So, the Hayes project continues to ramble along. As I said before, this project would take quite some time to complete. Lately things seem to have slowed down but we are still working every Sunday to get the job done. We have completed the repair to the front axle and steering system. Then we put the Hayes up on blocks to remove and inspect the wheels and brake drums; so far so good! So, most of the big heavy stuff is more or less done.

The re-wiring is coming along bit by bit. This gives me some much-needed time for what I call “general maintenance.”  You know, all those little jobs that are just as important as the big stuff. Things like wheel bearings. There are two per wheel, and they must be completely cleaned of all old grease in the solvent tank. They are then inspected for scratches or pitting and, if they are good, repacked with grease if they are undamaged. That’s good for a couple of hours. Then there are the wheel nuts and studs….. all 89 years old.  Just think of that now: over that time the nuts were put on and taken off at least once a week. Even discounting the Hayes being retired, that adds up to well over 2,000 on-and-off cycles so far. So as part of the wheel maintenance, I took about three hours per wheel to run a thread tap through each and every one of the ten nuts.

At first glance, spending hours running a tap through old wheel nuts might seem a little over the top. The goal wasn’t to cut new threads, but to clean and straighten the ones that were already there—removing decades of grime, corrosion, and microscopic damage. It makes the nuts go on smoothly, torque properly, and most importantly, reduces stress on the original studs. Could it have been skipped? Maybe. But with safety-critical parts and original hardware that can’t easily be replaced, it’s one of those jobs where taking the extra time now saves trouble later. Sometimes the boring, time-consuming work is what keeps old machinery safe, reliable, and rolling for another generation.

Back in the day, if they stripped the treads on a bolt hole, they would drill it out and rethread the hole bigger. For instance, from 1/2 inch to 9/16 inch, and use a bigger bolt. But in our case the bolt is a stud (like a bolt but threaded on both ends) and the axle won’t take a bigger bolt. So, what do you do? Something called a “Step-stud”, with 9/16 inch thread on one end and 1/2 inch on the other (shown at bottom right).  Great idea! But there’s a problem. Since the invention of the “Heli-coil” tread repair kits, step-studs in in anything other than metric are no longer available.  (A Heli‑Coil insert is basically a precision‑rolled stainless‑steel wire coil that forms a new internal thread when installed.) But never underestimate the cunning and treachery of and old mechanic to make his own! Thank you Bobb!!

Next will be an air system inspection and air line replacement. Then we’re going to change the polarity of the Hayes from positive ground to negative ground. That sounds more daunting a job than it is.   And then fix the oil leaks… all the oil leaks. So, as I said before I started this project, it’s a big undertaking. But like all big undertakings it is just a bunch of little undertakings!

Lawrence Walker

This 1947 Fageol Twin coach 41-S has had quite a life.

Entering service during the rails to rubber project, these Fageols ruled the streets. originally assigned to Oakridge Garage, she was renumbered to 3154 then transferred to New Westminster Garage and renumbered to 5985 which is still visible on her front today. This bus being such an early Twin Coach to enter service never made it to the rare BC Hydro Transit livery, but instead kept the BCE beige with a Hydro decal in front. In 1965 this bus and 10 others were sold to Calgary Transit System, this bus was renumbered to 202. Some were painted somewhat into the Calgary livery, this one did not, continuing to sport its BCE colour with just the Hydro decal being covered by a Calgary decal as it currently sports. After this the info gets fuzzy, it retired in the early 1970s and somehow made it to Okanagan falls where it has been currently sitting for nearly 25 years! (how far back the satellite goes back) there is also a strange bumper trailer attachment. Also the interior looks quite tampered with but not the worst I’ve seen. Hopefully someone with deep pockets stumbles upon her soon also!

We were asked by TransLink if we could contribute something on their behalf for the live auction fund raiser at the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Gala. We offered a 2 hour private charter on #4612 for 20 people. TransLink also included a custom made bus stop. We’re happy to report that the winning bidder paid $6,500. It was nice to collaborate with TransLink for a very worthy cause.

United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society, organizer of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S programs, is one of Metro Vancouver’s most influential multicultural and immigrant‑support organizations. The non-profit was founded in 1973, offering programs for: Community inclusion and cultural integration, Newcomer settlement and language training, Employment and entrepreneurship, Seniors’ care and community programs, Affordable housing and Family and youth services. Their annual Bridge to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Gala is one of the region’s major fundraising nights, regularly raising over $600,000 to support its programs.

Bryan with Chris Chan from TransLink; TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn

The 2025-26 Board was re-elected by acclamation at the AGM.

Bryan Larrabee resumes his role as TMS President, aided by Vice President Michael Taylor-Noonan.

At the March 13th Director’s Meeting (held in camera), the Board appointed various Executive & managerial roles: Jason Sharpe will resume his role as Secretary, Angus McIntyre that of Treasurer, along with the following managerial positions: Charters (Evan Russell), Web, Archives & Newsletter (Michael Taylor-Noonan), Sales (Savannah Dewolf & Sue Walker), Social Media (Milan Streit), & Photo Library (Rob Chew). Membership & Event committees were also formed.

So all aboard! And off we go towards a successful 2026 40th anniversary season!

How is our strategy working? At our recent Annual General Meeting, Milan gave a short update.

The purpose of our social media pages is to engage fellow bus enthusiasts, while promoting the Society. Milan indicated that we have a growing fanbase, with most posts gaing 100+ likes. This is attributable to the high editorial standards demanded by our team: quality, fact-checked, well written and illustrated posts are the norm. Some posts go viral, attracting over 250,000 views! We use this social engagement to promote the Society, and its fund-rasing events.

Over the past year, on Instagram, we have over 1.1 million views. 20 posts had over 10,000 views. On Facebook, since the start of 2026, we have attracted over 100,300 viewers, with over 3600 followers over both platforms. One of the most popular categories for posts is early SkyTrain photos. Also, old transit maps and brochures are a big draw.

Milan also highlighted the types of posts that do not achieve our targets. As might be expected from the demographic of social media users, items about streetcars and interurbans under peform. So too, do posts about buses prior to 1960s, and those that are too obsure for people to remember.

Milan also pointed out other areas we we could improve: more active team members, showcasing our achives, more posts showing our members and greater collaboration with our website.

Is your interest piqued by this post? Head over to our Socials at:

Transit Museum Society (@transitmuseumsociety) • Instagram photos and videos

Transit Museum Society | Facebook

Once again TMS was invited to appear in the 2026 edition of the Chinatown Spring Festival Parade, held to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

We were amongst the over 100 organizations that participated in the 2.5 hour parade – watched by many thousands of spectators, despite the rainy weather. Coach #9753 was driven by Anthony Sherst, while hosts included: Hubert Leong, Oscar Kapsa, Stephen Goodman, Rob Chew, Leland Babic, Ophelia Li, Rian Fatemi,
Jessica Yuill,  Aurora Powell, Matthew Walker,   Sue Walker and  Lawrence Walker.    A big “thank you” to all for representing the Society, and engaging with the mmany members of the public.

(Photos by Sue & Lawrence Walker)

(Photos by Martin Wu)

Trivia question: What micro brewery in Port Coquitlam has a special brew called Platform Pilsner?

Answer: Platform Pilsner is a smooth, easy-drinking brew made for both craft-beer lovers and transit fans alike. Inspired by the West Coast Express, the can design features a bold livery and a nod to the platforms where countless Metro Vancouver journeys begin. Crafted with all Canadian ingredients by Patina’s expert brewers and brought to life with a can designed by TransLink’s in-house creatives. (TransLink)

TMS was invited to attend, and you’d think we’d be a shoe-in to win, right? After who knows more about transit trivia than we do! Well, apparently most of the 80-plus people who attended. (We are a museum after all. But our trivia knowledge stops about the year 2000.)

So we were at a loss when asked to name the K-Pop band which shot a video aboard SkyTrain. (Though the true or false question “TransLink is the only operator of trolleybuses in Canada” was incredibly easy.)

I attended on behalf of TMS and met and chatted with about 25 people who were interested in our Society, including some of our own members. Gamemaster Jawn Jang proclaimed that this was an individual event — there was only one major prize, a bagful of TL swag, including the new SkyTrain lego pieces. But of course there was a great deal of collusion between friends, evidenced by twelve people having perfect scores of 30 out of 30. So a “Rock Paper Scissors” championship was quickly organized to determine the winner. Emily Holzhauer won the TransLink loot with TMS member Leland Babic getting a second prize of a $50 gift certificate.

Lunar New Year

It’ll be the Year of the Horse, and TMS will join TransLink in attending the Lunar New Year parade on Sunday, 22nd February in Chinatown. Jason Sharpe was tasked with decalling our entry, which is 9753.

These photos (by Sue Walker) show the tight space Richard has to work in, and the newly cleaned brake drum.

The fluid coupling acts as a damper between engine and fan, preventing any damage to the fan during startup, but it is always engaged. Thus it is constantly pulling air through the radiator, even when the engine is first started and running cold. Running cold could damage the engine. It doesn’t allow it to run efficently and increases smoke being emitted from the tailpipe. The solution to this problem was a series of shutters, or louvers on the radiator called a shutterstat. These were controlled by a small valve which sensed the coolant temperature. Once the coolant became hot, an air cylinder would allow the vanes to spring open, allowing the air to pass over the engine. Without those shutters, a GM Old Look 6-71 would struggle to ever reach operating temperature in cool weather, and the passengers would be shivering because the heaters wouldn’t get any hot water.

It wasn’t an efficient system: the torus fan always turned, shoving air against the closed vanes. So some of the power produced by the engine was being wasted by doing nothing except perhaps produce a loud noise. (With the ‘new-look’ coach, the industry turned to other techniques such as hydraulic and eventually electric operation which would allow independent contriol of the fan.)

So did this ‘torus’ system work? Surprisingly well. If the shutters did fail, they would spring open, and prevent an engine overheat even if that meant running cold. And that feature is what Sean and his team discovered when they replaced the seal on the fan after it failed. During the last years of its operating life, BC Transit mechanics found the radiator plugged. Because 730 was so close to retirement, BC Transit felt a new radiator could not be justified. The answer was to permanently fix the vanes open despite the consequences of running a cold engine. With the new radiator and rebuilt torus fan, 730 has a new lease on life, with the cooling system operating as GM intended!

The torus fan showing the impeller and runner.