School buses

Американская классика

Dec 13, 2006

High Point, N.C. – Signed, sealed and delivered. That’s how Thomas Built Buses employees presented its last customer-ready FS-65 conventional school bus.

John O’Leary, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses, handed the final set of FS-65 keys to Gary O’Brien, owner and operator of College Park, Maryland-based O’Brien Bus Service in a ceremony at one of Thomas’ five manufacturing facilities in High Point, N.C.

Each Thomas employee and O’Brien himself signed an exposed interior panel and numerous hidden panels throughout the bus. When the chassis was manufactured by Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) in Gaffney, S.C. last month, the chassis frame rails were signed by FCCC employees. The colorful bus is themed “Pride of the Carolinas” in recognition of the close relationship between the two plants and of Mr. O’Brien’s North Carolina roots.

With this delivery, the FS-65 conventional design has been retired. The basic body design dates back to 1972, when it was offered on a variety of chassis brands. A total of 249,036 conventional bodies have been produced since 1972. Thomas began offering this bus body on the Freightliner-designed FS-65 chassis in 1995 and within five years, the design had captured more than one-third of the Type C market. The FS-65 delivered durability and reliability, backed by exceptional Thomas service. It also introduced many new features to the school bus market, including an improved line-of-sight, an extra-tight turning radius and an easily accessible engine compartment. A total run of 62,764 Freightliner FS-65 chassis were produced.

https://thomasbuiltbuses.com/resources/news/thomas-built-completes-milestone-2006-12-13/