Taking Her to Town

August 2021 Update

Despite relatively little getting done, August was a very important month for the 1130 project. The actual work on the bus slowed down for a bit this month due in part to me not having much time but also just because not much needed to be urgently done to the bus in general at this point.

However, a major task of mine in around early August was taking 1130 down a gravel road to a nearby heavy mechanic’s shop to complete an Alberta CVIP (commercial vehicle) inspection on the bus. I knew it was going to fail and only did this so I could have an idea of exactly what mechanical work the bus needed done before I could consider 1130’s mechanical restoration a success. I was a little nervous to do this as I didn’t know what to expect with any part of this, though I successfully delivered the bus to and from the shop. The only hiccup was how long the whole process took as the age of the bus gave the mechanics serious difficulty taking stuff apart during their inspection! I ended up sitting in the shop’s waiting room for about 7 hours before the inspection was finally completed.

After the inspection, I was pleasantly surprised to be told that the bus needed relatively little major work to satisfy the inspection. Aside from the obvious fail items such as the scrap tires and bypassed start circuit, pretty much the only things wrong with the bus that I wasn’t already aware of were the two rear wheel seals leaking and a couple minor air leaks in the system, as well as the brakes also only having 2-4 mm left before inspection failure. I received a quote from the shop several days later for all the required work and I plan to get it done once I have the funds.

Later on in August, Yigal and I finally got 1130 registered and insured. This came just in time for the 2021 Calgary Transit #1046 fantrip that we were organizing for August 28th! I figured this event would be a perfect opportunity to reveal what has been a top secret project for nearly 15 months at this point, plus I desperately wanted a photo of a two-tone blue CT Fishbowl and a 3-stripe CT Fishbowl next to each other.

Due to work, time was very tight for me when it came to preparing 1130 for the event. Yigal volunteered to go do several hours of cleaning in the days leading up to the charter. The only opportunity I had during this time to check on 1130 myself was around 10 PM on August 27th, the night before charter day. I arrived at the pitch dark storage lot that night with a headlamp and topped up all engine fluids, did some more minor cleaning and installed 1130’s new license plate on the back. The next day, as our 1046 fantrip reached the planned photo stop at Fish Creek-Lacombe station, I maintained plans with Peter to quietly depart the charter in my car (which I had left at the station) and go get 1130 to show off with 1046 at the charter end at Whitehorn station.

Thankfully, Peter and I fired up 1130 and got it going with no issues. This would be 1130’s longest outing yet during the time I’ve owned it. We opted to avoid freeways during this trip to not work the bus too hard and decided to get to Whitehorn via 52 Street E and 32 Avenue NE. With Peter driving and me keeping in contact with people on the 1046 charter, we set off with 1130 into the night, and soon rolled the bus onto Calgary’s city streets for its first time in nearly a decade. Peter was pleased to notice that the bus now ran much better since I replaced various parts (notably the air throttle) and said it felt just like he remembered it when it was in service. As we drove up 52 Street towards the northeast of the city, I took a video recording for my YouTube and Peter got an audio recording for his. Also, as an incredible coincidence, GlobalFest was in full swing that night in Elliston Park along the way, so we drove past crowds of bystanders along 52 Street and got treated to a show of fireworks as we made our way north!

After about 40 minutes of killing time around the Whitehorn area and Peter and I helping each other with some last minute minor cleaning of the bus, 1046 finally arrived at Whitehorn station to conclude the fantrip. I opted to take the driver’s seat for pulling 1130 in behind 1046 in the station’s bus loop. For its first time, 1130 was met with dozens of cameras and tons of excitement in the air! I invited numerous charter attendees onto 1130 and handed out the 1998 transfers that Ken had found in the bus’s sign compartment last year. I also showed off some old Calgary Transit pocket schedules which I had placed into 1130’s schedule slots as well. I then posed 1130 next to 1046, and soon after that began the long drive back down 52 Street (via 16th Ave) to return 1130 to the storage lot by myself as Peter went with 1046 back to Stoney Garage. I had so much fun driving the bus back down that I missed a turn and had to take 1130 onto Stoney Trail for a short bit to get to the lot, managing to get it up to 100 km/h!