In July of 1999 – TMS acquired 1957 Canadian Car Brill CD52A #3404. Along with it’s mate #3405 it was retired from BC Hydro and later became a Vancouver/Victoria Free Shopper bus. The buses were rescued by Scott McCormack and Norm Smith at Saanich Historical Society and donated to TMS.
#3404 is painted in the white livery with BC Hydro blue and green stripe and BC Hydro logo. It has made many appearances in movies and TV shows over the years.
In the fall of 2022, we moved #3404 to storage in the Fraser Valley and protected it with a good RV cover. The cover was very successful in keeping condensation and mould out of the bus. Last summer we removed the RV cover to bring it back to Langley for repairs after it was torn in a windstorm.
On Saturday, we needed to move the bus over about 2 metres to make room to store another bus. The bus has not been started in 2 ½ years. When we moved out of our Burnaby Rosedale shop, we had to transport the bus by “flat deck/landoll” trailer. To drive it onto the trailer, we had to cut the muffler and tailpipe off the bus. You can imagine how loud the bus was.
In preparation for our trip last Saturday, we needed to bring 2 large (8D) bus batteries and two jugs of 40wt motor oil. Our crew consisted of our Mechanical Advisor Sean Keating, Langley crew members Milan Streit, Richard Dyer, myself and Angus McIntyre. Angus actually drove the old Brill Diesels when they were in service, and he knew the odd quirks that this bus has for starting and getting in gear.
When we arrived after an hour drive from Langley, I was dismayed to find that the inside of the bus has a bit of mould and condensation already. We brought the RV cover with us intending to cover the bus after we moved it but it was raining on Saturday, so we just left the cover inside the bus to wait for a few days of sun. We will bring a crew back in a few weeks to clean the interior and put the cover over the bus.
The guys hefted the batteries out of Sean’s truck and installed them in the bus. We checked the oil and added both jugs of 40wt that we brought with us.
The engine in #3404 is a British made AEC Diesel and it’s located in the middle of the bus. Access is from a hatch inside the bus in the centre of the aisle. The shift cable is disconnected so you need to open the engine hatch, reach in to put the bus in gear by pushing the shift lever on the engine.
We were ready to give it a try. Angus reviewed his starting procedure, pushed the button and the old AEC engine started first try! There’s a knack to put the bus in gear as you have to shut down the engine and know when to put the bus in gear. The opposite applied to putting it in reverse. Remember I said the muffler had been removed? The bus was loud. Angus had to wait as the bus warmed up and the air compressor raised the suspension. He also had to be sure the oil pressure was sufficiently high to keep the engine running. As Milan put the bus in gear, Angus slowly moved the bus forward. The first time it had moved in 2 ½ years! We had to jockey the bus back and forth to position the bus properly.
After that, we turned to our 1976 E800 Flyer (Triesel). TMS acquired this bus in September of 2002. The “Triesel” was originally delivered as a Trolley Coach and in later years was converted to diesel. The trolley poles remained on the bus to be used to de-ice trolley overhead. When we got the bus, it was numbered #V1109 and we had it repainted in the yellow and orange livery and re-numbered it back to the original #2649.
In June of 2023 we had Cullen Western Star do an assessment for us on the condition of the bus. I drove the bus from Port Kells back to storage in the Fraser Valley and that’s the last time the bus had been started.
On Saturday we needed to move the bus over to make room for #3404. This required removing the two heavy batteries from #3404 and installing them in the Triesel. After a bit of repositioning the shifter, the bus started on the second try. It was parked on softer ground and over the past year and a half, the bus had sunk a bit into the ground. Angus had to rock the bus back and forth a bit to get it out of the soft spot. Otherwise, the bus was easy to move.
Now we had enough parking space between #3334 and #3404 to park a 40 ft bus so since we were already here, we decided to fire up #3106 and move it into that spot.
We actually had to purchase #3106 from a broker as TransLink had a policy in place that wouldn’t allow the direct donation of any decommissioned buses. #3106 is a 1991 New Flyer D40 and it cost TMS $4,144. This took place in April 2010.
We had high hopes to use that coach as our main commercially licensed bus to raise funds through charters and excursions. The bus served us well for 10 years but eventually we had to take it off the road to deal with rust remediation. We also ran into a problem finding certain brake parts. The bus has been stored for 3 years and hasn’t been started since then.
Oddly, the newest bus was the hardest to start. The guys hefted the batteries from the Triesel to #3106. After a few futile tries, Sean and Milan finally got the bus started from the rear. As Angus put the bus in gear and gave it a bit of throttle the bus wouldn’t move until we heard a “clunk” as the rear brake shoes finally decided to release. This bus has a very strong engine and transmission and sounded great!
With a bit of manoeuvring back and forth we got #3106 backed into place between #3334 and #3404. After that, the guys retrieved the batteries so we could bring them back to Langley. It was time to relax and take some photos.
We are making a promise to ourselves to return in 4 to 6 weeks, wash all the buses and put the RV cover back on #3404. We might even take one of the buses for a road test. Possible story for another blog in the future.
