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 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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