We are very proud of our association with the TransLink Police Blue Eagles Community Cadets which is a program for kids between the ages of 12 and 15. They learn about Indigenous Culture and policing as well as life skills.
Pictured here with Evan Russell (second on the far left in the visi-vest) who is our liaison with the group on one of the many outings where we provide transportation. You’ll notice that we even programmed the name of the youth group on the destination sign on #9753.
When we acquired our 1996 New Flyer D40LF bus (#9753), we quickly found out that different generations of that bus might look identical but in fact they are quite different in many ways. Parts are not necessarily interchangeable. Those buses came with many variations of powerpacks and wildly different electronics.
Over the years, we have always taken up the opportunity to get bus parts if they are offered, especially if we could access buses that are designated for scrap. Over the years we have referred to these occasions as “Parts Raids” which sounds nefarious but is always done with the permission of the owners.
Our New Flyer D40LF is now 29 years old, parts are difficult to find and in fact we can’t even buy many of the parts we need from the original bus manufacturer. We were very lucky and grateful to Coast Mountain Bus Company last summer when they gave permission for Parts Raids on the final generation of the D40LF’s. We were able to get seats, body panels and glass but engine parts, electronics and accessories were not compatible with our bus.
We were particularly interested in heater fans. There are 8 fans in the roof unit that feed air for the bus heaters and defrosters. During the Christmas Lights Tours we discovered that only 2 fans were working on #9753. None of the later generations had compatible fans.
Enter Sue Walker. From our network of bus spotters, she found a New Flyer D40LF (former CMBC #7432) at the Vancouver Fire Department Training Centre. A compatible bus! However, it was in really sad shape as the Training Centre used it for rescue and victim extraction exercises. After some research, Sue found a contact at the Fire Department and after many follow-up emails and phone calls she got permission for a Parts Raid. We are very grateful to the Vancouver Fire Department for the opportunity. And it wouldn’t have happened without Sue’s unique way with people.
Sue turned the project over to Jason Sharpe who arranged assess to the bus. He talked to the Training Centre about “ground rules” for going on VFD property and what parts we were allowed take off the bus.
We were given February 3rd for access, and we were greeted by the first winter snowstorm of the season. Every window on the bus had been smashed and most of the interior was thrashed. It was minus 3c that day as Jason and I arrived at 9am. We worked on the bus for 6 hours and patiently removed electronics, front and side destination signs, two sets of seat frames half of the rear door and the most important haul: all 8 heater fans off the roof. As the wind blew snow flurries throughout the bus and our feet and hands nearly froze off, I think we got what we needed. To give you a good idea of the condition of the bus, when the VFD Training officer first showed us the bus he said “As you can see, we like to wreck stuff”.
We are very grateful to the VFD for their assistance. This Parts Raid will help keep our 29-year-old bus on the road for many more years.
As you now doubt know, we are building a new “mobile museum” in our 1982 GM “Fishbowl” bus, #4107. Project leader Jason Sharpe has always insisted that this will not be merely a replacement for our present museum bus, 730. So, this project is not about taking the cabinets and exhibits out of the 1957 GM bus (if we could fit them through the doors!) but starting from scratch – examining what our visitors would want to see.
730’s exhibits focused on the history of transit from 1890 to the formation of TransLink. No one era was predominantly displayed. 4107, however, will be biased towards our transit history from the 60s and 70s onwards. We will keep 730 active, and available to attend events so that we can still present a full picture of Vancouver’s transit past.
Interest in transit is shown across many generations. But what we have discovered is that 730 isn’t very interesting for younger enthusiasts. The cabinets housing the displays are too high for youngsters to view! There are no “interactive” displays. Jason says he’ll address these issues by mounting cabinets vertically on the walls of 4107. He’ll include interactive features such as fareboxes and a destination blind which can turn to show different termini.
Austin Terpstra-O’Keefe has recently joined the “conversion team.” He has brought with him a desire to include more multi-media exhibits than we originally intended. This was mainly because of the extra cost this would involve. But Austin has struck up a relationship with the BC Technology for Learning Society. It offers gently used computer technology at free or low-cost to schools, low-income individuals, Indigenous groups, and fellow non-profit societies. The donated computers are refurbished by youth technicians who get paid work experience.
“We discussed our requirements, and BC Tech is enthusiastic about collaborating with us, expressing great confidence in our concept…. They are exploring options to provide us with low-cost or free devices,” says Austin. He also drew up these mock ups of what the rear of 4107 will look like. We can’t wait for the project to be finished. It’s certain to be a great success with our visiting public!
Happy New Year to all our members and supporters!
As we begin the new year, we’d like to just explain what has happened to the blog posts you may wish to re-read. As a Society, our mission is “preservation.” Sometimes the Internet can be quite the reverse — posts can disappear. (Though, I suspect those posts you regret may still be available deep inside the Goggle servers!) Because our blog posts often contain information which should be retained, every year we archive them and place them in our online library called TOPICS. There they are searchable, backed up, and always available. (You can search using the term ‘blog’.)
May 2025 be all you wish it to be!
John Day talks about the acquisition of the Flyer D700 buses and the beginning of the “FastBus” service. John was a consultant for the Transit System at the time:
The Flyer D700’s were ordered by BC Hydro pretty much at the time that the first NDP government was elected in August 1972. The new government didn’t have its transit plans started at the time of the order; Hydro management just went and bought 60 of them. There was some thought that it was to curry favour with the new government.
Why were these buses bought when the fleet was already big enough to serve the existing system? It was to make a start on converting the trolley coach lines to diesel operation. Whoa, said the government, not so fast. The Bureau of Transit Services was created early in 1973 and that idea was stopped. Instead, the new buses were used for service expansion into unknown territory, starting with the Tri-Cities area and the eastern part of the District of North Vancouver. The new buses bounced around the system a bit, including a few assigned to Pacific Stage Lines, but eventually all ended up in Kensington depot, which served the new Coquitlam/PoCo/Port Moody routes for many years before the PoCo depot was built.
The D700’s had a relatively short life on the system as they tended to fall apart. The power units from these buses were later moved into the bodies of the prematurely-retired Flyer E800 trolley coaches, to create the “triesels”, which created new-ish buses out of old. 2649 preserved by TMS was one of those.
Looking back, it is amazing that the buses were delivered so promptly, as were the buses ordered by the Bureau for the suburban expansion, these being the “FastBus” units from GM. These were transit specifications (T6H5308N) souped up for highway operation with Super-V transmissions and comfortable, forward facing bucket seats. The first suburban routes were implemented in August 1973, just one year after the government changed, which was quite an amazing feat considering equipment lead times as well as scheduling and even bus stop construction requirements.
Okay, even more for those that don’t know. The FastBus concept was a little different from today’s RapidBus routes in that the FastBuses usually did local work on some part of their route, usually the outer ends. The idea of routing limited stop services via a series of nodes (focal points) was a new one. It was a sneaky precursor, on purpose, to the rail based system we have today, with major focal points being established in locations which now house busy stations (e.g. Lougheed). Some FastBus routes (e.g. 980 Barnet) replaced Pacific Stage Lines routes while others (e.g. 933 Lougheed) were entirely new routes, running where BC Hydro had not.
I was personally involved in the design of some of the first routes. The Coquitlam local service was designed one Saturday afternoon after I drove around the district and jotted down some notes (though to be fair we had a pretty good idea beforehand as to where the routes should go). The routes have changed considerably as the area has become more populated and developed, but we had to start somewhere.
Photos kindly provided by TMS
TMS was represented by Bryan and Rhonda Larrabee and Evan Russell at the Transit Police Blue Eagles Christmas Celebration where Evan was awarded the Exceptional Support Award. Evan is our point person with the Blue Eagles as TMS provides transportation to the youth group. Evan schedules the drivers and works out logistics with the Transit Police. It’s a working relationship that we are proud to be involved with. Congratulations Evan, the award is well deserved.
The event was their annual Christmas Celebration at Britannia Community Centre in Vancouver. In attendance were members of the Blue Cadets youth group, family members, sponsors and volunteers. A delicious turkey dinner was served with a celebration cake and gift bags for everyone as well as a surprise visit from Santa.
The Blue Cadets are youth between the ages of 12 and 15 that have an opportunity to develop leadership skills while learning about Indigenous culture and policing through the Metro Vancouver Transit Police Blue Eagle Community Cadets program. Led by Indigenous Liaison Officer, Constable Kirk Rattray, the program gives young people the opportunity to:
Partners include: Vancouver Police Department’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigenous Relations Section, the Vancouver Aboriginal Policing Centre, the Surrey RCMP, Surrey Police Service, Options Community Services, Surrey Crime Prevention Society, Surrey Schools, and TD Canada.
This week we were invited to attend the Richmond Transit Centre (RTC) Holiday lunch, so Angus, Lawrence, Matthew and I took #4612 to join the festivities. We were treated to a full turkey dinner and met many of the RTC operators, mechanics and staff. Lawrence fixed up the story boards and put them in the bus and we gave tours. A nice surprise was a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
It was an honour and a pleasure to be invited and of course our 1964 GM Fishbowl (#4612) was a big hit. We took the opportunity to photograph some of the remaining 9 Orions as well as one of the Santa Buses.Â
Of course Angus McIntyre knew nearly everyone and posed for several pictures himself.
Lots of transit talk and comparison of the Fishbowl with the current fleet. The non-ergonomic driver’s area drew a lot of comments especially from operators wondering what it must have been like to have no power steering, no adjustable steering wheel and seat. The advertisements in the bus were popular and Angus was more than willing to talk about driving in the old days.
Writes Sue Walker, our Sales Manager:
“There was a gentleman that came by our Langley shop yesterday to pickup the last two bench seats removed from our D40LF during Jason Sharpe’s refresh project. He is doing a project of his own, but his involves a 1921 Ford Model T Runabout. The seats fit perfectly into the car. He was so impressed with what we do and who we are, that he gave us a small donation.” Definitely not OEM!
