GRUMMAN-FLXIBLE "870" CRACKED A-FRAME PROBLEMS

In December of 1980, a total of 2,656 Grumman 870 Advanced Design Buses in 27 cities, including New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles, were taken out of service by their manufacturer, the Grumman-Flxible Corp., to reinforce the undercarriages on the buses. Because of a design flaw, numerous Grumman 870s built between 1978 and 1980 began to develop cracks in their supporting A-frames, forcing the company to remove the entire fleet from service for underframe repairs. These A-frame repairs would cost Grumman-Flxible $7 million to correct. The Grumman 870 A-frame problem was the focus of an evening news story broadcast on ABC World News Tonight in late-1980/early-1981. In this video clip, ABC News reporter June Massell briefly recaps the history of the Grumman-Flxible 870, its problems, and how commuters in Chicago had to cope while Chicago's fleet of 205 RTA (Regional Transportation Authority) Grumman 870s were grounded. In 1984, the suburban Detroit SEMTA bus system (now SMART) purchased sixteen (16) Flxible "Metro" coaches (#8401-8416)—a similar-appearing revised version of the Grumman 870—to service the suburbs of Detroit. Although the Flxible Metro was based on the 870, the A-frame problem had been rectified by the time the SEMTA order was placed. (video posted as an educational reference only) For more Detroit transit videos visit: http://www.detroittransithistory.info...