Baskette was in North Carolina, he met two brothers, Al and M.H. Kraemer, who became connected (although not as principals) with the Carolina Coach Company in its beginning.
Baskette, seeking an opportunity to start a firm of his own, moved to East Tennessee
. In March 1925 he began running between Knoxville and Johnson City along US highway 11E (US-11E) via Jefferson City
, Morristown
, and Greeneville
. In the next year, 1926, he incorporated his operation as the Safety Coach Company. He started with two Fageol
Safety Coaches and added seven more by the end of 1926. In naming his firm he took a cue from the brand name of the Fageol Safety Coaches, as did a number of the founders of other early coach concerns.
The two Kraemer brothers left the Carolina Coach Company in 1927, then they joined Baskette in his firm in Tennessee.
the Tennessee Coach Company, bought the Southern Motor Coach Company (running between Knoxville and Chattanooga), then merged that firm and Baskett's own Safety Coach Company (running between Knoxville and Johnson City) into the new TCC.
The State of Tennessee in 1929 issued a joint certificate (of public convenience and necessity) to the TCC and the Union Transfer Company (UTC), based in Nashville, for service between Nashville and Knoxville along US-70, later redesignated in part as -70S, via Murfreesboro
, Woodbury
, McMinnville
, Sparta
, Crossville
, Rockwood
, and Kingston
.
[In 1930 the Consolidated Coach Corporation (Consolidated, CCC, or the CCC Lines), based in Lexington, Kentucky
, bought the UTC; in 1931 Consolidated adopted the brand name, trade name, or service name of the Southeastern Greyhound Lines
(Southeastern, SEG, SEGL, or the SEG Lines); in 1936 the Consolidated firm became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines (GL).]
The Tennessee Coach Company in 1929 extended its Johnson City line to Bristol
(on the state line between Tennessee and Virginia
) and in 1930 to Bluefield
(on the state line between Virginia and West Virginia
; in 1938 it added service to Atlanta, Georgia
, both from Knoxville and from Chattanooga (although along rural backwoodsy routes through lightly populated areas, because Greyhound already ran between Chattanooga and Atlanta through more populous areas in north Georgia via Rome
, Dalton
, and Calhoun
).
The TCC also provided extensive local commuter service from Knoxville to Kingston, Rockwood, Harriman
, Oliver Springs, and (especially during World War II
) to Oak Ridge
(still sometimes called the Secret City). [Oak Ridge was the site of the headquarters of the top-secret Manhattan Project
, which in 1945 produced the world's first nuclear weapons.]
That plan continued until 1956, when the TCC joined the National Trailways association. With the approval of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission
(ICC), the TCC took over four of the nine daily trips in each direction, and the Southeastern GL took over the other five trips each way. The TCC also started one daily trip each way between Nashville and Knoxville along US-70N via Lebanon
, Carthage
, Cookeville
, and Crossville, joining the Continental Tennessee Lines, based in Nashville, another Trailways member company, on that parallel alternate route.
For a short time during the 1930s, while the TCC operated in cooperation with the Southeastern GL, several of the coaches of the TCC (Yellow Coach
long-nose streamliners) appeared (with the consent of Greyhound) in the Greyhound livery, complete with lettering for the Tennessee Greyhound Lines (which never existed at all as a separate distinct entity).
Three major players in the early highway-coach industry organized yet another carrier, based in Roanoke, Virginia
, named as the Old Dominion (OD) Stages (using the nickname of the state or Commonwealth of Virginia). The founders were Arthur Hill (of the Blue and Gray Transit Company, of Charleston, West Virginia
), John Gilmer (of the Camel City Coach Company, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
), and Guy Huguelet (of the Consolidated Coach Corporation, of Lexington, Kentucky
, which in 1936 became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines). They owned the new firm in three equal shares. The purpose of the new firm was to run between Knoxville and Washington, DC, via Bristol, Wytheville, Roanoke, Lexington
, Staunton
, and Winchester
(all the last six in Virginia), along a route which divided between the territories of the Blue and Gray and the Camel City companies. Service began on the day before Thanksgiving Day in November 1929.
The Blue and Gray Transit Company and the Camel City Coach Company in December 1929 together became the National Highway Transport (NHT) Company. NHT soon formed operating ties to Greyhound
and began negotiations with Greyhound. In early 1931 NHT began using the trade name of the Atlantic Greyhound Lines
, while at first retaining its previous corporate name. In July 1931 NHT became renamed as the Atlantic Greyhound Lines.
In May 1932 the Old Dominion Stages leased its route segment between Knoxville and Bristol (on US-11W via Rutledge
, Bean Station
, Rogersville
, and Kingsport
) to the Tennessee Coach Company.
Thus the TCC began running between Knoxville and Bristol along -11W, the leased parallel route, as well as -11E, its own original route.
Later in 1932 Hill and Gilmer bought the one-third interest of Huguelet in the OD Stages, then they merged OD into their Atlantic GL.
The TCC continued to run the leased Old Dominion segment (between Knoxville and Bristol) along US-11W as well as its own original parallel route along -11E. It took part in through-schedules (interlined pool operations) – that is, the use of through-coaches on through-routes running through the territories of two or more operating companies – in cooperation with the Atlantic GL, the Dixie GL
, and the Southeastern GL – including those between Birmingham, Alabama
, and Bristol and between Memphis, Tennessee
, and Washington. It did so until 1956, when the TCC joined the National Trailways trade association, and when the TCC returned its leased right to that segment to the Atlantic GL (as the successor in interest of the OD Stages) – as a part of the deal related to the dissociation of the TCC from Greyhound.
Afterward the TCC continued running between Knoxville and Bristol, but only along its own original route on US-11E.
. The two latter firms were members of the Transcontinental Bus System (using the brand name of the Continental Trailways), which was the largest member company in the National Trailways association.] The TCC retained its old brand name until 1976 despite the sale.
In 1966 the Transcontinental Bus System (operating as the Continental Trailways), based in Dallas, Texas
, bought most of the large Trailways member companies along the Atlantic Seaboard
. Those included were the Safeway Trails (the Safeway Trailways), the Virginia Stage Lines (the Virginia Trailways), the Queen City Coach Company (the Queen City Trailways), and the Smoky Mountain Stages (the Smoky Mountain Trailways), but not the Carolina Coach Company (the Carolina Trailways) or the Tamiami Trail Tours (the Tamiami Trailways).
Thus the Transcontinental Bus System (the Continental Trailways) acquired the other two-thirds of the ownership of the Tennessee Trailways (which had bought the Tennessee Coach Company in 1960) – through its purchase of the Virginia Trailways and the Smoky Mountain Trailways – in addition to the one-third share which already was the property of the Continental Tennessee Lines, already a subsidiary of the Continental Southern Lines, which in turn was a division
of the Transcontinental Bus System (the Continental Trailways).
In 1979 the Holiday Inns sold the TWI to a private investor
, Henry Lea Hillman Sr., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.
In 1987 The Greyhound Corporation, the original umbrella 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 Greyhound Lines, Inc., GLI, based in Dallas, Texas. The buyer was 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., TWI, also based in Dallas), which was the largest member company in the National Trailways trade association.
Later in that same year, 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
after the firm went into bankruptcy
in 1990.
The GLI has continued to experience difficulties and lackluster performance under a succession of new owners and new executives, while continuing to reduce its level of service. The reductions consist of hauling fewer passengers aboard fewer coaches on fewer trips along fewer routes with fewer stops in fewer communities in fewer states, doing so on fewer days (that is, increasingly operating some trips fewer than seven days per week), and using fewer through-coaches, thus requiring passengers to make more transfers (from one coach to another).
Now a few pieces of the Tennessee Coach Company still exist, but only as unrecognizable parts of the Greyhound Lines.
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...
, USA. It was in operation until 1976, when it became merged into the Continental Tennessee Lines, a 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 Transcontinental Bus System, called also the Continental Trailways. Continental Trailways was by far the largest member company in the Trailways trade association, which was then named the National Trailways Bus System.
Origin
The TCC began in the Volunteer State in 1928, combining the Southern Motor Coach Company, which had started running in 1924 between Knoxville and Chattanooga, and the Safety Coach Company, which had started running in 1925 between Knoxville and Johnson CityJohnson 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...
.
Background
The story of the TCC dates back to 1919 in OhioOhio
Ohio 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...
with Onnie Bruce "O.B." Baskette. He drove first for the Cleveland
Cleveland, 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...
-Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
Bus Company, then for the Cleveland-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:...
-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...
Bus Company (which, despite its name, ran only between Cleveland and Norwalk, Ohio
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 but short of Toledo). He then returned to the former firm in a management job.
Baskette moved to 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...
during the winter of 1924-25 and started working (albeit for a short time) for the Carolina Motor Coaches (running between Raleigh
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
and Greensboro, which in November 1925 became a major part of the newly founded Carolina Coach Company. [In May 1940 the latter firm became a member of the Trailways association (and thus became known also as the Carolina Trailways); in 1997 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
, Inc., the 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 :...
].
While Baskette was in North Carolina, he met two brothers, Al and M.H. Kraemer, who became connected (although not as principals) with the Carolina Coach Company in its beginning.
Baskette, seeking an opportunity to start a firm of his own, moved to East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
. In March 1925 he began running between Knoxville and Johnson City along US highway 11E (US-11E) via Jefferson City
Jefferson City, Tennessee
Jefferson City is a city in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,760 at the 2000 census. The city was originally named Mossy Creek, but was changed in 1901 to honor Thomas Jefferson...
, Morristown
Morristown, Tennessee
Morristown is a city in, and the county seat of, Hamblen County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 29,137 at the 2010 United States Census. It is the principal city of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Grainger, Hamblen and Jefferson counties...
, and Greeneville
Greeneville, Tennessee
Greeneville is a town in Greene County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 15,198 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Greene County. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene. It is the only town with this spelling in the United States, although there...
. In the next year, 1926, he incorporated his operation as the Safety Coach Company. He started with two 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 and added seven more by the end of 1926. In naming his firm he took a cue from the brand name of the Fageol Safety Coaches, as did a number of the founders of other early coach concerns.
The two Kraemer brothers left the Carolina Coach Company in 1927, then they joined Baskette in his firm in Tennessee.
Development
In 1928 O.B. Baskette and Al Kraemer incorporatedIncorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
the Tennessee Coach Company, bought the Southern Motor Coach Company (running between Knoxville and Chattanooga), then merged that firm and Baskett's own Safety Coach Company (running between Knoxville and Johnson City) into the new TCC.
The State of Tennessee in 1929 issued a joint certificate (of public convenience and necessity) to the TCC and the Union Transfer Company (UTC), based in Nashville, for service between Nashville and Knoxville along US-70, later redesignated in part as -70S, via Murfreesboro
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
, Woodbury
Woodbury, Tennessee
Woodbury is a town in Cannon County, Tennessee, United States. Woodbury is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located apporoximately 50 miles southeast of downtown Nashville. The population was 2,428 at the 2000 census...
, McMinnville
McMinnville, Tennessee
McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census...
, Sparta
Sparta, Tennessee
Sparta is a city in White County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 4,599 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of White County. It was the hometown of Lester Flatt of the bluegrass music legends Flatt and Scruggs.-Geography:...
, Crossville
Crossville, Tennessee
Crossville is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 10,795 at the 2010 Census.-Geography:Crossville is located at...
, Rockwood
Rockwood, Tennessee
Rockwood is a city in Roane County, Tennessee, United States. Its population was 5,774 at the 2000 census. It is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, and Kingston
Kingston, Tennessee
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States, and is adjacent to Watts Bar Lake. Kingston, with a population of 5,264 at the 2000 United States census, is included in the Harriman, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area....
.
[In 1930 the Consolidated Coach Corporation (Consolidated, CCC, or the CCC Lines), based in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, bought the UTC; in 1931 Consolidated adopted the brand name, trade name, or service name of the Southeastern Greyhound Lines
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...
(Southeastern, SEG, SEGL, or the SEG Lines); in 1936 the Consolidated firm became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines (GL).]
The Tennessee Coach Company in 1929 extended its Johnson City line to Bristol
Bristol, Tennessee
Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...
(on the state line between Tennessee and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
) and in 1930 to Bluefield
Bluefield, Virginia
Bluefield is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, along the Bluestone River. The population was 5,078 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578...
(on the state line between Virginia and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
; in 1938 it added service to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, both from Knoxville and from Chattanooga (although along rural backwoodsy routes through lightly populated areas, because Greyhound already ran between Chattanooga and Atlanta through more populous areas in north Georgia via Rome
Rome, Georgia
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Rome is the largest city and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Floyd County...
, Dalton
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
, and Calhoun
Calhoun, Georgia
Calhoun is a city in Gordon County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,650. The city is the county seat of Gordon County.-Geography:Calhoun is located at , along the Oostanaula River....
).
The TCC also provided extensive local commuter service from Knoxville to Kingston, Rockwood, Harriman
Harriman, Tennessee
Harriman is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, primarily in Roane County, with a small extension into Morgan County. It is the principal city of and is included in the Harriman Micropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Roane County and is a component of the Knoxville-Sevierville-La...
, Oliver Springs, and (especially during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) to Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
(still sometimes called the Secret City). [Oak Ridge was the site of the headquarters of the top-secret Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, which in 1945 produced the world's first nuclear weapons.]
A sharing arrangement
The Tennessee Coach Company and the other carrier – first the UTC, later the CCC, even later the Southeastern GL – shared their joint certificate (for the route between Nashville and Knoxville) in an unusual way: One carrier ran in one direction on any given scheduled trip, then the other carrier ran in that direction on that same sked the next day, and vice versa. That is, they ran in opposite directions, and they changed directions each day.That plan continued until 1956, when the TCC joined the National Trailways association. With the approval of the federal 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), the TCC took over four of the nine daily trips in each direction, and the Southeastern GL took over the other five trips each way. The TCC also started one daily trip each way between Nashville and Knoxville along US-70N via Lebanon
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
, Carthage
Carthage, Tennessee
Carthage is a town in Smith County, Tennessee, United States, and is part of the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,251 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Smith County, and perhaps best known as the hometown of former Vice President Al Gore, and his father,...
, Cookeville
Cookeville, Tennessee
Cookeville is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 23,923 at the 2000 census. of Cookeville's population was 30,435, and the combined total of those living in Cookeville's in 2010 was 65,014. It is the county seat of Putnam County and home to Tennessee...
, and Crossville, joining the Continental Tennessee Lines, based in Nashville, another Trailways member company, on that parallel alternate route.
For a short time during the 1930s, while the TCC operated in cooperation with the Southeastern GL, several of the coaches of the TCC (Yellow Coach
Yellow Coach
The Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company was an early manufacturer of passenger buses in the United States. It was founded in Chicago as a subsidiary of the Yellow Cab Company in 1923 by John D. Hertz...
long-nose streamliners) appeared (with the consent of Greyhound) in the Greyhound livery, complete with lettering for the Tennessee Greyhound Lines (which never existed at all as a separate distinct entity).
Between Knoxville and Bristol
In 1929 – the same year in which the TCC and the UTC obtained their joint certificate for service between Nashville and Knoxville – another significant neighboring carrier came into existence.Three major players in the early highway-coach industry organized yet another carrier, based in Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
, named as the Old Dominion (OD) Stages (using the nickname of the state or Commonwealth of Virginia). The founders were Arthur Hill (of the Blue and Gray Transit Company, of Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
), John Gilmer (of the Camel City Coach Company, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
), and Guy Huguelet (of the Consolidated Coach Corporation, of Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, which in 1936 became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines). They owned the new firm in three equal shares. The purpose of the new firm was to run between Knoxville and Washington, DC, via Bristol, Wytheville, Roanoke, Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, Staunton
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton is an independent city within the confines of Augusta County in the commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 23,746 as of 2010. It is the county seat of Augusta County....
, and Winchester
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
(all the last six in Virginia), along a route which divided between the territories of the Blue and Gray and the Camel City companies. Service began on the day before Thanksgiving Day in November 1929.
The Blue and Gray Transit Company and the Camel City Coach Company in December 1929 together became the National Highway Transport (NHT) Company. NHT soon formed operating ties to Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
and began negotiations with Greyhound. In early 1931 NHT began using the trade name of the Atlantic Greyhound Lines
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...
, while at first retaining its previous corporate name. In July 1931 NHT became renamed as the Atlantic Greyhound Lines.
In May 1932 the Old Dominion Stages leased its route segment between Knoxville and Bristol (on US-11W via Rutledge
Rutledge, Tennessee
Rutledge is a town in Grainger County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Grainger County. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Bean Station
Bean Station, Tennessee
Bean Station is a city in Grainger County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city was incorporated in November 1996...
, Rogersville
Rogersville, Tennessee
Rogersville is a town in Hawkins County, Tennessee, United States. It was settled in 1775 by the grandparents of Davy Crockett and is the second-oldest town in the state. It is named for its founder, Joseph Rogers....
, and Kingsport
Kingsport, Tennessee
Kingsport is a city located mainly in Sullivan County with some western portions in Hawkins County in the US state of Tennessee. The majority of the city lies in Sullivan County...
) to the Tennessee Coach Company.
Thus the TCC began running between Knoxville and Bristol along -11W, the leased parallel route, as well as -11E, its own original route.
Later in 1932 Hill and Gilmer bought the one-third interest of Huguelet in the OD Stages, then they merged OD into their Atlantic GL.
The TCC continued to run the leased Old Dominion segment (between Knoxville and Bristol) along US-11W as well as its own original parallel route along -11E. It took part in through-schedules (interlined pool operations) – that is, the use of through-coaches on through-routes running through the territories of two or more operating companies – in cooperation with the Atlantic GL, 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 Southeastern GL – including those between Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, and Bristol and between Memphis, Tennessee
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....
, and Washington. It did so until 1956, when the TCC joined the National Trailways trade association, and when the TCC returned its leased right to that segment to the Atlantic GL (as the successor in interest of the OD Stages) – as a part of the deal related to the dissociation of the TCC from Greyhound.
Afterward the TCC continued running between Knoxville and Bristol, but only along its own original route on US-11E.
Sale of TCC
In 1960 the Tennessee Coach Company became sold to a new firm (created specifically to buy the TCC), named as the Tennessee Trailways, Inc., owned in three equal shares by three other Trailways member companies. The investors were the Virginia Stage Lines (the Virginia Trailways), the Smoky Mountain Lines (the Smoky Mountain Trailways), and the Continental Tennessee Lines (a Trailways concern which ran in part between Nashville and Knoxville along US-70N via Lebanon, Carthage, Cookeville, and Crossville. [That last firm was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Continental Southern Lines, based in Alexandria, LouisianaAlexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
. The two latter firms were members of the Transcontinental Bus System (using the brand name of the Continental Trailways), which was the largest member company in the National Trailways association.] The TCC retained its old brand name until 1976 despite the sale.
In 1966 the Transcontinental Bus System (operating as the Continental Trailways), based in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, 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...
, bought most of the large Trailways member companies along the Atlantic Seaboard
Atlantic Seaboard
The Atlantic seaboard watershed is a watershed of North America along both*the Atlantic Canada coast south of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence Watershed &*the East Coast of the United States north of the watershed of the Okeechobee Waterway....
. Those included were the Safeway Trails (the Safeway Trailways), the Virginia Stage Lines (the Virginia Trailways), the Queen City Coach Company (the Queen City Trailways), and the Smoky Mountain Stages (the Smoky Mountain Trailways), but not the Carolina Coach Company (the Carolina Trailways) or the Tamiami Trail Tours (the Tamiami Trailways).
Thus the Transcontinental Bus System (the Continental Trailways) acquired the other two-thirds of the ownership of the Tennessee Trailways (which had bought the Tennessee Coach Company in 1960) – through its purchase of the Virginia Trailways and the Smoky Mountain Trailways – in addition to the one-third share which already was the property of the Continental Tennessee Lines, already a subsidiary of the Continental Southern Lines, which in turn was 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...
of the Transcontinental Bus System (the Continental Trailways).
Merger into Continental Trailways
Eventually in 1976 the Continental Trailways merged the Tennessee Trailways (which had continued to use the brand name of the Tennessee Coach Company) into the Continental Tennessee Lines – at the same time when it merged also the Continental Crescent Lines, another neighboring firm, into the Continental Tennessee Lines.Conclusion
Thus finally ended the separate existence or identity of the Tennessee Coach Company.Addendum
In 1968 the Holiday Inns of America, based in Memphis, Tennessee, bought the Transcontinental Bus System (the Continental Trailways), then later renamed it as the Trailways, Inc., TWI.In 1979 the Holiday Inns sold the TWI to a private 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...
, Henry Lea Hillman Sr., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh 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...
.
In 1987 The Greyhound Corporation, the original umbrella 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 Greyhound Lines, Inc., GLI, based in Dallas, Texas. The buyer was 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., TWI, also based in Dallas), which was the largest member company in the National Trailways trade association.
Later in that same year, 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...
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 continued to experience difficulties and lackluster performance under a succession of new owners and new executives, while continuing to reduce its level of service. The reductions consist of hauling fewer passengers aboard fewer coaches on fewer trips along fewer routes with fewer stops in fewer communities in fewer states, doing so on fewer days (that is, increasingly operating some trips fewer than seven days per week), and using fewer through-coaches, thus requiring passengers to make more transfers (from one coach to another).
Now a few pieces of the Tennessee Coach Company still exist, but only as unrecognizable parts of the Greyhound Lines.
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...
- Central Greyhound LinesCentral Greyhound LinesCentral 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 of The Greyhound Corporation...
- 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...
- New England Greyhound LinesNew England Greyhound LinesThe 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),...
- 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...