presents

The History of School Transportation in Mercer County, WV

1936-63 - 1963-74 - 1974-84 - 1984-91 - 1991-98
1998-2004 - 2004-09 - 2009-14 - 2014-19 - 2019-

1998-99

If not a return to normalcy, 1998-99 was at least a return to Blue Bird. The Mercer County Board of Education resumed school bus purchases with the acquisition of eight brand-new Blue Bird/International conventionals with VINs in the XH662 series. These buses retained the black-framed doors that had premiered on the county's Blue Birds one year before, and were equipped with T444E V8 engines. Interestingly they were also decked out in a fairly deluxe equipment specification, with tinted glass. These buses are seared into the author's memory from his freshman year at PikeView High School in 1999, and I remember envying the students who could ride them!

Though the T444E is a capable powerplant in lighter-duty applications, the engines may have been the Achilles' heels of these buses. All were retired by 2013, and outlasted in the fleet by older buses equipped with International's more robust DT466 engine.

#522, a 1999 Blue Bird/International conventional model, seen shortly after being served its retirement papers. Annoyingly, the fleet number has been painted over. [Photo by the author, 2013]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
520	1999	Blue Bird	International		Served Spanishburg.
521	1999	Blue Bird	International?		Served Bramwell, Montcalm.
522	1999	Blue Bird	International	71	Served Spanishburg. Decommissioned by 2013.
523	1999	Blue Bird	International		Served Matoaka.
524	1999	Blue Bird	International?		Served Bluefield.
525	1999	Blue Bird	International	71	Served Bluefield. Decommissioned and sold in 2014.
526	1999	Blue Bird	International		Served Oakvale.
527	1999	Blue Bird	International		Served Matoaka.

1999-2000

In the early 2000s, the story of my home county's school buses played out much the same as the story of my high school years: Each year brought about a new twist on the same, usually for the worse. Likewise, tinted glass was discontinued with 2000 models.

#528, one of the county's 2000 Blue Bird/International buses. This one has a few warts: The plotched bodywork bears ample evidence of being repainted, the original ridged bumper has been replaced with a smooth bumper from a later Vision, and the required red reflex reflectors are conspicuously missing. [Photo by the author, 2013]

In 2016, buses #529 through #532 were decommissioned and sold. They later surfaced on the grounds of Mike & B Sales in Newcomerstown, Ohio, where they were parted and scrapped. [Photos by the author, 2013]

One more 2000 bus to round out the series! The fate of #533 is unknown. [Photo by the author, 2013]

#534 is still on the road, albeit in the employ of an oppressive local Christian "school." [Photo by Adam Ross, 2021]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
528	2000	Blue Bird	International		Served Princeton, Bluefield.
529	2000	Blue Bird	International	71	1HVBBABN8YH273518. Served Princeton. Decommissioned and sold in 2016.
530	2000	Blue Bird	International	71	Served Montcalm. Decommissioned and sold in 2016.
531	2000	Blue Bird	International	71	Served Bluefield. Decommissioned and sold in 2016.
532	2000	Blue Bird	International	59	Served Oakvale. Decommissioned and sold in 2016.
533	2000	Blue Bird	International	59	Served Princeton.
534	2000	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL4YH273515.

2000-01

In the summer of 2000, the Mercer County Board of Education purchased seven new buses for the forthcoming school year. All were broadly similar to the buses from the year before (with VINs in the 1H3607 series), but featured extended rear bodywork allowing for 13 rows of seats. They were also equipped with pressed steel wheels, replacing the cast-spoke wheels that had been a mainstay of local school buses as far back as the 1970s.

#536 is a representative example of Mercer County's 2001-model 77-passenger Blue Bird/International buses. Note the elongated windows in the rear section of the body, allowing for an extra row of capacity. [Regency Auctions, 2018]

#538, one of Mercer County's "class of 2001." Apart from the "stretched" rear windows and bodywork extension, the most notable characteristic of these buses was their spokeless pressed-steel wheels. [Photo by the author, 2013]

#541, yet another 2001 Blue Bird identical to the last. This was a promotional photo taken when the bus was decommissioned and sold off after seventeen years of service. [Regency Auctions, 2018]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
535	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Oakvale.
536	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Montcalm. Decommissioned and sold in 2018.
537	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Princeton.
538	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Princeton.
539	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Bluefield.
540	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Athens.
541	2001	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Athens. Decommissioned and sold in 2018.

2001-02

2002 model buses featured a host of new stylistic predilections from the Blue Bird factory, including ovoid mirror fairings emblazoned with Blue Bird logos, exterior-accessible (and vandal-susceptible?) fuse panels, and a redesigned control layout. Eight of these vehicles were acquired by the school board in the summer of 2001, with the order divided between three capacities and configurations.

#542, a 59-passenger Blue Bird/International bus. [Photo by the author, 2013]

#543 had a long service life, being a part of Mercer County's school bus fleet for nearly 19 years. During the course of its operational life, the bus also had its original ovoid crossover mirrors replaced by semicircular mirrors from a older, 1990s-era bus. [Photo by Adam, 2020]

#542, #543, and #544 are all examples of the 59-passenger buses that made up the bulk of the Mercer County school board's orders for the 2002 model year. Note the ovoid side and crossover mirror fairings, the most obvious visual differences from earlier models. [Photo by the author, 2013]

#545, a bus identical in length but sporting a rear wheelchair lift on the side. Note that the Blue Bird roof "streamer" has been offset higher from its usual position in order to clear the wheelchair door. [Photo by the author, 2013]

As with #543 (photographed on the same day), #546 was decommissioned in 2020. Here is the bus with non-original crossover mirrors, parked on the block for its final sale. It was purchased by a local artist, who gave the bus an imaginative conversion into a mobile studio. [Photo by Adam Ross, 2020]

#547, an identical wheelchair-accessible bus on the eve of retirement. [Regency Auctions, 2018]

#549, a 77-passenger model. As with the previous year's 77-passenger buses, this specimen features elongated rear bodywork and stretched windows in order to accommodate an "extra" row of seats. [Photo by the author, 2013]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
542	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL52H517079?
543	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL12H517080. Served Athens. Decommissioned and sold in 2020.
544	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL32H517081? Served Athens.
545	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL52H517082. Rear wheelchair lift. Decommissioned and sold in 2020.
546	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL72H517083. Rear wheelchair lift. Decommissioned and sold in 2020.
547	2002	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL92H517084? Rear wheelchair lift. Decommissioned and sold in 2018.
548	2002	Blue Bird	International	71	1HVBBABN92H517085? Served Bluefield.
549	2002	Blue Bird	International	77	1HVBBABN02H517086. Served Bluefield. Decommissioned and sold in 2020.

2002-03

For the fifth year in a row, Mercer County's school buses were sourced from Blue Bird with International chassis. This time, there were two visible changes: The front flasher backgrounds now touched the edge of the windshield glass...and a triumphant return for tinted glass! The author received his high school diploma in 2003, just in time to see bus numbers hit the triple-5 mark.

#552 and #553 are identical 59-passenger buses, shown here after having their signage defaced in preparation for their 2020 retirement. [Photos by Adam Ross, 2020]

#554 was a large-capacity 77-passenger model. In 2021, this bus resurfaced for sale in Beckley as a failed "skoolie" conversion. [Facebook Marketplace, 2021]

#555, an identical 2003 77-passenger Blue Bird/International. Lurking in the background is the WPA-constructed Athens School building in the author's hometown, which opened in 1941. [Photo by the author, 2013]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
552	2003	Blue Bird	International	59	1HVBBABL83H573163. Served Oakvale. Decommissioned and sold in 2020.
553	2003	Blue Bird	International	59	Served Matoaka. Decommissioned in 2020.
554	2003	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Athens.
555	2003	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Athens. Decommissioned and sold in 2018.
556	2003	Blue Bird	International		Served Athens.

2003-04

Whether or not anyone recognized it at the time, 2003-04 would prove to be the end of an era for school transportation in Mercer County. It was the last year in which the district would acquire Blue Bird buses with International chassis, the configuration that had held them through thick and thin for over a decade. Approximately six buses were acquired in the 3800 chassis' 2004 model-year swan song, all nearly identical in specification to the buses of the year before. A slightly-different crossover mirror mounting was the only visible change.

Most of these buses were retained in the fleet until 2021, when the county's "International 3800 era" ended at last.

#558, a 2004 model 77-passenger Blue Bird/International on the move. [Photo by the author, 2013]

#560 and #561 are both excellent examples of late-period 3800s. Both were still in commission as of 2020, in good maintenance and original condition. [Photos by Adam Ross, 2020]

#562 was the last (or at least highest-numbered) Blue Bird/International 3800 to be added to Mercer County's fleet. And...ouch! "Out of Service," indeed! [Photo by the author, 2013]

Bus	Year	Body	Chassis	Cap.	Notes
557	2004	Blue Bird	International	59
558	2004	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Matoaka. Decommissioned and sold in 2021.
559	2004	Blue Bird	International		Served Bluefield.
560	2004	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Princeton. Decommissioned and sold in 2021.
561	2004	Blue Bird	International	77	1HVBBABNX4H621376. Served Spanishburg. Decommissioned and sold in 2021.
562	2004	Blue Bird	International	77	Served Melrose. Decommissioned and sold in 2021.

1936-63 - 1963-74 - 1974-84 - 1984-91 - 1991-98 1998-2004 - 2004-09 - 2009-14 - 2014-19 - 2019-

1936-63 - 1963-74 - 1974-84 - 1984-91 - 1991-98
1998-2004 - 2004-09 - 2009-14 - 2014-19 - 2019-