SEPTEMBER

September 14

Our workday was great. We were assisted by new volunteers from Blacksburg. Josh Baker and Mike Cox met Ed Stinson and Bev at the Buseum around 10 am and they cleaned buses all day long. You should see the floors all mopped up and the passenger railings shining. They got the Gillig ready for Kenny and Mel's trip to the Chateau, cleaned the 2616, the Orion, the RTS and the Pumpkin. The Grumman went to the Olde Salem Days auto show at the American Legion house shuttling back and forth to downtown Salem. We carried a few bodies and raised some funds for the buseum.

Got back and worked with Josh and Mike to finish up some cleaning and putting buses back in the barn! These two are good and they are interested in bringing some more folks down who can drive! Both of them have their CDL's and as you all know, we can use them!

Bev is getting a group together and going to Charlottesville Tuesday night to bid on parts for RTS's. Also got the bill on the AC for the 2616 and ThermoKing has been great once more. It is costly but not what it could be! Dropped the starter and solenoid by Fisher's Auto to get them fixed.

We need to get moving on the Richmond Metro and the Mack so we can have them in the St Patrick's Day parade next year! We started the Mack yesterday and it sounds wonderful! All the guys are wonderful to work with and we appreciate all they do for us.

I think we will try to get the buses in Bedford County on the 22nd of November. And we have Ghost Tours in Rocky Mount the 18th and 25th.

September 10

We had a great crowd last night and got a lot done on several buses. The crew last night included Ben, BT, Ed,  Freddy, Harry, James, Kenny, Mel, John, Raymond and Bev.

 We got finally got the starter off the 66 Richmond bus (the guys have really worked hard on this tough to get at piece), and the alternator on the"Pumpkin.” We then put some additional mirrors on the Grumman, fueled the Gillig for the Chateau Morrisette with the VW Club. We worked on our leaf blower and Ed brought us pizza once more! Upcoming we will be doing a shuttle from the American Legion site to Olde Salem Days.

September 5

This week BT got the 309 out and we took it to Valley Metro and washed off all the sanding debris so it is ready to work on again. It is a great running bus and once we get new tires on after we paint, it will be a great runner for the fleet. Freddy did the lawn and as always it looks so much better. Mel, John and Ben worked on getting the starter off the 66 Richmond bus. It is a real bear and we hope to get it off next week. Joe took the Orion for a long drive and it seems to be doing fine. We have had the transmission fluid and filters changed and really appreciate John Thompson helping us on that project. James came right as we were calling it quits! We had a great crew and got a lot done.

Started the Pentran, the Charlottesville RTS, the Gillig and the 53 Mack. BT and Joe got some equipment back into the building. Ed has gotten us some great stuff recently with an air compressor for a great price and a scaffold we can use to work on any body or paint project. Thanks Ed for always keeping your eyes on the lookout for things for the Buseum. The air compressor is portable so it can be rolled all over the lot.

We have to move the streetcar as the NS is concerned about non- operating equipment on their property. We may move it to some other property but may have to scrap it as well. If we do that, we will keep both ends for display later.

The BT Bus is at ThermoKing getting the AC checked and we hope to have it back this week to bring the Highty Tighty Band to Roanoke for the VT celebration on Friday night. Pray that Bev makes it up to Blacksburg back to Roanoke and then up and back again!

September 3

We want to thank all the volunteers for an incredible summer of successful operation. We have already begun organizing the fall events. We have a fair amount of scheduled events and we need to find time to go to Bedford County and get 3 buses (once the fence is completed) so we can have them on hand. With the information that indicates we may be getting another RTS, we will have to trek to Williamsburg to get that one, too.

Raymond has been invaluable to the cause by doing our scheduling. Some upcoming events are more firm than others but we need to keep them all in mind. The Ghost Tours in Franklin County should be coming up and we all look forward to that. It is usually mid-October. With all the new tires, mechanical improvements etc, we are in better shape today than we have been in for some time but that being said, the Orion is still down and others questionable at times. We will have to continue are efforts with those as we are able.

AUGUST

August 12

Well, we have a Grumman back and it was initiated by Ricky Joseph yesterday for a wedding. The Grumman has a newly done radiator so we should have BIG RED as a good runner for a long time. Ricky came to our aid when Karen another commitment and needed a driver. Raymond Bright continues to help with scheduling and is a lifesaver! Bev took a bus to Lynchburg for the VMT and for Raildays and it went well. The Gillig was great on the road.

The "Beast" is at Virginia Truck Center getting the airbag replaced and we are giving her a once over as well. We need to get the starter off the 66 Richmond bus on Wednesday night so we can get it running again! And, we need to put a battery in the 30 ft Metro to get it somewhere to have it checked. We need cutoffs on all batteries so keep that in mind so someone checks on me to remember. We also need a piano hinge to fix the RTS. And, it needs to go to the AC shop sometime along with the BT bus.

August 8

Much activity this week. Harry and BT got the Richmond Metro started by installing new batteries and Harry continued body work on the bus. We hope to get this one painted by the fall and in use immediately thereafter.

We took the 53 Mack to Perfection Muffler to get the " sound system" fixed and legal. Those who have heard it remember it has a muffler and a motor and nothing in between. The Orion was used to pick up Ed, Darryl, Raymond and BT who rode the Mack over there. It is running very well. We hope to change the transmission fluid soon and do the filters as well.

The Grumman is to be finished tomorrow if all goes well. We hope to hear from Virginia Truck Center in the morning. It now has spring loaded parking brakes and a new radiator core. The alternator on the "pumpkin" is baked and we need to see why. Ben is checking on that and it may have been a bad item to begin with. We want to make sure before we put another one in the coach.

Ed and Darryl worked in the tool room and got lots done. Freddy and Bev mowed and then Bev polished the wheels on the Gillig to get it ready for Saturday's trip to Lynchburg Raildays.

On the next workday or the one in September we have three buses to pick up in Bedford. They need to be towed or put on trailers to get them to the Buseum. One is an ACF Brill, one Mack C-41 and one is a Greyhound Silversides.

JULY

July 23

Another great worknight this past Wednesday. Mel organized the group and we got a lot done. Thanks to Ben we know the alternator on the Pumpkin is not the problem. It is not charging but we cannot figure out why. Freddy got the grass mowed, thanks Freddy, it really looks good.  Kenny worked on getting the rivets off the Richmond bus so we can continue sanding it in preparation for painting. Mel sanded all night and it is really coming along. Harry worked to get the 66 Richmond bus started but it will not budge. We think we may have a solenoid or starter issue there. Thanks to all who were there.

July 9

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. The trip to Staunton was GREAT!  The Pumpkin was quite the hit at the parade (we were just behind President Wilson's Pierce Arrow).  There were literally thousands of people there and a very long parade.  Many people remembered riding the bus and we came across one former driver in the crowd.  The city council loved it and we got a lot of feedback about the need for a bus system in Staunton. They were pumped up and enthusiastic about riding the bus. The old bus ran really well, but apparently the generator is not charging the battery.

The 66 Richmond bus will not start and it may have a starter problem. We need to check it Wednesday night as it is the next in line for tires and is scheduled for next week arrival at White Tire!  The 62 will not stay started and may have a lack of fuel issue so we need to deal with that sometime soon. Of most importance is the Richmond bus and what we need to move forward with the painting into the beige and orange scheme. Mel thinks we need another compressor and we will talk about this Wednesday night as well. The Grumman is back at the VTC for spring loaded parking brake chambers. It seems as though we all had the best of intentions but they were not installed as we thought. When Joe Kennedy found it recently, it had rolled across the parking lot and was almost through the fence.

 Speaking of fences, we have committed to the new fence and it should be up in 30 days. That brings to mind our need to perhaps pick a second weekend workday so we can go get our 3 buses in Bedford County and the one in Franklin County as well. With the new room, we have some space and will rearrange the fleet.

We have lots to do on the building and the lot. We will take all the fencing to the scrap yard after we get it pulled up, add the rolls in the yard and see if we can make a little change!

JUNE

June 27

Our most recent workday was all about making the buses presentable for our next wedding outing (that same afternoon). The buses looked good that day, and so did we.