Mechanic Sean Keating aided by Richard Dyer (left) and Milan Streit (partially hidden) did adjustments on 4107’s front brakes after repacking. Next the process will be repeated on the rear wheels.

Earlier in the week, at the May Director’s Meeting, the attendees discussed likely candidates amongst our vehicles for future maintenance. The session was organised by TMS President Bryan Larrabee, aided by Rhonda. The meeting broke out into discussion groups to determine which of four vehicles we should concentrate our efforts on: 3106 (1991 New Flyer D40), 4276 (1990 MCI Classic), 3334 (1982 Flyer D901) and 2649 (1976 Flyer E800 converted to Diesel).

In preparation, Bryan provided each group with a short of history of work performed on each coach, and a list of known defects. Bearing that in mind, each group then discussed the merits of each vehicle and finally ranked the vehicles in preferred order for maintenance work. Bryan then assigned a point value, which when totalled, gave an indication of the feelings of the members toward each bus.

 

(photo: Rhonda Larrabee)

To some surprise, 4276 came out on top, followed by 3106, then 3334 and finally 2649. We should note that all coaches require work – participants were reminded that a bus with many defects of a nature that we could fix in-house may be preferred over one with fewer defects that needs to be sent out for heavy maintenance. Such may be the case with 4276; it has had much work performed on it but work on the transmission would probably need to be done by a company expert in working with Voith transmissions. Most of 3106’s needed work could be performed in-house at much less cost. So, while members may prefer to have 4276 on the road again, we may end up with 3106. Bryan has indicated that the bus chosen will likely become our backup commercial coach to 9753.

The exercise was valuable in focusing our attention on work to be performed in the longer short-term and provide feedback from the members be used in an upcoming strategic planning session (also organised by Bryan.)

This past Sunday (April 28^th), Jason Sharpe replaced the ‘stop’ lights on Low-Floor 9753. The replacement units contain more LEDs and so are very much brighter than the originals. Kyle Little took the close-up photo of what Jason found after removing the fittings. When BC Transit repainted the bus, the lights were not removed, so TransLink blue is clearly visible. But when the BC Transit stripe decals were then applied, the lights were removed!

And speaking of painting… Bob Webster, who has donated a large collection of transit photos from the 1940s and 50’s, also gave us a fantastic album of vintage postcards. The connection with painting? Well most from the early 1900s were originally black and white. They were then meticulously ‘hand-tinted’ to approximate colour scenes. The printing process was just as involved: each colour required a different printing plate. This gave the postcards their visual appeal – a limited number of vivid, almost unnatural, colours.

The hobby of collecting postcards is called deltiology. And Bob was known as a deltiologist. He stored his postcards in a beautiful album which we have added to our archives. As part of the process, librarian John Parento scanned each card – those with a transit theme have been added to our online gallery for you to view and enjoy. Search our Photo Albums – Transit Museum Society Enter ‘postcard’ in the search box.

(Looking down Londale towards ferry dock in 1919)

 

Hastings Street.. with no Marine Building and what appears to be the CIBC building at Granville

Also there is a view of the Lions Gate bridge, complete with a Pacific Stage Lines IC-41 Brill

The collection includes other views that do not feature streetcars – John will post those online on social media for others to enjoy.

November 2022. It seems a long while ago…but really its only approaching 18 months since we moved into our new home. Unit 808, 20381 62^nd Ave was the former home of Ninja Sports Club. It specialized in “Ninja Training” and Parkour. The two closely related sports involved participants travelling between two points in the fastest and most efficient manner. Ninja Warrior training also incorporated traversing the obstacle courses seen in popular tv shows like “American Ninja Warrior”. The club had chosen not to renew its’ lease and relocated to Kelowna. TMS member Ewan Streit noticed the photographs below on the club’s website, and decided to re-create the views.

Work continues on 4107… last week we showed you the beginning of work to clean off old grease from wheels and brakes. This past Sunday, Richard Dyer was completing the task. You can clearly see the difference between the “before” and ”after” views of the king pin, and the amount of material removed. Meanwhile Milan Streit cleans the brake drums and shoes.

April Director’s Meeting

The Director’s meeting was held at the Anvil Centre on April 5th. All members are welcome to attend — it’s a chance to catch up on the activities of the Society, and to hear and comment on our plans. But perhaps the most important aspect is the opportunity for the social “chit-chat” (as Sue Walker, who took these photos, calls it.)

(Appearing in the pictures: Michael Taylor-Noonan, Oscar Kapsa, Rob Chew. Centre: Angus Macintyre chats with Robert Farringer. Bottom: Ewan Streit and Dale Laird)

It was bath-time for 4612 this past Sunday. Ewan Streit gave it a scrub down in preparation for its appearance at this year’s Cherry Blossom Festival (Big Picnic). That’ll be held Saturday March 30th, 10:00a to 4:00p in David Lam Park at Homer and Pacific. And…. Could there be a fan-trip in its future?! Stay tuned!

This past Sunday (17^th March 2024) Sean Keating, Kyle Little and Jason Sharpe removed the front wheels of 4107. They’ll repack bearings and inspect brake drums and suspension.

Sean Keating instructs Kyle on removing wheel nuts

Kyle Little uses a locking axle nut wrench to allow removal of 4107’s front wheel

Jason Sharpe and Kyle Little remove the front wheel, and Sean shows Kyle how to inspect the drum

Meanwhile….

While archiving some documents I came across these notes:

The pages describe 730’s (as UPF 642) few months on its last assignment in Maple Ridge (after service in Powell River and Mission). That was 1987, and really, nothing has changed. It does reinforce our decision to convert 4107 as a second museum bus to handle most of our outreach program!

You talking’ ‘bout me? (John Day photo)

On March 5^th, 2024, TMS President Bryan Larrabee drove our 1964 GM ‘Fishbowl’ to BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. Matthew & Lawrence Walker attended as hosts. It was a short two-hour event that we attended at the request of hospital administration and TransLink.

Like many hospitals, BC Children’s (and the adjoining Women’s Health Centre) has a shortage of parking. One solution is to encourage hospital staff to take transit to work. Timed to coincide with staff lunch breaks, representatives from the Provincial Health Services Authority and Fraser Health staffed tables to encourage hospital employees to purchase discounted transit passes. 4612 attended to advertise the event and attract staff.

From 11am to 2pm, 120 people boarded 4612 for a look around no doubt reliving memories of taking transit many years ago! (Photos by Matthew Walker, Bryan Larrabee)

West Vancouver #712 in downtown Vancouver on October 20, 2009. Photos captured by Peter McLaughlin, courtesy of busdrawings.com

The Crown

Milan (pictured below) and Ewan Streit have been restoring the ‘crown’ from West Vancouver D60LFR #712. They used parts from an older version, though we are not sure from which vehicle that came.

And finally, Bryan happened to pass by the ‘flower shop’ on Roseberry Avenue in Burnaby. Our former home, Unit #6, has long been demolished and the new warehouse is taking shape. (Photos: Bryan Larrabee)

Seems ironic, but just as our Langley shop regained heat, work began on our 1982 GM ‘New Look’ to remove heat. For quite some time the coach had a leak in the piping connecting the passenger heaters to the radiator. Too, the heater cores needed attention, so the decision was made to bypass the heating system. Since the bus will no longer be in service, this will not affect the operation: visitors in the winter will be dressed for the weather, and in the summer we will not need heat! The driver’s heater remains operational. This past Sunday (March 3^rd 2024), the 4107 Mobile Museum project leader Jason Sharpe began work on the bypass. To open the ‘barn doors’ enclosing the heating cores, 4107 had to be raised. Jason was aided by Milan Streit; Milan’s first task was to drive the coach onto the ramps. There’s no room for error here!

Photographs: Matthew Walker, Ewan Streit, and Michael Taylor-Noonan

New Board Elected

At the 2024 Annual General Meeting, held March 1^st 2024, a new Board of Directors was elected by members of the Transit Museum Society. ‘New” refers to the date of its term, for the 2024-2025 Board is comprised entirely of members of the previous Board.

The 2024/25 Board of Directors (left to right): Jason Sharpe, Lawrence Walker, Michael Taylor-Noonan (Vice President), Sue Walker, Bryan Larrabee (President), Milan Streit, Rob Chew and Angus McIntyre.

Full disclosure: I didn’t manage to photograph the new Board before Jason left the Anvil Centre. Milan was absent. So, I reused this photograph of the 2023-2024 Board. Trust me, despite being a year older and wiser, our appearances haven’t changed!

Last Sunday, our shop work-party had a noticeable spring in their step. The reason? Our Langley facility finally had heat! For the past two months or so, we and our neighbours have been without it – the natural gas heating units had failed. We still had heat in our office, but the shop had to rely on electric heaters our landlord supplied. Mindful of the expense their operation would incur, we used them sparingly to keep the space at 6 deg. C.

Last week, Parkinson’s Heating completed installation of our four units, and those of our neighbours. Being ceiling mounted, we had to move our buses to allow access. Lawrence Walker and Bryan Larrabee organized the operation. We even helped out with our fork-lift, expertly operated by Lawrence, who also supervised the moving of our buses.

Preserving History in Langley

In February, President Bryan Larrabee and myself (Michael Taylor-Noonan, Vice-President) attended a roundtable discussion hosted by Langley MP John Aldag. It was held at Langley City Hall. The subject was the state of heritage in the Langley & the Lower Mainland. MP Aldag wanted to hear of the experiences and challenges of heritage societies and museums in preserving our history. It’s a topic he is most interested in, especially in relation to the role of the federal government. For us, and our fellow attendees, it was a chance to meet and get to know the work of our neighbouring organizations: the BC Farm Museum, Langley Centennial Museum, Langley Heritage Society, Fraser Valley Heritage Railway, Fort Langley, the Museum of Flight and BC Vintage Truck Museum.

(John Aldag, MP is centre 5th from left, with Bryan 2nd from right, Michael extreme left. Photo: Megan Waddington)

Striking is the fact that all the organisations, including ourselves, are facing hurdles to their continued operation. Some of these are significant: loss of facilities, loss of funding, and aging of members. Thankfully, in the past few years, TMS has attracted many younger members which bodes well for our future. Possible redevelopment of museum properties is a challenge for the Museum of Flight and the Truck Museum. Even where this is not a prospect, as in the case of the Farm Museum, delays in receiving planning permission can impact fundraising for new facilities. MP Aldag told of federal belt-tightening which may affect funding of sites such as Fort Langley. Federal assistance may be contingent on having some paid staff — most of the organizations are entirely volunteer.  

Participants agreed that the Province and municipal governments tend to under-estimate the value of our organizations to their communities, in both educational and economic value. The Musuem of Flight, for example, welcomed many international visitors since the pandemic. Perhaps this under-estimation is partly of our own making; even though there are many heritage museums and societies in the Langley area, there is very little co-operation and co-ordination between them. It was agreed that this fragmentation is a barrier to us “selling” Langley as a tourist heritage destination.  We hope to correct this, and work closer, to promote “circle tours” for instance. Fort Langley expressed interest in working with us to give tours in the townsite and the city of Langley will welcome our attendance at its summer festival. 

And, finally, as food for thought on our own future: The Museum of Flight told of an unintended consequence of the Federal government’s “de-carbonization” programs: the presence of Ethanol in avaition fuel is leading to increased wear within airplane engines. Could Canada’s push to a green future endanger our ability to run diesel and gasoline powered buses?

While waiting for Bryan in the lobby, I noticed two paintings, both of a familiar scene, depicted in our DVD, Then & Now. It is of an interurban arriving in Langley. Both paintings were by noted artist Brian Croft who has a passion for transit history.