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Thomas Built Buses
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly shortened to Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, Thomas has been a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (the parent company of Freightliner) since 1998. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages.
Founded in 1916 as Perley A. Thomas Car Works, the company was renamed in 1972 to better represent its primary product lines. Prior to its acquisition, the company was operated by the Perley A. Thomas family, the final major school bus manufacturer operated under family control.
Since 1936, Thomas has produced school buses in High Point, North Carolina. In addition to bus bodies, the company also produces vehicle chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX2 and HDX2 buses. Currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses, along with their commercial derivatives.
The oldest surviving school bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses traces its roots to 1916. Following the closure of streetcar manufacturer Southern Car Company, Perley A. Thomas (trained as a woodworker and engineer) founded a company specializing in fireplace mantels and home furnishings. In the summer of 1916, Thomas shifted from furniture to streetcar construction, as he secured a contract to enclose existing streetcars in Charlotte, North Carolina, renovating them in a car barn.
In the summer of 1916, Thomas Car Works was founded; with a $6,000 loan ($138,459 in 2018), Thomas acquired the equipment of Southern Car Works at an auction, opening an assembly facility in a former ice manufacturing plant in High Point. During 1917, the company renovated 9 streetcars for the United States Navy in Mobile, Alabama, and for the city of Montgomery, Alabama.
1918 marked several milestones for the company, as Thomas Car Works began the production of brand-new streetcars; 25 were produced. All-steel bodies were produced by the company for the first time, quickly overtaking wooden designs. At the end of 1918, the company began the construction on a larger factory, a 30-acre facility outside of High Point allowing for both construction and repair of streetcars.
While best known from their use in New Orleans, Perley Thomas streetcars produced during the 1920s would also be utilized by communities across the United States, including Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Miami, FL; Mobile, AL; New York City; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC, and exported as well, with Havana, Cuba as a user.
In total, Thomas Car Works produced approximately 400 streetcars from 1918 to 1930; at its peak, the company was the fourth-largest manufacturer of streetcars in the United States.
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Thomas Built Buses
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly shortened to Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, Thomas has been a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America (the parent company of Freightliner) since 1998. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages.
Founded in 1916 as Perley A. Thomas Car Works, the company was renamed in 1972 to better represent its primary product lines. Prior to its acquisition, the company was operated by the Perley A. Thomas family, the final major school bus manufacturer operated under family control.
Since 1936, Thomas has produced school buses in High Point, North Carolina. In addition to bus bodies, the company also produces vehicle chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX2 and HDX2 buses. Currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses, along with their commercial derivatives.
The oldest surviving school bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses traces its roots to 1916. Following the closure of streetcar manufacturer Southern Car Company, Perley A. Thomas (trained as a woodworker and engineer) founded a company specializing in fireplace mantels and home furnishings. In the summer of 1916, Thomas shifted from furniture to streetcar construction, as he secured a contract to enclose existing streetcars in Charlotte, North Carolina, renovating them in a car barn.
In the summer of 1916, Thomas Car Works was founded; with a $6,000 loan ($138,459 in 2018), Thomas acquired the equipment of Southern Car Works at an auction, opening an assembly facility in a former ice manufacturing plant in High Point. During 1917, the company renovated 9 streetcars for the United States Navy in Mobile, Alabama, and for the city of Montgomery, Alabama.
1918 marked several milestones for the company, as Thomas Car Works began the production of brand-new streetcars; 25 were produced. All-steel bodies were produced by the company for the first time, quickly overtaking wooden designs. At the end of 1918, the company began the construction on a larger factory, a 30-acre facility outside of High Point allowing for both construction and repair of streetcars.
While best known from their use in New Orleans, Perley Thomas streetcars produced during the 1920s would also be utilized by communities across the United States, including Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Miami, FL; Mobile, AL; New York City; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC, and exported as well, with Havana, Cuba as a user.
In total, Thomas Car Works produced approximately 400 streetcars from 1918 to 1930; at its peak, the company was the fourth-largest manufacturer of streetcars in the United States.