Fog Lights, Window & Electronics
It is amazing what a transformation two front fog lights can make to a bus. Their addition this week makes GCT 113 look a little more as I intend her to do so... eventually.
Their fitment was, I'm assured, not straightforward. The offside fog light sits immediately in front of an out of service demister, which I suspect became rerouted when the front of the bus was modified in GCT days to remove the indent where the Daimler badge (and subsequently gold fleet number) were displayed.
The original operating switch on the dash board was reconnected to the wiring and, hey presto, working front fog lights.
This is the only photo ever taken to show GCT 113 with fog lights while wearing Stagecoach Swoops. The original fog lights were removed while the bus wore an all-over livery for Pleasure Island Theme Park from April 1996 for two years. I had assumed (wrongly) that they were removed earlier, though a number of photos have since surfaced which show otherwise.
In other news, the cab window, which rather unceremoniously exploded while I was reversing into a parking place at the Delaine Heritage Running Day on 30 September, has been fixed recently. A superb job done by a guy who specialises in repairing classic vehicles and is more than happy to do so while making no profit. A true believer in the cause. I should have gone to this person immediately, but following the incident, I was given details of Carlyle Bus & Coach, whom many had dealt with and had good results from. I spoke to their representative who fortuitously owns a preserved bus, and he very much gave the impression that he was 'on it', though sadly I heard nothing more - even phoning the following week and leaving my contact details again in case they were lost.
I've also recently had a crack course on bus electronics. Christ! Wiring diagrams are so often lacking for older vehicles when you are given access to one, you wonder why the most obvious way to wire lights to switches hasn't been chosen from new. It's just as well that I'm not an electrician, clearly. The switch which operates the destination equipment bulbs blew a fuse and had to be changed - a straightforward process, once you know how,
This will be the last blog entry before GCT 113 heads off to a paint shop for repaint. Exciting times, quite literally. Thanks to a contact in Howard Wilkinson, a chap who worked for Mason's paint - a company that supplied paint to GCT for nigh on 40 years - I am confident I now have the right shade of orange chosen, and the many and varied photos of the Roe Park Royal-bodied Fleetline in service with GCT have ensured I have captured precisely what vinyl needs to be applied where, as well as legal and safety lettering.