After last week’s mechanical inspection, it was time for a wash-and-brush up. Milan Streit, Matthew Walker and Stephen Goodman hooked up the hosepipe, got the brushes out, and gave GM Fishbowl 4107 a good clean. After 3 years of outside storage, there was mildew and green algae growth.
Last Tuesday, as part of the “Big Bus Move”, Fageol Twin M852 went to Fraser Valley storage, and Brill trolleycoach 2040 was trucked to VTC. Also, part of the plan was a quick visual inspect of GM ‘Hillclimber’ 4107 to determine whether it could be driven to Langley.
Bryan Larrabee, Sean Keating, Milan Streit, and Lawrence Walker met at our satellite storage at 10am, off-loading the Fageol from the Mundie’s Landoll, trading it for Brill 2040. After that, their attention turned to ‘Fishbowl’ 4107. In preparation, it had been connected to a charger overnight.
Bryan:
“(When) we hit the starter… she wouldn’t start. Lawrence and Sean decided to connect our booster pack and the spare battery we brought from Langley to give it maximum power. After rechecking by Sean and Lawrence, Milan hit the rear starter switch and she started first try. We got a brief bit of black smoke on start up, and white smoke for another 10 seconds and no smoke afterwards.
We knew the fuel level was okay so we decided to chance the drive to Langley with Lawrence following closely in my truck. The bus ran fine. Brakes appeared to be okay and the steering was great. We parked the bus face in. All done by 2pm.”
4107 was selected for outdoor storage at the satellite storage site when we moved from Roseberry. Our intention in bringing it back was to determine what effect this was having on the coach. The exterior had some green-spot algae, mildew and mold, but nothing a good wash and scrub wouldn’t deal with.
On Sunday, Sean, Milan, Richard Dyer and Matthew Walker attended to examining its mechanical condition. Putting the bus upon on ramps, they inspected the suspension, steering, brakes and other items ‘below deck.’ The report: good, with just minor issues.
Member Jason Sharpe visited the site of our former home at Roseberry Avenue in Burnaby, last week. As you may know, our unit, #6, was part of a complex of two buildings owned by United Flower Growers.
United Flower Growers is a co-operative of 80 members engaged in the floriculture industry. Flowers and other floral products are supplied to retailers and wholesalers throughout BC, as far as Manitoba in Canada and California in the United States. Flowers are auctioned “Dutch-style” – that is the price starts high and is lowered until someone buys. The process is now computerized, available online, each transaction taking from two to five seconds.
UFG began in 1963. The auction is said to be the largest in North America. The former building housing Unit #6 was opened in 1986, part of a $5M complex. Below is Jason’s photograph of the beginnings of a new structure, believed to be more warehousing. (I’m not sure whether a new auction hall is being built – the number of ‘in-person’ auctions declined considerably during the pandemic, moving on-line.)
Meanwhile at our new facility in Langley, buses were again moved around, in preparation for a possible “trade” with our satellite storage. Fageol M852 may travel out to the Fraser Valley in exchange for 4107 or 3106. Both coaches need minor work performed on them. Lawrence Walker and Angus McIntyre gave the Fageol a spin around the Langley parking lot. (Above, Mathew Walker starts the engine while Lawrence makes some adjustments to it.)
On Tuesday, Brill T-44 trolleycoach travelled from satellite storage to TransLink’s VTC to be be prepped for a special event coming up in August. (Photo: Bryan Larrabee)
(Photos: Angus McIntyre)
Bryan Larrabee writes:
We had quite a day on Tuesday April 24th.
Mundies Towing was very accommodating as we made a change of plans the day before. Sean, Lawrence, Milan and I met the Mundies truck at 8am at our Langley shop. They loaded the Fageol and it was trailered out to our Fraser Valley storage where we all met at 10am. Lawrence backed the Fageol off and parked it aside and then Fraser used his 4×4 tractor to tow #2040 carefully out of the barn, out the driveway to the road, pulling it backwards past the Mundies truck, lining it up then winching it onto the truck. Sean and Milan helped the driver (John) measure the height and the load was okay.
After that was done, Lawrence backed the Fageol into place. Lots of help by Sean and Milan spotting.
We then turned our attention to the Hillclimber #4107. Fraser had it on a charger overnight for us and after a quick check of everything by Sean, we hit the starter and she wouldn’t start. Lawrence and Sean decided to connect our booster pack and the spare battery we brought from Langley to give it maximum power. After rechecking by Sean and Lawrence, Milan hit the rear starter switch and she started first try. We got a brief bit of black smoke on start up, and white smoke for another 10 seconds and no smoke afterwards.
On the drive home, we stuck to the curb lane and easily followed the flow of traffic through Maple Ridge onto the Golden Ears Bridge into Langley. The bus ran fine. Brakes appeared to be okay and the steering was great. We parked the bus face in. All done by 2pm.
In the meantime, #2040 arrived safely at VTC met by James and Angus. The plan is to have the trolley guys start looking at it asap and give us an assessment on it’s roadworthiness.
Quite a day and thanks to everyone that helped.
It was a quiet Sunday; Matthew and Lawrence tidied up a few of our destination blinds. Recently they had unearthed a vintage Winnipeg roll. It’s in very good condition. Angus has been in touch with his contacts at Manitoba Transit Heritage Association to see if they are interested. (Photo: Editor)
Trevor Batstone drove TDH4519 #4612 over to fuel up. Lawrence did a quick calculation of its diesel consumption: 7.9 miles per gallon or in today’s language 35 litres per 100 km. Which is impressive for a vehicle of its age. (Photo: Matthew Walker)
The TMS crew headed by Sue Walker (and TDH4512 #730) will be at David Lam Park in Vancouver for “The BIg Picnic” next Saturday, April 1st. The event runs from 10am till 4.30pm. Stop by and say hello!
It’s an attempt to get our vehicles in better positions within our Langley shop to allow for easier exit when required for duty and to allow for inspection to diagnose vehicle condition.
Step 1: Move everything outside. Luckily it’s a Sunday: the are very, very few other vehicles in our parking area.
Step 2: Put everything back where we want it.
It can be a tight squeeze. The coach has to be brought in at an angle… there is less than ten feet available to enable it to turn the 90 degrees so it may be backed in to the lefthand side parking spaces.
Phase 1 completed: time for lunch!
While this may sound simple, it really isn’t. Few of our coaches have power steering. So this involves a “work-around”: two person steering, one in the driver’s seat, the other providing extra muscle. Then we have to consider those participants that are reluctant to start (or shouldn’t in an enclosed space!).
While doing the dance, opportunity was taken to inspect the business end of TDH4512 #730. Our maintenance staff have noticed some vibration back there, that over the years has caused some components to shake loose, or cause oil leaks. The consensus seems to be that it is occurring in the transmission. While not urgent, its something they’d like to fix in time.
Sean Keating lines up the ramp – but the 671 aboard #730 doesn’t provide enough “uumph” to reverse up. So driver Lawrence Walker has to perform some tricky two-foot driving to give the coach of a running start while being able to brake in time before overshooting the ramp.
Jason Sharpe, Lawrence Walker, Sean Keating and Richard Dyer hunt for the cause of the vibration.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the sunny weather, Jason Sharpe moved his “seat rehab” project outdoors.
Just a few odd-and-ends to report this week.
Sue Walker has been busy cleaning the seat covers on the cushions that Jason Sharpe removes from our D40LF.
Hubby Lawrence meanwhile has constructed a permanent solution to our problem of ventilation aboard #730 during the summer.
On summer days, the interior is quite hot. To provide a cross-flow breeze, we generally open the emergency door. In the past we cordoned off the exit with a cone and fabric rope, Now we have a child’s gate. Lawrence modified it so that bolts extend from the gate into the body of #730, making a rigid and safe anchor.
Matthew is putting the finishing touches to a Grant Money Meter farebox to be gifted to Vancouver mayor, Ken Sims. Meanwhile, he is starting on restoring another farebox, but this one is slightly different to the ones we are familiar with.
This one has a window to show the mechanism… the BC Hydro versions we have seen usually had a plate covering the aperture instead.
On March 10th, #4612 -driven by Trevor Batstone- visited Winston Churchill Secondary School. It was part of an end-of-term project by TMS Member Aden Wong.
During the couple of hours the coach was parked in front of the school, 155 students visited. Says Lawrence, who with Matthew, hosted: “We were well received and quite popular.”
And, in closing, we’d like to mention Matthew’s YouTube playlist featuring our TMS buses. You can watch it at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8cGLI_p5qM&list=PLYKhZgSecot_UtYu1KHZeWo9hYNd9Q8s7
Jason has emabarked on a project to replace seat cushions on #9753. In the midst of recovering the seat frames, he decided to take a break and tackle the heating enclosures on #9753. Though the heaters are working, there’s a lot of rust and flaking paint: anything attached to the floor will naturally be subject to moisture.
Missing from our donated D40LF were any fleet name or other branding. BC Transit had removed these before we picked it up. The horizontal stripes along the bodywork remained, but there was space where the company logo had been on the nearside and front. Chris Cassidy stickhandled putting the TMS logo on the front dash. But the shape of the nearside space below the ‘belt line’ precluded doing the same there.
Our logo, designed by Mike Cui, included our name. Jason Sharpe had the idea of just using that text to fill the vacant space. He also that that we could use a reversed version of the logo on the rear panels, in the same fashion as West Vancouver Municipal Transit used a sailboat motif.
With help from myself and President Bryan Larrabee, we produced high quality drawings suitable for use as decals. In a strange twist we found that the hexadecimal ‘colour code’ of our blue TMS logo matched the blue of the existing stripe almost perfectly. According to the BC Transit graphic standards, it should have much darker. (Maybe the BC Transit colours were formalised after the stripe was applied, or the decal had darkened through exposure to the climate.)
When applying the rear decal, Jason noticed that it would be more attractive if the surplus black background was trimmed off – this he did with consummate care, and the results look fantastic.
You’d be correct if you noticed the snow on the ground in these pictures. I took them on Tuesday, 2nd February at Cullen Diesel Power Ltd. on 192nd Street in Surrey. Bryan Larrabee drove #9753 there so they could perform a CVIP inspection and certification. While the bus was there, Cullen also examined the underside of the coach as part of our Preventive Maintenance program. We’re pleased to say we received good news on both!
At 12 noon on Saturday, February 4th, coach #4612 departs on our first fan-trip of 2023. It won’t be its first outing. Trevor Batstone drove the 1964 GM TDH4519 “Fishbowl” in the Lunar Parade on January 22nd. Then it will perform two private charters during this week, culminating with the fan-trip on Saturday.
This Sunday, 29th January our volunteers were busy putting the finishing touches to the bus. Matthew Walker has fitted a Grant Money-Meter farebox – bring some spare change to donate to the Museum and hear the musical tones once part of every bus ride in the sixties and early 1970s! (The musical fareboxes were introduced in 1960 –along with tokens rather than tickets — and were replaced by the simple ‘Duncan’ in 1973.)
The tour was programmed by Milan Streit with assistance from Andrew Joyce. We’re sure everyone onboard will enjoy the fan-trip. Hopefully this will be the first of many in 2023! (This fan-trip is now sold out!)
Matthew Walker makes some last-minute adjustments to the farebox and affixes the licence plate.
Chris and Jason give #4612 a wash-and-brush-up.
It’s just after 10pm on 14th December 2022 when TMS member Jeff Veniot witnesses an unusual sight on West 1st Avenue near Crowe St. There, a tractor unit is attempting to do a right turn. Attached is a specialized trailer loaded with an very large object wrapped in a large white tarp. Peeking out from the end is the unmistakeable face of Car #4, a tram once owned by the Transit Museum Society, purchased to one day run on the now-abandoned Downtown Historic Railway.
How the streetcar came to this point, squeezing by cars with centimetres to spare under the watchful eyes of transportation specialists from Nickel Bros, with a police escort no-less, began nearly 87 years ago in Brussels, Belgium.
There, Car #4 –or to give it its original number of 5023 – entered service in 1935. But to the casual observer, this would be hard to determine. On first glance, Car #4 looks to be one of the large number of PCC-based streetcars purchased by European systems after WW2, some actually using trucks from scrapped US cars. But appearances can be deceiving.
Below: #5023 in service in Brussels (TMS Archives); Lower: Car #4 as offered at auction. Restoration will be a daunting task! We do not know the intentions of the winning bidder. (BC Auctions)
#5023 was part of a 25-car order by Ateliers de La Dyle et Bacalan, a well-known Belgian builder, based in Louvain. Les Tramways Bruxellois (predecessor of today’s Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company or STIB-MIVB) wanted them to carry crowds to the 1935 world exhibition. They were the first dual-truck streetcars in Brussels. They had wooden bodies, carrying 90 passengers, 34 of whom were seated. They were fast and reliable. Distinguishing marks were the square and stiff appearance. They were referred to as Standaardtrams. (https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/ Brussels,_Belgium_Trams)
Four cars, though, #5006, 5020, 5021 and 5023 were rebodied following accidents. In 1964-65, #5023 was given a new steel body which resembled the PCC cars of the #7000 series which began to be delivered in 1951. The class was retired in 1976. The four rebodied cars became “works cars” #5023 became Works Car #4. (https://www.bec-kits.co.uk/Kitpages/kit32.htm) They retained their exterior appearance except side windows were blocked off, leaving only small openings at the top.
It’s the late 1990s, and STIB decides to withdraw Car #4 from service. Streetcar buff Claude Sabot who grew up in Belgium, has settled in Gibsons, BC. Here he hopes to build a heritage tramway, purchasing old retired Brussels trams. His dream would falter through lack of money, and he would be forced to sell his acquired streetcars. (While at least two would travel to museums in the US, I have been unable to determine their fates.) Claude used his experience to convince STIB to donate Car #4 to TMS and secure half-price shipping to Vancouver. (Dale Laird). The tram arrived in Vancouver on 15th September 2000.
Dale Laird supervises unloading of Car #4, 15th September, 2004 (TMS Archives)
“(The enthusiasts) found the money to put windows in and the volunteers started to restore the car. A UBC student project worked on the controller and they almost got it into running condition. At the time the City of Vancouver was a part sponsor and did the servicing and maintenance on the two interurban trains. I don’t think they put any money into Car 4. Eventually the DHR became a victim of budget cuts within the city and Car 4 was abandoned. “ (Bryan Larrabee)
The City put Car #4 up for auction in August, 2022. Special note was made of the condition it was in, the presence of Asbestos, and the need for specialized equipment and manpower to remove it from the DHR car barn. Nevertheless, there were 130 bids, mainly from two interested parties. Both were serious — one had a history of over 60 successful bids – but it came down to the final few seconds. A bidder was trumped by $5 just as the auction ended. It’s hoped the successful bidder –with a winning bid of $405 –realizes the challenges of removing and transporting the streetcar. The city had stated the streetcar had to be removed by October 14th, 2022. But it wasn’t until December that preparations were started to move car #4. A few days later, on December 14th, the move took place.
Nickel Bros is a long established trucking company specializing in house and large object moving projects. Jeff reports that from the car barn, the low-loader carrying the streetcar moved under the Cambie bridge along the abandoned right-of-way.
(Now) on First Ave… they tried turning right onto Wylie St, but that wasn’t going to happen…so they went one more block to Crowe St. That proved difficult as the street had not been cleared of cars. They had to back up & pull forward a few times. Fortunately the rear set of wheels had a steerable truck & they made it.
Then another slow turn onto 2nd Ave heading West. Then the tight Left turn onto the Cambie Street southbound loop – opposite the Olympic Village Canada Line Stn. I left them as they sailed through Cambie & Broadway.
I asked the movers where they were going & got different answers. The most common answer was somewhere on Marine Drive (Vancouver), to a private residence (?) for restoration & then it would become a restaurant somewhere.
(Jeff Veniot)
Car #4 travels up Cambie past Broadway, heading to a new phase in its long and varied life. (All photos of the move courtesy Jeff Veniot)
