Development
Consolidated spread farther to the south and southeast by buying even more existing bus operations, including in 1930 the Union Transfer Company (UTC), which had begun in -24 in the Volunteer State. Union, based in Nashville, Tennessee, provided the CCC Lines with the routes connecting Nashville with Knoxville, Chattanooga, Hopkinsville (in Kentucky), andRelationship with Greyhound
From an early date Consolidated operated in conjunction with Greyhound in a cooperative way (with through-ticketing of passengers, through-checking of their baggage, and coordinated connecting schedules, all of which provided advantage to each company along with convenience to their customers). The CCC sought (among other carriers) the "Greyhound Lines ''of Georgia''", a new and relatively small but significant operation, which by that time had become a single-line company (after initial growth and subsequent paring or pruning), on a route between Chattanooga (in Tennessee) andA maverick Greyhound affiliate
Through the purchase of the SEGL (in 1931), Consolidated acquired the right to use the Greyhound dog trademark, the Greyhound color scheme (blue and white), and the Greyhound and Southeastern names. Shortly afterward that same year, 1931, with the consent of The Greyhound Corporation, Consolidated began using the name of the Southeastern Greyhound Lines as a brand name, trade name, or service name for its entire operation (not just between Chattanooga and Jacksonville but rather throughout its entire system) and began placing the Greyhound dog, the Greyhound name, and the Greyhound color scheme on all its coaches, and all the drivers and other workers began wearing Greyhound uniforms – even though the legal name of the company continued (albeit temporarily) as the Consolidated Coach Corporation. For that reason (between 1931 and 1936) the coaches bore the names of both Greyhound (in large lettering) and Consolidated (in small sublettering). In 1936, however, the Consolidated Coach Corporation became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, Inc. The home office remained in Lexington, and the employees continued as before. Thus Southeastern became a maverick or atypical Greyhound company, one of only two major affiliates which sometimes have been called the non-Greyhound Greyhound companies. he_other_was_the_Overland_GL,_based_in_Omaha,_Nebraska,_which_had_begun_as_two_related_carriers_–_the_Union_Pacific_(UP)_Stages,_a_highway-coach_subsidiary_of_the_Union_Pacific_(UP)_Railroad_(also_based_in_Omaha),_and_the_Interstate_Transit_Lines,_another_such_subsidiary_jointly_owned_by_the_UP_Railroad_and_the_Chicago_and_North_Western_Transportation_Company.html" ;"title="Union_Pacific.html" ;"title="he other was the Overland GL, based in Omaha, Nebraska, which had begun as two related carriers – the Union Pacific (UP) Stages, a highway-coach subsidiary of the Union Pacific">he other was the Overland GL, based in Omaha, Nebraska, which had begun as two related carriers – the Union Pacific (UP) Stages, a highway-coach subsidiary of the Union Pacific (UP) Railroad (also based in Omaha), and the Interstate Transit Lines, another such subsidiary jointly owned by the UP Railroad and the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company">Chicago and North Western (C&NW) Railway.] In 1938 the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, Inc., became listed for trade on the New York Stock Exchange (the "big board"), as not only the first corporation based in Lexington thus listed but also the first bus-operating company anywhere. lthough_The_Greyhound_Corporation_had_previously_(in_1935)_become_listed_on_the_big_board,_that_parent_firm_did_not_then_operate_buses_at_all,_for_it_was_still_merely_a_holding_company_rather_than_an_operating_company,_while_at_first_the_subsidiary.html" ;"title="holding_company.html" ;"title="lthough The Greyhound Corporation had previously (in 1935) become listed on the big board, that parent firm did not then operate buses at all, for it was still merely a holding company">lthough The Greyhound Corporation had previously (in 1935) become listed on the big board, that parent firm did not then operate buses at all, for it was still merely a holding company rather than an operating company, while at first the subsidiary">subsidiaries and affiliates conducted the operations.] The SEGL remained under separate ownership (that is, SEG was an independent corporation under independent ownership, not a division or subsidiary of The Greyhound Corporation) until the end of 1950. [One subtle but significant consequence of the independent status was that the coaches of those two independent companies bore the full names of the Overland Greyhound Lines and the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, whereas, starting about 1935, the coaches of all the captive Greyhound divisions and subsidiaries bore the collective or abbreviated name of the "Greyhound Lines".] Southeastern about 1944 introduced one clever twist along with its use of the Greyhound dog (especially as applied to the sides of the coaches), possibly in part a response to the "Battle of Britain" target-like symbol used (duringA sharing arrangement
The Southeastern GL cooperated in an unusual arrangement on its scheduled trips between Nashville and Knoxville with another carrier, theMore acquisitions
Through the years the CCC and the SEGL bought a number of routes and a number of other smaller companies. The Hood Coach Lines in November 1934 sold three significant routes to the Consolidated Coach Corporation and the Union Bus Company (acting jointly) – one route between Atlanta and Macon and one between Macon and Jacksonville via Waycross (in Georgia), both going to Consolidated (which in 1936 became renamed as the Southeastern Greyhound Lines) – plus a third route, between Macon and Savannah (both in Georgia), going to Union (which in 1941 was acquired by and merged into the Southeastern GL) – thereby providing to Consolidated and Union (and therefore later to Greyhound) not only a new route between Macon and Savannah and a parallel alternate route between Atlanta and Macon but also a quicker alternate route between Macon and Jacksonville (about 50 miles shorter than the older route via Valdosta in Georgia and Lake City in Florida). In 1941 the Southeastern GL acquired additional important and strategic routes by buying two more existing firms in the Deep South – the Dixie Coaches (running from Florence to Mobile via Birmingham and via Tuscaloosa, all four in Alabama) and the Union Bus Company (running from Macon to Savannah and from Jacksonville in Florida to Dothan in Alabama via Lake City, Tallahassee, and Marianna, all three in Florida). SEG and Union had become closely affiliated with each other shortly after the routes of the two firms began to intersect in Jacksonville, Lake City, and Dothan – to the extent that the UBC coaches began to appear in the SEG livery, including the dogs, with the names of both the Southeastern Greyhound Lines (in large lettering) and the Union Bus Company (in small sublettering) – and to the extent that the UBC began to operate coaches which SEG provided to the UBC (even new ACF coaches which SEG had bought specifically for the UBC).Purchase by The Greyhound Corporation
On the last day of 1950 the Southeastern Greyhound Lines, Inc., ceased to be an independent entity with its own separate corporate existence, and on the next day (the first day of -51) Southeastern GL became aPool (interline) operations
The SEG Lines took part in major interlined through-routes (using pooled equipment in cooperation with other Greyhound companies) – that is, the use of through-coaches on through-routes running through the territories of two or more Greyhound regional operating companies – including those between Chicago and Birmingham, Chicago and Mobile, Chicago and Atlanta, Chicago andMergers into Southeastern GL
In October 1954 The Greyhound Corporation merged two other divisions, two neighboring regional operating companies, the Teche GL (Teche or TGL) and the Dixie GL (Dixie or DGL), into the Southeastern GL. The three fleets of the three divisions became combined into a single fleet. Teche had been based in New Orleans, Louisiana; it ran from New Orleans toSeeing-eye (or sightseeing) dogs
In 1957, as the second version of the GM PD-4104 replaced and displaced the ACF-Brill IC-41 coaches of the Southeastern GL, Greyhound moved the retired IC-41s to a storage lot at the Greyhound shop on New York Avenue NE in Washington, DC. As the next tourist season approached in Washington, the management of the new DC Transit System, which in 1956 had replaced theMerger with Atlantic GL
In November 1960, in another round of consolidation, Greyhound further merged the Southeastern GL with – not into but rather ''with'' – the Atlantic GL (called also Atlantic or AGL), yet another neighboring regional company – thereby forming the third of four huge new divisions, the Southern Division of The Greyhound Corporation (called also the Southern GL), which reached as far to the north as Springfield and Effingham (both in Illinois), Columbus (in Ohio),Beyond Southeastern GL
Later (about 1966) The Greyhound Corporation reorganized again, into just two humongous divisions, named as the Greyhound Lines East (GLE) and the Greyhound Lines West (GLW); even later (about 1970) it eliminated those two divisions, thereby leaving a single gargantuan undivided nationwide fleet. When the Southern GL came into existence, the headquarters functions became gradually transferred from Lexington, Kentucky, and Charleston, West Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia; when the GLE arose, many of those administrative functions became shifted to Cleveland, Ohio; later yet those functions migrated to Chicago, Illinois, then toSee also
*References
*Hixson, Kenneth (2001). ''Pick of the Litter''. Lexington: Centerville Book Company. . *Jackson, Carlton (1984). ''Hounds of the Road''. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. . *Meier, Albert, and John Hoschek (1975). ''Over the Road''. Upper Montclair, NJ (US):External links