Capitol Trailways 1983 to Closing

Photos courtesy of Walter Earl unless indicated

Over the years, Dick Maguire was able to put together a group of historical buses that came to be called the “Parade of Progress. ” They were shown at bus events and participated in parades as publicity for Capitol Trailways. Eventually, they became the nucleus for the new bus museum in Hershey. Here, the “Parade of Progress” was photographed in front of the Harrisburg Amtrak/Bus station in March of 1986. ROBERT REDDEN.

The Maguire family first became involved in the transportation business in 1910 when John Maguire (the grandfather of Dick Maguire) began a livery service that later expanded into a jitney service. Capitol Bus Company operated their first revenue service on July 4, 1936, a charter to a nearby amusement park.

Joseph Maguire (father of Dick Maguire) and John Maguire (uncle of Dick Maguire) had purchased an 11-passenger Fitzjohn Chevrolet stretchout and used it to transport passengers from Pottsville to Harrisburg on weekdays. It was used for charters when not in line run service.

Over the years Capitol continued to expand and also purchased several other small local bus companies. As a result, the company expanded its fleet. The October 1982 issue of NATIONAL BUS TRADER carried a well documented history of the expansion from 1936 to 1982 with many beautiful historical pictures of the fleet.

This article provides Capitol’s history from 1983 to 2009, as well as the years from 2009 to 2013 when Bieber Tourways operated Capitol as a separate division.

The Atlantic City casinos were in their heydays in the 1980s and 1990s and Capitol Trailways was a big player. Capitol operated many trips daily to several casinos (Playboy, Tropicana, Caesars, Trump Plaza, Park Place and Golden Nugget), from Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, Lebanon and Reading and many other smaller towns and cities. Capitol had

The 1980s and 1990s saw a great deal of ridership to the Atlantic City casinos. This one was painted for the Playboy Hotel & Casino and later served in the Overland Coach fleet. Capitol bus 8102, an MCI MC-9, was painted with the Tropicana name and logo. It was regularly used on the popular Capitol Trailways service to the casinos in Atlantic City.

This MC-9, built at the Roswell, New Mexico facility in 1983, became number 8116 in the Capitol fleet. While keeping with the standard red and white Trailways colors, it was lettered for Gray Line since Capitol had the Gray Line franchise in Harrisburg. It also ran in charter service when not busy with Gray Line tours.

three buses (MC-9s #893, 894 and 895) painted in the Playboy paint scheme, with the bunny on the side. Bus 8102, also an MC-9, was painted with the Tropicana logo. They were all stunning buses. Capitol Trailways went from three-digit numbering to four-digit in 1981, going from 899 to 8100. In the mid-1990s, Capitol went to five-digit numbering starting all coaches with 18 (18161 etc.) to conform to the National Trailways numbering system.

1983 brought the addition of 10 new TMC MC-9s, 8116 through 8125 (manufactured in Roswell, New Mexico). This brought the fleet total to 77 coaches. These five-speed, stick shift coaches were well received by the drivers. 8116 was painted in the standard Trailways “hockey stick” paint scheme, but had Gray Line on the side instead of Trailways and on the nose plate. The blue Gray Line logo was affixed by the door. Capitol was the Gray Line franchise in the Harrisburg area, offering tours to Hershey, Gettysburg and the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish Country. 8116 also did charter service when not on tours. Afew years later, the Gray Line franchise was relinquished, and 8116 was relettered for Trailways and then repainted a few years later in the new Capitol Trailways paint scheme.

Dick Maguire also operated Capitol International Tours, which was located in an office at the Capital City Airport in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania. They offered escorted tours nationwide and one-day escorted tours within the Mid-Atlantic region. Most tours either started at the airport or picked up there, as the airport had a big, free parking lot. The airport also served as a ticket agency for the Capitol line runs from Harrisburg to Baltimore, BWI and Washington, D.C., and north to Syracuse. In later years the CIT office would move to another office building in downtown New Cumberland and then eventually to the Capitol Trailways office in Harrisburg. In time the CIT operation was phased out and in late 1991, Capitol City Airport was dropped as a ticket agency and pickup/drop-off point.

February 1984 saw Capitol expand service northward from Binghamton to Cortland and Syracuse, connecting with Empire Trailways to Rochester and Buffalo. In early 1986, Capitol began running “thru bus” pool service from Washington to Buffalo via Syracuse, partnering with Empire Trailways. 1984 also saw the opening of the beautiful new Trailways bus terminal in Washington, D.C., which was much easier to access than the previous terminal, and made it easier to get to the terminal from points north. The old and new DC terminals were located several blocks apart.

Late in 1984 Capitol stopped running through service from Pottsville and Reading to Atlantic City. Capitol passengers would then have to connect in Philadelphia to Trailways. Inc or New Jersey Transit buses to complete their line run journeys. All casino trips continued to go straight to the casinos in Atlantic City. For a few months in 1987 and early 1988, Capitol again tried through buses to Atlantic City, but this was short lived.

1984 also brought about a big change in Harrisburg when the Amtrak station was remodeled and redesigned. Before the change, there were five loading areas on the upper level of the terminal, serving Capitol Trailways; Trailways, Inc.; Fullington Trailways; Greyhound and Blue and White Bus Line. This area was always overcrowded, especially at holiday travel times. Capitol, Fullington and Trailways Inc. moved to the newly built bus station at the lower level of the Amtrak station, which had nine loading areas and metered parking nearby. This was

At the same time, Greyhound opened a beautiful new bus station about a mile from the Amtrak station. This made transferring of passengers and baggage very inconvenient. A little over five years later Greyhound sold their new station and moved into the current station joining Capitol and Fullington. Amtrak continues to use the upper level of this transportation center. Capital Area Transit has many bus routes that stop right beside the Trailways/Greyhound/Amtrak station.

1985 was again a year that saw many changes in service. The pool service with Short Line from New York City via Binghamton and Elmira to points in western New York state was terminated, with Short Line going on to operate the entire route. Capitol Trailways had only operated the Binghamton–Elmira portion of this service.

1985 also saw the termination of the Greyhound/Capitol pool service from Harrisburg to Sunbury and Elmira. Capitol entered a new pool service with Empire Trailways in 1992 operating from Harrisburg via Sunbury and Williamsport to Elmira, with Empire continuing on to Rochester. Capitol would continue to operate this service for more than 15 years, before turning over the Harrisburg-Elmira operation to Susquehanna Trailways.

One more change happened in 1985. Service from Harrisburg to Washington via Gettysburg and Fredericksburg, Maryland was also ended. Capitol would add one more trip via York and Baltimore, to Washington, bringing the total to five trips daily, on the “main line. ”

The big story of 1985 was the inauguration of Capitol Bus Company ’s “Bus to the Big Apple” service. This new service was the idea of Gerald Smith, vice president of Capitol Bus Company. Capitol could not run this under the Capitol Trailways banner, since Trailways Inc. was also operating from Harrisburg to New York City, although using a completely different routing. When Greyhound took over Trailways, Inc. a few years later in 1987, Capitol would continue to use the Capitol Bus Company until mid1992 when they began using the Capitol Trailways name on the Harrisburg–New York City route.

The first service began with buses starting in York, Pennsylvania serving Lancaster, King of Prussia, Newark Airport and several smaller towns. There was also one bus from Reading via Pottstown and King of Prussia to New York City also serving the airport and smaller towns. The first agent in New York City was Short Line, and the buses loaded and unloaded on the third level. Ridership at first was light, but with some changes to the schedule, it became a huge success and was the best revenue producer right up to the time of the closing of the doors, in 2013.

The first changes were adding Harrisburg and dropping three small towns, Columbia, Morgantown and Bensalem, all in Pennsylvania. The Reading-New York City portion was also dropped, although passengers from Reading and Pottstown could connect at King of Prussia for travel to New York City. These changes reduced travel time about 30 minutes and made it much easier to dispatch and service the equipment. A few years later Newark Airport was dropped from the schedule, which saved another 30 minutes.

This new leaner schedule appealed to more and more people. Another major reason for the rise in passengers, was moving to the Adirondack Trailways agency on the main floor of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The buses would now arrive and depart from the lower level of the PABT, which made it much more convenient for passengers connecting to other carriers going to New England and upstate New York.

Nine new MCI-96A3s were purchased that year, with three of them, 8128, 8129 and 8130 being painted in a new, beautiful paint scheme. A big red apple complete with a green leaf up top, new many level striping, and the lettering “The Bus to the Big Apple” on the side was a real eye catcher. Bus 8111, an MC-9 was also painted in the new colors. The beautiful new buses also helped attract new customers. After the demise of Trailways, Inc., Capitol began using other Capitol Trailways livery buses on the New York City service, when needed.

By this time Capitol was beginning to repaint buses with a new livelier paint scheme, showing the full name, Capitol Trailways on both sides. Half of the bus had white with red lettering and the other half had red with white lettering. This was quite an upgrade and made the fleet look younger and more attractive.

In 1986 Capitol Bus Company celebrated its 50th anniversary. The buses had a 50-year anniversary emblem affixed to them near the door. Capitol also hosted the Bus Bash in 1986, at the Sheraton Hotel in Harrisburg. The Bus Bash was founded by Robert Redden in 1979. Buses came to the bash from several states as well as those from neighboring communities in Pennsylvania. Many non-bus owners were also in attendance from states as far away as Oklahoma and California. There was a welcoming reception and dinner and a bus memorabilia flea market, and the finale of the bash was a parade of buses through Harrisburg, with a police escort. It was quite impressive and a wonderful time was had by all.

In 1987 Dick Maguire started a non-union bus company in York, Pennsylvania, 25 miles south of Harrisburg, named Overland Coach. The fleet consisted of three MC-9s, the former Playboy coaches from Capitol and a new MCI96A3, which in time would become 8138, in the Capitol fleet. The MC9s were painted in different colors and the 96A3 was painted in a red and white paint scheme with gray stripes. They all had an emblem by the front door which consisted of a stage coach surrounded by a compass. Maintenance for these coaches was done by Ryder Trucking in York.

Reprinted from a Capitol Trailways schedule folder dated January 8, 1992, this simple map shows the scheduled service provided by Capitol at that time. While the route structure changed somewhat over the years, Capitol continued to be based out of Harrisburg.

Also owned by Dick Maguire, Overland Coach was a small company operating scheduled service to New York City as well as charters. This is an MCI 96A3 that operated as #409 in the Overland fleet and later joined Capitol as its number 8138. Capitol Trailways hosted a 1986 Bus Bash event in Harrisburg at the Sheraton Hotel. Activities included a reception, a flea market and bus display as well as a dinner. The closing event was a parade of participating buses through Harrisburg. ROBERT REDDEN.

When Martz Trailways went on strike in February 1987, Overland began operating line run service from Wilkes Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania to New York City. Personnel from the Harrisburg office of Capitol Trailways and the Harrisburg terminal were sent north to man these stations until the strike was over. Overland also operated charters from the York area, in competition with Capitol Trailways and other local companies. This venture did not last too long, closing in May 1988.

1987 saw the purchase of four more MCI96A3s. In 1988 Dick Maguire sold the bus company to three employees, Jot Bennett, Skip Becker and Joe Wrabel. Bennett was the former president of Lincoln Coach Lines in western Pennsylvania and had been employed by Capitol Trailways. Becker, a former state worker, was the manager of Capitol International Tours. Wrabel had been with Capitol Trailways for many years as the chief financial officer.

1990 saw the first Prevost coach join the fleet, #8141. It was a 40-foot LeMirage. Capitol would go on to purchase 10 more Prevosts, both LeMirages and H series coaches, in 40, 41- and 45-foot lengths. Capitol never made any “large” purchases of new buses after 1985. In later years Capitol would add to the fleet with a mix of new and used coaches, both MCIs and Prevosts. Capitol did purchase six used Greyhound MCI 96A3s, two MCI MC-5Cs from Wolf Bus Line, and several D and DL3s from various companies. Four new Prevost LeMirages were added in 1997 and 1998, and served well for many years on the New York City service. New Prevost H series, 41-foot and 45-foot coaches were also added and did most of their service in charter work. The last purchase of new coaches came in 2002, with the addition of three MCI G4500s –#18178, 18179 and 18180.

1991 brought about a large number of schedule changes. Capitol took over the former Greyhound route from Harrisburg to Hagerstown, Maryland, that Capitol operated for more than 15 years. For a period of time the route was operated as a thru bus from Reading to Hagerstown. The year also saw the beginning of “Thru Bus Service” from Washington to Toronto via Syracuse in cooperation with Empire Trailways and Gray Coach Lines. It was a real pleasure to see the white MCI buses with the GC on the side come through central Pennsylvania. In early 1992 Capitol started operating from Harrisburg to Elmira via Williamsport. This was part of a through bus service from Harrisburg to Rochester in conjunction with Empire Trailways. In the summer of 1992 the three companies started a new express service on that route with one daily trip from

In 1985, Capitol inaugurated new “Bus to the Big Apple” service to New York City. Because Trailways Inc. was already on the route, the early buses used on this route did not show the Trailways name but the color scheme was obvious. This is bus 8111, an MCI MC-9, that was repainted for the Bus to the Big Apple service.

It was a real crowd pleaser, with most trips being near capacity, as this route saved more than three and a half hours of travel time. The northbound and southbound trips met at the Hardee’s Restaurant in Williamsport, where the passengers were given a 30-minute rest stop, and the Capitol and Empire drivers switched buses. Unfortunately this service was not continued after the summer, and all trips went back through Syracuse.

In time, Empire Trailways became New York Trailways, who then pooled with Adirondack Trailways and Greyhound to offer service connecting through New York City rather than through Pennsylvania. Passengers were still able to take Capitol service to Syracuse to then change to Empire/New York Trailways buses to go to western New York state and Toronto.

In 1992, Capitol took over the former Greyhound service from Washington to Allentown, via York, Lancaster and Reading. This route had previously been served by Safeway Trailways and then Trailways, Inc. Unfortunately, it did not prove to be successful and the service was shortened to York to Allentown, connecting with Washington to Syracuse service at York. In 1993 this service was terminated.

1993 also saw the opening of the Peter Pan Trailways terminals in Baltimore and Washington, and Capitol joined their fellow Trailways company at the new stations. Although both were nice terminals, Capitol customers who were connecting at Washington to go south, found this station to be inconvenient. Passengers would have to cross the street and carry their own baggage in order to be able to ride a Greyhound to Richmond and points south. Conversely, passengers returning north on Greyhound from the south were routed on Greyhound trips from Washington to points north. Capitol saw a large drop in passengers and revenue on the mainline route.

In 1994, Capitol moved from the Greyhound terminal, into the Peter Pan station in Philadelphia, which was just down the alley from the Greyhound station. The same year, Capitol and Peter Pan began a new through bus service from New York City to Pittsburgh, via Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The driver changes were made at Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The Amtrak station in Pittsburgh was used as the Capitol terminal. Competition from Greyhound and Amtrak proved to be too strong, and this service was terminated after a few months.

Capitol began a new stop at Hershey Park, in 1997, on the Harrisburg – Reading division. In later years the Harrisburg–Reading division was negatively impacted by local transit companies operating in competition. Capital Area Transit began operating from Harrisburg to Hummelstown, Hershey and Hershey Park. Lebanon Transit operated from Lebanon to Palmyra, Hershey and to Harrisburg as well as to Myerstown.

Not every bus in the Capitol fleet was an MCI. Shown here behind the Harrisburg garage is a pair of Prevost H3-41 coaches that were numbered 18167 and 18168 in the fleet. After the acquisition of Rohrer Tour & Charter, these buses were sent to the Rohrer fleet in exchange for some MCI coaches.

Here is one of the group of coaches transferred from Rohrer Tour and Charter to Capitol. It was an MCI96A3 and carried fleet number 124. Adjacent is a Prevost LeMirage that carried number 18162 in the Capitol fleet. As with many of the other photos, this was taken behind the Capitol garage in Harrisburg.

BARTA (Reading) operated from Reading to Wernersville and Womelsdorf. Capital Area Transit also began operating to Shippensburg on the Hagerstown division. They all charged lower fares and had more frequent operating hours.

On July 3, 2001, Capitol purchased the Rohrer Tour and Charter operation from the Rohrer Company, who also had a school bus operation, Hershey shuttle operation and school bus sales division. The tour and charter operation was moved from Duncannon, Pennsylvania to the Harrisburg office and garage. After the purchase, there was a swap of four older Rohrer MCI 96A3s for six newer Capitol Prevost and MCI coaches. This was done to bolster the Rohrer charter division.

Capitol Trailways had developed a fine charter service and had operated a first-class service to anywhere in the 48 states and Canada. Capitol was certified by the Department of Defense to do military movements from the 1940s to the closing. Hundreds of military movements were done over the years, primarily from Harrisburg armories to such places as Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation (Pennsylvania), Harrisburg International Airport, Fort A. P. Hill (Virginia), Fort Dix (New Jersey), Fort Drum (New York) and Quantico Marine base in Virginia. Most of these movements were multiple bus moves.

Capitol also did many large charters, sometimes using 15 or more coaches. Carlisle War College to New York City, Harrisburg to Dover (Del) Race Track, several Pennsylvania governors’ inaugurations and receptions in Harrisburg and Hershey, and the Rite Aid Corp. annual company meeting shuttles were some of the biggest movements. High school athletic teams and bands were also a big part of the charter business, going to such destinations as Toronto and many cities in Florida. Capitol also took students from the Milton Hershey School, home and back to school on holiday breaks and summer vacations, using as many as 12 coaches to such destinations as Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Scranton, several points in western Pennsylvania, Boston and other cities in New England. Eleven drivers and 10 buses participated in shuttling passengers at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Capitol, for more than 30 years, was also the exclusive carrier for the Hershey Bears, a hockey team in the American Hockey League. One driver and one dedicated bus were used to transport the team, to most of the league cities which included Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, Bridgeport, Hartford, Providence, Worcester, Portland (Maine) and several cities in Eastern Canada.

Capitol Trailways was very community service oriented. Several times over the 1990s and early 2000s, Capitol buses filled with volunteers, went to southern states in Operation Lend A Hand, to repair homes damaged by many hurricanes. Not only did the drivers keep the buses rolling, they also rolled up their sleeves and did cleanup work and helped construct new buildings. On September 11, 2001, two Capitol Trailways buses were dispatched to take Pennsylvania Task Force One (specially trained rescue workers from several fire departments) members to New York City to assist with the rescue and clean up at the World Trade Center. The buses and drivers were in New York City for two weeks. Capitol personnel can be very proud of the efforts of the people involved.

On June 22, 2009, Capitol was purchased by Bieber Tourways from Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Bieber Tourways was a 75-yearold bus company that had line runs from Reading, Pennsylvania to New York City and Philadelphia, and also was a well

This gives us a brief respite from the many red and white buses photographed behind the Harrisburg garage. CP8100 was an MC-9 with an early billboard exterior highlighting Pennsylvania. The photo was taken in April of 1982 with Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River in the background. ROBERT

REDDEN.

The MCI G4500 model was built in Mexico and designed for scheduled service for Greyhound although it also was purchased by other companies. Capitol purchased three new G4500 coaches in 2002 numbered 18178, 18179 and 18180. Shown here is a 18179 at the usual garage location.

Four of the impressive older coaches in the “Parade of Progress” group helped get the bus museum in Hershey started. Shown here is the PD4104 that was painted in Trailways livery. ROBERT REDDEN. One of the more interesting coaches that went to the museum collection was this Flxible Clipper lettered for Capitol Bus Company. Others included a Chevrolet stretch and a PD4106. ROBERT REDDEN.

known charter operator throughout 48 states. The “Capitol operation” was operated as a separate unit in Harrisburg, with Bieber management on sight. Several of the older Bieber coaches were sent to Harrisburg to increase the fleet. Bieber bought two new MCI J4505 buses, painted them in Bieber colors, but lettered them Capitol. These were coaches 575 and 576. These coaches were used to inaugurate a new service from Harrisburg to New York City via Wescosville (Allentown), and Hellertown (Bethlehem), Pennsylvania via Interstate 78. Unfortunately, this service was only operated for a few months before being terminated, due to light ridership on the Harrisburg–Hellertown portion of the trips. The two coaches were returned to the Bieber fleet in Kutztown and relettered with the Bieber name replacing the Capitol name on the sides of the coaches.

For most of its existence, Capitol was a “connecting carrier. ” Most trips would connect with another Capitol trip, or other connecting carriers’ (Trailways – Greyhound) trips to insure passengers could continue on to their destination with a minimum transfer time. Pottsville–Philadelphia trips connected with other Capitol service at Reading and King of Prussia, other carriers in Philadelphia and Capitol northbound trips at Pottsville. Harrisburg–Reading trips connected at both ends with other Capitol trips and with Greyhound and Trailways. Harrisburg–New York City trips connected in King of Prussia and York with other Capitol trips and at both ends with several other carriers.

Main line service, Washington – Syracuse, in addition to connections at each terminus, also connected with other carriers in York, Harrisburg, Pottsville, Hazleton, Wilkes Barre, Scranton and Binghamton. The new Bieber management, in time, broke many of the connections, over the objections of the Harrisburg traffic department. This lead to decreased ridership and loss of revenue. Soon after Bieber purchased Capitol, the Pottsville garage was sold. This meant all trips beginning and ending in Pottsville, had to have a coach deadheaded from/to Harrisburg, 55 miles each way.

Early March 2013, saw the final runs of the “Capitol operation” of Bieber. All remaining coaches were sent to Kutztown, and the Harrisburg office and garage were closed. This meant that more than 75 terrific, loyal Capitol employees were terminated. A few chose to go to Kutztown to work for Bieber as drivers and mechanics. A little more than five years later, Bieber

Bieber Tourways from Kutztown, Pennsylvania acquired Capitol Trailways in June of 2009. Two new J4500 coaches were added to the Capitol fleet; they carried fleet numbers 575 and 576 and were painted in Bieber colors but lettered for Capitol. They were originally used to open a new route from Harrisburg to New York City via Allentown and Bethlehem.

closed its doors and many more good people lost their jobs.

Dick Maguire had six buses in his “Parade of Progress” fleet. The buses were a chevrolet stretch, Flxible clipper, GM 4104, GM 4106, Mci Mc-7 and Mci Mc8. in 1985, a Mci 96A3 replaced the Mc7, which was sold. Four of these buses were gifted to the Museum of bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania by Mrs. Maguire. As of january 1, 2020, the Museum of bus Transportation became a part of the Antique Automobile club of America Museum, also located in the same building in Hershey. Dick Maguire was one of the founders of the bus museum in 1995, and was the second president of that museum.

since 2015, former capitol and rohrer employees and relatives have met at Hoss’s steakhouseinHummelstown,Pennsylvania forreunions.Thebusmuseumhasbeenable to bring buses to the reunion, including capitol #98, a GM 4104 and capitol #826, a GM4106,tothedelightoftheformerdrivers, mechanics and office staff. Abig thank you to the museum’s fleet committee, who have keptthebusesrunningandlookingsogood. For any former capitol or rohrer employee, oranyotherbuspersoninterestedincoming to the next reunion, contact Walter earl at (717) 928-4992.

We would like to thank the following people for their contributions to this article: Linda and Phil Menges, janet and charles Wotring,Marcyandbillsimpson,DocrushingandKarenearl.Thankyouallforallthat youdidtomakethisarticleasfactualaspossible. Many important historical documents were lost during the 1972 flood and with the closing of the office. q

This photo probably comes close to depicting the company the way most bus historians remember it. Capitol 18166, an MCI 102DL3, was photographed on 39th Street near 9th Avenue in New York City. The date was December 31, 1999 and the coach may have brought some millenium celebration passengers to the Big Apple. j.c. rebis jr.