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19th December 2005 - 8 January 2006
Work continues on the rewiring of
FTT704
.
RM1363
is still being rubbed down, and dents filled. Some panels have received undercoat. The wheels have been removed for inspection and cleaning, and new tyres will be fitted shortly.
12th - 18th December 2005
FTT704
is receiving a re-wire to the top deck to replace the 50-year old wiring, much of which has lost its insulation.
We now have standard brake linings for Bristol K, L and LD types available for sale. Please see our
spares
pages for details.
Also for sale are numerous back numbers of Buses Illustrated magazine and Buses magazine. See our
sales
page for details.
4th - 11th December 2005
Work continues on
YHY80
, which has received further work to its hinged side panels, and on
RM1363
, which is being stripped of paint on the upper deck, where the old paint was particularly bad.
21st November - 3rd December 2005
Please have a look at our information about the
centenary of Bristol motor bus services
, and join us if you can on the 14th January 2006 to celebrate this anniversary.
14th - 20th November 2005
Work on sanding and filling the bodywork on
RM1363
continues, and replacement wooden platform edging pieces have been fitted. The old ones had rotted while the bus was stored in the open.
7th - 13th November 2005
Work continues to rectify the electrical fault with
FTT704
. It transpires that the wiring is in poor condition and insulation has perished in several places, so the job has turned out to be more major than was expected.
YHY80
has started to receive its first topcoat of paint. Ultimately this will be rubbed down before the final coat is applied.
Dents in
RM1363
's lower panels have been filled and primer applied to some parts. The roof has been sanded down:
24th October - 6th November 2005
Work has begun on scraping and rubbing down
RM1363
for eventual repainting.
18th October - 23rd October 2005
FTT704
attended the
Warminster Running Day
on Sunday 23rd October. This event brings this year's season to an end. We will post next year's rally dates on the website as soon as we know them in the early part of 2006.
Our attention will now be on continuing the restoration of
YHY80
, getting
RM1363
back on the road and if we really make progress, starting to rebuild the bodywork on
LAE13
and
TD130
. And
RT1599
needs a repaint, too. Fancy helping? - Check out our "
Get involved
" page.
10th October - 17th October 2005
RM1363
has now been moved into the Group's premises, ending its long stay in the open on a farm. It can now be overhauled and repainted. Thanks to Martin Curtis of
Bath Bus Company
for his assistance with moving the Routemaster.
26th September - 9th October 2005
With the rally season coming to an end, vehicles are being prepared for the winter and restoration work will be getting underway on those that need it. Here,
TD130
's coolant is drained off.
FTT704
will be attending the Warminster running day in a couple of weeks' time, but at present there's a problem with the bells not working. Our engineers inspect:
YHY80
has had further attention to its side panels, and the entrance doors have been undercoated:
5th September - 25th September 2005
On Sunday 11th September,
AHU803
attended the
Merthyr Tydfil
rally.
29th August - 4th September 2005
On Sunday 4th September,
FTT704
and
RT1599
attended RAF Colerne for the display at the end of the Commercial Transport in Preservation road run from Bournemouth. Our two vehicles provided the park and ride service between the parking area and the display area on the airfield. Apologies to anyone who had hoped for a ride on
GHT127
, our open-top bus - we didn't take it due to the threat of thundery weather, which in the end didn't materialise. See
pictures
of the event.
Our new shed has now been tidied up completely, and spares stowed away. This allowed
TD130
to be moved by low-loader from its garden home of the last 5 years to our premises so that restoration can begin.
RM1363
will join it in the next few weeks.
22nd - 28th August 2005
Further improvements have been made to the website including a photo gallery for each vehicle and for our Open day.
15th - 21st August 2005
Our
Open Day
and vehicle rally took place on Sunday 21st August, in fantastic weather. All our vehicles took part, except
TD130
and
RM1363
. Hopefully, they'll be available for next year's event - we'll post details of the day once we know the date. We'd like to hear from you if you attended and would like to give us your views about the event.
Leave feedback
.
Due to a change of plans,
RT1599
will no longer be attending the rally at the Royal Forest Hotel at Chingford on 11th September.
8th-14th August 2005
All available vehicles are now ready for next week's
Open day
(unfortunately
RM1363
and
TD130
won't be there - come again next year if you'd like to see them). We hope to see you there next week.
RTW29
has passed its MOT.
1st-7th August 2005
RTW29
has been prepared for its MOT next week.
GHT127
has received attention to its lighting circuits which have been playing up.
25th-31st July 2005
GHT127
attended the
Worthing
rally.
RTW29
's cooling system was reassembled minus its thermostat, and this appears to have cured the overheating problem which we originally suspected might have been caused by a failed head gasket.
18th-24th July 2005
FTT704
attended the
Plymouth
rally.
11th - 17th July 2005
AHU803
received attention to its autovac following last week's problem, and appears to be cured.
FTT704
has now been fitted with fleetname transfers, and is complete. It has been checked over prior to its MOT this week and its trip to the Plymouth rally next weekend.
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Applying the offside fleetname transfer
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Completed
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Applying the front transfer. Proudly.
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GHT154
's brake system has been losing vacuum, and the fault has been traced to a non-return valve in which the rubber washer has perished. The search is on to find a replacement. If you know of a supply of these washers, please get in touch. B&Q don't stock them, strangely. Nor do we, which is even stranger - we even have spare gear levers (and how often do you need those?) but we don't have this particular part.
The website hasn't been working quite right, so if you've tried to reach our
spares
page, and failed, please try again, as the link now works properly. The same applies if you've been trying to leave
feedback
. Apologies for the fault, and for your frustration.
4th - 10th July 2005
AHU803
attended the
Aston Manor
rally. Its autovac (fuel pump device) developed a fault during the day, which resulted in the need to stop and refill the autovac's tank about every 20 miles.
27th June - 3rd July 2005
FTT704
's offside headlight has been refitted, and the hand-painted advertising panels finished.
RTW29
's thermostat and water pump have been removed for inspection.
RT1599
passed its MOT and remains available for use, although we hope to repaint the upper deck later in the year.
AHU803
has been prepared for its visit to the
Aston Manor
rally next week.
The website has been updated with lists of parts for sale.
Click here
for more information
20th June - 26th June 2005
Other than minor retouching,
FTT704
's paintwork is complete and looking immaculate. Fleetname transfers need to be applied, and the offside headlamp refitted, and the bus will then be ready.
Following last week's problem,
RTW29
's bonnet lid, air filter and radiator have been removed to allow the radiator to be cleaned out and for access to the heads, as we think the likely cause of the problem is a failed head gasket.
RT1599
has been prepared for MOT this week.
13th June - 19th June 2005
RTW29
went to Cobham for the 1950's running day. Sadly, due to mechanical problems, it wasn't able to take part in the public services.
Read more about this
. We will need to trace and rectify the problem before the bus can be used again, but we hope to have it back on the road in time for our
Open Day.
23rd May - 12th June 2005
FTT704
's front offside wing has been re-fitted and we're making good progress with repainting.
RT1599
has been fitted with new exhaust parts. We're hoping to find time to give the roof a new coat of paint. Once that's done,
TD130
will move to the new shed.
We attended the Stroud running day on 5th June, but took
AHU803
instead of the advertised
FTT704
, as the latter's repaint is not quite complete.
17th May - 23rd May 2005
Three of our vehicles (
AHU803
,
GHT127
and
GHT154
) attended the
Bristol Harbourside
rally.
9th May - 16th May 2005
Most of
FTT704's
lower deck has now been painted.
RM1363
has received a thorough internal clean of the top deck, and much of the exterior has been cleaned of flaking paint.
We have cleared a space amongst the stack of spares in our new shed which has allowed a bus to be stored there. We expect to move
TD130
into the space shortly, as it's currently under a tarpaulin in its owner's garden.
1st May - 8th May 2005
GHT127
took part in the HCVS
London-Brighton
run on 1st May, travelling up to Cobham bus museum the day before.
25th April - 1st May 2005
YHY80's
lower side panels have started being fitted, and undercoat applied to the back end.
GHT127
has been prepared for the London-Brighton run on 1st May.
RM1363's
horn has been rewired, the radiator grille mounting freed, and the grille and surround rubbed down prior to re-paint.
18th-24th April 2005
GHT154
in Bristol Tramways blue livery met First's Olympian, now painted in similar livery.
RM1363
's front nearside wheel has been changed.
11th-17th April 2005
RTW29
has received a service and is now ready for the season.
RM1363
's electrics received attention, and all the lights are now working correctly. The main beam switch needs attention, and the horn needs rewiring. A front wheel needs changing before the vehicle can be entered for an MOT.
FTT704
is now rubbed down and repainting has begun.
GHT154
has been prepared for its visit to Lawrence Hill Depot on Wednesday, where it will meet the Olympian painted in the blue livery of Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co. that GHT154 itself also carries.
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