These units were maintained by highly skilled men - well before the thought of deferring maintenance and qualifying for federal funding to perform a mid-life rehabilitation – and if something broke, they fixed it! To many of these skilled craftsmen maintaining these buses in top condition was a labor of love. These professionals could literally tear a bus apart and put it back together better than new. This was considered to be the standard of service to the public day in and day out.

The public enjoyed convenient transportation in vehicles with plenty of comfortable seats to work, shop, play, and to serve all of their travel needs. However, as time went on the companies continued to provide high-quality service – in most respects – even though our nation’s priorities began to favor the automobile at the expense of all other forms of transportation.

By the late 1960s, most of the original family-owned bus companies had gone out of business and the others were hanging on by a thread. A proud era in the transportation industry was drawing to a close. At this time, many of the original buses were scrapped because few people gave thought to their historical importance. Thanks to the valiant efforts of a few collectors, a small amount of this important history was preserved. Unfortunately, because they were acting alone, most collectors were unable to afford the cost of restoring their buses. This is why a group of collectors have banded together to form what we now call the Chicagoland Historical Bus Museum, NFP, to complete a life-long dream of returning these buses to roadworthy condition.

In addition, CHBM is committed to educating the public-at-large about the bus transportation industry. As funding permits, we plan on slowing creating bus displays, which will show all functional systems used to operate a bus, including engine and transmission displays, and the recreation of vintage transit stations to recreate days gone by, as well as bus demonstration rides on some equipment no longer found in the US.

With your help, this dream can come true, but precious time is running out to bring these treasures back to life. Your donation, whether large of small, could assist in paying for a battery or operating fluids, up to the complete exterior cosmetic restoration of a bus. Only you can get this historical fleet on the road again to relive days gone by. How about joining our museum today?