New Orleans Public Service, Inc. 333

No. 333 is a Flxible manufactured transit bus that was built for the New Orleans Public Service Inc. (NOPSI) in 1967. The bus served the city of New Orleans until its retirement in 1986. This bus was made to resemble the popular General Motors “New Look” buses, of which 44,000 were manufactured. This bus and buses like this were nicknamed “fishbowl” buses due to the appearance of the angular windshield. These buses featured aluminum construction and had the option of air conditioning, of which this order of buses had. This bus is of the second generation of Flxible New Look buses and is the model 111CC-D4-1. Bus No. 333 is 40 feet long and seated 51 people. These buses featured a Detroit Diesel 6V-71 V-6 engine as well as buzzer stop request signals. NOPSI ordered 95 of these buses (Nos. 315-409) in 1967 to largely replace their fleet of GM “Old Look” buses. This bus was retired in 1985 Flxible was founded as the Flexible Side Car Company in 1914 and began manufacturing buses around 1924. During the 1960s, Flxible began manufacturing mainly transit buses until bankruptcy was declared in 1996 and assets were auctioned off. Beginning in 1929, the New Orleans Public Service Inc. operated gas, electric, and transit services in New Orleans until 1983. In 1983, transit operations were moved to the Regional Transit Authority. In 1986, a year after No. 333’s retirement, Dan Holter of Rochester, Minnesota purchased the bus and moved it to Rochester. It sat dormant until Holter donated No. 333 to Seashore in 2005. The museum did initial repairs when it arrived. No. 333 is similar to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus No. 6189 which Seashore acquired in 1995. No. 6189, also built in 1967, is General Motors’ model then competing with Flxible. No. 333 has lighted ad racks, power steering and a push out rear door not found on No. 6189. NOPSI bus No. 333 also joined New Orleans streetcar No. 966 which came to Seashore in 1982.