Америкалық «Twin Coach» көлік компаниясының тарихы

American vehicle manufacturing company

Twin Coach was an American vehicle manufacturing company from 1927 to 1955, located in Kent, Ohio, and a maker of marine engines and airplane parts until the 1960s. It was formed by brothers Frank and William Fageol when they left the Fageol Motor Company in 1927. They established the company in Kent to manufacture and sell buses with a new concept design. The body structure of this new bus was unique in that the body also became the frame and two engines – "twin" engines – were used to allow for larger passenger loads. This concept was patented by William B. Fageol. Over the years, Twin Coach made transit buses, trolley buses, small delivery vehicles, Fageol six cylinder gasoline/propane bus and marine engines, Fageol four cylinder marine engines, and aircraft and truck components. The company was sometimes referred to as "Fageol Twin Coach". The company was acquired by Flxible in 1955 and merged with it, but use of the "Twin Coach" name in marketing continued for a few years, and the name was briefly revived (as a brand name only) in the late 1960s by a related company called Highway Products, Inc.

Trolley bus production lasted from 1928 to 1951. Notably, the company's first order and its last were also its only export orders ever for trolley buses: eight vehicles for Manila, Philippines, in 1928 and four for Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1951. All other orders went to U. S. cities., none to Canadian cities. With both vehicles, the articulation joint allowed only vertical, not horizontal, movement. Bus production continued through to the time of the company's acquisition by Flxible, in the 1950s. For many years the Fageol 'Twin Coach' was used to take passengers from Canada to US (and back) via the 'Detroit Windsor Tunnel' under the Detroit River.

In 1955, the bus manufacturing operations were sold to Flxible, which was also based in Ohio. In 1962, the company's name was changed to Twin Industries. A portion of the company called Highway Products produced a number of products, such as small Post Office vehicles, mobile post offices used in rural areas, small boats for military and commercial uses, missile launchers and a variety of other products. Production of a small bus, sold under the "Twin Coach" name, began in 1969. In 1970, the company was sold and became a subsidiary of the Alco Standard company, continuing to produce the "Twin Coach" and Cortez Motor Homes until its bankruptcy in 1975.