Great Lakes Greyhound Lines
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The Great Lakes Greyhound Lines (called also GLGL), a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in
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,
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, USA, from 1941 until 1957, when it merged with the Northland Greyhound Lines, a neighboring operating company, thereby forming the Central Division of
The Greyhound Corporation Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit. Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...
(the parent Greyhound firm), called also the Central Greyhound Lines (making the fifth of six uses of the name of the Central Greyhound Lines).


Origin

The
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
Greyhound Lines (GL) resulted from a combination of three major components: the Eastern Michigan Motorbuses, the Ohio Greyhound Lines, and the
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
routes of the Central Greyhound Lines (a subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation with the second use of the name of the Central Greyhound Lines). That third source, the (second) Central GL, is of particular historical interest, because it had descended from, among other elements, the Safety Motor Coach Lines, in which Edwin Eckstrom, an early
investor An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...
and participant in the Greyhound development in northern
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, first applied the name Greyhound (albeit in a borrowed usage) to the coaches and the companies and first applied the blue-and-white livery to the coaches.


Eastern Michigan Motorbuses

In 1924 the Detroit United Railway (DUR) Company, an electric
interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
rail carrier, formed a highway-coach subsidiary, then named as the People's Motor Coach (PMC) Company, to enable its parent firm to reduce its operating costs and to enhance its
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position against an increasing number of rivals operating
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es on the improving
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. bankruptcies_and_reorganizations..html" ;"title="bankruptcy.html" ;"title="he DUR Company had already become involved in the first of its two bankruptcy">bankruptcies and reorganizations.">bankruptcy.html" ;"title="he DUR Company had already become involved in the first of its two bankruptcy">bankruptcies and reorganizations. During the following years the PMC Company developed an extensive bus system, mostly by the acquisition of pre-existing smaller companies, operating along both suburban and intercity bus, intercity routes. In one notable event, late in 1924 the DUR Company bought the Detroit-Toledo Transportation Company from Ralph A.L. Bogan, another original busman from northern Minnesota. Bogan (along with Swan Sundstrom, another early driver in
Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At th ...
, and elsewhere) had (in 1923) used the
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name,
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, or service name of the Blue Goose Lines, as he had previously used the same brand name for one other bus company (the Gray Motor Stage Line, running in
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, between Janesville and
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) and later (in 1925) used it again for a third firm (running in
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, from Indianapolis southward to
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and northward to Kokomo and soon onward to Fort Wayne). The DUR Company extended the name of the Blue Goose Lines (and the image of a blue
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) to its entire intercity system. Eventually all three of those Bogan routes became segments of the growing Greyhound route network; Bogan himself continued as a key player at Greyhound, serving eventually as the
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during the
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of Orville Swan Caesar (1946–56) of The Greyhound Corporation, after the retirement of Carl Eric Wickman, the principal founder of Greyhound. undstrom later became the president of the Pennsylvania GL. Other acquired firms included the White Star Motorbus Company, the Wolverine Transit Company, the Star Motor Coach Line, and the Highway Motorbus Company. The DUR Company in 1928 became renamed as the Eastern Michigan (EM) Railways, and the PMC Company, its highway-coach subsidiary, in 1928 became likewise renamed as the Eastern Michigan Motorbuses (EMM); then in -31 the EM Railways went into the second (and final) bankruptcy and reorganization. The renamed EMM continued to acquire other firms, including the Southern Michigan Transportation Company, the Great Lakes Motor Bus Company, and the Grosse Ile Rapid Transit Company (which had begun in 1919 as the Grosse Ile Transportation Company). Despite the lack of success of the parent EM Railways, by 1938 the subsidiary EM Motorbuses had become the largest intrastate bus company in the Wolverine State. Then The Greyhound Corporation, the parent Greyhound firm, bought a controlling (majority) interest in the EMM under the supervision of the receivers (and the
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) in bankruptcy. However, the
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Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) did not at first allow Greyhound to exercise control over the EMM or to merge it into Greyhound, not until 1941, after a change in the membership of the ICC. Because of the large size of the EMM, its route network, and its operations, The Greyhound Corporation created a new subsidiary, named as the Great Lakes Greyhound Lines, which in 1941 took over the EMM.


Ohio Greyhound Lines

In 1941, when the Great Lakes GL came into existence, The Greyhound Corporation merged the Ohio GL into the new Great Lakes GL. The Ohio GL had run between Detroit and
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(in
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) via Toledo,
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, and
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(all three in
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), plus along a detached route between
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and Indianapolis (both in Indiana). [The route segment between Louisville and Cincinnati had come from the Southland Transportation Company, which Harris Spearin, with the backing and financing of Wickman in Minnesota, had founded in 1925, after (in 1923) he sold his White Bus Lines, running three routes based in Duluth, Minnesota, to Wickman's Mesaba Motors Company (a predecessor of the Motor Transit Corporation, which in 1929 became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation – with an capital letter, uppercase T, because the word "the" was an integral part of the legal name of the
corporate entity A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal ...
).] To comply with an Indiana statute (one which required that corporations doing business in the Hoosier State be domiciled there), Greyhound created a paper administrative corporation, based in Indiana and named as the Great Lakes Greyhound Lines of Indiana, to conduct the route between Evansville and Indianapolis.
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(in Illinois) and Indianapolis, and which had made the first use of the name of the Greyhound Lines.] In 1928 the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC), before it became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation, bought the Detroit and Cincinnati Coach Lines, using the brand name, trade name, or service name of the Sunny South Lines, running between those two named cities, thereby gaining the major part of the Greyhound route between Detroit and Louisville. Saint Louis (in
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) via Fort Wayne and Indianapolis.] [In 1930, during the formation of the Pennsylvania GL, The Greyhound Corporation transferred the routes of the GLI of Indiana – to the Pennsylvania GL and to another new subsidiary, named originally as the (first) Central GL. The Pennsylvania GL got the routes paralleling and coinciding with those of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which made a minority investment in the Pennsylvania GL, and the (first) Central GL got the other routes of the GLI of Indiana (that is, the ones between Indianapolis and Evansville and between Detroit and Louisville).] he (first) Central GL in 1935 became renamed (as the Ohio GL) to allow Greyhound to reassign the name Central to a different subsidiary, in the midwestern United States, Midwest and the northeastern United States, Northeast, one which coincided with the territory of another major rail transport, railway company, the New York Central (NYC) System, one in which Greyhound transferred a minority interest, minority non-voting interest to the NYC System, the subsidiary which the Greyhound executives wished to bear a name (Central) to suggest the relationship with the related railway firm (New York Central), as in the case of the neighboring Pennsylvania GL and the Pennsylvania Railroad.] The Ohio GL continued to increase its route network throughout the Buckeye State, mostly by the acquisition of pre-existing carriers.


Great Lakes GL of Indiana

In 1941, shortly after the creation of the Great Lakes GL, The Greyhound Corporation renamed the Ohio GL as the Great Lakes Greyhound Lines (GLGL) of Indiana, based still in Indiana but as a subsidiary of the main undenominated Great Lakes GL (based in Detroit). In 1947 the GLGL of Indiana closed the gap between its two detached routes (the one between Detroit and Louisville and the one between Evansville and Indianapolis) by obtaining authority from the State of Indiana to run between Madison, Indiana, Madison and Paoli (both in the Hoosier State), thereby also providing a new direct (shortcut) through-route between Evansville and Cincinnati.


Cincinnati and Lake Erie (C&LE) Transportation Company

In 1945 The Greyhound Corporation bought a controlling (majority) interest in the Cincinnati and
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(C&LE) Transportation Company, which had begun in 1923 as the highway-coach subsidiary of the Cincinnati and Lake Erie (C&LE) Railroad, an electric interurban railway in western Ohio, which had ended its rail operations in 1939. The C&LE bus firm ran on a main line between Toledo and
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(a suburb of Cincinnati), including several alternate loops, plus along branch lines between Dayton and
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, Dayton and
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, Xenia and Columbus, and
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and Springfield (all in the Buckeye State); it also ran extensive suburban operations based in Dayton. That purchase provided Greyhound with the valuable intrastate rights along many route segments on which it had previously held only the interstate rights. Greyhound in 1946 got approval from the ICC and in 1947 merged its new property into the Great Lakes GL of Indiana.


Safety Motor Coach Lines

Edwin (Ed) Ekstrom, an accountant by
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and by
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, born in
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, and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota, in 1917 became an investor and participant in the Mesaba Transportation Company, based in Hibbing, the first incorporated firm (replacing the Hibbing Transportation Company, a
partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...
consisting of Eric Wickman, Ralph Bogan, and others) leading to the founding of the Greyhound empire. In 1923 Ekstrom acquired (from Wickman's corporation) a controlling interest in the Eastern Wisconsin Transportation Company (running between
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and Fond du Lac, both in the Beaver State), which (in -21) Wickman had financed during its founding by E.J. Stone; Ekstrom then went to Wisconsin and took charge of his new property. In 1924 Stone resigned from the firm which he had founded, then he went to work as a bus
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man for the Mack Truck Company. Shortly afterward the Eastern Wisconsin concern became sold again – to an electric interurban railway and later (the last time) to the Northland GL. Later that same year, 1924, Ekstrom, with the backing of Wickman, founded the Safety Motor Coach Lines, starting with two
Fageol Fageol Motors was a United States manufacturer of buses, trucks and farm tractors. History The company was founded in 1916, in Oakland, California, by Rollie, William, Frank and Claude Fageol, to manufacture motor trucks, farm tractors and au ...
Safety Coaches (hence the name of the firm, with the pleased approval of the Fageol brothers), running between
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and Grand Rapids (both in
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
). Within months Ekstrom extended his route network northward to Fremont and to Ludington (both in Michigan) and to the southwest to Chicago (in Illinois) via
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, South Haven, and Benton Harbor (all three in Michigan) and Michigan City (in Indiana). Ekstrom also started a detached route, farther north in Michigan, between Petoskey and
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, which he sold later (about 1926), which (in 1948) the Great Lakes GL reacquired (from the North Star Lines), thereby completing a direct through-route between Chicago and Sault Sainte Marie (in the eastern part of the
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) via Benton Harbor, Muskegon, Ludington, and Saint Ignace (all in Michigan). Ekstrom used the name Greyhound by which to refer to his coaches, and he caused that name to be painted onto them. Ekstrom's firm also began using a
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or
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, consisting of a running
greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...
dog superimposed on a ring, which bore (on its lower half) the nam
“Safety Motor Coach Lines”
and (on its upper half) the words "Greyhounds of the Highway". That design, with only slight modifications (mostly in the inscription), became the pattern for shoulder patches on the
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s for drivers throughout the entire Greyhound system, and it continued as such until late in the 1980s. Ekstrom also used and promoted the slogan "ride the Greyhounds". By the end of 1925 Ekstrom's firm appeared to own and operate as many as 30 coaches, mostly Fageols plus a few Macks. In 1927 the Safety Motor Coach Lines introduced overnight service between Chicago and Muskegon, during an era while nighttime long-distance highway running was still a rarity. All that took place while the Ford Model T was still in production, before
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(in October 1927) introduced his (second) Model A.


Motor Transit Corporation

In a crucial move on 20 September 1926, Eric Wickman and his collaborators and investors in Duluth, Minnesota, formed the Motor Transit Corporation (MTC), which in 1929 became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation. The MTC, a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, promptly began buying controlling interests in operating companies in the motor-coach industry. The MTC on 15 October 1926 first bought the Safety Motor Coach Lines, which in 1924 Ed Ekstrom had founded. On the same day the MTC bought also a controlling interest in the Interstate Stages, using the brand name, trade name, or service name of the Oriole Lines, running in part between Detroit and Chicago via
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and Elkhart (both in Indiana). Ed Ekstrom then served as the first president of the MTC. It was agreed that, over time, the acquired lines operating under MTC would adopt the Greyhound name and paint scheme. In July, 1927 Ekstrom, along with brothers, Robert and Alex, sold their interests in Safety Motor Coach and MTC to Wickman then headed to
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, where they took over two other firmsSan Antonio Express Pioneer, September 29, 1929 – the Southland Transportation Corporation, which the MTC had started, and the Red Ball Motor Bus Company, which the MTC had bought – which later became major parts of the Southwestern Greyhound Lines. During that era many bus companies used the names of animals, often coupled with the names of colors, by which to refer to the buses, the companies, or both (such as Cardinal, Oriole, Blue Goose, Purple Swan, Blue Bird, Eagle, Jackrabbit, and Thorobred) along with colored objects (such as Red Ball, Green Line, Gold Seal, White Star, Silver Line, and Red Arrow) – and, inevitably perhaps, Greyhound. Several early operators used the word greyhound. For instance, one firm, named as the Greyhound Bus Line, running in eastern Kentucky from Ashland to
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and to Mount Sterling, was one of the carriers bought by and merged into the Consolidated Coach Corporation (in 1928), which began using the brand name of the Southeastern Greyhound Lines (in 1931), and which became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines (in 1936). According to the best information now available, E.J. Stone of the Eastern Wisconsin Transportation Company made the first such use of the name greyhound directly traceable into the Motor Transit Corporation (which in 1929 became renamed as The Greyhound Corporation), for Stone had informally referred to his coaches as greyhounds, commenting on the resemblance of them to sleek, slender, swift, graceful
hound A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. ...
s. Many authors, observers, and bus historians have credited Ed Ekstrom (with his flair for
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) with the first use of the name Greyhound in a way which became the name of the once-great company. It's true that Ekstrom took the use of the name Greyhound into the MTC when the MTC bought Ekstrom's Safety Motor Coach Lines. However, it appears that Ekstrom had gotten that usage from E.J. Stone when Ekstrom took over the Eastern Wisconsin Transportation Company. When the MTC bought Ekstrom's Safety Motor Coach Lines, Ekstrom and his company contributed to the MTC not only the name Greyhound and the image of a greyhound dog but also the blue-and-white livery used on Ekstrom's coaches. kstrom is said to have proposed the use of the name of the Greyhound Lines even before he left Wisconsin (with the support of his associates in Minnesota) to go eastward. In 1928 the MTC bought the Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Company, which had recently become formed, to acquire most of the routes of the Shore Line Motor Coach Company (a subsidiary of an Insull railway property) to the east of Gary, a suburb of Chicago in the northwest corner of Indiana, consisting of the route between Chicago and Detroit via
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(in Michigan), an alternate one between Chicago and Grand Rapids via Benton Harbor, and one between South Bend (in Indiana) and Detroit (which extended and made connections with a railway route, which still operates, now under the name of the South Shore Line, between Chicago and South Bend). he last bus route, between South Bend and Detroit, no longer operates. In 1929 the Safety Motor Coach Lines took over both the Interstate Stages and the Southwestern Michigan Motor Coach Company. During the same year, 1929, the Safety Motor Coach Lines acquired another route between Chicago and Detroit, from the YellowaY of Michigan, a part of the Pioneer-YellowaY System, which Greyhound had bought (earlier in 1929) from the American Motor Transportation Company. The Safety Motor Coach Lines continued (as a subsidiary of the MTC) until 1930, when it became renamed as the Eastern Greyhound Lines (EGL) of Michigan, which in 1935 became renamed as the Central Greyhound Lines (CGL) of Michigan (making the third use of the name of the Central GL), which in 1936 became a part of the undenominated main (second) Central GL, a part of which in -48 became merged into the Great Lakes GL. In 1930, when the name of the EGL of Michigan came into use, the firm owned and operated a combined fleet of about 135 coaches.


Michigan routes of Central GL

Starting in 1935, the (third) Central GL (the CGL of Michigan) and then soon (in 1936) the undenominated main (second) Central GL operated all the Greyhound routes in Michigan, including the heavy traffic between Chicago and Detroit, as well as the likewise heavy mainline traffic between Chicago and
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via
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(in Ohio), including the route via Buffalo,
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, Syracuse, and Albany (all four in the Empire State), paralleling the touted "water-level route" of the New York Central (railway) System. upstate_New_York_(state).html" ;"title="upstate_New_York.html" ;"title="he (second) Central GL (and, later, the fourth Central GL, the CGL of New York, also ran a large route network throughout upstate New York">upstate New York (state)">New York, with one extension to Montréal, Québec, Canada, and another extension from Albany to Boston, Massachusetts, Boston via Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield, and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester (all the last four in
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.] In 1947 The Greyhound Corporation finished reacquiring the remaining shares of the non-voting stock in the Central GL which (in 1935) it had transferred to the NYC System. No longer having a need to maintain a subsidiary coinciding with the territory of that railway firm, Greyhound next reorganized some of its routes in the Midwest and the Northeast, seeking a more efficient operation.


Great Lakes GL as a division

On 31 December 1948 the Great Lakes GL became a division of The Greyhound Corporation (rather than a subsidiary), thus losing its separate corporate existence, then Greyhound merged the GLGL of Indiana (the smaller Indiana corporation) into the main Great Lakes GL (as a division of the parent firm) and transferred into the Great Lakes GL all the Michigan routes (including the ones reaching to Chicago) of the (second) Central GL. y that time the State of Indiana had ended its requirement for domestic corporations there. The new division, the Great Lakes GL, took over all the coaches of both previous Great Lakes firms (that is, both the GLGL and the GLGL of Indiana, both the main firm and the Indiana subsidiary) plus all the coaches previously assigned to the Michigan routes of the (second) Central GL.


New routes for Great Lakes GL

In 1955, in connection with the merger of the (second) Central GL and the Pennsylvania GL into the new (second) Eastern GL, The Greyhound Corporation transferred three sets of routes in Illinois and Indiana to the Great Lakes GL: :first, all the Illinois routes of the (second) Central GL (formerly the routes of the Illinois GL) – that is, mostly, between Chicago and Effingham (on the way to
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
in
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
in
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
), between Chicago and Saint Louis, between Chicago and
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
(not the ''state'' of Louisiana but rather the ''city'' of Louisiana in the state of Missouri and on a shortcut, bypassing Saint Louis, to Kansas City in
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
and
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
), between Springfield and
Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
(both in Illinois), and between Springfield and Davenport (in
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...
); :second, the route between Detroit and Indianapolis, from the Pennsylvania GL; :third, the route between Chicago and Evansville via Danville (in Illinois) and
Terre Haute Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...
and
Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
(both in Indiana), plus a branch line from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
(in Illinois) to
Paducah Paducah ( ) is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky. The largest city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located at the confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, halfway between St. Louis, Miss ...
(in Kentucky), from the Pennsylvania GL (acquired in 1954 with the purchase of the Southern Limited from the Fitzgerald brothers).


Great Lakes GL in 1957

By 1957 the Great Lakes GL reached as far to the north as Sault Sainte Marie (on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan), as far to the east as
Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...
and Detroit (both in Michigan) and Columbus (in Ohio), as far to the south as Louisville (in Kentucky) and Evansville (in Indiana), and as far to the west as Davenport (in Iowa) and Saint Louis and Louisiana (both in Missouri); it met the Eastern Canadian GL (in Saint Ignace, Port Huron, and Detroit), the Northland GL (in Saint Ignace and Chicago), the new (second) Eastern GL (in Toledo and Columbus), the Atlantic GL (in Columbus and Cincinnati), the Southeastern GL (in Cincinnati, Louisville, Evansville, Effingham, and Saint Louis), the Southwestern GL (in Saint Louis and Louisiana), and the Overland GL (in Chicago and Davenport). The Great Lakes GL took part in many major interlined through-routes (using pooled equipment in cooperation with other Greyhound companies) – that is, the use of through-coaches on through-routes running through the territories of two or more Greyhound regional operating companies – including these: :connecting Detroit with Sudbury (in
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, via Sault Sainte Marie), Duluth (in Minnesota, via Saint Ignace in Michigan), Charleston (in
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...
), Memphis and Nashville (both in Tennessee),
Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...
and
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
, New Orleans (in Louisiana), and
Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
,
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, and
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
; :connecting
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
(in Ontario in Canada) with
Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
(in Minnesota) via Chicago, with
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
(in
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
in Canada) via Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis, and with both Miami and Saint Petersburg (both in Florida); :connecting Chicago with Memphis (in Tennessee), New Orleans (in Louisiana), Laredo (in
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
) via
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
and
San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
(both in Texas), and
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
(in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
) via Louisiana and Kansas City (both in Missouri); :connecting Buffalo (in New York) with both Chicago and Saint Louis (in Missouri), both via Detroit and
St Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city wa ...
.


Merger with Northland GL

In September 1957, in another round of consolidation, The Greyhound Corporation further merged the Great Lakes GL with – not into but rather ''with'' – the Northland GL (called also Northland or NGL), a neighboring regional operating company – thereby forming the Central Division of The Greyhound Corporation (called also the Central GL, making the fifth of six uses of that name), the second of four huge new divisions (along with Eastern, Southern, and Western). The administrative headquarters functions of the Great Lakes GL moved from Detroit to Minneapolis, Minnesota, the home of the Northland GL. The Northland GL had reached as far north as Sweetgrass, Montana (in
Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...
) and
Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, as far east as
Saint Ignace, Michigan St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,452 at the 2010 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city, but the two are administered autono ...
,
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
(in Wisconsin), and Chicago (in Illinois), as far to the south as Chicago (in Illinois), Dubuque (in Iowa), and Omaha (in
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
), and as far to the west as Sweetgrass, Great Falls, Helena, and
Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a French word me ...
, Montana; it had met (to the west) the Northwestern GL, (to the north) the Western Canadian GL and the Eastern Canadian GL, (to the east and south) the Great Lakes GL and the (second) Eastern GL (formerly the second Central GL and the Pennsylvania GL), and (to the south) the Overland GL. Thus ended the Great Lakes GL and the Northland GL, and thus began the (fifth) Central GL.


Beyond Great Lakes GL

Later (about 1966) The Greyhound Corporation reorganized again, into just two humongous divisions, named as the Greyhound Lines East (GLE) and the Greyhound Lines West (GLW); even later (about 1970) it eliminated those two divisions, thereby leaving a single gargantuan undivided nationwide fleet. In 1987 The Greyhound Corporation (the original parent Greyhound firm), which had become widely diversified far beyond transportation, sold its entire highway-coach operating business (its core bus business) to a new company, named as the Greyhound Lines, Inc., called also GLI, based in Dallas, Texas – a separate, independent, unrelated firm, which was the property of a group of private investors under the promotion of Fred Currey, a former
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...
of the Continental Trailways (later renamed as the Trailways, Inc., called also TWI, also based in Dallas), which was by far the largest member company in the Trailways association. Later in 1987 the Greyhound Lines, Inc., the GLI, the new firm based in Dallas, further bought the Trailways, Inc., the TWI, its largest competitor, and merged it into the GLI. The lenders and the other investors of the GLI ousted Fred Currey as the
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
(CEO) after the firm went into bankruptcy in 1990. The GLI has since continued to experience difficulties and lackluster performance under a succession of new owners and new executives while continuing to reduce its level of service – by hauling fewer passengers aboard fewer coaches on fewer trips along fewer routes with fewer stops in fewer communities in fewer states – and by doing so on fewer days – that is, increasingly operating some trips less often than every day (fewer than seven days per week) – and by using fewer through-coaches, thus requiring passengers to make more transfers (from one coach to another). After the sale to the GLI, The Greyhound Corporation (the original parent Greyhound firm) changed its name to the Greyhound-Dial Corporation, then the Dial Corporation, then the Viad Corporation.
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
letter lambda – Λ – that is, the Greek equivalent of the Latin alphabet, Roman or Latin alphabet, Latin letter L.] The website of the Viad Corporation (http://www.viad.com) in September 2008 makes no mention of its corporate history or its past relationship to Greyhound – that is, its origin as The Greyhound Corporation.


See also

*
The Greyhound Corporation Viad Corp provides experiential leisure travel and face-to-face events in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates via two divsions: GES and Pursuit. Pursuit (formed in 2017) includes travel attractio ...
*
Atlantic Greyhound Lines The Atlantic Greyhound Lines (called also Atlantic or AGL), a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Charleston, West Virginia, USA, from 1931 until 1960, when it became merged with the Southeastern Greyhound Li ...
*
Capitol Greyhound Lines The Capitol Greyhound Lines (called also Capitol or CpGL), a highway-coach carrier, was a Greyhound regional operating company, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, from 1930 until 1954, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, a neig ...
* Dixie Greyhound Lines * Florida Greyhound Lines * Southeastern Greyhound Lines * Teche Greyhound Lines *
Tennessee Coach Company The Tennessee Coach Company (TCC) was a regional highway-coach carrier, founded in 1928 and based in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. It was in operation until 1976, when it became merged into the Continental Tennessee Lines, a subsidiary of the Transcon ...


References

*Hixson, Kenneth (2001). ''Pick of the Litter''. Lexington: Centerville Book Company. . *Jackson, Carlton (1984). ''Hounds of the Road''. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. . *Meier, Albert, and John Hoschek (1975). ''Over the Road''. Upper Montclair, NJ (US):
Motor Bus Society The Motor Bus Society (MBS) is a United States-based non-profit organization formed by a voluntary association of persons who share an interest in buses and bus transportation in North America and, in particular, the history of the same. Founded i ...
. No ISBN. *Schisgall, Oscar (1985). ''The Greyhound Story''. Chicago: J.G. Ferguson Publishing Company. {{ISBN, 0-385-19690-3. *''
Motor Coach Age The Motor Bus Society (MBS) is a United States-based non-profit organization formed by a voluntary association of persons who share an interest in buses and bus transportation in North America and, in particular, the history of the same. Founded i ...
'' (a publication of the
Motor Bus Society The Motor Bus Society (MBS) is a United States-based non-profit organization formed by a voluntary association of persons who share an interest in buses and bus transportation in North America and, in particular, the history of the same. Founded i ...
), various issues, especially these: *:August 1977; *:October–November 1977; *:November 1984; *:November–December 1989; *:July–August 1990; *:April–June 1995; *:October–December 1999; *:January–March 2001; *:January–March 2002. *Web-based schedules and historical data at https://web.archive.org/web/20060312191347/http://www.greyhound.com/.


External links


"Great Lakes Greyhound Lines" (at ''Bluehounds and Redhounds'')

''Bluehounds and Redhounds'', the history of Greyhound and Trailways

"Northland Greyhound Lines" (at ''Bluehounds and Redhounds''), including the early history of The Greyhound Corporation

"Greyhound Lines after WW2" (at ''Bluehounds and Redhounds'')

"The Scenicruiser" at ''Bluehounds and Redhounds''



Michigan History: Big wheels turning Greyhound in Michigan.
Defunct transportation companies of the United States Intercity bus companies of the United States Companies based in Detroit Greyhound Lines Transportation companies based in Michigan