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Top: 2 photos on 6390 taken in Aug 1997 (BE 4316) and May 2000 (BJ 4726). 6390 was finally retired in summer 2000 when the bus was 13 years old.
After giving up the all the 1981 GM articulated bus(fleet # 8500-8511), Orion Bus
Industries (OBI) redesigned a brand new 65ft, bendable at 35ft, underfloor engine and
centre wheel drive bus model, known as Orion-Ikarus. The design was highly appreciated at
that time in big cities because its capacity can be 2 times more the conventional 40 ft
buses. After extensive road test, the TTC decided to take 90 new articulated buses at the
cost of $28 million in 1987 for some busy routes such as Finch East Express 39C and 39E,
Dufferin 29, Thorncliff 81, York University Express 106A and Steeles West 60C etc.
The hungarian made body, however, was designed to last for only 5 to 7 years and that
piece of information was an unknown to TTC engineers until May 1995 when maintenence staff
discovered very serious rusting in the car body and even worse, in the bendable part,
which join the front and the rear part of the artics. 12 buses
(6360,1,3,5,7,9,6375,8,9,6384,6533,5) and 6394 (which was damaged in an accident when
making a turn in Apr 95 ) have to be off the road immediately and permanently. This is Toronto Star May 3 1995 report and Toronto Star May 9 1995 report as well as May 9 1995 Singtao daily report with detailed graphical
illustration on the heavy corrosion on the joint of these buses.
| 6368 | 6368 spent about 4 months for overhaul in the summer of 1998, she was repainted completely with the new red and white livery and returned back to service on Aug 11 1998. This is a Sept 98 photo showing her freshly new white and red livery. |
| 6368(retired) | After retiring in March 1999, 6368 is stored in Malvern yard. This photo shows a closer view on the rear of 6368. The 2 buses in front of 6368 are 6314 and 8075. |
| 6368/8610 | The early stage of the 1999 snow storm brought relatively light stress to the TTC compared when sections on the subway line was closed as snow accumulated higher. 6368 was used on Run X5 in January 11 afternoon rush hour to replace the 40 ft buses which were assigned to Finch and Steeles East Express service. |
| 6382 | As both the RT and the subway required shuttle buses on Jan 13 99 during the snow storm, the clean 6382 began to run in afternoon on Route 603 RT shuttle bus, all the Orion 3 buses were removed from their usual 53E, 39C and 39E duties because of tricky roads. |
| 6385(2000) | 6385 has been staying at Malvern for 15 years since she was new in 1987. 6385 was removed from the active service in Jun 2000 but returned to active service again on Jun 5 2001 after some body work. The damage in between the front bumper and the door was fixed. Despite the repainting, the paint chip just below the clearance lights still exists. |
| 6385 retired | The refurbished Orion III artics are beginning to retire when structural inferior ones are the first to go. In May, 6385 and 6414 were retired from Malvern and these buses are now awaiting for disposal. The bus on the front was 6414, followed by 6385. |
| 6395(2000) | As Malvern received all the remaining Orion III artics from Arrow Road, there were surplus artics which could be assigned to 129 McCowan North. Here, the repainted 6395 was seen on the 129 duty when photographed on Jun 29 1999. This is an April 2000 view on 6395 which still has the original license plate # BE4321. 6395 was retired in Sept 2000 and was not chosen for refurbishment. |
| 6399(2000) | 6399 was new to Arrow Road in 1987/88, the bus received new paint scheme and new license plate BJ 3153 in 1997. Since then, all Orion III buses were reallocated to Malvern for rush hour duties only. 6399 was withdrawn in Sept 2000. After some refurbishment, 6399 was repainted, got new license # BK4672 again and returned to service in April 2001. The Orion logo on the front is still missing. |
| 6405 Feb99 | As Arrow Road gave up all of their remaining Orion III buses in Feb 1999, 6405 received some body work and small fleet # at the back before reallocating to Malvern. 6405 was withdrawn and delicensed in Sept 2000. 6405 just refused to go, she was pressed to service again on Nov 30 2000 in the original body conditions with new license plate and new fleet #. 6405 received further body work later at Hillcrest and the bus was repainted with new paint scheme. These photos were taken on Feb 23 1999, March 26 2001 and May 28 2001. |
| 6408 | 6408 was withdrawn from service in late 1998. Some patching work seemed about to start but the decision not to continue to repair was made in summer 1999 and 6408 was formally retired. This is the driver side of 6408, the back and the frame of the body just behind the centre door. |
| 6411 (1998) |
6411 was the last refurbished Orion III artics to be back on the road in March 2002 after the initial withdrawl in Sept 2000. These 6411 photos were taken in May 1998 (with BJ4942 license plate), Aug 2001 (no license plate) and July 2002 (with BK8855 license plate)
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| 6414/8360 | As the fleet of Orion III artics were dwindling since May 1995, these buses ended up at Malvern division. Wilson gave up all the articulated buses by the beginning of the 1997 school season. 6414 (BE5359) just joined Malvern and was assigned to the 53E on Aug 29 1997. The GM bus in behind was 8360. |
| 6415 | 6415 and many of the other buses were at the storage area before being towed away to Wilson yard. |
| 6419 | 6419 was seen on her last month of active service in early May 2000. 6419 was new to Eglinton garage and was reallocated to Malvern in fall 1997. |
| 6530/6721 | 6530 and 6721 were together at Metro Zoo on Aug 12 2000. This is the rear of both buses, 6530 was retired in less than half a month after. |
| 6530/7233 | 6530 (BJ 3157) met 7233 probably the first time ever during a charter on Aug 12 2000, just about 3 weeks away from her final retirement. The future of 6530 is not promising and she is not going to be running anymore. |
| 6530 back | 6530 was chartered on Aug 12 2000 and this was the last photo stop at Huntingwood and Brimley. |
| 6531/6604 | The year of 2003 was a difficult year for buses from Malvern division. All the Orion III artics were gone, the D40-90, D901 Flyers and even a few GM New Looks were also retired from Malvern in the past year. Flyer 6604 and Orion 6531 were retired in April and June 2003 respectively |
| 6540 back | 6540 was refurbished in late 1997 and only the second half of the trailer was repainted. |
| 6542 retired | 6542 was retired in April 1997 at the age of 8, 6542 was new to Arrow Road in 1989, retired from there and was finally sold for scrap in late 1999. This is the interior shot on 6542 |
| 6543(1997) | 6543 and all the Orion III buses were withdrawn from service in Sept 2000 but 6543 was pressed to active service on Nov 17 2000 and the bus broke down just on the first day she was back to service. 6543 continued her rush-hours-only duties until Mar 9 2001 and she was driven to Hillcrest for rebuild on March 10 2001. The above photos were taken in Dec 1998 and Jan 27 2001 respectively. |
| 6544 (1999) | Both 6532 and 6544 were moved to the storage area
of Malvern in late 1999, they were sold for scrap in the mid of the year of
2000 as the decision to refurbish the Orion III artics did not come true
until late 2000. Here is a
close-up view on the
front of 6544. |
| 6553 (1997) | 3 views (taken in Nov 1997, Apr 2000, Aug 2001) on 6553. 6553 was hit by a car near
Sheppard and Kennedy, the accident was minor and 6553 returned to service shortly. 6553
was retired in Sept 2000 but the decision to refurbish the artics brought 6553 back to the
road in Aug 2001. The Ikraus crest was painted white and the license plate was renewed
after the refurbishment. |
| 6554 | 6554 and 6544 (fleet # removed) were retired in Dec 1999 and both were still at Malvern storage yard on the first day of the year of 2000. |
Top: 6548, BE 5397 was seen at Landsdowne yard in 1992. 6548 and 6549 were sold to S&N Diesel, 6548 was used as parts and scrapped while her sister 6549 was lucky to be rebuilt and became OC 8879 (Simon Yiu photo).
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6360 | May 1995 | ¡@ | Scrapped | One of the 1st 12 buses retired in 1995 |
| 6361 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8899 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6362 | Feb 2000 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6363 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8885 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6364 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8876 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6365 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8881 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6366 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel as parts |
| 6367 | May 1995 | ¡@ | Scrapped | One of the 1st 12 buses retired in 1995 |
| 6368 | Mar 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Repainted with new livery in 1997 |
| 6369 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8898 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6370 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8883 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6371 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8878 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6372 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6373 | July 2000 Withdrawn Oct 2002 |
Aug 25 2001 |
¡@ | Repainted with new livery in 1998 |
| 6374 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel as parts |
| 6375 | May 1995 | ¡@ | Scrapped | One of the 1st 12 buses retired in 1995 |
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6376 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8880 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6377 | Aug 2000 | Nov 6 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6378 | May 1995 | ¡@ | Scrapped | One of the 1st 12 buses retired in 1995 |
| 6379 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8889 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6380 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6381 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6382 | Feb 2000 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6383 | Jun 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6384 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8896 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6385 | Jun 2000 | Jun 5 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6386 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8890 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6387 | Sept 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Damaged in Mccowan / Steeles area in summer 1999 and subsequently retired |
| 6388 | Apr 2000 | Jun 9 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6389 | Sept 2000 | Jun 28 2001 | ¡@ | Repainted with new livery in 1998 |
| 6390 | Mar 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6391 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6392 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6393 | 1996 | ¡@ | OC8892 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6394 | Mar 1995 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Damaged in a March 1995 accident and became the first Orion III to retire |
| 6395 | Apr 1997 / Sept 2000 | Nov 1997 | ¡@ | Withdrawn in Apr 1997 and returned to active service with new livery in Nov 97 |
| 6396 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6397 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Damaged in Don Mills / Finch area under snowy conditions & subsequently retired |
| 6398 | 1996 | ¡@ | OC8893 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6399 | Sept 2000 | Mar 26 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6400 | July 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6401 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Only bus with black fleet # on the back |
| 6402 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | OC8887 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6403 | July 2000 | Sept 4 2001 | ¡@ | First bus repainted with new livery in 1997 |
| 6404 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | OC8897 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6405 | Sept 2000 | Nov 30 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6406 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6407 | 1996 | ¡@ | OC8877 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6408 | July 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6409 | May 2000 | Mar 9 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6410 | Sept 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | New LED tail lights installed |
| 6411 | Sept 2000 | Mar 22 2002 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6412 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8886 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6413 | Jun 2000 | July 31 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6414 | Sept 2000 | Nov 17 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6415 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6416 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6417 | 1996 | ¡@ | OC8891 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6418 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8888 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6419 | May 2000 | Sept 14 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6530 | Sept 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6531 | Aug 2000 | Jul 19 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6532 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6533 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8895 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6534 | Sept 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6535 | May 1995 | ¡@ | OC8894 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6536 | 1996 | ¡@ | OC8884 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6537 | Jun 2000 | Nov 21 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6538 | July 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6539 | Aug 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | New LED tail lights installed |
| 6540 | Sept 2000 | Jul 13 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6541 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6542 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6543 | Sept 2000 | Nov 17 2000 | ¡@ | Large fleet # on the front and both sides |
| 6544 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| Fleet # | Date of 1st withdrawl | Returned to service | Status after withdrawl | Notes |
| 6545 | Apr 1997 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6546 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6547 | Sept 2000 | Jul 12 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6548 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6549 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8879 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
| 6550 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6551 | Feb 2000 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6552 | Sept 2000 | ¡@ | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6553 | Sept 2000 | Aug 13 2001 | ¡@ | ¡@ |
| 6554 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6555 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6556 | 1996 | ¡@ | Scrapped | Sold to S&N Diesel and scrapped |
| 6557 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6558 | Dec 1999 | ¡@ | Scrapped | ¡@ |
| 6559 | Jan 1997 | ¡@ | OC8882 | Sold to S&N Diesel and joined OC later |
