Flatlander

Also a bit disappointed that the Worlds Fair sequence was cut short, but was very pleased with the closeup of the Kansas Escorter as the young Frank Walker stepped off of the bus, and again a few frames later, moving in the background.

First trailer for Disney's upcoming film, Tomorrowland, which features the Greyhound Escorters. http://blogs.disney.com/oh-my-disney/2014/10/09/the-first-trailer-for-tomorrowland-is-here-and-its-epic/?cmp=SMC%7Cblgomd%7COMDOctober%7CFB%7Ctomorrowlandtease-OMD%7CInHouse%7C100914%7C%7C%7Cesocialmedia%7C%7C%7C

I think that escorter max may have also been posting on this forum as classicmlg.

Doug. The third Escorter belongs to escorter max who is a member if this forum. I had the oppirtunity to see all three Escorters together, as the other two were already on the truck when it arrived here in Kansas on the way to Vancouver. The smaller Unisphere decals would be original or authentic reproductions.

Feature article in the local newspaper here today about the Escorter. http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/27/2908961/1964-worlds-fair-people-mover.html http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/27/2908959/wheelspin-offbeat-is-cool.html http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/24/2903453_a2903215/return-of-the-escorter.html

Randy. I have no information at all as to what possessed him to purchase the Escorters, what his plans were for them and what exactualy he did with them after they arrived in Houston. I can only remember his mentioning in passing that he had a few of them. If I would have had more of an interest at the time, I'm sure he would have had a wealth information to share.

Prior to the advent of government run public urban transportation systems implemented as a part of the Great Society programs of the late 1960's, all major city bus companies were run by private operators as regular businesses. An uncle of mine owned and operated the bus company in Houston, Texas. At the conclusion of the fair, Greyhound auctioned off their entire fleet of buses, Glide-a-Rides and Escorters. He attended the auction to purchase some buses for his Houston operation and also bought four Escorters. Over the years, three of the four were salvaged and probably ended up in the crusher. When he passed away in 2003, this unit was still in his possession, along with several other old and decaying cars, in an outdoor storage lot in Houston. I thought that it might be something fun to tinker with, purchased it from the estate, and transported it home to Kansas. Little did I know at the time that it would turn out to be such a rare, historical and collectible piece. I wish the other three units had survived and that I could have acquired them too. Would four Escorters be considered a "fleet"?

Doug. I purchased the Escorter 10 years ago from the estate of a relative. Did quite a bit of work on it back then, but life got in the way and it set idle for several years. Retired earlier this year and then was contacted by the Tomorrowland folks which, with the time to do so, inspired me to finally get it finished. I found the Dukane horn listed on eBay a few years back.

More Escorter Photos

Doug. The Kalamazoo medallions on the uprights are original.

If it would help any at all, the Greyhound property number of this Escorter was 789. I believe that these numbers were applied by Greyhound after they took delivery from Kalamazoo. Because of this, I chose not to reapply the numbers to this restoration.

Bill...great eye. That's the very reason that I took such great care to retain the original World's Fair logo stickers throughout the fiberglass restoration. That's the way it was applied 50 years ago, and that's the way I wanted it to stay. Gives it just a little more character, don't you think?

Randy. From my communications with the Tomorrowland contact, the answer is, yes. All three Escorters will travel to Vancouver together on the same truck. Scary, huh? I wouldn't want to be the one driving that truck!!

Hello everyone. It has been several years since I have posted on this forum, but I wanted all of you to know that, at long last, the Kansas Escorter restoration has been completed and is ready to leave this week for Tomorrowland. Every effort has been made to put this vehicle back to its original configuration including the blue driver and passenger compartments, blue under roof, original restored engine configuration with gas pipe exhaust layout (it even has its original mufflers), original reworked hydraulic drive system components, Dukane musical horn and a working Rockwell taxi meter. The body is a restored Gel-Coat finish matched to the original color. Upholstery is 1960's GM gold. The graphics were digitally reproduced prior to restoration removal on new 3M reflective stock. The World's Fair logos stickers are the originals, never removed. All parts are either restored original (including the gauges), new old stock or, in just a couple of minor cases, authentic reproductions, except for the bumper. The original blue bumper was chewed up and had so much imbedded grime, that it couldn't be saved and I never was able to find a like replacement. The black bumper is close to the same size and mounts in a track from behind like the original. Looks pretty good. All in all, it turned out great, far better than I had always hoped for. I hope the picture comes through okay. if so, more pictures to come. Flatlander

Randy. Having seen these photo's along with many others taken at the fair, I am more than convinced than ever that the 3" hole on the right of the steering wheel originally held the speaker for the Dukane horn. My Escorter had an identical rectangular metal plate covering the hole when I acquired it. It would only make sense that when the horns were removed, they would have also removed the speakers. I remember having some 3" speakers back in the 60's that were part of a reverb kit that had covers simular to what is shown in the pictures taken at the fair. Too bad that I got rid of those speakers somewhere along the road. If the offroad Escorters had a speed governor anyway, what would be the purpose of a speedometer and why would they have been removed from all of the Escorters and the hole covered over with common metal plate ?