Here are a few memories from 2007 when we were allowed to go onto the property at the Oakridge Transit Centre (OTC). We had just acquired our 1982 General Motors “New Look Hillclimber” T6H5307 #4107 which had been kindly donated by BC Transit.
A “friend” at OTC pulled some strings and allowed us to conduct a “parts raid” on the bone yard lanes. All the buses photographed were destined for scrap. Our only instructions were that we couldn’t damage the air system as the buses couldn’t be moved otherwise.
Our volunteers happily removed destination signs, mirrors, seats and various parts until we came upon bus #4112. When we opened the engine compartment, we found a pristine newly rebuilt 6V92T engine. When we checked the dipstick, the oil was still a gold colour. We HAD to have this engine!
After much discussion with the management team, we were given permission to have #4112 towed to our shop which was located at the Surrey Transit Centre at the time. Since we didn’t have access to a forklift or tow truck, we used our old #7701 Fishbowl to pull buses out of the way. That bus is long gone but you can see the “Greet Hornet” in one of the photos.
The new Vancouver Transit Centre on Hudson Street opened the year before this so the old Oakridge Transit Centre had lots of space for decommissioning buses, and I couldn’t help taking photos of bus history as it was passing. Even our “Green Hornet” is long gone.
