THE SCOTTISH VINTAGE BUS MUSEUM -
10th ANNIVERSARY RUNNING DAY
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Lathalmond
and the 20th Anniversary of the SVBM, we held a Running Day on 15th May 2005.
The theme was 'Old and New', and the major bus
companies were invited to send along 'new' versions of the 'old' buses in the
museum.
Most
of the photos were taken from Suzy Scott's web site http://scotbus.fotopic.net/c541597.html
(I understand fotopic
is no longer in business) with her permission. Those annotated 'ST' were taken by Stuart Thomson
Right: Dundee 2004 & 1979
Left: Edinburgh 1957 & 2004
A
Personal Reflection by Eddie Taylor
'Pure Dead Brilliant' this controversial logo for Prestwick
Airport certainly applied to our Anniversary Weekend in May. The idea for such an event goes back to autumn
last year when it was suggested in committee that we should organise an event at the beginning of the
year, in addition to our usual Open Weekend in August. 2005 also coincided with
20 years since the formation of the SVBM plus 10 years at Lathalmond. After I had mentioned the idea to
my beloved, Margaret, she suggested an 'old and new theme' plus some sort of
celebration for members plus others who had helped towards the success of the
Museum. Out of this was born the idea 
of a corporate function on the Saturday, a member's party on the
Saturday evening then a Running Day on the Sunday, open to the public. All
sounds easy when said quickly. The Events Sub Committee (plus others) added the
event to their remit, listened to and contributed ideas and got on with the organisation.
Right: Edinburgh 1961 & 2004
Left: Fife 1999 &
1961
The
corporate function on the Saturday took a lot of work in preparation – guest
lists, getting official invites printed and sent out, drinks licence, sound systems, catering, staffing,
badges, etc. Operators had to be contacted with a view to providing new buses
for display on the Sunday and owners of old vehicles invited to take part, plus
all the usual things associated with an Open Event. The sub committee is now well up to speed on getting
things done, albeit for an event in May and not August as usual.
Old
Western 1963 & Not as old Eastern 1971
The
morning of the 14th saw our catering staff (members, wives
and girlfriends) arrive all suitably dressed for such an auspicious
occasion. The parking lads were in place to initially greet and direct our
guests who had travelled far and wide from all corners.
Guests included
representatives from the bus industry, the bus press, our suppliers and
contractors, etc. A total of
around sixty guests and management committee partook of the superb champagne
buffet lunch before being shown around the Museum site using a couple of our
resident vehicles. I think it safe to say that we certainly gave a very
professional impression to those who had not been to Lathalmond before. Subsequent thank you
letters certainly bore this out.
The
evening party in the Function Suite saw around fifty members and friends
enjoying an evening of music, quizzes and the customary bingo, all washed down
with drink from the bar. The raffle provided a healthy boost to the funds.
DOUBLE DECKER PROGRESSION: 1943 -
2004
Left: 1943 Plymouth Guy Bus
Sunday
saw the doors open to the public. Approximately thirty visiting vehicles made
the trip to Lathalmond.
In addition to the sight of the visiting vehicles and the normal free trips to Dunfermline, we ran free services to Saline and Kelty from midday onwards throughout the afternoon. Indeed
the first run to Saline had the interest of our first ever all-female crew with
Lesley Taylor driving RRS46R and Robina Smith
conducting. All runs throughout the afternoon were duplicated. The mixture of
old and new vehicles added to the attraction for all ages of visitor. The usual
transport related stalls in Shed 4 were well patronised by all accounts.
1945 Aberdeen Daimler Bus
The
success of the event begs the question "Will we do another event early in
the season?" It remains to be seen whether the early event dilutes the
number of visitors at the Open Weekend in August. Certainly the additional free
runs to Saline and Kelty went down a treat so I think
these will probably continue at the Open Weekend. However an additional event
in the calendar does take a lot of extra work by the usual few stalwarts and it
is difficult to keep each event separate in the mind when arranging the million
and one things needed to be done to make an event successful. As they say
'Watch this space!'
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SINGLE DECKER PROGRESSION: 1947 -
2005
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