15/11/08
One new arrival at the depot last weekend was in the form of a mighty fine vehicle, GHB148N - A Bristol RESL new to Cynon Valley though preserved in Red & White livery. Also in other news another mighty fine vehicle made a quick photo stop on Saturday afternoon, F238CNY a Leyland Lynx (formerly Cardiff '238') which has just entered preservation, painting is also coming along slowly but surely. Also shown is a white-van, on which a few members worked very hard in transporting heavy goods from the storage site to the depot.
2/11/08
Two more arrivals at the depot today, in the form of UTG313G the Pontypridd Regent V, and TUH13 - Western Welsh '13', an Albion Nimbus.
Shortly after arriving '13' was given a wash, and it certainly looks better for it after coming out of years of storage!
Painting in the depot is coming along nicely, with the canteen almost completed and the ladies' also completed - seen below is a keen worker applying the finishing touches to the wall in the canteen.
29/10/08
A new arrival to the depot today was in the form of ex-Cardiff AEC Regent V '408' - 408 DBO. Three new arrivals are expected on the weekend, and these are 20 AAX the Bristol Lodekka, TUH13 the Albion Nimbus and UTG313G the Pontypridd Regent V all of which are currently residing in Swansea at the time of writing.
22/10/08
A great deal of painting work has taken place since the last update, with a large amount still to be done.
One more Barry vehicle returned home on Sunday, in the form of TKG518J (pictured below shortly before leaving) - A Leyland Leopard converted to towbus use at the end of it's useful service life - this vehicle was allocated to Barry depot from new as WWOC 1158, renumbered in 1974 as U871 and then transferred to Cardiff depot in 1975.
A future depot resident, ex-Cardiff Bus Metrorider has been prepared for painting by Glyn Bowen and is expected to be returned to Cardiff 'Clipper' livery (as can be seen in the gallery) soon.
12/10/08
Much ado has gone on in recent weeks, painting is well underway with several people lending a hand to spruce up the depot - with the main work being scraping the walls of old western welsh paint. One of the depot's newest residents has undergone cleaning, as shown in the photographs below. Not only the interior of the depot has been spruced up.. but the outside as well - as displayed in the below photograph, the group chairperson proudly looks on at his work with his ladder-holder.
30/09/08
As of this weekend, much of the electrical work has been finished - as displayed in the photo below, we have lights!
There was another arrival over the weekend in the form of National Welsh 1 - C101HKG. The Ford Transit with 'Robin Hood' bodywork, dubbed the 'Bustler' was brought home from the CTPG storage site on Saturday afternoon. Our thanks to the Reynolds family who organised and paid for the bus to return home, without their help it would have remained exposed to the elements.
13/09/08
A great deal of work has been carried out since the last diary entry, perhaps most the important being the introduction of tea making facilities to the depot!
The glazing work has been finished, as also has the replacement of several sections of roofing in the depot. The pits and surrounding areas have been painted as to make them more visible, and therefore safer - with the inclusion of a green painted 'walkway'. Electrical work within the depot has also been finished - as has the plumbing of a most vital utility, the toilets!
01/09/08
Work on the depot is now progressing with great speed, with the electrical
work being the current priority. The interior walls are being prepared for painting, with
a great deal of progress already made - exterior painting is also nearing completion.
The bulk of the re-plumbing work has been done, with new toilets and sink facilities fitted -
when they are connected to the water it will come as a great 'relief' for all those in the depot!
Re-glazing has also been completed, with the below view showing just how much of
a difference a few windows can make.
Although a portion of the work is being done by paid contractors, the majority is done by volunteers - if you can spare some of your time and come down to help on weekends it would be much appreciated!
