Milestones & anniversaries 14/03/14

To open this feature, firstly a shout out to Ulsterbus 2599 group leader Paul Waplington, who celebrated his birthday on this day, and in style by paying a visit to the bus at Langar. Many happy returns leader, 21 again! And what better way to remember the day by than including a photograph of the man himself...

Anyway, back to business. A significant day for all concerned, as Tanvic sent an engineer to Langar to have the new tyres fitted to the bus. This was a major turning point, and an upturn in the group's fortunes after several setbacks. We finally had roadworthy tyres, that we all knew would last us for a number of years, and we had finally ridded ourselves of one of our greatest expenses - to the tune of over £1000!

Sadly all did not go to plan, and relationships with the storage site began to sour when a polite request for a coffee for the man from Tanvic resorted in hot liquids being thrown about and Paul having the door slammed in his face!! Thankfully, in a bizarre twist of fate, a chance text from Michael Rogan, a fellow preservationist, enthusiast and good friend of the group, informed us that there was space for 2599 on a farm near Watnall. Even better, having myself previously dealt with the parties at Watnall, I knew them to be friendly, accommodating and considerably cheaper than the site at Langar. Negotiations began.

While changing the offside front tyre, the man from Tanvic had problems removing the wheel nut, and after actually changing the tyre, told Paul that the wheel stud itself was damaged. Closer investigation revealed that, worst case scenario, the whole wheel and hub assembly would have to be removed from the bus, which was another setback we could have done without.

Thankfully, the news did get a bit better, as upon closer inspection the Tanvic engineer informed us that the two inner tyres were not as worn as we had first anticipated, and would make ideal spare tyres. So not only did we have a bus sat on six brand new tyres, we now had two additional spare tyres that would reduce future expense.

So all in all, a day of mixed feelings, but still a milestone in the project's fortunes. However we still had a lot to consider, particularly with regards storage of the bus. We went away and talks began.