Male bonding North of the Border
More bus restoration: the Sydney Albion double decker at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Dunfermline, Fife.
This, David’s last great excursion was conducted First Class, by Great North Eastern Railway. It is such a classic rail journey that it would be a pity to compromise one’s enjoyment.
On the net I booked well ahead to get the best fare, avoiding the facing backwards option, and knowing I would be near the Dining Car for a pleasant lunch. From Wood Green to Kings Cross is a mere 15-20 mins in the warm and friendly tube--- I had a couple of bags because an emergency transfusion of Albion parts had reached me just in time. There had been the odd nail-bite here: Gwilym had despatched them from Sydney by Sea Mail before Christmas, and if they had not arrived in time we would be gone from the house, heaven forfend. But arrive they did, a week before---phew!
I had half an hour to kill at King’s Cross. Tom’s advice being to double any predicted journey time to allow for unforeseens, and he can’t be late for concert appearances, can he? I asked a man clutching a cup of railway concourse coffee if he regarded it as a good drop: No, he said in a soft Edinburgh accent, I’d be better to go across the road to McDonald’s. And so it proved, after a walk of no more than 50 yards across the lane beside the station.
The train arrived from Scotland at 10.20 AM, within 5 minutes it was emptied of passengers, being cleaned, provisioned and readied for departure at 10.30 AM. On board I was disgusted to find my seat had its back to the engine---but I sat nevertheless so as not to miss filming our departure on video, and rapid progress up the line through Finsbury Park, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace barely a kilometre from our little house in Wood Green, and suddenly one is in rural Hertfordshire north of London. Then I went in search of a conductor, said I hadn’t paid all that money to face backwards--- a little grudgingly he checked with his mate who very cheerfully found me a seat in the next car forward. Collecting my bags, I said to the nice man opposite that it wasn’t anything he’d said, (we had exchanged nothing more than ‘good morning’), but I’d found a forward facing seat: he was mightily amused and wished me a happy trip.
It was a lovely day and I had camcorder at the ready to capture the sights: the grandeur of York Station, the view of Durham Cathedral from the long curving viaduct above the city, the crossing of the Tyne at Newcastle with its many bridges, including a baby Sydney Harbour Bridge also built by Dorman, Long of nearby Middlesborough. (Have a look at any piece of steel on our Harbour Bridge one day).
After York came the call for second sitting in the dining car; I dashed forward to get a lovely single table. GNER is noted for its food and my mushroom roulade was no disappointment, with excellent fresh bread. With it I unwisely took a half bottle of Jacobs Creek red. Delicious at first sip, but it begins to have its effect rather rapidly when one is keyed up with the joys of travel.
Then the fast run right at the edge of the North Sea in Northumberland to Berwick and the crossing of the Tweed into Scotland. In 4 hrs 20 mins we were at Edinburgh Waverley station in the shadow of the castle, and I looked for my First Rail train to Dunfermline across the magnificent Firth of Forth Rail Bridge, built 1890.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst1053.html via Inverkeithing, Rosyth and Cowdenbeath: this is a different country. At 3;50 precisely I was at Dunfermline Town station being met by Jasper Pettie. We repaired chez Pettie at Bowershall only a mile from the Museum.
After dinner of home-made soup with Jasper and Linda, I felt replete, but then came the main course, and lashings more red. A mental note not to dine so well in trains in future. After dinner Jasper and I watched some of my video efforts , including a journey in the Isle of Wight on a train of 1938 stock London UndergrounD cars, actually preserved in their London Transport colours and running as the islands day to day train service.
Saturday Sunday and Monday were to be serious work days---- clutch parts from Turramurra Stores came into play--- the clutch release and clutch brake mechanism was rebuilt, assembled to the gearbox and the whole mated to the engine. It took four of us, Paul Adams, Davie Philp John Rentoul and me to lift the gearbox onto a trolley jack. Albion used to build things solidly.
Davie Philp and David riverting the new friction lining on the clutch throwout housing.
Some uncertainty now entered the rosy picture. Brought from my collection in Sydney last September had been a newly-relined clutch disc with 1/4” thick linings, on the assumption that a sixty year old bus would have had its flywheel facing and its clutch pressure plate re-surfaced several times, necessitating an oversize clutch disc. Instead they were unusable, full of heat stress cracks, so replacements had been found in Scotland, amongst Davie’s truck parts. Would there be room for these full-thickness parts and an over thick clutch disc in the range of adjustment available? Only one way to find out, although some rough measurements were taken to establish that it was not out of the question.
With engine and gearbox re-united and everything adjusted to suit, there was a millimetre or so of internal clearance of clutch finger pivot studs from the external clutch housing. Final adjustment must await the refitting of the engine to the bus and connecting up of the clutch pedal.
John Rentoul and David make final adjustments to the clutch.
Sunday night. I was the guest of Graeme and Pat Fraser in Dundee, an elegant city on the Firth of Tay. Dinner was preceded by a couple of pints of Sharp’s Doom Bar Ale (from Cornwall) and Deuchar’s IPA (from Scotland and now one of my preferred drops) at the Speedwell. Graeme knows it as some other name which I missed: help please, Graeme. A memorable dinner of steak and a well-matured Koonunga Hill Shiraz was accompanied by stimulating conversation; Pat knows the subtle fact that most people’s favourite topic of conversation is themselves, and I was in fine voice. Thankyou Pat: I hope I gave as good as I got.
Next day, Paul carried on dismantling two radiators to see how one good one can be made. Earnest consultation with David Wilson in Moss Vale, examination of the Albion CX19 Parts Book, and reference to Greg Travers’ “City to Suburb” elicited the fact that 1877 was delivered with a radiator of an early pattern with screw top filler, and vitreous enamel badge, so that the use of that radiator would break no code of historical accuracy. Davie cleaned and assembled the nearside front wheel hub and brakes, and John did the same with the water pump, which proved to be a ruin internally: leaking and worn beyond repair. Monday lunchtime Davie scouted around his spare engines at the farm, found a pump which had actually been reconditioned and never used. A bit rusty on the outside, it cleaned up a treat, got a coat of paint and was fitted, with new rubbers to couple it to its drive shaft.
That afternoon I took time off to get some more film coverage of the museum collection with Jasper as my tour guide. The previous day I had covered some of the collection with David Heathcote, another of the museum trustees. So the footage comes with commentary in gentle Scottish brogue which I hope covers some of its other shortcomings such as poor light.
AND Jasper rounded up a 12 volt CAV brand wiper motor for me: a rare beast given the fact that all buses from the late 30s onward have had 24 volt electrical systems. But my TD4 with its odd 12v/24v system requires a 12 volt wiper, something missing when it reached me. for restoration.
After a busy weekend and hefty lunches of haggis pie, steak Bridie and other such high calorie/cholesterol stuff (what the hell: this is an Albion bus we’re talking about), Monday night was to be spent at John’s place in Bridge of Allan with an outing to the Hollybank Hotel for a farewell dinner. Jim Dochertie and Edith from Auchterarder turned up, as did Iain McKerracher. A welcome sight, clutching as he was a nearside headlamp bracket for a Leyland TD4, genuine. This is one item which has eluded me for the restoration of my Leyland in Sydney, until now. Thankyou Iain.
Next morning John took me to my train in Dunfermline by an interesting route which involved crossing the River Forth to the south near Stirling, then recrossing it to the North by Kincardine Bridge, the only major road bridge over the Forth until the Forth Road Bridge of 1964.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst101.html
And so back to London by the 11AM from Dunfermline and the 12.13PM from Edinburgh Waverley arriving King’s Cross 4.35PM. The cost? £96 return, about $220, not bad given the speed, comfort and scenery en route, and really no slower than a plane after getting to and from one’s airport and somehow transferring to Dunfermline.
This, David’s last great excursion was conducted First Class, by Great North Eastern Railway. It is such a classic rail journey that it would be a pity to compromise one’s enjoyment.
On the net I booked well ahead to get the best fare, avoiding the facing backwards option, and knowing I would be near the Dining Car for a pleasant lunch. From Wood Green to Kings Cross is a mere 15-20 mins in the warm and friendly tube--- I had a couple of bags because an emergency transfusion of Albion parts had reached me just in time. There had been the odd nail-bite here: Gwilym had despatched them from Sydney by Sea Mail before Christmas, and if they had not arrived in time we would be gone from the house, heaven forfend. But arrive they did, a week before---phew!
I had half an hour to kill at King’s Cross. Tom’s advice being to double any predicted journey time to allow for unforeseens, and he can’t be late for concert appearances, can he? I asked a man clutching a cup of railway concourse coffee if he regarded it as a good drop: No, he said in a soft Edinburgh accent, I’d be better to go across the road to McDonald’s. And so it proved, after a walk of no more than 50 yards across the lane beside the station.
The train arrived from Scotland at 10.20 AM, within 5 minutes it was emptied of passengers, being cleaned, provisioned and readied for departure at 10.30 AM. On board I was disgusted to find my seat had its back to the engine---but I sat nevertheless so as not to miss filming our departure on video, and rapid progress up the line through Finsbury Park, Hornsey, Alexandra Palace barely a kilometre from our little house in Wood Green, and suddenly one is in rural Hertfordshire north of London. Then I went in search of a conductor, said I hadn’t paid all that money to face backwards--- a little grudgingly he checked with his mate who very cheerfully found me a seat in the next car forward. Collecting my bags, I said to the nice man opposite that it wasn’t anything he’d said, (we had exchanged nothing more than ‘good morning’), but I’d found a forward facing seat: he was mightily amused and wished me a happy trip.
It was a lovely day and I had camcorder at the ready to capture the sights: the grandeur of York Station, the view of Durham Cathedral from the long curving viaduct above the city, the crossing of the Tyne at Newcastle with its many bridges, including a baby Sydney Harbour Bridge also built by Dorman, Long of nearby Middlesborough. (Have a look at any piece of steel on our Harbour Bridge one day).
After York came the call for second sitting in the dining car; I dashed forward to get a lovely single table. GNER is noted for its food and my mushroom roulade was no disappointment, with excellent fresh bread. With it I unwisely took a half bottle of Jacobs Creek red. Delicious at first sip, but it begins to have its effect rather rapidly when one is keyed up with the joys of travel.
Then the fast run right at the edge of the North Sea in Northumberland to Berwick and the crossing of the Tweed into Scotland. In 4 hrs 20 mins we were at Edinburgh Waverley station in the shadow of the castle, and I looked for my First Rail train to Dunfermline across the magnificent Firth of Forth Rail Bridge, built 1890.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst1053.html via Inverkeithing, Rosyth and Cowdenbeath: this is a different country. At 3;50 precisely I was at Dunfermline Town station being met by Jasper Pettie. We repaired chez Pettie at Bowershall only a mile from the Museum.
After dinner of home-made soup with Jasper and Linda, I felt replete, but then came the main course, and lashings more red. A mental note not to dine so well in trains in future. After dinner Jasper and I watched some of my video efforts , including a journey in the Isle of Wight on a train of 1938 stock London UndergrounD cars, actually preserved in their London Transport colours and running as the islands day to day train service.
Saturday Sunday and Monday were to be serious work days---- clutch parts from Turramurra Stores came into play--- the clutch release and clutch brake mechanism was rebuilt, assembled to the gearbox and the whole mated to the engine. It took four of us, Paul Adams, Davie Philp John Rentoul and me to lift the gearbox onto a trolley jack. Albion used to build things solidly.
Davie Philp and David riverting the new friction lining on the clutch throwout housing.Some uncertainty now entered the rosy picture. Brought from my collection in Sydney last September had been a newly-relined clutch disc with 1/4” thick linings, on the assumption that a sixty year old bus would have had its flywheel facing and its clutch pressure plate re-surfaced several times, necessitating an oversize clutch disc. Instead they were unusable, full of heat stress cracks, so replacements had been found in Scotland, amongst Davie’s truck parts. Would there be room for these full-thickness parts and an over thick clutch disc in the range of adjustment available? Only one way to find out, although some rough measurements were taken to establish that it was not out of the question.
With engine and gearbox re-united and everything adjusted to suit, there was a millimetre or so of internal clearance of clutch finger pivot studs from the external clutch housing. Final adjustment must await the refitting of the engine to the bus and connecting up of the clutch pedal.
John Rentoul and David make final adjustments to the clutch.Sunday night. I was the guest of Graeme and Pat Fraser in Dundee, an elegant city on the Firth of Tay. Dinner was preceded by a couple of pints of Sharp’s Doom Bar Ale (from Cornwall) and Deuchar’s IPA (from Scotland and now one of my preferred drops) at the Speedwell. Graeme knows it as some other name which I missed: help please, Graeme. A memorable dinner of steak and a well-matured Koonunga Hill Shiraz was accompanied by stimulating conversation; Pat knows the subtle fact that most people’s favourite topic of conversation is themselves, and I was in fine voice. Thankyou Pat: I hope I gave as good as I got.
Next day, Paul carried on dismantling two radiators to see how one good one can be made. Earnest consultation with David Wilson in Moss Vale, examination of the Albion CX19 Parts Book, and reference to Greg Travers’ “City to Suburb” elicited the fact that 1877 was delivered with a radiator of an early pattern with screw top filler, and vitreous enamel badge, so that the use of that radiator would break no code of historical accuracy. Davie cleaned and assembled the nearside front wheel hub and brakes, and John did the same with the water pump, which proved to be a ruin internally: leaking and worn beyond repair. Monday lunchtime Davie scouted around his spare engines at the farm, found a pump which had actually been reconditioned and never used. A bit rusty on the outside, it cleaned up a treat, got a coat of paint and was fitted, with new rubbers to couple it to its drive shaft.
That afternoon I took time off to get some more film coverage of the museum collection with Jasper as my tour guide. The previous day I had covered some of the collection with David Heathcote, another of the museum trustees. So the footage comes with commentary in gentle Scottish brogue which I hope covers some of its other shortcomings such as poor light.
AND Jasper rounded up a 12 volt CAV brand wiper motor for me: a rare beast given the fact that all buses from the late 30s onward have had 24 volt electrical systems. But my TD4 with its odd 12v/24v system requires a 12 volt wiper, something missing when it reached me. for restoration.
After a busy weekend and hefty lunches of haggis pie, steak Bridie and other such high calorie/cholesterol stuff (what the hell: this is an Albion bus we’re talking about), Monday night was to be spent at John’s place in Bridge of Allan with an outing to the Hollybank Hotel for a farewell dinner. Jim Dochertie and Edith from Auchterarder turned up, as did Iain McKerracher. A welcome sight, clutching as he was a nearside headlamp bracket for a Leyland TD4, genuine. This is one item which has eluded me for the restoration of my Leyland in Sydney, until now. Thankyou Iain.
Next morning John took me to my train in Dunfermline by an interesting route which involved crossing the River Forth to the south near Stirling, then recrossing it to the North by Kincardine Bridge, the only major road bridge over the Forth until the Forth Road Bridge of 1964.
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst101.html
And so back to London by the 11AM from Dunfermline and the 12.13PM from Edinburgh Waverley arriving King’s Cross 4.35PM. The cost? £96 return, about $220, not bad given the speed, comfort and scenery en route, and really no slower than a plane after getting to and from one’s airport and somehow transferring to Dunfermline.
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