| Rollsigns from North Bay, ON |
| Public transportation in the North Bay area began when J.D. Ricker of North Bay purchased the bus service operating between North Bay and Powassan from C.A. Pellow. On October 13, 1930, Ricker added city service within North Bay itself. At some point, Ricker's service in and around North Bay ended. From 1947 to 1960, Palangios' DeLuxe Coach Lines operated service. Then McCarthy Bus Service provided transit to the city from 1960 to 1968. The current North Bay Transit first began when a contracted service provided by Charterways Transportation Limited took over from McCarthy in 1968. The city of North Bay took over operations on April 19, 1972, and continues to provide service to this day. |
This mylar front rollsign came from one of North Bay's GMC
New Look buses that ended up at a scrap yard in Hamilton,
Ontario. The sign has no print date, but its print date is from
sometime between the mid 1980s and the mid 1990s when
the bus was first found. It has 20 exposures.
New Look buses that ended up at a scrap yard in Hamilton,
Ontario. The sign has no print date, but its print date is from
sometime between the mid 1980s and the mid 1990s when
the bus was first found. It has 20 exposures.
| North Bay Transit 1979 built GMC TDH-5307N "New Look" #T738, a bus similar to the one that this rollsign came from, is seen at the old downtown North Bay train and transit terminal off Oak St W. at the foot of Ferguson St., (where the downtown "OAK 2" municipal parking lot is today) on August 22, 1995. |
The story behind this rollsign and how it seems like I was meant to own it:
There was a scrap yard in Hamilton, Ontario I frequented in the 1990s and 2000s. Over the
years I became friends with the family that owned it, and they allowed me to preserve many
rollsigns from the scrapped buses they received. When I went there one time, a single North
Bay Transit GM New Look bus had showed up at it. The front rollsign was still on it and in tact.
I tried to open the front sign area door inside, but I guess the upper corner over the driver's
area got pushed in a little, and the door wouldn't open. I tried even hanging off of it, putting
my whole weight into trying to get it to open, but to no avail. I then tried to remove the rollsign
with the available gap I was able to create. I got it open enough to try and look inside. It was
then I noticed an active wasp nest in there! I thought, "Okay, I'll leave it for now and come back
in the fall when it would be colder, and the wasps would have died off.", and left it behind.
The next time I visited, the bus had been scrapped out. I thought I missed the opportunity.
Fast forward to 2026. Browsing Facebook Marketplace, I discover there was a North Bay
Transit rollsign for sale. The seller just happened to be from Hamilton on the mountain area
of the city. The rollsign stayed available and unsold until I got up there on a personal visit.
Arranging to buy the sign, I met with the husband and wife that were selling it. The guy's dad,
who had recently passed away at the time, was a former driver for Gray Coach Lines, based
out of nearby Toronto, Ontario. He was also a collector of transit memorabilia. It turns out
among other things, he was a regular visitor to that same Hamilton scrap yard I often visited.
I told them about what I do with the scrolls and how it will be kept in tact and in good
hands, and they were really pleased to know that the rollsign was going to someone
who would appreciate it as much as his dad did.
The couple had other rollsigns and collectibles they were selling off from his collection
as well. From talking with them, they said all the rollsigns they were selling had also
come from that scrap yard, and it wasn't a stretch to come to the conclusion that this
North Bay Transit rollsign seen here was the same one I tried to get about 30 years
prior! Fate had eventually and finally put it into my possession after all these years!
There was a scrap yard in Hamilton, Ontario I frequented in the 1990s and 2000s. Over the
years I became friends with the family that owned it, and they allowed me to preserve many
rollsigns from the scrapped buses they received. When I went there one time, a single North
Bay Transit GM New Look bus had showed up at it. The front rollsign was still on it and in tact.
I tried to open the front sign area door inside, but I guess the upper corner over the driver's
area got pushed in a little, and the door wouldn't open. I tried even hanging off of it, putting
my whole weight into trying to get it to open, but to no avail. I then tried to remove the rollsign
with the available gap I was able to create. I got it open enough to try and look inside. It was
then I noticed an active wasp nest in there! I thought, "Okay, I'll leave it for now and come back
in the fall when it would be colder, and the wasps would have died off.", and left it behind.
The next time I visited, the bus had been scrapped out. I thought I missed the opportunity.
Fast forward to 2026. Browsing Facebook Marketplace, I discover there was a North Bay
Transit rollsign for sale. The seller just happened to be from Hamilton on the mountain area
of the city. The rollsign stayed available and unsold until I got up there on a personal visit.
Arranging to buy the sign, I met with the husband and wife that were selling it. The guy's dad,
who had recently passed away at the time, was a former driver for Gray Coach Lines, based
out of nearby Toronto, Ontario. He was also a collector of transit memorabilia. It turns out
among other things, he was a regular visitor to that same Hamilton scrap yard I often visited.
I told them about what I do with the scrolls and how it will be kept in tact and in good
hands, and they were really pleased to know that the rollsign was going to someone
who would appreciate it as much as his dad did.
The couple had other rollsigns and collectibles they were selling off from his collection
as well. From talking with them, they said all the rollsigns they were selling had also
come from that scrap yard, and it wasn't a stretch to come to the conclusion that this
North Bay Transit rollsign seen here was the same one I tried to get about 30 years
prior! Fate had eventually and finally put it into my possession after all these years!