For bus aficionados, it was a fantastic weekend: on Sunday September 14th saw TMS’s museum coach 730 attend “Car Free Day” on Main Street. The Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation had organized a fan trip aboard two CMBC Orion Vs the day previous, and also on Sunday TMS operated a fan-trip aboard 1964 GM ‘Fishbowl’ 4612.
The Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation (CTHF) and the Transit Museum Society (TMS) were planning a heritage tour utilizing an Orion V suburban bus from Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC). The Orion V buses, built in 2008, are the last high floor buses in Canada operating for a public transit system. In the event, the tour was so popular that two Orions were chartered. The six-hour heritage tour covered some of the suburban routes (White Rock, Tsawwassen, etc.) where the buses were normally used. (CTHF).
The were many out-of-town guests for the Orion tour. So TMS operated a fan-trip aboard 4612 the following day. The trip covered some scenic spots along the Fraser River, including Westerham Island. It was organized by Milan Streit and Angus McIntyre (who also drove). Milan reports:
Happy to report all smooth sailing on our “Fishbowl along the Fraser” Excursion. All our stops were a great success, and we kept fantastic timing the entire time. We had 29 guests aboard. Some of the reviews coming back to me are fantastic, the out-of-towners were beyond excited for the opportunity and commented on the great look and restoration of the bus.
Over 4600 visitors climbed aboard our Musuem Bus, #730 at the Main Street Car Free Day. Our attendance was organized by Lawrence Walker (with help, no doubt from Sue!) It was a wet day, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm to visit the coach. Thanks to driver Evan Russell, and hosts Matthew Walker, Sue Walker, Oscar Kapsa, Hubert Leong, Teddy Sun, Michael Penco, Aden Wong, Martin Wu and Maxwell Chang.
Thanks also to our photographers, Rob Chew, Aden Wong, and Lawrence Walker.