Wayne Works Sales Brochure, "Wayne Presents a Complete Line of All-Metal School Bus Bodies," circa 1930

Wayne Works of Richmond, Indiana, had been building wood-bodied buses -- both for horse-drawn and motorized platforms -- for years when it converted to steel in the late 1920s. Steel bodies were safer and more comfortable for students, and they held up better under rigorous daily use. Faced with a shrinking school bus market in the 1980s, Wayne declared bankruptcy in 1992.