The following article is from The Vancouver Sun newspaper in Vancouver BC, one of Canada's most respected dailies. Its website is at http://www.vancouversun.com.
The Vancouver Sun
Larry Pynn
Almost 250 vintage trolley buses are making their last scheduled run -- a one-way "Not In Service" express trip from a Surrey auto-parts yard to a scrap metal dealer in Richmond. "It's sad to watch," commented Alan Mihatov, a tour-bus driver and member of the Transit Museum Society. "But I always knew it would happen."
The buses were built between 1949 and 1954
by the Canadian Car Foundry in Fort William (now Thunder Bay),
Ont. Known as Brills, they were used in the Vancouver area up
to 1984 by the Metro Transit Operating Co. Almost ever since,
they've been languishing in a United Auto Parts' yard on
Scott Road near the Pattullo Bridge. All that changed when United
went bankrupt and Maynards Industries Ltd. acquired the buses
earlier this month.
Starting last Saturday and continuing for the next three weeks, Maynards is loading the buses one by one on flatdeck trucks for shipping to Richmond Steel Recycling Ltd.'s scrap depot on Mitchell Island. That's where the buses are crushed and shredded for their steel, aluminum and copper.
Maynards project manager Blair Duncan said the buses are among 2,000-3,000 tonnes of scrap vehicles acquired on 60 hectares of industrial property formerly owned by United along Scott Road. All of it should be gone within two months. "Some people find it interesting, but this is a private business decision," he said of the scrapping project. "This is the best. It's not worth the while [to fix them up]."
It might seem an undignified end for a fleet that has done so much for so many. A John Deere forklift hoists up one end of each nine-tonne, 94-passenger bus while the truck backs underneath. Then the other end is raised up and the whole bus is pushed onto the flatdeck, where it is strapped down. The buses are shipped out at a rate of 12-15 a day.
"Think of the money that it cost for all this stuff," commented forklift driver Todd Findlay, a native of Prince George who never got the chance to ride the buses. "They're worth nothing now." Well, not quite. The Transit Museum Society already owns two restored Brills and is negotiating with Maynards to acquire the motor parts and controls off several more. "It costs a lot to have them machined," Mihatov said. "We'd like to snag some before they're crushed." Dennis Cannon, a spokesman for United president Ian Mott, said Mott acquired the buses in 1986 with the hope of reselling them to a developing country such as Cuba or Peru.
But despite ongoing attempts as recently as last summer, no buyer could be found before Maynards took control and started reducing them to scrap. "I don't know if we can find anyone," said Cannon, noting Maynards is willing to sell them for $2,000 each, the scrap value. "We did our best."
The B.C. environment ministry has looked into the situation, and considers it unlikely that significant levels of asbestos or PCBs are on board the buses. Still, the receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has promised to monitor the scrapping and to hire an environmental consultant should any be found. Painted white with orange and yellow stripes below the passenger windows, the buses are now smeared with mould and parked in mud. Several still have their old routes displayed on the screens over the front windshields.
"There is a 23 Hastings," Mihatov mused during a walk through the transit graveyard. "That doesn't exist. The route has changed." The society's 100 members are either bus drivers or people with an interest in transit history.
Although Mihatov works for Gray Line of Vancouver, he has talked to members who have driven the Brills. "They were good buses, fast acceleration," he said. In comparison, he said, the new Flyer buses acquired from Winnipeg in 1982 were bedeviled with equipment problems from the start.
Formed in 1986, the society boasts several other restored buses once used in the Vancouver area, including two 1957 diesel-powered Brill coaches, a 1937 gas-powered Hayes Teardrop, a 1964 diesel GMC Transit Coach, and a 1947 gas Fageol.
The buses are kept in a garage in Surrey
and are not open to the public. However, the society participates
in various parades and public events in spring and summer. Members
are also provided with rides. For further information, call 970-3421.
This page last updated 2 DE 2000
