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| In one final effort to find a clue as to what bus The Graduate really was I made another trip to FTC. On this trip I found once piece of evidence that nearly trumps all the other questions, answers, facts and stories. Barely visible on the engine block due to age was a serial number. The serial number I found was TDH4512-1674, the correct number for Unit 2345 or The Graduate. |
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So does the correct engine make the bus Unit 2345? I asked the mechanics what their thoughts were on this and they all agreed that it was Unit 23. It was fairly common for a bus to have its transmission exchanged over time with other buses as they were repaired. The chance that 2 engines would be exchanged between 2 buses,
especially when you have such a small fleet, is nearly zero. If an engine would require heavy maintenance the bus would be taken out of service leaving the remaining buses to operate on route rather than take a second bus down just to change the engines. A transmission could be quickly exchanged within the fleet or within
transmissions circulated through a local repair facility. An engine wouldn’t be dealt with in the same manner.
So the reason for the incorrect builder plate is most likely due to a paint shop error, not the wrong bus being retired. What about the story of Joe Fiala wanting to switch out Unit 23 with a more reliable bus? Perhaps this is why Unit 23 has the transmission of Unit 26. Rather than change the whole bus, the decision was to change out the transmission before the rest of the fleet was retired. I guess it could be argued either way whether or not this is really Unit 2345, the bus that was used in the movie. I think with the information I found that it’s pretty safe to say that it is that bus. After going through all these steps I’ve made up my mind that this truly is Unit 2345. |
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| When I took those first pictures of The Graduate it was to try and capture pictures of a piece of CBS history before it was bought by someone and dealt with as they saw fit. At the time I had very little interest in pursuing the purchase of another bus as I had just finished acquiring Unit 6738 a few months before. After going through all the work that it took me to answer the question of whether or not this bus was a movie star I really started to appreciate the role this bus had in history. Not only when it was operated by Santa Monica, but more importantly, how it became an integral part of CBS and local history. A pivotal moment arrived when Unit 2345 was put up for auction and I finally decided to throw my name into the ring and try to save it from an unknown future in the hands of an unknown owner. As luck would have it, I was able to drive away with Unit 23 in the end. |
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| I would like to thank Bob Ayer from the Big Blue Bus in Santa Monica as well as Tom Clapper, Dennis Baden, Roy Hedding, Mike Kramer from the Campus Bus Service and Todd Harbaugh for all helping me with my quest. |
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