While your blogmaster and our resident rebellious one Calum were gallavanting off to the exotic destination of Duxford's Imperial War Museum for the annual 'Showbus' event, Paul and Gary made a return to 2599 to continue work on the supporting beams around the battery box.
With the steel here, and measurements taken from the bus and the rotten beams that had been removed, Gary expertly set to work cutting the steel to the required size, and then marking up the exact position of where each piece will be situated once in place. The pieces were clamped into place to allow a preview of how the finished article will look, and to check that they had been cut to size correctly. The next task will be to actually weld them into place around the inspection area above the battery box.
Normally I would not use the Ulsterbus 2599 Group blog to peddle items the group has for sale, but for this item I will make a noteable exception, as we ideally need a quick sale to continue to pump money into the 2599 fund.
Within our increasing stock of spares for the bus, the group has a battery box, however it has since been deemed unsuitable for the vehicle, and being honest we are not completely sure what vehicle it would suit. Please find below measurements and photographs of said box...
Width: 820mm
Height: 560mm
Depth: 370mm
Compartments: 405mm equal split into two
The group are open to sensible offers for the battery box, and collection from the Nottingham area would be necessary. For more information, please email ulsterbus2599group@hotmail.com or contact Dan Stone on 07791932848 and we will get back to you asap.
Sitting here now on Wednesday 10 September 2014 and looking back, I would love to know where the time has gone! What started out as a rumour amongst coach drivers and some lighthearted banter over exotic food and excessive alcohol (for most), has been a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, right up to this point where we have an Ulsterbus RE - a significant one at that - that is making great progress towards being submitted for an MOT sometime in the non-too-distant future.
The day before this post, with our project leader on his annual holidays from the day job at National Express, Calum being as rebellious as ever and working his birthday at Skills, and your blogmaster Dan having a free day before starting a late shift serving the good people of Derbyshire with cigarettes and alcohol, we arranged to meet in Nottingham and discuss progress and the future of the group. After taking a few photographs of developments on the modern Nottingham bus scene, we retired to Tuckers cafe, an excellent little greasy spoon situated just up from the council house and Old Market Square, where talks began over several gallons of coffee and suitably large fry-ups.
We began proceedings by discussing progress so far. From a members viewpoint, we have done extremely well, with 124 followers on the group's facebook page at the time of writing (and growing fast!). We also have our other loyal followers who keep upto date with progress through this very blog, which Paul has described as "expertly written by Mr Daniel Stone. Big thanks for your efforts so far Dan". This blog might not be fancy, or be upto the standards expected of the best English teachers these days, but it is a personal, lighthearted, laid back insight into the developments of 2599, and Paul's comments do mean a lot to me. Now I've taken my bow as requested, I'll shut up and get back on topic!
What have we done?
A question I frequently asked myself in the early stages of the project!! But looking back now, I wouldn't have had it any other way! Since driving 2599 back from Mike Nash's treasure trove of dealer stock vehicles and preservation projects, progress has been as follows:
- A set of brand new tyres has been fitted, replacing the life-expired ones
- The exhaust manifold has been welded back together, and refitted along with new silencer pipes
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New rear emergency door handle fitted and latch has been cleared and
lubricated and now works from the outside as well as the inside
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Cross member under cab floor has been partly repaired from draglink arm
to off side wheel arch with new bolt fittings and anti rust chassis
paint applied. As a result, the throttle pedal is now far more responsive than before!
So that's what's been done, but what's left to do for MOT?
There is still plenty of work to complete before 2599 is ready to be sent off to an MOT test centre for the first time in several years. Upto press, we still have to work on the following:
- Support beams and an area to secure the batteries and strengthen the top of the battery box/inspection hatch
- Rear brakes to be relined with brand new lining, and then tested.
- New horn to be fitted and rewired if necessary
- Rehinge all external panels including fuel flap to make it flush with the body of the bus
- Replace front fog lights and conduct any electrical work necessary with this task
- Carry out a full pre-MOT inspection
The goals and ambitions of the Ulsterbus 2599 Group
The group has several ambitions for 2599 and her long-term restoration and rallying. Firstly, we would like to oversee the work that is still left to complete, with the aim of having her in for MOT before next year's rally season begins. After attending this year's excellent Alton Bus and Beer weekend back in July, we have all said our goal is to have 2599 ready to make her debut at this event next year. An even more ambitious goal we would love to achieve is to take 2599 back to her native homeland of Northern Ireland for the Irish Transport Heritage rally at Cultra (Co. Down) in 2016!
So quite an ambitious list you can see before you, but with continuing support, any donations people may wish to make to the project (either useful parts or financial contributions through the group's PayPal account), these dreams will soon become a reality.
And a thank you...
There are far too many people to thank individually, but some key people include:
- Mike Nash, from whom 2599 was initally purchased
- Our engineering team, Tim Moss, Gary Crosby, Nik from Silverdale and Gary's friend Robin
- Robert Nogues, Ben Simpson and the lads of the Ards Bus Preservation Group for their continuing support, advice and assistance with finding parts
- The owners of the site where 2599 resides, whom are most accommodating
- Silverdale Coaches for allowing us to use their facilities at the beginning of the project
- Tiger European Coaches for the temporary storage of 2599 in the early days of the project
- Tony Challons for his assistance with finding key parts for the restoration process
- Lee Roddis and Carl Ireland for their assistance with sourcing the brake anchor pins that were giving us so much headache at one stage
And finally, a massive shout-out to all of our members and supporters of the Ulsterbus 2599 Group who have supported us, and continue to support us, with their positive comments, assistance and well wishes in our bid to get Ulsterbus 2599, the penultimate Bristol RE built, back on the road. We couldn't do it without any of you!
A week after making a start on the corrosion around the battery box, with the floor lifted and an idea of what work was required, Paul and Gary returned to continue with the task in hand. This comprised of removing the rotten support beams, and preparing the area around the battery box for repair work.
Gary set to work with his blowtorch, and our resident big girl's blouse Paul even managed to overcome his fear of sparks and get close enough to get a photograph (sorry Paul, your bravery sticker's still on order). With the rotten beams removed, measurements could now be taken and new steel ordered and cut to size, and then welded into place on a subsequent visit. Gary then went around the battery box area marking areas of corrosion that would need to be cut away, before having a closer look at the box itself. Despite the issues surrounding a few of the supporting beams, the box itself is actually surprisingly strong and managed to hold Gary's bodyweight without any issue...let's be honest, none of us are the most slender or lightest of gentlemen, myself probably suffering more than other members of the group in this respect!
Joking aside, Paul went away and a six metre piece of steel was ordered for Gary to cut to size for the new battery box supports, taking the measurements from the box and the rotten beams removed from the box.
An ominous sounding title...trust me, it's really not as bad as it sounds. With Tim making steady progress at the rear with the brakes, it was time to focus our attention to the front end and the matter of the corroded regions around the battery box, on which Paul, Gary and his friend Robin began to tackle on 23 August, firstly by accessing the interior to remove a number of seats and bolts to lift the floor and allow easier access to the corroded areas.
With the floor trim and boarding removed, Gary and Robin were able to expose corroded steelwork around the battery compartment, which seemed to be confined mainly to the top support frame and trapdoor surround, but the good news is that it is all repairable. After conducting an initial inspection it was decided that several of the supporting beams (which can be seen from these photos had given way) would be replaced using new steel and that other corrosion would be cut away and replaced with brand new steelwork, and a start would be made on this in a subsequent visit, covered in the next chapter of this blog...
Our initial thoughts were that we would require a new battery box itself, however on closer inspection Gary informed us that the box itself seems in good condition, with just some work to be done on the supporting areas. A plan was hatched that the rotten support beams (which in some cases didn't support much) would be cut away and replaced, and a sheet of metal would be ordered and cut to size accordingly to replace other corroded areas.
As an aside from the battery box work, the correct specification foglights also arrived from Northern Ireland during the timeframe of this post, thanks again to Robert Nogues and the Ards Bus Preservation Group for sourcing them for us. Thanks also to Gary Crosby and Robin Tilston for all their hard graft, and making significant inroads into completing another key task in our quest to return 2599 to the road.
An odd title you say? All will be revealed in good time loyal followers...
Behind the scenes, much noise had been made about the brakes on 2599, with replacement anchor pins proving more than troublesome to obtain. Thanks to the help of many of our supporters, and to Lee Roddis we managed to source a new set of said pins from Carl Ireland of Hull. However, Tim - now an established and most welcome part of the furniture on the maintenance team - had experienced much difficulty removing the damaged pins from the bus itself.
The only solution we could think of was to either heat the pins to aid their removal, or completely strip the hub assembly down and have the pins pressed out. Both options have their pros and cons...to heat the pins, we were informed would be difficult conventially and would likely require the use of Oxy Acetylene to get the required temperatures, which has to be hired out and is often expensive, while stripping the hub assembly completely would require the bearings and hub seals to be checked and/or replaced, as well as a complete oil change. All time consuming, and expensive stuff!
And so the job began. With mixed feelings, and armed with a blowtorch, Paul and our newest member of the maintenance team, Nik, set to work on Saturday 9 August in an attempt to heat the pin enough that it would slide out easily. Suffice to say, after a few hours work, they were successful in removing the pin, which in itself was quite an achievement. However, this success was marred with disappointment, as the concentric bush was still holding the brake shoe to the carrier, which now left Tim with the task of stripping the hub assembly down. But as in Tim's own words, "Won't do any harm, as like most old ladies she's a little bit dry down below." (your blogmaster did have a chuckle at that phrase, simple minds and all that...)
In the meantime, Paul had dug out 2599's spare brake shoes, of which we have four in total. Two require relining, while the other two still have plenty of life left in them upto press. Arrangements will soon be made to send the two that need relining away to be done. Meanwhile, Robert Nogues of the Ards Bus Preservation Group had kindly sent us some correct specification front foglights that we had been experiencing difficulty in obtaining this side of the Irish Sea. Once again, thanks to Robert and the lads for their help!
Further developments on 15 August saw our third resident mechanic Gary complete the job he had started earlier in the month. With the holes drilled in the metal, the new throttle support plate was duly re-attached to the bus, while the throttle linkage was re-attached and painted, and the difference was immediate, with the throttle now more responsive than ever and springing back as it should.
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| Who you gonna call?! |
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| Smiling proudly 09/08/14 |
And so back to our perculiar title for this piece...do we remember from earlier posts and Gary's tales about how Paul is a big girl's blouse around sparks and how he armed himself on one visit in overalls and gloves in such a way that he looked like a rejected ghostbuster? Well here is our leader himself smiling proudly with the offending anchor pin seconds after it had been blowtorched and removed from the bus. Thanks to Nik for the photo, submit your captions please folks...
As we enter a new month, many of you will remember from our earlier postings about 2599's throttle issues, with the corroded supporting plate and other issues needing to be overcome. Well we can now report that we are now moving ever closer to rectifying the problem, with Gary Crosby having fitted a new sheet of metal under the cab floor to replace the rotten part of the crossmember. All that remains to be done now is to grind down the new bolts and paint them, and re-attach the throttle linkage once all this has been done. Another major hurdle almost overcome, meaning that we are moving one step closer to getting 2599 towards her first MOT in nine years. Let's make the dream a reality...
Having spent a weekend gallavanting around Hampshire on a mix of preserved buses and sampling many pubs, our attention must now return to 2599. Prior to leaving for Alton, one of our mechanics, Nik, had managed to remove the expired latch off the emergency door ready for replacement. This next task has now been completed, with Tim picking up from where Nik had left off, and refitting the emergency door latch, which now opens and closes as it should, as well as allowing us to lock the vehicle securely when unattended. Just needs a bit of tidying up at a later date, including some new screws and a bit of drilling to remove an old screw so that everything sits flush with the bodywork, but the main thing is, it now works.
We were now ready to return to the next chapter, the underfloor crossmember and the brake anchor pins...
After breakfast in the hotel in Reading (can't say it was hearty, it was worse than anything offered by even budget chains like Wetherspoons), we jumped in the Starship Focus and headed off in search of a free shuttle bus from Reading to Alton, which due to parking issues and roadworks delaying us, we missed by seconds. Resorting to plan B, we set off in chase in the Focus, getting far enough in front en-route to photograph the bus we missed, 'Shillibeer' liveried Routemaster RM2208, as it sped towards Alton.
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| RM2208 (C) Paul Gaunt |
On our arrival at Anstey Park, we parked up and our jaws fell to the floor. Buses as far as the eyes could see - the only thing I can liken it to looking at how everything was laid out and vehicle numbers was Showbus, it was on a scale of its own, like nothing we had seen before. We stood around photographing arrivals, including large numbers of classic cars too, before wandering around the site to get further photographs.
A visit to the bus station area, and a brief consultation of the timetable, and we found ourselves on board preserved Safeguard Leyland Leopard OPC26R, for a round trip to East Tisted and back, stopping for photographs in the picturesque village, before Paul and I boarded ex-Trent Leyland National 421 (GNU568N) to enjoy some quality Leyland 510 thrash as we paid a visit to Alton Sports Centre. After some liquid refreshments (non-alcoholic in this instance), we managed to catch a lift from the local Sainsbury's back to Anstey Park on Shamrock & Rambler Bedford OB KEL94. We also sampled Southampton Leyland Atlantean 133 (TTR167H) for a trip to the Railway Station, the gearchange reminding both Paul and I of when Nottingham reverberated to the sound of Leyland Atlanteans and other such quality motors, rather than the plastic of today.
We also enjoyed a trip on Alder Valley 'Londonlink' Leyland Olympian/ECW coach 578 (B578LPE), belonging to Olympian enthusaist Chris Martin and performing faultlessly (albeit a trifle hot with its fixed windows on an exceptionally hot day, but you can't blame the bus for that one). There was just time left for a trip to the Railway Station and back on Portsmouth open-top Atlantean ERV250D, and time to meet in person the owner of ex-Provincial Bristol RE 112 (ECG112K) and Ulsterbus 2599 Group facebook follower Terry Lawson before returning to the car and heading home.
Once again, on behalf of myself, the two Pauls and Peter, a fantastic weekend all round, great to finally put faces to several names from the facebook page, and hopefully we shall return at the same time next year...
