22/03/15 pt1: The day we went to Naaaah-ritch, a roight nice city hint et...

Sunday 22 March, one month after our last rally debut, and dawn was actually breaking as we dragged 1321 out of the farm around 6am to attend our second rally of the season, the Norwich Bus Running Day. Apart from a brief stop for stretching of legs and for people to shake hands with Mr Porcelain, we made excellent progress, arriving at our first port of call - Kings Lynn - just before 09:15. It was here the bulk of our passengers transferred to preserved ex-Eastern Counties Bristol RE/ECW RE747 (GCL349N) for onward travel to Norwich, with Paul following in 1321, stopping off en-route at Swaffham services for photos, refreshments and forward propulsion fluids.

(C) Stephen Longmire

(C) Reg Vardy

We arrived at Norwich County Hall about 10:45, and wow! Our jaws dropped, a sea of proper buses - many new to Eastern Counties or operated by independents in the region - as far as the eye could see! The site was thick with people also, eager to take photographs and ride on the motely collection of heritage buses on offer. So after photographing much of what was on offer at County Hall (Paul and the gang had buggered off by this stage on an Eastern Counties VR), I decided to sample Eastern Counties FS LFS125 (GNG125C) for a round trip into Norwich and back, which did not disappoint I am pleased to say. My attention then turned to a lovely Plaxton Paramount-bodied Bedford of Norfolk Coachways 2176MZ, on which your blogmaster and some of his associates took a ride around Stoke Holy Cross and Trowse before our very own 1321 made her second trip of the day around the same circuit as the Bedford, complete with a full load of happy punters, many of whom had most favourable comments about the bus and even more surprisingly about its shareholders, as I found when I checked in on a post about the event on the Norwich Buses Blog where Paul and I were described as "wonderful group of gents with the most amazing sense of humour". Seeing the smiles on people's faces and comments like this all go a long way, and make our efforts as a group worthwhile, and it really is appreciated.

(C) Patrick Munford

(C) Kieran Smith c/o Norwich Buses Blog

And while Paul was out on an open-top VR somewhere in Norwich, there was just time for your blogmaster to squeeeeeze in one more run on Richard Walker's Eastern Counties Leyland National Greenway LG587 (WAH587S) to Mulbarton and back, beautifully restored in post-NBC Eastern Counties red, cream and orange. It is just a shame the post-NBC era around the late 80's/early 90's isn't represented a bit more in preservation.

Sadly, after all this excitement, it was time to head home, and after saying our goodbyes and passing on our thanks to the organisers of this fantastic, well organised event, we headed back in the direction of Nottingham with the sun setting. The journey back was not without its problems, an accident on the A47 adding over an hour onto our journey home, but we arrived back in Nottinghamshire around 21:30 after an excellent day.

And our verdict? Fantastic! We were most impressed with proceedings, and it was great to talk to so many people who genuinely took an interest in 1321 and our group. It was also great to make some fantastic new friends and contacts, many of whom we hope to see on the rally circuit again very soon...

A Mother's Day treat 15/03/15

 

Prior to 1321's second rally appearance at the Norwich Bus Running Day the following weekend, Paul and I were both off work on Sunday 15 March (Mother's day), so we decided to have a run out with the Tiger and blow off a few cobwebs. Nothing spectacular to report in this chapter, had a run round the Nottingham area stopping off for a few photos, prior to randomly ending up in Grantham for lunch (as you do eh?!!!) It was also a good opportunity for Paul to surprise one of our supporters, Kath Parry, and her family for a Mother's day treat. Here are a selection of photos from the day's events...

Fame at last: Paul's moment in the spotlight March '15

Moving away from progress with both 2599 and 1321 for a moment, with a brief dedication to our project leader Paul Waplington, whom is becoming something of an overnight sensation thanks to his ability to greet his National Express passengers in 25 different languages.

He is also highly commended by many for his attempts to not only make coach travel a fun and entertaining experience, but also his larger than life personality and 'above and beyond' approach to customer service (something I have first hand experience of). He is also highly popular amongst his regular passengers on both the 329 service from Nottingham to Newcastle and the 450 service from Nottingham to London.

So far Paul has been interviewed by transport industry press, news channels and radio about his efforts, and his popularity has continued to grow. So well done Paul, and here is the link to the youtube video, which has over 27,000 hits as I write this!

Battery box developments: 08/03/15

With 1321's moment in the spotlight still fresh in our minds, our focus once again returns to 2599, with Gary and Paul paying a visit to the bus on 8 March to put in a bit more work on the battery box area.

Having removed the former corroded battery divider (no longer required), Gary set to work cutting the metal to size and riveting this over the hole left by the former divider, before coating the metal in a protective lacquer to prevent battery acid seeping through. All that remains now is to finish off sanding the wood down to the correct size to fill the hole where the battery access panel used to be and finally apply the lino over this before our attention can return to an area that has been a lot of work over the space of ten months...2599's rear brakes.

A tribute to Alan: March 2015

As we moved out of February, we pressed on into March with a touch of sadness at the news that reached us after a chance visit to Carlton Sheet Metal.

Last March, I posted on this very blog about a man known as Alan whom was responsible for moving our fledgling project forward in a big way at a time when things looked bleak. 2599's exhaust manifold was broken clean in half, and we were at a loss as to what to do. Paul had paid a visit to Carlton Sheet Metal and it was Alan very kindly took on the task of looking at our broken manifold, and did an amazing job of repairing this cruicial item that is now working fine and fitted once again to the bus.

Now we were most saddened as a group to hear that Alan passed away just before Christmas after a short illness. A very skilled man, both he and his expertise will be sorely missed by many, and as always our thoughts go out to his family. This post is a tribute to Alan, without whom our project may have halted completely over a year ago, so I leave now with a photo taken a year ago of Alan proudly admiring his handywork (and rightly so).

The big weekend: the Ulsterbus 2599 Group attend their first rally 22/02/15

We press on into February, which continued to be cold and icy, and onto our biggest weekend. Following on from "Rommel's" embarassing little incident just a fortnight before, 1321 was duly jump started and a trip to Hammonds was made (this time after checking the tank) on Saturday 21 February for Dominic to look into the issues with the starter motor. Upon further inspection, it was revealed the wiring to the secret 'anti-terrorist' switch in the cab had perished and was the cause of all our issues, so after a bit of surgery all was once again well and 1321 was ready for her next big day...

05:30hrs on Sunday 22 February dawned (well, no it didn't actually, it was still dark), bringing with it below freezing temperatures and a thick layer of ice to clean from 1321's windscreen before we could proceed anywhere. It was at this point Paul spent almost half an hour cursing and being showered in sparks to reconnect the battery. Bus started and walk-round check done, we were off to our first bus rally of the season...destination Swansea!

Leaving at around 06:00hrs, we pressed on and made good time, with just one stop at Strensham services, leaving Englandshire behind and venturing into a Welsh rainstorm to arrive at Swansea Bus Museum around 10:30hrs. Sadly it was at this point the rain set in for the duration, but this was not to dampen the spirits of our intrepid band of travellers.

Nevertheless, we were here. The Ulsterbus 2599 Group were exhibiting one of our own vehicles at a bus rally for the first time, and all three shareholders (myself, Calum and Paul) were all in attendance for this momentous occasion.

Even better, 1321 got her moment in the limelight too, with her first passenger run on a shuttle service to Swansea City Centre in place of an open-top Bristol VR that had been confined to barracks to the 'slight downpour' (it was like a monsoon all day!!!) At 11:15hrs, she set off from Swansea Bus Museum on her maiden voyage with a near full load for a circuit of the city, a truely amazing feat for all concerned. Sadly numbers were down on previous years due to the appalling weather (which is such a shame, as the event is well organised and comes highly recommended), but we kept ourselves dry and otherwise entertained shuttling to/from Central Swansea on an assortment of suitably proper buses, and our band of loyal supporters who had joined us for our first rally all commented on what an excellent day it was.

While in Swansea, we jumped off an impressive Morris Bros. Volvo B58 to pencil in the local Wetherspoons for luncheon before Paul announced to myself, Michael Evans and Peter that he needed to visit Primark. Curious as to why, all was duly revealed...sadly 1321's heating was not quite upto the standards we had expected on this cold damp day, so Paul treated everyone on the bus to a warm blanket to throw over themselves for the return journey. Our return to the museum site was made on a beautifully restored Red & White Bristol MW, before we said our farewells and took our last photos. Before leaving, there was just enough time to allow good friend of the group and Yardley Wood Bus Club member Peter Turland to have a short drive before we set off for home.

(C) Calum Maclennan/Calumbus

We'd done it...the Ulsterbus 2599 Group had exhibited its first vehicle on the rally circuit. Big grins all round, an emotional day for all concerned. So finally, thanks must go to all at Swansea Bus Museum for being so accommodating, and to our followers Jack and Carl Needham, Michael Evans, Peter Wilkinson, Mark Ashton, Andy and Neil on that maiden voyage for coming along and offering their support.

Here's to the future, and hopefully soon 2599 will follow in the tyre tracks of 1321 on the rally field...

'Rommel of the empty tank brigade' strikes...07/02/15

So as January drew to a close, and we all froze our way into February, a road test a few days prior to the date on this post saw the dreaded low water buzzer rear its ugly head again on 1321. As a result of this, it was decided that a return visit to Hammonds at Bilborough needed to be made, which Paul pencilled in the diary for 7 February.

D-day dawned and Paul set off in the direction of Hammonds, but sadly fate was going to deal a cruel hand at this stage, when three miles away from its destination 1321 expired at the roadside just off Cinderhill Island (mercifully it had cleared the roundabout), turns out our leader had forgotten to dip the fuel tank and 1321 was somewhat lacking in forward propulsion fluids! A frantic phone call later, and mechanic Dominic came to the rescue, but with no room to work to bleed the system at the roadside and with the bus in a precarious place where it was a sitting duck for some careless tit to come along and bin a car (or worse a wagon) into the rear end, it was time to phone Burrows Recovery for a tow.

(C) Jonathan Johansson

Safely at Hammonds Dominic bled the system, gave the engine a boost and 1321 duly burst back into life. A quick check through the system for any water leaks revealed none, and Paul proceeded to return to group HQ via the nearest petroleum filling station. And if his luck was not bad enough, after topping up the tank the bus refused to start on the forecourt and his phone was now totally dead. So with a bit of charm and persuasion (Paul is good at that, bless him) he managed to charge his phone enough to phone mechanic Nik, who came out with his jump leads. Initial attempts were to no avail, but a bit of tinkering with some wiring under the floor trap around the starter motor and 1321 duly burst into life as if nothing was wrong! Paul assures me it was a quick trip back to the farm after all that!!

A curious attempt to start her up again on arrival at the farm and she'd been stood a while was unsuccessful, so it appeared we now had an issue with the starter motor. But that, dear readers, is as they say another story...