Click on the diagram to see a full diagram of the Orion I bus.

Text by James Bow and Robert Lubinski

See Also

• A Brief History of Orion Bus Industries
• The Orion II
• The Orion III / Ikarus Articulated
• The Orion IV
• The Orion V
• The Orion VI
• The Orion VII

When it emerged on the scene, the Orion I bus offered a distinctive, almost cute, appearance compared to the more common and angular General Motors New Look. That appearance belies its many innovations. The Orion I was the first public transit bus to be built by an Ontario manufacturing company in decades (General Motors was a multi-national). It aggressively pursued niches in the marketplace, to provide better service and better fuel economy to the municipal transit agencies of the day. That upstart attitude exemplified by the Orion I eventually helped the company capture a third of the North American market.

A New Bus Company Thinks Small

In the early 1970s, Arnold Wollschlaeger owned and operated Ontario Truck and Bus Industries. He had been building and repairing large vehicles for over two decades when he received a contract from the Government of Ontario to assemble and retrofit a bunch of vehicles for the government’s experimental Dial-a-Bus service. The Government of Ontario hoped to tackle the problem of providing economical public transit in low density neighbourhoods by using smaller, more fuel-efficient buses on flexible routes.

The Dial-a-Bus vehicles were fibreglass-bodied, diesel-powered Rek-Vees, which were originally designed to be camper vans. They proved unsuitable for tough transit conditions, and Arnold Wollschlaeger was unhappy with how unreliable the vehicles proved to be. The experience, however, inspired him to build a heavy-duty medium-sized bus of his own, that could serve smaller scale public transportation operations, and be easy to maintain and service.

In 1975, with a team of seasoned and loyal tradespeople, Arnold Wollschlaeger set about hand-building the prototype of what would eventually become the Orion I. The bus was thirty feet long, but had parts that were interchangeable with an inventory of forty-foot buses. The Orion I featured a single sealed swing door in the front, thermo windows, tubular construction, and a number of features that made maintenance and repair easier, including an outside electrical access panel, “satin steel panels” for easier repair, and large roof hatches. The vehicle was powered by a Detroit Diesel V6 engine, and boasted a sleek, modern look.

In theory, the shorter footprint of the Orion I allowed it to address a marketplace that General Motors and Flyer Industries had studiously ignored, serving up a forty-foot bus standard. The thirty-foot Orion I weighed less and could burn less fuel while still serving the needs of the community. It was a gamble. The Toronto Transit Commission hadn’t purchased a bus shorter than 40-feet since the early 1960s. However, the OPEC oil crisis was fresh on the minds of many, so as the production models of the Orion I rolled off the line in 1978, publicc transit agencies in Ontario started to buy.

The sales didn’t come quite quickly enough. Ontario Bus Industries, as Wollschlaeger had renamed his company, was under-financed, and it was eventually forced to sell the American and rest-of-the-world manufacturing rights to Greyhound Bus Lines (TMC manufacturing). TMC renamed the Orion I “the City Cruiser” for the American market. However, in 1979, Arnold Wollschlaeger passed away. Donald Sheardown bought Ontario Bus Industries from Arnold’s family and, with greater financial backing, bought back the American and world manufacturing rights for the Orion I, and set about expanding production.

The TTC Tests the Orion I

When delivered, the TTC’s first batch Orion I’s (numbered 8370-8378) were painted in the commission’s older red and cream paint scheme. At the time, the TTC was updating its look to the current red, white and black scheme, and the commission required that all subsequent deliveries be in the new colour scheme. The first Orion I’s, when delivered, were divided between Eglinton and Davenport divisions where they were placed in lightly-travelled residential routes such as 78 ST. ANDREWS and 115 SILVER HILLS routes, as well as routes struggling with low ridership, such as as 19 CHURCH, 101 EDWARDS GARDENS and 1 ARMOUR HEIGHTS. In later years they could be seen on the 97 YONGE route (particularly the 97B Steeles to Front branch) and on the 142 PREMIUM EXPRESS via AVENUE RD. route when it was inaugurated, interlined with 1 ARMOUR HEIGHTS.

In 1982 an additional 10 Orion I buses were delivered (numbered 8730-8739). These were assigned to Davenport division. These buses operated on 7E BATHURST (the St. Clair West Station to Wilson Station branch, when it operated seven days a week), 33 FOREST HILL (where they encountered crush load problems when school let out), 82 ROSEDALE and 127 DAVENPORT routes.

Despite their promise, the Orion Is cost savings did not materialize. As fuel prices dropped in the early 1980s, the TTC discovered that most expensive part of a bus was its driver. The Orion I’s continued to operate until the early 1990s when they were retired from TTC service and sold to other transit properties and private operators.

Although the TTC did not purchase more than a handful of these vehicles, they were picked up by dozens of transit agencies across North America, especially in smaller towns which saw the need for smaller, lighter equipment rather than standard, 40-foot buses. In that respect, the Orion I bus was a very successful model for Ontario Bus Industries, and more than sufficient for the company to continue.

The TTC Orion I Roster

Orion I Image Archive

	An Orion 1 painted in the TTC's old maroon and cream livery. The Orions are new enough that one painted in the old colours looks rather odd indeed. Photo donated from the collection of Brad O'Brien.
	TTC Orion I bus 8732 runs west on MacPherson Avenue, near Davenport and Spadina, some time in the late 1980s. Photo by John Calnan.
	TTC GM Classic #6220, in service on 101 EDWARDS GARDENS, pauses next to TTC Orion I #8371 in 97 YONGE service at the temporary bus terminal at York Mill station on December 21, 1988. Photo by Jeffrey Kay.
	TTC Orion I bus #8370 heads west on Wellington bearing a 19 CHURCH rollsign on March 25, 1981. This image, taken by Ted Wickson, is almost a before and after on this one. But this shot of the older red and cream bus scheme was snapped a week later.
	TTC Orion I bus #8370, in its red-and-cream scheme, waits at the north end of the 19 CHURCH route on April 23, 1981. Photo by Kevin Nicol.
	TTC Orion I bus #8370 lays over at York Mills station, in service on 115 SILVER HILLS on February 11, 1986. Photo by Dave Chalmers, courtesy the Pete Coulman collection.
	One of the first TTC Orion I buses, #8371, took some time off for the 1982 edition of the Canadian National Exhibition, participating in a transit display highlighting some of the latest vehicles and technology. This photo was taken on August 30, 1982 by Richard Glaze.
	TTC Orion I bus #8372 in the traditional red and cream livery departs York Mills subway station in service on 101 EDWARDS GARDENS on February 12, 1981. This photograph is by Ted Wickson and is courtesy the Pete Coulman collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8373 sits at the foot of John Street, facing eastbound on Front, in 19 CHURCH service. The bridge behind it, taking visitors to the CN Tower, was later removed and installed across Highway 11 north of Orillia to serve Webers Burgers. Photo by Kevin Nicole.
	TTC Orion I bus #8373 poses at York Mills station, bearing a 101 EDWARDS GARDENS rollsign in this April 1981 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8373 sits shining in red-and-cream at the south end of the 19 CHURCH route, on Front Street near John, facing eastbound on May 29, 1981. Photo by Kevin Nicol.
	TTC Orion I bus #8373 in 115 SILVER HILLS service passes GM New Look #7924 at York Mills station on April 9, 1984. Photo by J.R. Caronetti.
	TTC Orion I bus #8374 operates on the 78 ST. ANDREWS route on May 29, 1981. Photo by Kevin Nicol.
	TTC Orion I bus #8374 prepares to pull out of Roe Loop in 1 ARMOUR HEIGHTS service in this 1986 shot by P. Bateson, courtesy the Pete Coulman collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8375 waits to pick up passengers at Roe Loop at the south end of the 1 ARMOUR HEIGHTS route on July 2, 1981. Photo by Kevin Nicol.
	Ted Wickson caught this shot of Orion I TTC bus #8378 on Wellington Avenue, heading westbound past Simcoe Street in service on the 19 CHURCH route on March 16, 1981.
	TTC Orion I bus #8730 pulls out of Spadina station's bus terminal, in service on 103 SPADINA NORTH in this April 1984 shot by Bob Hussey. The photograph is from the Pete Coulman collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8731 was part of the second order of this model, and bore the final paint scheme. It's seen here at St. Clair station in service on 33 FOREST HILL on November 6, 1982. Photo by Kevin Nicol.
	TTC Orion I bus #8733 pulls out from Spadina station's bus terminal, passing GM New Look #3980, in service on 103 SPADINA NORTH on September 30, 1982. The photograph was taken by Bill Hood and is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8735 prepares to turn from southbound Bathurst to eastbound St. Clair in 7E BATHURST service in this June 1983 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8736 departs St. Clair West station in service on the 7E BATHURST branch in this October 1982 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is from the John Knight collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8738 poses at Crescent Road with a special roll sign in this promotional shot taken on October 1, 1982. The photographer is Ted Wickson.
	TTC Orion I bus #8738 leaves St. Clair station in 33 FOREST HILL service on October 1, 1982. Photo by Edward Wickson, courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8739 is seen on Glen Road in operation on 82 ROSEDALE in this September 1983 shot. The photographer is unknown; the photo is from the Pete Coulman collection.
	TTC Orion I bus #8739 is seen here operating eastbound on St. Clair Avenue, about to turn north on Spadina Road, in service on 33 FOREST HILL on May 14, 1983. The photograph was taken by Dave Chalmers and is courtesy the Pete Coulman collection.
	On May 6, 2016, Jelo Gutierrez Cantos snapped the 1989 Orion I CNG demo bus built in July of that year. This unit was TTC bus #9361 where it ran out of Queensway Garage. After leaving the TTC, it was sold to GO Transit as #1714 and wasretired in the 1990's, before sold off to York University to use on their GO train shuttle service as #YT-01 before retiring and now resides at Fiba Canning. Another unit, #9360 was also demoed before becoming GO bus #1713 and sold to Brandon Transit as unit #35 when it was converted to diesel before being retired.

References

• Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses, Stauss Publications, Woodland Hills (California), 1988.
• Diesel City Bus, Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), 1991.
• “Orion International.” - CPTDB Wiki. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 July 2014.