1982 Orion 01.504 247-280

In 1982 Calgary Transit took delivery of 34 Orion 01.504's. These buses were originally bought to be used on less busy routes as these buses were only 36ft. long. However in their later years they were used for school service and rush hour service. Most of these buses were retired in the later half of the 1990's and all were gone by the end of January 2002. These buses were delivered with Transdot digital destination signs. These buses came with Detroit Diesel's 6V53N engine with Allison's MT-643 transmission. The rear door on these buses were a rarity as they were treadle (aka plug-type) doors which slid open when you steped on the rear stairwell, however units 268 to 280 had touchbar doors like the GM New Looks, these may have been original equipment or they may have been refits. An interesting note about the interior seat configuration, Starting in 1998 a fair number of these buses had the driver's side forward facing seats rotated to side facing seats, probably in an attempt to increase overall capacity of the bus by allowing more standees. Also these buses were the first buses for Calgary to have Power Steering as original equipment.

Photos in this section are taken by me (Kevin Lo) or Peter McLaughlin Please do not re-use any of these photos without my (Kevin Lo) or Peter McLaughlin's permission for his photos. Thank You.
Click on the fleet number to see the picture

Fleet Number Year Description Photo Date (M/D/Y)
251 rear 251 retired at the back of Spring Gardens. 3/28/2002
273 driver's station The dirty and dusty dashboard is an indication that 273 has been retired for quite some time. 3/28/2002
273 interior 273's interior, with some of it's interior parts removed. This is the original interior and 273 was one of the 1982's not changed out as this unit along with some others were retired at aorund the same time the seat re-configuration took place. 3/28/2002
278 side 278 on route 48 during the start of rush hour. Notice the rust on the advertising panel 1/03/2002
278 rear 278 from the rear waiting to leave Rundle. 1/03/2002
279 279 in its later years of service. This bus has since been retired. By Peter McLaughlin. ?/?/?
280 right front 280 retired just a few days ago seen here at Spring Gardens. 1/27/2002
280 left front 280 retired just a few days ago seen here at Spring Gardens. 1/27/2002
280 side 280 retired just a few days ago seen here at Spring Gardens. 1/27/2002
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