An excellent charter featuring stops at the Welland, St.
Catharines &
Niagara Falls bus terminals and maintenance
facilities. The cities are bastions for GM Fishbowls, with all three
recently receiving second-hand buses from the
United States.
First stop after departing from the Oakville loading point,
Welland
showcased buses including it own original
GMs and new Orions, as well as second hand GMs from Bellingham and
Santa Monica. A surprising sight at
Welland's garage was ex-HSR 7716.
St. Catharines also features buses of many flavours,
original GMs, Orions
and Classics. SCT's garage and
backlot revealed a host of ex-San Diego Fishbowls, some already in
service and others being modified and
painted into SCT colours.
Unfortunately, we did not have permission to roam Niagara
Transit's property,
however a quick photo-stop on
the sidewalk in front of the garage allowed for shots of 8131 and 9751.
In an odd twist of fate, not long after the
charter, 9751 was written off following an accident, apparently not
faring
too well against a truck. From there, it
was off to a bus
parking area south of the falls, and Paul Bateson's eyes lit up!
Amongst
the tour buses sat a Double-
Deck Tours
Routemaster.
A wonderful day was had by all. Thanks to Kevin Nicol and Jan Gregor for planning this charter.
