[PNWTransitFreak]

I'm very happy to say that this is my 300th post on this wonderful forum!

This one little side of railroading, and real life is missing from MSTS. Transit coaches. Public and mass transit systems are part of everyday life. From the smallest of towns, to the largest of cities. In today's society, no one rides the bus - unless they have no other choice. For some this can be dreadful, for others, its a normal commute. Most consider these vehicles to be a pest, or annoying, almost as much as the trains that shake their communities with all their might. Buses might as well as the trains of the roadway. They're loud, heavy, and large. Some, like myself, find that to be a beautiful sight to behold.

Turn back time to the 1930's. Buses were once considered a threat to passenger railroading. Greyhound and Trailways looked invincible, and Amtrak (in the 1970's) had its arch-rival. Buses reached places that railroads either could not, or bypassed. The bus to passenger railroading was the big rig to freight railroading. Both were very real threats and had severe repercussions. Buses ate away at intercity travel ridership, and at one time had the airline industry scared. Railroads slashed away at passenger schedules and trains, thus creating Amtrak. Since then, Amtrak and local transit agencies have worked together to bring more passengers to their buses, and train stations. Train stations have taken on a new role in the community and are more often referred to as the "Intermodal Station", rather than the train or bus depot. Local transit systems are forging relationships with each other, and Amtrak, and are excelling. Amtrak California has a thruway bus network that puts 95% of the state of California within reach a train, that's over 26 Million people. To think 40 years before that was unheard of. This story of America has yet to be seen or written in MSTS, and I think its about high-time we look to hero's on and off the rails.


A pair of CATS transit coaches wait for an Amtrak San Joaquins train to pass at Troy Grove.

Over the spring I had painted a 3DTrains bus into the paint scheme of my hometown transit system; Chico Area Transit System (CATS).

The model (if you're wondering) is a 2004 North American Bus Industries 40LFW (NABI 40-LFW). Meaning this bus is 40 feet long, a Low or "No Step" Floor coach, and its a wide body, at 8' 6" (102 Inches wide). This coach has become a standard all over the country. The original model was a LACMTA (Los Angeles, CA) model, LACMTA has over 1500 of these coaches, making it the largest NABI fleet in the world. CATS has never owned a NABI vehicle, however over 200 systems do.

Next time you leave a train station whether in MSTS or real life, take a look around, and see if there's a bus there. I bet it'll be headed the same way you are; home.