Spirit of America Bookstore
American Stagelines & Buslines Pages
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short history
Eastern stage lines
regional bus lines
non-fiction works
|  |
Really opened a bucket of worms when I began a page about the Butterfield Stage Lines. The convoluted corporate structures of the time included Wells, Fargo & Company which is now a giant Wall Street bank, the Pony Express was involved, and the American Civil War, and the Transcontinental Railroad [est. 1869].
After that, the stagelines operated even past the advent of the automobile and then became national & regional bus lines.
This page is the 'umbrella' page to bring all of those elements together. — bookshop proprietor G.E. Nordell
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
'stagecoach' entry at Wikipedia
'bus (road vehicle)' entry at Wikipedia
Spirit of America Bookstore's Stagecoach Travel-Themed Movies & TV Page
Spirit of America Bookstore's Bus Travel-Themed Movies & TV Page
search books on keyword 'stagecoach' {returns 6,000+ titles} at Amazon
search books on keyword 'bus+line' {returns 1,000+ titles} at Amazon
"Making a film is like a stagecoach ride in the Old West. When you start, you are hoping
for a pleasant trip. By the halfway point, you just hope to survive."
— François Truffaut in "La Nuit Américaine" [1973]
 | "Old Waybills: The Romance of The Express Companies" [1934] by Alvin F. Harlow From the earliest days - even before Alvin Adams and William F. Harden - thru the California expressmen who delivered to the gold fields, the Pony Express, the Over- land Stage, the use of express services during the Civil War, express service to the Klondike during the Gold Rush, and the development of carriage by railroad. Arno Press hardcover [1976] out of print/used D. Appleton/Century Co. hardcover [1934] out of print/used |
Eastern Stage Lines
[ Coming Soon ] **
Western Stage Lines
Wells Fargo & Co. [est. 1852] Page
at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Butterfield Overland Stage Lines [1857-69] Page
at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
Motor Stage Lines
[ Coming Soon ] **
Regional Bus Lines
El Paso Los Angeles Limousine Express [est. 1966]
24 scheduled daily routes within California, Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Old Mexico
National Bus Lines
Greyhound Bus Lines, Inc. [est. 1914]
official company website •
company entry at Wikipedia
 Nostalgic Reproduction Greyhound Bus Sign - Round by Victory Vintage Signs 14"x14" tin sign - out of prodn - SOLD OUT! |
 Nostalgic Reproduction Greyhound Bus Sign - Square by Victory Vintage Signs 8"x14" tin sign - out of prodn - SOLD OUT! |
 Nostalgic Reproduction Greyhound Bus Sign - Oval by Victory Vintage Signs 9"x14" tin sign - out of prodn - SOLD OUT! |
 Nostalgic Reproduction Greyhound Bus Depot Vintage Metal Sign by Garage Art Signs" 12"x18" tin sign for $26.00 |
 | "Hounds of The Road: History of The Greyhound Bus Company" [1984] by Carlton Jackson Popular Press of Bowling Green State 9x6 pb [2/84] for $16.19 Popular Press of Bowling Green State 9¼x6¼ hardcover [2/84] out of print/used |
 | "Greyhound Buses 1914-2000 Photo Archive" [2000] by William A. Luke Iconografix 10¼x8½ pb [9/2000] for $21.69 |
 | "Go The Greyhound Way: The Romance of The Road" [2009] by Robert Gabrick Enthusiast Books 11x8½ pb [10/2009] for $38.98 |
 | "Greyhound Scenicruiser" [2013] by Tom McNally & Fred Rayman Enthusiast Books 11x8½ pb [3/2013] for $31.11 |
Trailways Transportation System, Inc. [est. 1936]
Trailways is a coöp fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles in 27 states that travel 20 million miles per year
official company website •
company entry at Wikipedia
 | "Trailways Buses 1936-2001 Photo Archive" [2000] by William A. Luke
Enthusiast Books 10¼x8½ pb [3/2014] for $33.42 Iconografix 10¼x8½ pb [10/2000] out of print/used |
Associations & Other Companies
 | American Bus Association [est. 1926] is based in Washington, DC |
 | Buses of Yellowstone Preservation Trust [est. 2008] is based in Montana |
 | California Bus Assn. [est. 1969] is based in Castroville, California |
 | Motor Bus Society, USA [est. 1948] is based in New Jersey |
![the SuperShuttle airport ride company [est. 1983]](images/supershuttle.jpg "the SuperShuttle airport ride company [est. 1983]")
the SuperShuttle airport ride company [est. 1983] is now a division of Transdev of France
based in Scottsdale, Arizona; operates in 32 states and 11 other countries
official company website
Manufacturers
Coachbuilt.com, Inc. reference site [est. 2003]
 |
"American Buses: Greyhound, Trailways, and Urban Transportation" [1985] by David Jacobs M.B.I./Osprey Colour 8¾x8¼ pb [11/85] out of print/used |
 |
"Modern Intercity Coaches: A Review of Over-The-Road Coaches and Manufacturers ... From 1953 To 1993" [1997] by Larry Plachno
Transportation Trails 8¾x11&14 hardcover [11/97] for $49.95 |
GMC Truck and Coach Division [merger 1943]
Founded in Chicago in 1923 by John D. Hertz as a subsidiary of his Yellow Cab Company; renamed Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company in 1925 when General Motors purchased a majority stake; GM completely acquired the company in 1943, and it was merged with GM's truck division to form the GMC Truck & Coach Division. After the end of World War II, General Motors improved its products and gained a virtual monopoly in the bus building business, developing many designs that became industry standards.
Yellow Coach [1923-43] entry at Wikipedia
official G.M.C. website •
G.M.C. Truck Division entry at Wikipedia +
Buses section
 | "Yellow Coach Buses 1923-1943 Photo Archive" [2001] by William A. Luke Iconografix pb [10/2001] for $49.68 out of print/used |
 | "GM Intercity Coaches 1944-1980 Photo Archive" [2003] by Brian Grams & Andrew Gold Enthusiast Books 10¼x8½ pb [11/2003] for $24.48 |
 | "Welcome Aboard The GM New Look Bus" [2006] by John H. McKane, with Gerald L. Squier Enthusiast Books 11x8½ pb [5/2006] for $32.95 |
 | "Rapid Transit Series Buses: General Motors and Beyond" [2008] by Evan T. McCausland Enthusiast Books 1q1x8½ pb [5/2008] for $32.95 |
 | "Old Look Buses: Yellow Coach and G.M. In The '40s and '50s" [2010] by William A. Luke & Linda Metler Enthusiast Books 11x8½ pb [4/2010] for $34.95 |
Motor Coach Industries (M.C.I.) [est. 1933] of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
official company website •
entry at Wikipedia
Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (T.M.C.) of Roswell, New Mexico
bus manufacturer formed in 1974 by Greyhound Bus Lines to manufacture Motor Coach Industries vehicles; M.C.I. sold its Classic and RTS bus license to Nova Bus
in 1993; M.C.I. then sold the TMC plant to NovaBus in 1994; the Roswell plant was closed in 2003; former employees and others formed Millennium Transit Services
in 2003 and purchased the Roswell plant. {see next below}
T.M.C. history page at Coachbuilt.com reference site •
entry at Wikipedia
Millennium Transit Services, LLC of Roswell, New Mexico
bus manufacturer formed in 2003; bankruptcy 2008-2012; may be producing but not in quantity
official company website {dormant?} •
entry at Wikipedia
 | "Buses of Motor Coach Industries 1932-2000 Photo Archive" [2001] by William Luke & Brian Grams Enthusiast Books 8½x10¼ pb [5/2001] for $29.95 |
Non-Fiction About Stagecoaches & Buses & Long-Distance Travel
 | "Stagecoach Days (A Sunset Book)" [1963] by Vickie Hunter & Elizabeth Hamm Lane Book Company 11x8½ pb [1963] out of print/many used Lane Book Company 9x6½ hardcover [1963] out of print/used |
 | "Stagecoach West: The Story of The Frontier Express Lines That Linked The Nation Together" [1967] by Ralph Moody, Introduction by Mark L. Gardner
Kindle Edition from Bison Books [1998 edition] for $18.99 Bison Books 9x6 pb [9/98] for $21.56 Promontory Press 9x6¼ hardcover [1967] out of print/many used |
 | "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trucks and Buses" [1983] by Denis Miller — "Over 4,500 marques ... from 1769 to the present day" Quantum Books 11½x8 hardcover [2003] for $61.16 Mayflower Assocs. 11¾x9 hardcover [10/83] out of print/used |
 | "The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses" [1988] by Ed Stauss Stauss Publns 5¼x8¼ pb [3/88] out of print/used |
 | "American Buses" [1998] by Donald F. Wood covers intercity coaches, urban transit buses, school buses, suburban coaches, electric buses, tour & sightseeing buses, airport buses, military & government buses, and 'land yachts' (buses used by celebrities on tour) Motorbooks Intl./Crestline pb [11/98] out of print/used |
 | Wild West Magazine [est. 1988] April 2002 (Volume 14 #6) stagecoach cover & feature single-issue magazine sold by Amazon third-party The History Net |
 |
"All About America: Stagecoaches and Railroads" [grades 4-6; 2012] by Sally Senzell Isaacs one reviewer describes the book as 'a history of Westward expansion' Kingfisher 10½x8¼ pb [1/2012] for $7.19 Kingfisher 10¾x8½ library hardcover [1/2012] for $26.38 |
 | "The Modern House Bus: Mobile Tiny House Inspirations" [2018] by Kimberley Mok Kindle Edition from Countryman Press [8/2018] for $11.99 Countryman Press 5¼x8¾ hardcover [8/2018] for $15.28 |
Fiction About Stagecoach & Bus Travel
lots more Western-themed fiction on the Western Fiction Pages at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Western Bookstore
v
 | "The Wayward Bus" [1947] by John Steinbeck [1902-68] Mechanic & bus driver Juan Chicoy & his wife Alice operate a small lunch counter/bus stop at rural Rebel Corners that employs young waitress Norma and general helper Ed 'Pimples' Carson; several people are waiting for Juan to fix his bus so that he can take them to San Juan de la Cruz: self-important businessman Elliott Pritchard, his wife Bernice, and their college student daughter Mildred; travel-ing salesman Ernest Horton; and a curvaceous young blonde woman using the fake name of Camille. Norma quits her job and gets on the bus, which soon leaves into heavy rain. The rain has weakened a bridge, so Juan asks the passengers whether he should turn around or try a dirt road: they choose to keep going. Juan runs the bus into a ditch, possibly on purpose; he says that he will go for help, but has decided to go back to Mexico. Mildred follows Juan and finds him asleep in a nearby barn; they have sex, with varying interpretations as to its meaning; they return to the bus, Juan gets it out of the ditch, and the story ends with San Juan de la Cruz in the distance. Fox released a movie version in May 1957. Kindle Edition from Penguin Classics [3/2006] for $14.99 Penguin Classics 7¾x5 pb [3/2006] for $14.06 Bantam Books mass pb [1962] out of print/used The Viking Press 8x5¾ hardcover [1947] out of print/100+ used |
 | "Lost Stage Valley" Western novel [1948] by Frank Bonham In the turbulent days before the Civil War, bandits posing as Southern patriots are threatening to wipe out the famous Butterfield Stagecoach Line; John Butterfield turns to ace trouble shooter Grif Holbrook for help, but Grif wants to retire and settle down; when President Lincoln himself says that the Butter-field Line is worth two infantry divisions to the North, Grif gives in. Ace Books mass pb [7/84] out of print/used Berkley Books 7x5 pb [2/81] out of print/used Simon & Schuster hardcover [1948] out of print/scarce |
 | "The Nancy Flyer: A Stagecoach Epic" Western novel [1949] by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ernest Poole [1880-1950] Thomas Y. Crowell Co. hardcover [1949] out of print/used |
 | "The Stagecoach Robbery (A Golden Story Book)" [1949] by Peter Archer, Illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush Simon & Schuster Golden Books hardcover [1949] out of print/used Simon & Schuster Golden Books hardcover [1949] out of print/used |
 | "Stagecoach To Hellfire Pass" [1953] by Paul Evan Lehman
Two stagelines compete for the contract over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Utah Territory; when Jim's stageline's stables are set on fire with new Concord coaches and twenty horses inside, he goes gunning for his ruthless competitor . . . Eton mass pb [1953] out of print/used |
 | "Last Stage West" Western novel [1959] by Frank Bonham "Somewhere between Missouri and Texas they waited for him – a killer's bullet, or a lawman's rope" Ace Books mass pb [5/84] out of print/used Berkley Books 7x5 pb [8/81] out of print/used |
 | "The Clue In The Old Stagecoach: A Nancy Drew Mystery" [grades 4-6; #37 = 1959] by {house name} Carolyn Keene the true author is Harriet Stratemeyer Adams; Nancy Drew is on vacation and she and two of her pals are asked to locate an old stagecoach that was hidden years ago . . . Kindle Edition from Grosset & Dunlap/Penguin Group [1960 edition] for $7.99 Armada 7½x5 pb [7/85] out of print/used Grosset & Dunlap 7½x5 pb [8/74] out of print/used Grosset & Dunlap 7½x5 hardcover [12/59] for $8.99 Grosset & Dunlap 7½x5 hardcover [12/59] for $13.59 |
 | "Norwood" first novel [1966] by Charles Portis Gas station mechanic Norwood gets roped into driving an Oldsmobile 98 with a Pontiac in tow from Texas to New York City; he abandons the cars and a female passenger and continues to New York, then returns on a Trailways bus where he meets a midget, a chicken, and Rita Lee . . . Kindle Edition from Overlook Press [1999 edition] for $11.49 Ballantine Books movie tie-in mass pb [1970] out of print/used Harry N. Abrams 8x5½ pb [8/99] for $15.69 Simon & Schuster 7¾x5 hardcover [1966] out of print/used book entry at Wikipedia adapted for a 1970 film by the same name • VHS/DVD/Blu-ray/Instant Video not available |
"Stagecoach Station" Western novel series [1982-90]
Fifty-one themed Western novels by 'Hank Mitchum', a pseudonym of prolific Western fiction & television writer Dwight Bennett 'D.B.' Newton [1916-2013];
he also wrote under the names Dwight Bennett, Clement Hardin, Ford Logan, and Dan Temple.
"Stagecoach Station #1: Dodge City" [Bantam Books 10/1982]
"Stagecoach Station #2: Laredo" [Bantam Books 1982]
"Stagecoach Station #4: Tombstone" [Bantam Books 1983]
"Stagecoach Station #6: Santa Fe" [Bantam Books 1983]
"Stagecoach Station #7: Seattle" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #10: Abilene" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #11: Deadwood" [Bantam Books 1984]
"Stagecoach Station #13: Carson City" [Bantam Books 1984]
"Stagecoach Station #15: Wichita" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #17: Durango" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #18: Casa Grande" [Bantam Books 5/1985]
"Stagecoach Station #20: Leadville" [Bantam Books 1985]
"Stagecoach Station #21: Fargo" [Bantam Books 1985]
"Stagecoach Station #24: Mesa Verde" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #25: San Antonio" [Bantam Books 8/1986]
"Stagecoach Station #26: Tulsa" [Bantam Books 1986]
"Stagecoach Station #29: Panhandle" [Bantam Books 4/1987]
"Stagecoach Station #30: Rawhide" [Bantam Books 1987]
"Stagecoach Station #31: Royal Coach" [Bantam Books 1987]
"Stagecoach Station #33: Death Valley" [Bantam Books 12/1987]
"Stagecoach Station #40: Silverado" [Bantam Books 2/1989]
"Stagecoach Station #43: Apache Junction" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #49: Gila Bend" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #50: Buckskin Pass" [Bantam Books ?]
"Stagecoach Station #51: Wild West" [Bantam Books 1990]
 | "Longarm #84: Longarm and The Stagecoach Bandits" Western novel [1985] by Tabor Evans Deputy Marshal Custis Long tracks down a gang of ruthless outlaws and turns up a mountain beauty . . . Berkley mass pb [12/85] out of print/used |
 | "Buchanan's Stage Line" [1986] by Jonas Ward Tom Buchanan and his sidekick prize fighter Coco Bean help Ebenezar Shaw save his stage line from a crooked businessman and his gang of outlaws Fawcett mass pb [3/86] out of print/used |
 | "Josh Carter and The Old Stagecoach" YA mystery novel [1986] by William C. Odell no clues found about plot, except that the cover shows two boys finding a strongbox . . . Tyndale House Publrs mass pb [8/86] out of print/used |
 | "Longarm #135: Longarm and The Devil's Stagecoach" Western novel [1990] by Tabor Evans Deputy Marshal Custis Long is assigned to track down some murderous stagecoach robbers and retrieve a fortune in U.S. Treasury vouchers Jove 7x5 pb [3/90] out of print/used |
 | "Messenger Twelve" [2000] by James Lynn Bartz Slave ships and Wells Fargo Express intrigue in Gold Rush-era San Francisco. Westbound Stage hardcover [4/2000] out of print/used |
 | "Stage Trails West: Western Stories" [2002] by Frank Bonham, Edited by Bill Pronzini four short stories about stagelines during the War Between The States and their almost complete demise with the advent of the railroads: "Hell Along The Oxbow Route" [11/1944]; "Bullets Blaze The Stage Trails" [3/1945]; "U.P. Trail Blazer" [5/1945]; and "The Buckskin Poppers' War" [12/1945] Kindle Edition from AmazonEncore [9/2013] for $1.99 AmazonEncore 8x5½ pb [9/2013] for $10.99 Five Star Westerns 9x6 hardcover [2/2002] out of print/used |
 | "Stagecoach Stories" anthology [2003] Edited by Ed Gorman & Martin H. Greenberg eight short stories by Judy Alter, Richard J. Conley, Loren D. Estleman, Don Goldsmith, editor Gorman, Louis L'Amour, Robert J. Randisi, and Richard S. Wheeler Berkley Books mass pb [9/2003] for $15.76 Berkley Books mass pb [9/2003] out of print/used |
 | "High Iron: A Western Trio" [2006] by Frank Bonham, Edited by Bill Pronzini Three short novels in 300 pages: "The Sin of Wiley Brogan" is a good-humored tale of stageline competition for mail contracts in eastern Oregon; in "Texicans Die Hard", a Texas cowhand inherits an old rancho in Chihauhua, Old Mexico; and "High Iron" tells of the men who built the Central Pacific Railroad through the High Sierras Five Star Westerns 8¾x6 hardcover [3/2006] out of print/used |
 | "The Christmas Bus" novella [2006] by Melody Carlson The people of Christmas Valley always celebrate Christmas to the fullest extent, but this year nothing is going according to plan . . . Kindle Edition from Revell [2010] for $3.99 Revell mass pb [12/2017] out of print/used Revell 8¾x5¾ hardcover [10/2006] for $16.45 |
 |
"The Secret of The Missing Stagecoach (Montana Mysteries #1)" YA Western novel [2014] by Christine Bush Two twelve-year-old cousins living in 1890 Grey Eagle, Montana try to solve the disappearance of a stagecoach and driver and female passenger Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [9/2014] for $3.99 CreateSpace 8x5 pb [9/2014] for $9.99 |
 | "Longarm #433: Longarm and The Stagecoach Robbers" Western novel [2014] by Tabor Evans Two masked men with sawed-off shotguns stop and rob the South Park stagecoach, including the United States mail, so Deputy Marshal Custis Long is charged with reining in the robbers . . . Kindle Edition from Berkley/Penguin Group [11/2014] for $3.99 Berkley mass pb [11/2014] for $6.99 |
 | "The Mystery of The Baffling Stagecoach Robberies" [2017] by David Drake
Doc and Johnny's Old West Mysteries #6: Although no robber is apparent, the lockboxes on the stagecoaches arrive empty . . . Kindle Edition from Family of Man Press [10/2014] for $2.99 PUB 9x6 pb [2/2017] for $5.29 |
Movies & TV, Stageplays, Other Media
In just a few days work, this section grew to be 75% of this page's content, and so it was split off to the
American Stagelines & Buslines Movie & TV Festival Pages
top of Page 2 • Bus Travel-Themed Movies & TV • image gallery
top of Page 3 • Stagecoach Travel-Themed Movies & TV • image gallery
Image Gallery
![still from 'Stagecoach' [1939] - all members of the cast](images/stillStagecoach1939-cast.jpg "still from 'Stagecoach' [1939] - all members of the cast")
![model XXI motorized passenger transport vehicle built in 1912 by Autocar Company [est. 1897] of Indiana](images/Autocar1912modelXXI.jpg "model XXI motorized passenger transport vehicle built in 1912 by Autocar Company [est. 1897] of Indiana")
L i n k s
'stagecoach' entry at Wikipedia
'bus (road vehicle)' entry at Wikipedia
Spirit of America Bookstore's Stagecoach Travel-Themed Movies & TV Page
Spirit of America Bookstore's Bus Travel-Themed Movies & TV Page
search books on keyword 'stagecoach' {returns 6,000+ titles} at Amazon
search books on keyword 'bus+line' {returns 1,000+ titles} at Amazon
The Stagecoach Museum, 322 So. Main Street in Lusk, Wyoming
The Stagecoach Museum [1951-81] on Highway 101 between Savage and Shakopee
in Minnesota
Stagecoach Country Music Festival [April 2018 = #12] in Indio, California
Stagecoach Inn Museum [built 1876, moved 1965, burned down 1970, rebuilt 1976] in Newbury Park, California
official website •
entry at Wikipedia front: 
barn: 
Stagecoach Village community shopping area in Cave Creek, Arizona
Stagecoach Village subdivision [est 1997] in Land o'Lakes, Florida
Stagecoach, Texas [incorp. 1980, pop. 538] in Montgomery County
Stagecoach, Nevada - east of Reno - name derived from the Overland Stagecoach station at Desert Well
Rogali's Cuban buses fansite
Busworld Europe biennial exhibition [est. 1971 = #25 Oct 2019] held in Brussels, Belgium
here on the American Stagelines & Buslines Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
top of page v short history v Eastern stage lines v Western stage lines v motor stage lines v regional bus lines v
national bus lines v other companies v non-fiction works v fiction works v image gallery v links
on Page 2: American Buslines Movie & TV Festival Page
top of page 2 • Bus Travel-Themed Movies & TV • image gallery
on Page 3: American Stagelines Movie & TV Festival Page
top of page 3
Stagecoach Travel-Themed Movies & TV
image gallery
˜ ˜
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