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The 1935 version of model 100, a stretched-out Chevrolet Master Sedan. In that year, quantity production of this model began, and this Indiana Motor Bus example was the first 1935 model to be delivered. |
Model 100 In the spring of 1934, FitzJohn devised what was to become its most successful model in terms of number of units sold. The model 100 was a stretched-out Chevrolet Master Sedan, having 11 seats and a rooftop baggage rack. The first two experimental jobs were sold to Dahringer Bus & Taxi Co. of Ludington, Mich., which placed them in service on a 100-mile route between Traverse City and Big Rapids. The new model was an instant success among many intercity and suburban operators who con- ducted "cut rate" competition with larger carriers, or who wanted extremely economical buses for feeder lines, or who introduced extra-fare deluxe service using these cars as if they were limousines. An occasional model 100 was sold for airport or sightseeing service. All in all, there were 776 of these stretchouts built, and their existence actually enabled FitzJohn to continue in the bus business all through World War II, as will be seen later.
Streamliners Flowing lines and gentle curves were the fashion in bus design in the mid-1930's, inspired by the products of automakers who rebounded from the depresion with .many new styles. Fi tzJohn's popular 21-passenger model 35 was redesigned into the streamlined 35Z, while many new models with designations in the 200's superseded the earlier types. Still, the small bus received FitzJohn's major selling effort. Model 215, a streamlined 16-passenger transit bus, was ,the best seller of the period, accounting for 101 units.
The most interesting of the 200's was the model 250, a 21 or 25-passenger intercity body built entirely of metal (duralumin alloy--hence the name Dural Intercity). This
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A model 150 "Deluxe streamlined Intercity Body" built in 1935 for the East Broad Top Transit Co., Pennsylvania, on a Reo 3L6 chassis. This larger Reo chassis had been introduced to compete with heavy-duty Studebaker chassis and the well-known White and Yellow designs. |
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