What exactly is a “Triesel”, anyway? A trolley that’s been converted into a diesel bus! The plan sounded as though it would work: build brand-new coaches with old powertrains recycled from scrapped Brill trolleys, some of which were nearly three decades old. What resulted were buses whose modern appearances wrote cheques that their old and tired powertrains couldn’t cash. After delivery, it was noted that bus operators had a hard time giving a jerk-free ride to their passengers. BC Transit considered buying extra drivetrains along with the new E900 trolleys to be delivered in 1982, but quickly realized the cost of installation into the E800s was uneconomic. But then, it became apparent that the ex-BC Hydro D700 Flyer Diesels of 1973 were becoming a maintenance liability because of cracked frames. Ta Da! Take the still-good Diesel engine and transmissions of the D700s and put them in the Electric E800s! Converted units gave another fifteen or so years’ service.
Although most “Triesel” E800s had their trolley collection equipment removed, making them appear nearly identical to the factory diesel D800 buses, 2649 is one of two coaches to have it retained and modified to deice trolley wire during winter months. It was last used by Coast Mountain Bus Company for deicing in 2008. It has since been stripped of deicing equipment, having been superseded by brand-new, purpose-built deicing trucks.