Jeremy, I never noticed until you posted that, but there ISN'T any rear load door handle! I looked at the pics of it on that other thread and didn't notice that one important detail until your eagle-eyed observaton. I have seen pics of 93-96 body style Cadillac hearses with a hatchback rear door but never one this old(other than a foreign make, such as those used in Britain for instance). Definately unique. Need to keep track of it and if the owner is ever willing to sell it someone from here should buy it and preserve it for the hobby.
Fleet shots
- Thread starter Steve Loftin
- Start date
I saw this pic from post about "cool ebay stuff missed". I worked for this man, John Joseph Carson (Joe), Parsons, KS in late 70's while I was in high school. Carson's was the Catholic firm in our town, they merged with the Protestant funeral home which I worked for. Joe is still alive at 88 yrs old. Never saw that car, but wish I had.
Attachments
Kudos! How I missed that bit is beyond me...heh. Didn't pick up on curvature of rear loading door into roof or handle(?) beneath license plate before either. Accept the sole remaining pic I took as a token of gratitude.
I'm almost positive Scott Funeral Home is correct if someone wanted to inquire about availability. As mentioned in previous thread, it was only being used a couple times annually.
The 'handle' looks to be a flat piece of metal like a pedal of sorts. Would be interesting to see wether you have to push it down or pull it up and how the mechanism works. Gotta do more recon on this Attilla! 
Are you sure the 1960 Cadillac isn't a Eureka? It looks more like a Eureka than a M+M to me but I'm no expert though.
Abe
Here's a fleet I have many memories of:
http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showpost.php?p=30808&postcount=28
http://www.professionalcarsociety.org/forums/showpost.php?p=30805&postcount=26
As mentioned in the other thread, Central bought the last five '76 S/C 54" cars built. Here they are a few weeks after delivery:
Central A.S. (Tulsa, OK)
Units 61, 63, 64, 65, and 66
(SL photo)
What a cool post, thanks so much for sharing! Question...is it just me, or does the second from the last 75 (unit 65) have an amber beacon instead of red? If so, what possible reason would they want to use amber as those are generally for tow trucks rather than emergency vehicles?
Abe
Darren Bedford
PCS Member
Local Canadian Funeral Home's Fleet
This is a local Funeral Homes Fleet. Name in photo.
The '68 Superior 3way was sold to them by PCS member Len Langlois.
There is 100 years of funeral coaches pictured.
The owner was a PCS member at one time and I have asked him to rejoin
as I told him the club and magazine is better than ever now !
I will be meeting up with this guy in the spring and will get more photos then.
Enjoy,
Darren
This is a local Funeral Homes Fleet. Name in photo.
The '68 Superior 3way was sold to them by PCS member Len Langlois.
There is 100 years of funeral coaches pictured.
The owner was a PCS member at one time and I have asked him to rejoin
as I told him the club and magazine is better than ever now !
I will be meeting up with this guy in the spring and will get more photos then.
Enjoy,
Darren
Attachments
I may be wrong, but I thought it was a very rare Miller Meteor Guardian.
Attachments
Keith Snyder
PCS Member
The car in the photo is indeed a 1960 Miller-Meteor Guardian
Jeremy D. Ledford
PCS Volunteer Chapter President
Phillips-Robinson & Company, Nashville, Tennessee.
The photo below was taken around 1950-51 in front of the Phillips-Robinson & Company Funeral Home on Gallatin Pike in Nashville Tennessee. The coaches are all 1949 and 1950 models.
Coaches from left to right.
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-500 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-490 Combination Car
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-500 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-490 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-491 Ambulance
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-501 Ambulance
The P&R 1950 Meteor Cadillac Ambulance can be found on page 45 in Tom McPherson and Walt McCall's book Classic American Ambulances a Photo Archive 1900-1979 and in Tom McPherson's Miller-Meteor, A Complete Illustrated History on page 77. A photo of the P&R 1949 Meteor Ambulance can be found in Peter Adsten's book EMS Classics.
After World War II P&R's ambulance fleet was given the name of and known as the Red Angels of Mercy. The P&R Red Angels were known well into the early 1970's.
Phillips & Robinson still operates the Funeral Home to this day http://www.phillipsrobinson.com/ and as you can see the building on Gallatin Road has changed very little since 1950.
Also, a shot of the 49 P&R Meteor ambulance can bee seen in this thread here, http://www.professionalcarsociety.o...t=4520&highlight=1949+Meteor+Ambulance&page=2 post #16.
Photo, Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
The photo below was taken around 1950-51 in front of the Phillips-Robinson & Company Funeral Home on Gallatin Pike in Nashville Tennessee. The coaches are all 1949 and 1950 models.
Coaches from left to right.
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-500 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-490 Combination Car
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-500 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-490 Combination Car
1949 Meteor Cadillac 86-491 Ambulance
1950 Meteor Cadillac 86-501 Ambulance
The P&R 1950 Meteor Cadillac Ambulance can be found on page 45 in Tom McPherson and Walt McCall's book Classic American Ambulances a Photo Archive 1900-1979 and in Tom McPherson's Miller-Meteor, A Complete Illustrated History on page 77. A photo of the P&R 1949 Meteor Ambulance can be found in Peter Adsten's book EMS Classics.
After World War II P&R's ambulance fleet was given the name of and known as the Red Angels of Mercy. The P&R Red Angels were known well into the early 1970's.
Phillips & Robinson still operates the Funeral Home to this day http://www.phillipsrobinson.com/ and as you can see the building on Gallatin Road has changed very little since 1950.
Also, a shot of the 49 P&R Meteor ambulance can bee seen in this thread here, http://www.professionalcarsociety.o...t=4520&highlight=1949+Meteor+Ambulance&page=2 post #16.
Photo, Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
Attachments
Last edited:
Brad Ross
PCS Michigan Chapter President
-The Reigle Funeral Cars-
I have shared this one before, but I want to make sure it gets in to this thread.
This is one page from a brochure distributed by Reigle Funeral Home on its opening of a new facility just south of downtown Flint in 1948:
Reigle's motto for the new Funeral Home was "Built for the working man and his family".
If anyone would like to take a shot at identifying the make/coachbulider/model of the vehicles, that would be great.
I have shared this one before, but I want to make sure it gets in to this thread.
This is one page from a brochure distributed by Reigle Funeral Home on its opening of a new facility just south of downtown Flint in 1948:
Reigle's motto for the new Funeral Home was "Built for the working man and his family".
If anyone would like to take a shot at identifying the make/coachbulider/model of the vehicles, that would be great.
OMG Brad, even though I was certainly not old enough to work there when they drove these vehicles, I did however work a many funerals out of this building. Matter of fact I was in this building not too long ago.
Thanks for the memories.
Keith Snyder
PCS Member
Brad....thanks for posting the interesting fleet photo. The vehicles are (from left to right) a 1946-1948 Meteor-Cadillac, three 1946-1948 Chrysler long-wheelbase sedans - one as a sedan ambulance, a 1956 Flxible-Buick ambulance and what appears to be a 1948 Ford delivery van service car. Neat photo!
Keith Snyder
PCS Member
Doug - Thanks for posting the Byrd-Snodgrass fleet photos. This is a company that certainly liked their Buicks. The top photo includes - from left to right - an unidentified vehicle, a '51 or '52 Buick sedan, a '50 Buick sedan, a '49 Buick sedan, a 1942 Henney-Packard ambulance, a 1950 Flxible-Buick, a 1950 Chrysler sedan and a 1949 Flxible-Buick. As I said, they really seemed to like those Buicks.
Keith Snyder
PCS Member
Doug... I sent a copy of the old Byrd-Snodgrass photo to Tom McPherson who looked up the Flxibles in the company delivery records. He says that the 1949 was a Flxible-Buick Premier combination car (B23-749), body number 16552 that was delivered to them on September 22, 1949. The 1950 was also a Flxible-Buick Premier combination car (B23-750), body number 17002 which was delivered on November 9, 1950. Again, thanks for posting the image.
Jeremy D. Ledford
PCS Volunteer Chapter President
Kentucky Limousine/Livery Service, Louisville, KY.
Here are two photos from the files of Perry's M-M Sales of Lebanon, TN. This is a fleet of five 1958 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Landau Traditional Coaches and 8 1958 Cadillac Series 75 Limousines destine to the Kentucky Livery Service of Louisville Kentucky. Four of the M-M LT's are 3-Way Coaches and one is a strait endloader.
First shot is a black and white parking lot line up and the second is a Kodachrome color plate/negative of the fleet lined up on a off ramp.
Photos, Jeremy D. Ledford collection. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Here are two photos from the files of Perry's M-M Sales of Lebanon, TN. This is a fleet of five 1958 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Landau Traditional Coaches and 8 1958 Cadillac Series 75 Limousines destine to the Kentucky Livery Service of Louisville Kentucky. Four of the M-M LT's are 3-Way Coaches and one is a strait endloader.
First shot is a black and white parking lot line up and the second is a Kodachrome color plate/negative of the fleet lined up on a off ramp.
Photos, Jeremy D. Ledford collection. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Attachments
Jeremy D. Ledford
PCS Volunteer Chapter President
1958 Chicago Livery Service Sale!
At the time, touted "the largest professional car sale in history" of what appears to be no fewer than 38 vehicles! A fleet of eight Miller-Meteor Flower Cars, 16 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional coaches and what appears to be 14 1958 Cadillac Series 75 Limousines bringing up the rear. Sold to the Chicago Livery Service, Chicago Illinois.
Would ya have loved to be on that overlook when those beauties were lined up!?!?!?
Photo's from the files of Perry's M-M Sales, Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
At the time, touted "the largest professional car sale in history" of what appears to be no fewer than 38 vehicles! A fleet of eight Miller-Meteor Flower Cars, 16 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional coaches and what appears to be 14 1958 Cadillac Series 75 Limousines bringing up the rear. Sold to the Chicago Livery Service, Chicago Illinois.
Would ya have loved to be on that overlook when those beauties were lined up!?!?!?
Photo's from the files of Perry's M-M Sales, Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
Attachments
Jeremy D. Ledford
PCS Volunteer Chapter President
My FAVORITE photo from this collection is this one, a night time photo of three 1957 cars!
From Left to right.
1957 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional Funeral Coach
1957 Cadillac Series 75 Limousine
1957 Miller-Meteor Cadillac 42" Sentinel Ambulance.
Although not sure of the location on this fleet you can faintly make out Whitehall painted on the drivers side #2 door of the ambulance.
Would have loved to been one of those guys in this photo!
From the files of Perry's M-M Sales, Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
From Left to right.
1957 Miller-Meteor Landau Traditional Funeral Coach
1957 Cadillac Series 75 Limousine
1957 Miller-Meteor Cadillac 42" Sentinel Ambulance.
Although not sure of the location on this fleet you can faintly make out Whitehall painted on the drivers side #2 door of the ambulance.
Would have loved to been one of those guys in this photo!
From the files of Perry's M-M Sales, Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
Attachments
Jeremy D. Ledford
PCS Volunteer Chapter President
Nashville Hearse Service. Nashville, TN 1959.
A fleet photo of the first year of operation on Nashville Hearse Service of Nashville, TN that was a subsidy of the Bland Casket Company of Lebanon, TN. A fleet of 5 1959 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Futura Limousine style coaches. Nashville Hearse Service was operated out of the Nashville branch office of Bland Casket Company.
In reference to Adam Borkat's post on the 1959 Cadillac tail fin chrome tail light pods at least a couple of these 59 M-M's seem to have them.
Also note the " M-M Flite Trim" on the doors going back under the tail fins on at least 4 of the coaches!
From the files of Perry's M-M Sales. Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
A fleet photo of the first year of operation on Nashville Hearse Service of Nashville, TN that was a subsidy of the Bland Casket Company of Lebanon, TN. A fleet of 5 1959 Miller-Meteor Cadillac Futura Limousine style coaches. Nashville Hearse Service was operated out of the Nashville branch office of Bland Casket Company.
In reference to Adam Borkat's post on the 1959 Cadillac tail fin chrome tail light pods at least a couple of these 59 M-M's seem to have them.
Also note the " M-M Flite Trim" on the doors going back under the tail fins on at least 4 of the coaches!
From the files of Perry's M-M Sales. Lebanon, TN. Copyright Ownership Retained. Please don't take this picture.
Jeremy D. Ledford collection.
Attachments
Last edited: