The weekend of June 28th saw lots of activity here at the Transit Musuem!

On June 28th Angus McIntyre drove our 1964 GMC ‘New Look’ between River Rock Casino and VanDusen gardens carrying happy couple Eric and Nicole and their guests to their wedding ceremony.

“Now that the dust has settled on the day a little bit as a newly married couple, we wanted to extend another thank you to you both, Bryan and Angus, for helping us to both fulfill a need for passenger transportation as well as being able to incorporate such a beautiful piece of history into our wedding! As a transit loving kid, I never would have thought something like this would one day be possible! The bus was a great hit with all of the guests, from the old to the young and I distinctly recall there was a loud gasp of “oh yesss, I remember!!!” from guests when Angus explained and demonstrated the coin dispenser. From listening to Angus’ history and knowledge I can tell both of you are very passionate about the organization, and it truly made our day. Please also thank the detailing crew for us, as it was sparkling clean right down to the shine of the tires and it was noticed.”

Eric Lee

Look at those tires and rubber wheel well sections! People arriving at the parking lot really noticed – photos were taken. Rear wheel rim is gleaming white. At 61 years old it looks like it just came out of the factory. 

Angus

Thanks also go to Francis He and Iyck Igbinedion (Ike) for washing 4612 for its shuttle assignment. It goes to show how important it is to carefully clean and detail the bus.  Special thanks to Jason who even detailed the tires and Angus who weaves his magic on every charter he drives for us.

Bryan

I made sure my shoes were as shiny as the bus.

Angus

Meanwhile at our Langley facility…. three ‘Jimmys’. Matthew Walker took these photos. Interesting to note that really only two years separate the two designs. Our ‘Old Look’ was built in 1957, while the ‘New Look’ design made its debut in 1959!

Jason Sharpe washes 730: thanks to our maintenance team, the oil leak was repaired and the coach will attend events this summer!

 

(Photo: Aden Wong)

On Monday, June 23^rd, a work party travelled to our satellite storage in Deroche.  There were two teams – mechanical to start buses, swap batteries: Sean Keating, Milan Streit and Jason Sharpe. The other, cleaning, was composed of Bryan Larrabee, Rian Fatemi, Aden Wong and me. 

At the site we have Fageol Twin M48 stored indoors, but Flyers 3334, 2649, 3106 and Brill 3404 are stored outdoors. The was some mildew growth on the exteriors of these coaches, and some mold on the interiors.  Numerous insects had made their way into the buses, some were still alive, others were dead.  But there was nothing some “elbow grease” couldn’t cope with. 

The decision was made to wrap up 3404 in the RV cover Savannah Dewolfe and Bryan had repaired while at Langley. UV rays had made some areas of the cover tissue-thin. We will probably have to revisit 3404 to repair some of the unavoidable damage that occurred on covering the coach. 

UV plays havoc with the destination curtains and electronic flip-dots – Jason Sharpe made sure that 3106’s display was as near blank as possible.  There is not a blank screen, so it is a matter of switching off the coach while it is in the middle of refreshing the sign. After four or five tries he managed to do it, but there still are a small number of stray dots visible. 

Jason was also tasked with backing 3106 into its parking spot — it was tight, and other vehicles parked nearby made it even harder!

It was a long day – thanks to the crews who volunteered! 

Burnaby’s biggest annual street festival attracts over 60,000 attendees every year. There is a colourful parade, vintage car show, thrilling race, live music, fun entertainment, delicious food, and lots of activities appropriate for all ages. This year’s event was held June 7th. TMS attended with 4612, our 1964 GM ‘Fishbowl’ bus. Though our coach ran in North Vancouver, other members of the 35′ vehicle class were regular performers on many Burnaby local routes connecting with the trolleybuses at Kootenay Loop.

TMS would like to acknowledge and thank the following for volunteering to help host our coach: Evan Russell (driver), Ewan Streit (Host team leader), Oscar Kapsa (Host team leader), and hosts Rian Fatemi, Aurora Power, Francis He, Lawrence Walker, Sue Walker and Matthew Walker.

It was a glorious day on Saturday, May 24^th, for the 53^rd Annual Hyack Parade in New Westminster. There were over eighty entries taking part, including our 1964 GM ‘New Look’ Transit bus, #4612. In charge of our entry were Sue & Lawrence Walker. They were aided by Anthony Sherst, who drove the bus, a TDH4519, Jackie Sherst , Stephen Goodman and Matthew Walker.

(L to R, Lawrence Walker,Anthony Sherst, Jackie Sherst, Stephen Goodman, Matthew Walker and Sue Walker.)

The parade began at the corner of Eighth Avenue & Sixth Street, travelled down Sixth to Queens, along Queens to First St and then into the park. It lasted for two hours.

The weather gods were with us this weekend; the temperature around 17 degrees. So many entrants, those in our area just a bunch of happy people. We chatted with so many interesting people. We all had a wonderful time!

Sue Walker.

Says Sue: We had the Dune Buggy Club behind, and Cap’s Cycles in front.

The gentleman in green is Gordon Hobbis. He is the current owner of Caps Cycles in Sapperton. He is the son of the founder Gerald Hobbis, whose nickname was “Cap”. Gerald sold his first bike in 1932. There was a museum in the basement, displaying all type of items from the world of cycling, including these two “penny-farthings”. (That was a UK term for the bike, which had a big front wheel “the penny”, and a smaller back wheel, “the farthing.” They represented two British coins, the large penny, and the smaller farthing. There were 4 farthings to the penny.)

Thank you to our volunteers, and to Matthew Walker for the photos.

Jason has been a long time member of the Transit Musuem Society. Here he is interviewed by TMS Vice-President, Michael Taylor-Noonan. His discusses his love of buses, and why he is a member of the Transit Musuem Society (8 min)

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.

GMC Fishbowl Museum Project

Exciting progress is being made on our 4107 GMC Fishbowl Museum Project! The restoration and transformation of this iconic bus into a mobile museum is well underway, and we are thrilled to share the latest developments with our members and supporters.

One of the major milestones we have recently achieved is the completion of vinyl coverings for all the windows. This crucial step prepares the bus for the application of various transit logos that will showcase the rich history of public transportation in British Columbia and beyond. Some of the logos under consideration include those from Metro Transit, Coast Mountain Bus Company, TransLink, BC Transit, BC Hydro, and many more. These visual elements will help tell the story of how transit has evolved over the decades, making the 4107 a rolling time capsule for enthusiasts and the public alike.

In addition to the exterior restoration, we are pleased to announce a new digital component to the museum bus, made possible by our continued partnership with BC Tech. Thanks to their generous support, we will be

equipping the 4107 with a state-of-the-art computer system, including two interactive kiosks. These kiosks will provide an engaging and educational experience for visitors, allowing them to explore transit history through multimedia displays, interactive maps, and archival footage. The kiosks will also feature sound and voice interaction to accommodate visually impaired visitors, ensuring accessibility for all.

Further enhancing the digital experience, we will be installing six display monitors at the back of the bus three on the left and three on the right where images and historical photos can be changed regularly to showcase different aspects of transit history. Additionally, a center TV, similar to the setup in Unit 730, will provide a focal point for educational videos and presentations. These features will help bring the past to life in a dynamic and engaging way.

Austin and Michael will be leading the development of the kiosk programming, ensuring that the content is both informative and userfriendly. With these cutting-edge tools, visitors will be able to dive deep into the history of transit, learn about the evolution of vehicles like the GMC Fishbowl, and engage with a wealth of historical data in an exciting and interactive way.

This project is moving forward step by step, and we appreciate the support of our members, volunteers, and partners who are helping bring the vision of a fully functional transit museum bus to life. We will continue to provide updates as we reach new milestones, and we encourage everyone to stay tuned for more exciting developments!

Thank you for being part of this journey. Each step brings us closer to making the 4107 a truly unique and immersive museum experience.

The rails of the Fraser Valley Heritage Railway Society in Cloverdale, that is! In collaboration with the FVHRS, we offered our first fantrip of the 2025 Summer Season.

Lawrence, myself and Milan believe  that everyone had a wonderful time. We had many opportunities to chat with everyone.  The people we chatted with were very happy with this excursion. I myself was very impressed on the trip. The Heritage Railway was very welcoming to everyone and invited us to their BBQ. Lawrence and Milan did a great job in organizing this trip: Milan picked wonderful places on the second part of the excursion.  The area that 4612 was for a photo shoot was fantastic. It was a bonus that there was a train that also came by. The fans were over the moon with that photo opportunity.  The weather was fantastic! Great first 2025 excursion for The Transit Museum Society.

Sue Walker

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.