There are quite a few posts in the CC truck archive on the REO Motor Company, a mid-tier manufacturer of mostly trucks in the early to middle twentieth century but with ventures into both the car and bus markets also. I’m sure CC readers are aware that “REO” are the initials of Ransom E. Olds, who started this company after he left Oldsmobile in 1905 in a boardroom dispute. REO cars were well known in the brass era and built quite a reputation as an elite luxury model through the 1930’s. Unfortunately, the car division was one of the many casualties of the Great Depression. The truck and bus divisions, however, soldiered through with many wartime contracts during the 1940’s. Let’s take a look at several of these REO buses of the post-war period.
REO marketed mostly conventional “bonnet” buses, built on their 1 and 1/2 and 2 ton truck chassis. They were quite easy to identify with their prominent “prow” with a grille on each side; kidney shaped on early models and rectangular on later ones. The company made fairly good inroads into the school bus market.
1945 96-HTD
Less well known was their attempt to crack the urban transit market with their 96-HTD model, called the “Flying Cloud”, a small 29-40 passenger coach with a rear mounted engine. Like their conventional counterparts, they were easy to identify, with their large grilles surrounding the upper front route sign.
Unfortunately REO found few takers – Washington DC, Dallas, and Toronto purchased a few, and others were bought by Charter operators…but the big sales the company had hoped for didn’t materialize.
In 1948, REO updated the model with a new body and chassis – now with an underfloor engine. That engine in most cases was a REO “Gold Comet” 371 cu in gas OHV inline six cylinder with an available Spicer hydraulic 2-speed automatic transmission.
Even with this update, sales were few. REO then tried what many other smaller US bus manufacturers attempted -marketing their coaches in South America.
Competition was brutal in the post-war market and like many others, REO just couldn’t compete with GM. From 1945 to early 1952, only 101 96-HTD’s were built – and the company moved on to only school buses and trucks. In 1957, White Motors purchased the company, and in 1967 formally merged REO with Diamond T, creating Diamond REO. That company was liquidated in 1975.
REO may be a familiar name to our Australian and New Zealand readers – the company had several licensee/joint ventures in both countries – and many REO chassis with “Gold Comet” engines were mated to local coachbuilder bodies.
My brother got a 38 REO 1/2 ton p/u truck from a farmer neighbor… flat head six was ceased and the neighbor and my bro tried to break it free for the longest time. My grandfather had a shop next door to my house and they finally got it to go after pouring coca cola down the cylinders. That did get it running again and the motor purred.. He left for the army and the truck Sat in the barn for many years. Finally sold and it left our
Lives… Great little truck
Interesting piece – I’ve never seen a REO (knowingly) but hadn’t appreciated the worldwide reach of the name and company either.
Let us not forget where REOs were made: Lansing, Michigan, home of Oldsmobile and once one of the greatest industrial cities in the world. During the Korean war, we would sometimes sit beneath parked REO army trucks bound for the war. Alas, Lansing is now hardly a shadow of its past.
A sad tale and all too common, but at least Lansing still exists. The one-time township of Burragorang, New South Wales, (see the destination board in last photo) is now at the bottom of a lake i.e. “Lake” Burragorang, Sydney’s main water supply.
It looks like that bus was produced in the 1950s while the dam (Warragamba) was being built. A tiny reminder of what once was.
I am sure we have discussed this, but I don’t remember the answer: Is it pronounced by saying the individual letters R. E. O. (like with the 1970’s band)? Or is it pronounced “Reo” (to rhyme with the name Leo)? I have always followed the second rule, but am now wondering if I have been wrong all these years.
This is a really interesting chapter – I knew a little about the cars, a touch more about the trucks, but pretty much nothing about the buses. So thanks for this.
I’ve heard it both ways (and seen it as writing sometimes as Reo rather than REO, even in advertising), but “Reo” pronounced as a word seems to be more common, like another band named for it, the ’90s country act Diamond Rio.
One of my uncles (born 1911) used to talk about a neighbor back in the late Twenties who had a Reo Flying Cloud, and he always rhymed it with Leo, so I’ve assumed that was correct.
They were more careful about punctuation back then. If the letters were meant to be spelled out I imagine they would have gone with R.E.O.
General Electric referred to itself as “G-E” so that no one would say “Gee” presumably.
I have never heard anyone in Lansing use the individual letters except when mentioning the band.
The neighborhood where the factory was located is now called Reotown, but after 40+ years I wonder how many people know why?
One of REOs longest lived and most successful product designs was the Army M35 (Deuce & a half) platform. Although the concept was originally developed by GM for use in WWII, the M35 was Reo’s own post-war development of the concept. Reo’s design outlasted the company itself. It was produced in spurts for 1/2 century beginning in 1949. Original A1 versions were powered by Reo’s Gold Comet engine. Later versions dispensed with Reo’s gas engine and featured multi-fuel engines (diesels modified to run almost any combustable liquid) from various manufacturers. Although the M35 design was from Reo, they were but one of several manufacturers that made the design. It was even produced in Korea lay Ssangyong. In the US, AM General was the last manufacturer of entire trucks although some earlier versions were modified to A3s after production of the entire platform had ended. The M35 toughness was legendary. I’ve seen these things roll over off a mountain and still run and drive when recovered at the bottom. Although the truck was only rated for 2 1/2 tons of cargo, keep in mind that military ratings were for cargo carrying off-road. In Army-speak, that means where there is no road. On road the frames and running gear could handle a lot more than the rated off-road capacity.
An M35 as we knew it in the Low Lands (post diesel engine swap).
Another great biography Jim. Thank you. Very stylish school buses, with the streamlined Hick’s body.
Why do school buses no longer have that streamlined shape, in an era when aerodynamics are better understood? (Cheaper to make, I’m assuming)
School bus manufacturing and sales, seems like a bottom line-oriented industry. Extras, like streamlined bodies and wheel arches, might lend the impression of costing more. And promote the POV, ‘who’s going to pay for that?’
For buses that are regularly driven at highways speeds, perhaps if a case can be made for fuel savings justifying aerodynamics, beyond just aesthetics.
Jim is back on track with a new bus article, good!
My great uncle drove a Reo Federal 604 right off an LCT onto Juno Beach on June 7, 1944. He drove it all the way to Germany. He drove to dumps often less than 3km from the front. He often encountered cut-off German troops and drove with his Sten gun on his lap.
He swore by that truck and told a lot of stories about it. About the death and destruction he never spoke.
Reo school busses were still in use when I was an elementary school student. Those with smoothly faired-in cowl to body styling evidenced in the second, factory photo are pretty nice, but we didn’t ride on any like that. The ones I remember were more like the third photo of a cutaway cowl with an abrupt transition to the pilot house.
I looked for an old publicity film from R.E.O./Reo for pronunciation, but came up empty. There was nothing like the 1954 Willys commercial that used the founder’s name pronounciation, “Willis”. Researching it, I realized I have had the name order incorrect for decades. I’ve always thought it was, “Willys Aero”. Live & learn.
Usually walked to school since I lived nearby. Will never forget the time my kindergarten class visited The Bronx Zoo on a REO school bus similar to the one in the post. The first time I ever was on a school bus, an all day trip. Yes, Arthur’s grandson was on this trip with us. My grandfather had a REO reel type lawnmower in the 1950’s. He was an avid reader of “Popular Science Magazine” and often wound up buying advertiser’s products. It was a good one, I think relatively expensive. He finally replaced it in the mid ’60’s. I rescued it from the old chicken coup with the idea that I could use the engine to spin the 6v generator from my ’54 Chevrolet that was being junked to charge it’s battery that I still had. Was taking a summer school shop class then and made this my school project. Got a good grade on the project, never used it though since all my cars since were 12 volt. The engine seemed quite heavy for it’s size and well built. Still ran when my dad tossed it out after I had moved to an apartment about 8 years later.
Speaking of Willys, did anyone notice the banner at the rear of the series 96HTD Flying Cloud bus: While partially blocked by the bus, one can see the front advertising banner across a Kaiser dealer, touting the new “Kaiser Willys Henry J”. The photo was likely shot in 1953, as the company was now called Kaiser-Willys and the banner reflects the change.
I remember seeing an old REO school bus somewhere; quite likely a hippie bus conversion. But I did not know they built a GM look-alike transit bus.
I remember a few REO trucks here from the 30s a friends father restored a 37 model 7 tonner years ago but postWW2 import restrictions on US vehicles kiiled the brand off.
Some made it to Israel too in the late 40s early 50s, although by then the market was starting to move into integral buses. Reo was not a major player in Israel by that time (it did sell quite a few bus chassis in the late 20s early 30s but then faded) and I doubt its underfloor or rear-engined models were considered against the offerings of more established makers like Leyland, AEC, (British) Daimler or Chausson – I doubt any were imported. In any case the powers that be at White decided that Israel would be catered for solely by Autocar, so that was that for Reo over there on the civil market. Here’s a pic of one of the conventional models, most likely in IDF service during the 1948 war (behind the Mack).
I wake. In the passage by my bedroom door, huge brown paper parcel, tied with a red crêpe paper bow; by the bow, an envelope; in the envelope a card: Happy 4th birthday, darling James! love, Mummy and Daddy. Beneath the brown paper a red red nose, louvred with a grille. Above the gille a badge, flanked by the bold face REO and REO. Side louvres, mudguards, headlights, a steering wheel, pedals rod-linked to rear axle cranks. Behind the seat back a TIPPER TRAY, its lever reaching forward to fall to hand! My best friend Gavin, 4 doors west, has an honourably battered blue Ford, on its second generation run in the Guerig family..We pedal from Seddon to Spotsdale, from Tennyson Street into Footscray shops. I give my beloved REO Tiptruck to a kindergarten as I prepare for a posting to the far side of our world, after 31 years together.
Reo also sold a rear-engine bus before WWII known as the 56TD, there is a photo out there on the web of one operating for a private company in Ottawa but not much else is available for information. I’d presume the specs would be similar to the 96HT though.