O Scale Motor Vehicle Chronicle July 10

Not a Checker, but in the cab family. I do have Checkers on the layout, but could not find a photo of one in my album.

Some taxis on the layout.

The Checker Marathon was a great example of a purpose-built automobile. Had a huge trunk and rear seat capacity for up to five people (three on the bench and two jump seats at one time). They weren't much to look at, but they were actually pretty comfortable. I'm not sure if Checker did these in their factory or if it was an aftermarket conversion, but there were stretch station wagons with additional seats and doors used as tour bus shuttles at Hearst Castle in the 1970's.

As I recall, Checker briefly (and unsuccessfully) tried to get into the consumer market. I still see one on occasion.

From time to time during the summer I've seen groups of Checker owners/collectors on club get together's in CenCal. 

 Lots of late model Checker cabs still in service in the greater Prescott, AZ area running under the Classic Cab banner.  Don't know how many but I keep seeing them wherever I go.

They were Airport Limos, I think Checker built their own. After market manufactures offered them in many makes. They were mostly replaced by vans in the mid 1960s.

They were largely by hotels.

Here is an old Chevy

It would be nice is someone  offered a 1/43 model

Great thread!  

Here's the Western Models 1/43 Checker Cab (WMS 55) from my collection which is supposed to represent a 1974 NYC taxi.  (One of these days I have to get around to attaching the side mirrors to this model)

-Duncan

Checker also built buses during the post-war years, notably for Detroit which was still buying very small buses in large numbers.  

Transit Bus Inc. distributed the Ford Transit bus from April 1941 to mid-1947 when Ford developed a new bus designated 8MB.  Ford and Transit Bus reached an impasse over a new distribution agreement. Transit Buses then decided to offer a newly designed 31 passenger bus with a Checker Motors chassis and Continental gas engine. The only large order was 300 for Detroit Department of Street Railways.

Checker Motors purchased Transit Buses in December 1949. No buses were produced for 11 months while production facilities including body building were moved to Checker's Kalamazoo plant. Checker built  buses between May 1951 and September 1953.  Apart from 450 for Detroit Department of Street Railways most were scattered among various small operators.  By the early 50s the small bus operator niche had begun to disappear.

7267 was a 1949 Transit Bus model 91.  Checker buses had only minor changes.

DSR 7618 survives at the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey. PA.

Us Detroit guys would love to have a die cast of that bus. Bill, thank you for the picture. Azgary  

Very interesting...I have seen other pictures of early Checkers but not that 1939

version...how expensive is the model?  I have not seen a 1954 Chevy airport limo,

which is interesting, since I learned to drive in a 1954 210. But I use "Checker Airport Limo" in my conversation with car salesman who try to sell me something other than a coupe, "I am not driving any Checker airport limo with  eight doors down the side!".  My experience with Checker involves two of their employees who came to look at and buy a used 1965 Chevy V-8 three speed pickup I had bought to tow with, did not like, and wanted to sell. This was prior to 1981, maybe late '70's.  They said Checker was getting out of making vehicles and they had acquired a "Checker" diesel engine they wanted to put in this pickup.  They bought it, and drove it, I assume, back to Wisconsin.  Wasn't their plant in the Milwaukee area?

I don't have any cabs at my stations as most models are lettered for large cities.  I have 1930's wagons serving as small town cabs.  Rextoy made a 1940 Packard cab model, but I thought that would be above the likely use in these towns.

I was surprised to read Continental was providing engines until 1964.  Lycoming, the

other "orphan" car engine provider went to aircraft engines, but I did not know what

happpened to Continental, who had engines in some famous cars like the Jordan Playboy.  Are they still in business, or was that 1964 change to Chevrolet due to

the status of Continental?

I went to Hershey twice (for the amusement park) with other officers in my unit when I was stationed in Maryland in the Army, and never knew of this museum in that pre-internet era. I wish I'd known so I could have gone to check it out.

Continental Motors is still building industrial engines, and Checkers change to Chevrolet engines was due to price. I am not certain who built diesal engines for Checker.

The 1939 Checker 1/43 model is about $130.

This is a 1956 Checker, the first of the design we all know

This is a 1920s Checker

I am not familiar with the bus museum, UNLESS it is affiliated with the Antique

Automobile Club's vintage car museum just outside Hershey. THE reason to go to

Hershey has been the, well, once, huge antique car show in October.  The amusement

park has encroached on space for the car show, so I have never been a fan of it, but

then I have never been interested in them. (have gotten plenty of "thrills" in real life)

That cannot be a 1920's Checker (possibly a typo?).  It looks like mid thirties, I'd

guess 1934-38 styling that preceded the 1939 version above.  It appears that, comparing the two, that and the 1939, that Checker stayed pretty current in styling, except for the "suicide" front opening doors on the 1939, which were gone from GM in 1936.  It looks like that body was still using an roof insert, also gone from all GM

models in 1936.   With all metal bodies introduced with the 1934 LaSalle, I would guess there was at least another restyling between that and the 1939.  It and the 1939 have unusual fenders (wonder if designed to cut down on repainting from stone chips) I would like a  model of it, too. although I doubt if any were found in other than large cities.  $130 sounds like a Brooklin price.

The Museum of Bus Transportation web site,  Facebook page and a couple of short videos: 

Checker Marathon by IXO in 1:43

Russian open top tour bus in 1:43

Bob

I forgot to mention that Rextoy offered at least two different versions of cabs on their

1935 Fordor model (Ford).  I didn't pick any up when commonly available, probably

because of big city markings.  Wonder if there is a book out there on Checker, picturing all their models down through the years?  The fact they made their own vehicles makes them stand out.  (Did not competing cab companies also use Checker

vehicles, and what is the current status of the taxi side of the business?)

If you want to get bleary-eyed, and left wondering who's on first, in Checker's

checkered (pun intended) history of financial machinations, convoluted corporate history, and possible mob connections, go into coachbuilt.com, and read through it.

(I skipped through it) It lists their WWII military trailer mfg., and it or one of the sites found on the net describes the 1939 shown above as the ugliest car on the road, when seen from the front, but I could find no front view.  The company certainly was

experimental, trying a rear engine, rear drive model, similar to a Czech design, an extended VW Rabbit version, and a front drive version, none of which went into production.  I also learned that one or more models had used Buda, and then Lycoming

engines, and then the OHV Continental engine (I did not know there was a Continental

OHV six in production, as all Kaisers had side valve engines (except for one experimental OHV Kaiser I saw in an Ill. collector's warehouse)  That car may have

used the Continental OHV as the intended improvement, killed when Kaiser folded.

There were also Checker trucks and ambulances in assorted flavors.  A very interesting

company.

This has been an interesting thread - thanks, Richard! I like the looks of the mid-30's Checker - unlike later, purely utilitarian models, it has a bit of panache to it. 

Here's another photo of the 1936 Checker, from the Gilmore Automotive Museum. 

And here's a 1928. 

If the Gilmore car is a 1936, Checker fell behind in styling, with no "turret" (steel)

roof, and retaining suicide doors.   It also does not have the rounded shapes GM and

Chrysler had gone to.  That looks like the same model Checker Richard originally posted.  I would like to see the front of the maligned 1939.

I think the grille on the '36 needs dental work.

A

A Google search found these. Azgary

Now that's ugly!

Thank you!  Wonder if any of those survived and has shown up at Hershey or in other

vintage car shows?  I see I had seen a picture of one before.  What I pulled up said

the designer could not be identified and that a clean slate was used after WWII.  It

would not have looked much different from contemporary styling, except for the trim

around the headlights, and the fenders...but that combination can only be be seen

as odd, at the least.  Unlike other and later Checker models, there is no mention of private sales.  I would buy one in 1/43rd, though.  Kinda grows on me, like an early

VW bug.  Looks almost like a cartoon car, like in that movie of talking cars.

Sure wish someone would produce an inexpensive 1/43 version of the 1940's era Checker.  Still remember hundreds of them running around the streets of Chicago when I was a kid.  Both Yellow Cab and Checker Cab Co, were using Checkers in those days.  I'd have a fleet of them surrounding my Union Station building.  The 1950's and later version is too new for my setting, which tries to stick to 1950 as close as possible.

Paul Fischer

Great googlie-mooglies that's ugly. 

Betcha hot-rodders as well as restorers would like to get their hands on one....it would stand out in car shows.  Customizers would be foolish to change a thing, if it is attention they are after.  I'd notice one in my rear view mirror.

Great googlie-mooglies that's ugly. 

That's what I said, but you said it better!

Anybody remember if Checker Cab and its cars ooperated at the Denver railroad

terminals....Union, Denver and Salt Lake, etc.?

Sometime the end of this year or early 2016 the Checker will be offered in several versions by Automodello. The price ...over $100.00.

Bob

Automodello is offering, with preorder,  the 1939-41 Checker (the model decried above as ugly) in 1/43rd, and in a civilian model as well as Chicago and NYC taxi versions.  These, unfortunately, IMO, at their price, are of resin and not diecast metal.  Automodello has previously concentrated on foreign exotics and domestic open classics, excepting an unusual Lincoln Judkins coupe, so I am hoping this heralds an entry into the "seen on the street" world.

Found a photo of some of the Checkers installed on the layout. Knew we had them.