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METRO operated a fleet of 127 MAN Americana's. Only 5 cities operated
these coaches, Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans, Minneapolis, Charlotte. Seattle's
fleet is unique as they are the only ones built with a wheelchair lift. Originally
assigned to east base they were later re-assigned to Ryerson base where they
spent most of their lives. A few were occasionally assigned to Central/Atlantic
to supplement the trolley coach fleet, and on weekends could often be found on trolley coach
routes when lines were shut down due to maintenance or construction. They
started to be retired in 2000, after the passage of I-695. Some were leased/sold
to Grant Transit Authority in Ritzville and Grant county and others were retired
and sold outright. The last day they operated in service was 4-31-04 with coaches 3065, 3141,
3142 running. They were all disposed of by the following year except for 3152,
which was preserved by the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association and is routinely
used on fan trips and charters in Seattle.
The 3150-3159 series are virtually identical to their counter parts, however
they were originally fueled by Methanol. They spent their early lives going in
and out of service, before finally being converted to diesel fuel. These coaches
also featured Electric starters compared to the others which had Air Starters.
Coach 3152 was chosen for preservation because it was in good shape and
had this feature.
| Coach |
Description |
Date |
| 3150 |
On Rt. 106 at Pioneer Sq Station in the METRO bus tunnel |
12-30-98 |
| 3151 |
Coach at 3rd and union on route 36 to
Beacon Hill |
3-6-99 |
| 3151 |
At 3rd and Union on route
1 |
3-6-99 |
| 3152 |
Preserved by the Metro Employees Historic
Vehicle Association |
| 3154 |
On Rt. 106 at Pioneer Sq Station in the METRO bus tunnel |
12-30-98 |
| 3154 |
On 3rd Ave at Union Running on route
36 |
3-6-99 |
| 3154 |
On 3rd Ave at Union Street running on
Route 1 |
3-6-99 |
| 3157 |
On 3rd Ave at Union Street in front of
Benaroya Hall |
3-6-99 |
| 3157 |
On Route 27 at 3rd and Union |
6-2-02 |
| 3159 |
On route 4 at Rogers park
in Queen Anne |
4-30-00 |
| 3159 |
On Route 4 at Rogers Park
in Queen Anne |
4-30-00 |
| 3159 |
On display at MOHAI for Metro's 30th anniversary |
2-1-03 |
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