The Buy

June 2020

My decision to buy this bus came very spontaneously.

In the spring of 2020, while bored during the COVID-19 pandemic, myself (Nick) alongside my friends Michael, Yigal, Jordan, and Andrew, with some help from our experienced fellow enthusiasts Peter and Ken, filled our time by exploring the Calgary area looking for old buses to photograph, document, and possibly buy and restore if the opportunity was enticing enough. This included a failed search for ex-CT D40 #7001 (later verified to have been long scrapped), discovery of ex-Sunshine Village MCI Classic #33 (exx-CT #5085) at a junkyard, discovery of three former Canadian Premier Charters GM Fishbowls northeast of Calgary, and discovery of the inactive Midnight Madness fleet.

One day while Michael and I were hanging out with Ken and Peter, Peter mentioned an unknown GM Fishbowl in the Calgary Transit 3-stripe livery that he had discovered while railfanning near the southeast city limits a few weeks earlier. The four of us decided to all head down there to have a look.

We got to where this mystery Fishbowl was located and the owner's son let us onto the property where we met Darwin, the owner of the bus, who was open to selling it. As we got up close, we found out it was former Calgary Transit #1130 with signs and most of the decals intact! 

The four of us did not hesitate to take pictures. I first sent my photos to Yigal via text message as Michael sent his to our group chat with Andrew and Jordan. Then, I almost posted my photos to the Western Canadian Transportation Lounge Facebook group, but at the last second, I decided not to. I told the guys to keep it a secret and not tell anybody else we found this bus. Then I began considering buying it.

After taking a good look at it inside and out, we found that the bus itself was in great shape and had huge potential. The bus was complete aside from missing batteries and the interior (it was to be converted to a motorhome) and was in far better condition and more interesting than any of our other finds. We also found out that Darwin previously owned bus #1140 but had scrapped it. 

Ken was insistent that I should buy it, and Darwin told me that he would let us work on the bus on his acreage until we’re ready to move it out. So my decision was settled. We didn’t know one thing however, which was whether or not it ran. It was a gamble that we were going to make. 

On June 9th, 2020, I signed the bill of sale for bus #1130 at a price tag of $2000 CAD. It will be one of the very few Calgary Transit GM T6H-5307N buses to survive into the 2020s. This would mark the beginning of a challenging and exciting journey of bus restoration and ownership for me and my friends. Something none of us have had any prior experience with whatsoever!

Photos of Bus 1130 - First Visit:

Plans for 1130:

The plan for 1130 is to get it fully operational and restore it to an early 2010s in-service state, in other words looking and running as if it was still in service with Calgary Transit. As such, the bus will keep it’s rugged “transit bus look” aside from possible repairs to the rust spots in the future.

This project will be a great challenge with many people getting involved. But for now, the bus will sit where it sits until the ground hardens as it will easier to pull it out. Then we will work on getting it rebuilt and driven to its new home. As I mentioned, I initially decided to keep the project top-secret from anyone not directly involved in it. This was for a number of reasons, but it was mostly just to keep the project exciting for me and my friends and to eventually surprise everyone with the finished product.