Friday, December 23, 2011

As we approach the biggest holiday weekend of the year, we just wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy NEW YEAR!

Thank you again to ALL our volunteers who worked so hard this year helping us recover from the devastating floods in September and to all those who sent in donations to for this recovery.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

The following is reprinted with David Pickeral's permission:


Subject:  Bob Beard - A Tribute

All: 

I know Pete and surely a couple others among present company made it to
Bob's service going on right about now.  I am writing this from an airplane seat
about an hour out of Dulles; I managed to sneak out of a meeting and get an earlier
flight back from Europe planning to head straight up to the service only to face
a multi-:hour mechanical delay.  As a fellow transportation professional
I know Bob would have understood but I am sorry to have missed his farewell.

As some of you may know I first met Bob almost 18 years ago when I was at WMATA and
I read his new book "Square Wheels on the Interstate"--he was always so proud of
it--and wrote him a letter (remember those?), after which he became a steadfast
friend and mentor in areas that went far beyond driving a bus.

My fondest memories of many concerning Bob involve our road trips together during
the 90s up from DC for the Gatherings of Buses at Wolf's in York Springs or CAT in
Harrisburg, or for the annual MoBT business meetings Dick Maguire held in Lemoyne
before the Museum itself existed.  Never used to being a passenger, Bob always
insisted on doing all the driving.  Our all time favorite stopover was the Cozy
Restaurant near the MD/PA border off US 15 and the owners were always glad to see
Bob even if I know they must have come out on the short end of the deal on the
all-you-can-eat buffet!

Since then I have been blessed to meet many talented and committed bus and other
transportation professionals around the world, from CEO to cleaner-shifter, but none
that surpassed Bob in is dedication of and advocacy for his lifelong calling--through
Trailways, his union, PGC Transit, and of course the Museum Bob gave 110% year in
year out, start to finish.

So farewell to Square Wheels, and hoping we meet again when I too have finished my
run and clocked off the board.  I like to think both he and Dick are saving all of
us a place in the buffet line!

Cheers--David

David E. Pickeral, JD

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Here's the link to Bob Beard's Obituary in the Washington Post:


http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-Beard&pid=155019665

Monday, December 12, 2011

The service for Bob Beard will be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, December 15, 2011 at Peace Lutheran Church, 401 Smallwood Drive, Waldorf, MD 20602. His wife, Faye, also indicated that "in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Hospice Care at 3675 Solomon Island Rd, Harwood, MD or The Museum of Bus Transportation, 161 Museum Drive, Hershey, PA 17033.

Friday, December 9, 2011

It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that our former Board Member and dear friend, Bob Beard, passed away last evening. As soon as I get more details, I will post them. May you rest in peace Bob.

Thursday, December 1, 2011 UPDATE

From Tuesday, November 29th,
Work Log:

Winterized building. Drained all water lines, water heater, & filter.

Shoveled & swept silt from door area of buses parked outside.

Put blocks in preparation for Volvo to be raised.

Yard cleaned up and parts from Harran put in garage.

PLEASE NOTE: We need a wiring diagram for our Michaud Bus - YEAR: 1947 -MAKE: GM -MODEL: PD 3703

Sunday, November 27, 2011 UPDATE

Friday and Saturday work accomplished:

SEPTA Volvo B-10M - Washed underfloor engine bay, electrical panel and redid
floor. Bus is now completed.

Amtran T6H4523 - Washed engine bay, exterior and interior. Bus is now completed.

TGH3102 - Washed exterior and interior of front of bus. Bus is now completed.

AM General 9635A - Washed engine bay, all compartments, exterior and interior. Bus is now
completed.

Harran Flxible Visicoach - Washed engine bay, luggage bay, all compartments, exterior and interior (twice). Completely redid interior. Washed the seats twice on both washings (were terribly silted up). Bus is now completed.

The power washing of all buses was completed by sundown on Saturday. Mission accomplished.

Note that all of the buses that were outside during the flood had an extreme amount of silt inside, and washing them was pretty disagreeable work. When the water inside dries, the interior floor will need to be scraped and wet vacuumed to remove the last of the silt (Volvo, Williamsburg, Amtran, AM General and Harran). The silt from these buses that was broomed out the doors onto the ground also needs to be shoveled up and removed - it is a sticky mess that will be tracked inside the buses again.

A BIG THANK YOU again to our volunteers--we would have never been able to accomplish this except for a few dedicated volunteers.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 UPDATE

A brief summary for November 19-20.

The power washing of the annex building is now completed. Buses can now be pulled in for winter parking.

PD 4103 Greyhound Silversides - interior, exterior and engine bay power washed, completed

TGH-3301 Williamsburg - interior, exterior and engine bay power washed, completed

B-10M SEPTA - exterior and interior power washed, except for interior floor

Swept and shoveled silt out of remaining bus interiors (AM General 9635A, Flxible Visicoach and TGH-3102) preparatory to power washing

Mopped and vacuumed interior of CAT T6H-4523 and Bonanza MC-9

Monday, November 14, 2011 UPDATE

Wow - our volunteers had another busy weekend:

CAT T6H4523 - completed washing of interior, exterior and engine bay. Some soot remains at exhaust area at left rear, will need the soap solution and brush touch up.

Greyhound Silversides PD-4103 - washed exterior and engine bay. Note: entrance door is jammed closed.

Williamsburg TGH3301 - washed exterior, engine bay and front interior (driver's area and front door)

SEPTA B-10M - washed exterior, rear equipment bay and front interior (driver's area and front door)

4106: H&S towing raised bus on to blocks. Rear drained. Air in tire.

4103: Grease entrance door track.

Bonanza: ran bus and drained fuel filter. Sprayed electrical connections with Corrosion X.

Williamsburg: Scraped and swept floor of silt.

SEPTA Volvo: Scraped and swept floor of silt.

4905: remove batteries and charge.

Jamaica Fishbowl: Remove builder's plate and GMC emblem.

MC5: Charge batteries.

Power wash annex garage doors. Power wash annex walls. More floor clean up.

Power wash parts.

Oil changed in power wash.

New door to tool room installed.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 UPDATE

As you can see--the volunteers are making great progress--here's the last few days of the log:

Power washed annex north side wall. Pit covers and pit steps power washed.

Bonanza: All systems checked and bus is ready to be moved. Moved outside under its own power.

Williamsburg: Engine, trans, & fuel drained.

Power washed the east half of the annex floor, except for the floor between the pit and the office, and the east side wall. Floors and walls cleaned with cleaning solution and brush. Floor squeezed.

Williamsburg: Bus raised additional height to access rear. Rear drained.

CAT Fishbowl: Air line from main compressor replaced. Brakes freed up. Bus moved outside under its own power.

Moved all items from west side of building to east side in preparation for floor cleaning. Some parts put in trailers.

Trash and hazmat disposed of by Ed Wolf.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Here's an idea of the snow we had Saturday at the Annual Meeting--the one pictures shows the DeCamp Bus parked outside the Museum.

NOTE: These pictures were taken fairly early--around noon--the storm picked up intensity after this.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Last night at the Board Meeting, the following Annex Work Sessions were announced:
Thursday, November 3
Saturday, November 5
Tuesday, November 8
Thursday, November 10
Saturday, November 12
Tuesday, November 15
Thursday, November 17
Saturday, November 19
Tuesday, November 22

The work sessions begin at 8:00 am and conclude approximately 2:30 pm--if you can come for all of part of the work session, please let us know at thebusmuseum@yahoo.com so we can plan out our work sessions in detail.

Ken McNelis provides a list of items that need to be accomplished and the list is posted at the Annex. All volunteers are asked to sign in/out and be prepared for "dirty" work--come with old clothes, shoes, etc.

Thank you to ALL volunteers who have helped.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011 UPDATE

November 1 work crew: Ed Wolf, Tom Mozer (8:30-2 pm) and Mike Burshtin (8:00-5pm)



Red Lion MCI Power washed exterior and interior.



Bonanza: Charged batteries, drained all fluids, bus driven onto pit under its own power. Second drain of fluids with plugs left out to drain. Filters changed.



Williamsburg Fishbowl: Put air in alltires.



CAT Fishbowl: Drained water out of cooling system.



Some floor clean up. Disposee of old drain oil in 55 gallon drums.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Here are some more photos from the Annual Meeting - thank you to Elaine Farrell for being the photographer!

Monday, October 31, 2011

While we are still recovering from Mother Nature's TRICK on the East Coast--enjoy some of the photos from the Annual Meeting. Checkout the snow we had! Thanks to Stan Lubowicki for the snow picture and Elaine Farrell for the meeting pictures.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Our Annual Meeting is history--hoping that all got home safely--we had a total of 9.7 inches of snow! It was a good meeting--unfortunately, not all who wanted to come could make it because of the unprecedented East Coast snow storm. The DeCamp family had a GREAT presentation on the history of their company. DeCamp Bus Lines is the oldest privately owned bus company in the country. We enjoyed all the slides and the great stories. Thank you.

Andy Henderson then presented a slide show of his father's collection and told some great stories remembering his Dad and the buses he owned and the family trips they took on them. Thank you Andy.

Luncheon was delicious with lasagna, salad, desserts.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Tomorrow, October 29, is our Annual Meeting. They are predicting 3-6" inches of snow starting mid-day! Are you ready for snow???? Way too early for that!

Tuesday, October 24, 2011 UPDATE

Tom Mozer and Ed Wolf worked all day at the Annex--here's what they accomplished:

Trans Bridge - air in system, back off brakes, towed out of building and prepped for Wednesday tow.
4106: Drained and replaced engine & trans oil. Ready to start.
Bonanza: Put up on blocks. Drained transmission oil.
Williamsburg: Put up on blocks in preparation for fluid drain.
CAT Fishbowl: Moved back 6 feet to allow movement in annex.
Michaud: Towed to Middletown for flood recovery work.
4104: Towed to Middletown for flood recovery work
Some floor clean up where MCI 9B was parked.
Emergency instructions posted.
Trash from floor clean up disposal
Tarp put in dumpster at museum.

Sunday, October 23, 2011 UPDATE

Here are the pictures from yesterday's work session--looks like a lot more progress has been made! Great job volunteers!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Don't forget our ANNUAL MEETING/LUNCHEON/FUND RAISER on Saturday, October 29, 2011 at the Museum--hope to see you all there!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 UPDATE

Here, finally, are some of the pictures from Saturday's work session.

Monday, October 17, 2011 UPDATE

Saturday, October 15, was a VERY productive day. Thanks to the following volunteers: Walter Earl, Linda and Michael Burshtin, Dan Lehman, Ed Wolf, Tom Mozer and James Mahraj. They worked from 8 am to 4:45 pm and here's what they accomplished:

Power washed tool room and cleaned bathroom.

Scraped mud from floor and disposed of speedy dry for haz mat removal.

Brakes lines and diaphragm replaced on 4104.

4104 moved outside under its own power.

4103 engine, trans, rear oil drained and replaced. 4103 started and ran, but clutch is hanging up.

4103 towed out of garage.

Steel shelving moved into garage.

Grass cut.

Cleaned Michaud Bus with Simple Green.

Only three buses remain in the garage--the CAT, Red Lion and Transbridge. Thanks to Dan Lehman for serving lunch to the volunteers.

I'm promised pictures this evening--so hopefully will post them tomorrow.

Great job!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011 UPDATE

Another GREAT work day - October 8, 2011 - paint chips washed/dried. Power washed the cab of Little Spike, started and moved the RTS and the MC-5--the volunteers have been doing an extraordinary job! Thank you!

Monday, October 10, 2011 UPDATE

Volunteer Michael Burshtin and his wife, Lynn, spent all day Sunday at home hand washing about 1200 DuPont paint color standard metal plates and laying them out in the field to dry. Our basement floor is also covered with a few thousand of the Dupont paint color standard paper files, drying out with a couple fans and
dehumidifiers. I think we can save about all of them. Ken McNelis had taken the
repair manual binders home to dry out, and he told us that they too seem
to be savable.

This is GREAT news!!! Thanks Michael.

Monday, October 10, 2011

For anyone planning on attending the October Board Meeting--it has been rescheduled to Thursday, October 13, 2011, at 6:30 pm

Friday, September 30, 2011 UPDATE

Work Sessions are slated for EVERY SATURDAY until we are done: October 1, 8, 15 and 22. 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. NO INVITATIONS are required.
Please come, one and all--you do NOT need to be a member--we have had numerous non-members come help and we are so grateful for all their enthusiasm.

Please be prepared for wet work--we'l be using power washers--bring boots, old clothes, buckets, squeegees.

Thank you.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Here's a link to a GREAT article on our flood by National Bus Trader magazine.

http://www.busmag.com/PDF/Flooding.pdf

Thursday, September 29, 2011

I understand the current issue of Old Car News/Old Cars Weekly has an article about our Checker Bus--I tried to find it online but was unsuccessful--if anyone has the link--please post it! Thanks.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 UPDATE

Here are today's accomplishments:

Michaud: Oil in rear, clean small oil filter, running with missing oil filter and driven outside under its own power.

MC5: Drain and replace engine oil. Batteries charged.

Peter Pan: Fuel tank pumped out and fuel put in 55 gallon drums for disposal.

CAT Fishbowl: engine and trans oil added.

4104: Fresh engine and transmission oil added.

MC 5, CAT, & TransBridge: batteries charged along with spare batteries.

36 Chevrolet: flat bedded to Ed Wolf's garage.

All museum borrowed tools cleaned of mud. Also--now that insurance inspectors are done, some floor cleaned up.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Here's the first bus to leave the Annex after the flood under its own power: Little Spike!!!

Monday, September 26, 2011

The "Buses and Baseball" exhibit is now history. In its place we have a story board on the 2011 Flood and our volunteers' gallant efforts in cleaning up after this disaster!

Also - the Insurance Company finally finished their inspection today and therefore, we can start more cleanup in the building and moving those buses that run.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Here's the report from yesterday's volunteer work crew:


Ed Wolf and his mechanic got the RTS, the 4104 and the Little Spike started. Got the bathroom and the Bonanza MC9 baggage compartment/much of the exterior washed, but the well pump stopped running, I think the submersible pump screen is clogged with silt.

It's astonishing to see the widespread destruction in Union Deposit, several house trailers washed away down the creek and their whole sides ripped away, several houses already demolished, several more torn open. We noticed that McDonalds and other fast food restaurants in Hershey are also being demolished.

THANK YOU to all our volunteers--sounds like they had a GREAT day!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Here, finally, are some photos from the Annex....you can see the line on the vehicles and buildings and the mud on the floors and coming out of the luggage compartments. You can also see it is still very muddy all around the property. On a positive note--they got the RTS started today!

Sorry the pics aren't the best...but I think you get the picture!

Thursday, September 22, 2011 UPDATE

POWER IS BACK ON at the Annex - as of about 11:30 am this morning, our electric supplier (PPL) has turned the power back on. This is VERY good news. Thanks again to all our volunteers--especially Ed Wolf, Ken McNelis, and their teams!

Tues/Wed - September 20-21, 2011 UPDATE

Tuesday, September 20


Certified electrical inspector installed the “certification” form, as instructed by PPL in a plastic sleeve by the meter box.

Buses opened remained that way to dry out


Wednesday, September 21


PPL called back, from Tuesday call advising them that certification form was at the building – all items in order – power should be on by midday.


T. Collins stopped by the Annex at 4:15pm--no new meter and still no power (noted that none of the surrounding homes have power either). One home two doors away has a generator but no PPL service to date.


Trash along Union Deposit Road (including ours deposited on Saturday) remains there--also noted several homes further east were being torn down completely.


Donations, from MBT members starting to flow in. Not in large amounts but flowing. Thank you!


Power, at this juncture, is an issue. T. Collins will call again tomorrow (Thursday).

Monday, September 29, 2011 UPDATE

Today was mainly an administrative day.The insurance adjuster is slated to visit the Annex tomorrow. In advance, he informed us that often, when water goes over a dashboard, they simply total a vehicle. We surely don’t want to do that with most of the vehicles at the Annex. Hoping to opt for super cleanup and new upholstery, etc.

The dumpster was to be delivered late this afternoon – one day early.

PPL (our power company)--very frustrating here. Tom Collins contacted PPL again (on hold for nearly 30 minutes before actually being transferred to the commercial division). They now inform us that the Certification copy must be at the actual location. It was faxed, by the firm on Friday – now that is not good enough. Hoping for power tomorrow!! The gentleman who did the Certification was called by Woodcock Electrical (he lives in Liverpool, PA.) He will be at our facility tomorrow.

Tuesday (September 20), we will have a crew on duty (another restoration firm, Zales, will inspect our units while the crew is there).

Monday, September 19, 2011

There is hope--here's a picture of a critter that survived at the Annex.

Saturday, September 17, 2011 UPDATE

Saturday, Sept 17th - 8:00 am to 1:00 pm


Volunteers: Ed Wolf, Jason Mellot, Dan Lehman, Phil Cray, Tom Collins. Dan came with a friend but I don't have his name.

We were surprised by a group of 22 Lower Dauphin High School (Hummelstown’s High School) students--part of a volunteer group dispatched from the school to help where needed! They wanted to help the home located in front of our property but those people felt they did not need the help and suggested that maybe we did. WOW, these kids worked for two solid hours. They removed everything from the mobile office. They took the file cabinets out of the building (we may be able to save them). ALL items in the mobile office had to be thrown away--it was all a soggy mess. The kids did salvage some of the pictures and always asked us about stuff before tossing it out. They came equipped with trash bags, etc. We were VERY impressed with their work. Thank you!

ED and Jason worked on buses in the garage and out--draining them. Only a few more to go. Ed is returning on Tuesday.

Phil and Tom Collins removed the trash the students took out of the mobile office along with the items Jot took out earlier in the week. Phil and Tom did the same with the storage trailer. Bus parts were retained but ALL paper goods were soggy and were destroyed. There are only a few paper items remaining at the upper end of the trailer.

Dan was very helpful--his low boy trailer came in handy for Phil and Tom to truck away the trash to the edge of Union Deposit Road for the township to pick up. He assisted with trash disposal and opened up all buses for drying. He also supplied the crew with a hot dog lunch and water. Thanks to Dan and the township picking up the trash, we, most likely, will NOT need the dumpster we ordered for Tuesday.


Jamie Novinger-Tailgo, President of Service 1st Restorations and her Operations Manager stopped by to look over the fleet. This firm is used by the AACA, and two local fire companies. The came highly recommended. They inspected the buses and the 1936 Chevrolet. They will work with us and the insurance carrier as soon as we get some feedback from the insurance carrier. They said that we have a lot of vehicle damage but they have “seen and worked on worse.”

Zales Restorations called yesterday and were to come by today but they did not show.

We feel we are making progress.

We had a GREAT team effort--thank you everyone!

Friday, September 16, 2011 UPDATE

Volunteers at the Annex today were: Ed Wolf, Mr. Johnson and Tom Mozer.

Accomplishments:

- More buses drained (oil, etc.)
Trash pickup:

National Guard made pickups of most of our trash including the refrigerator, microwave, computer and backup.

Administration:

- PPL contacted regarding certification, etc. Still no power as of 3:45 pm--will followup.

- FEMA: Meeting with them on Monday (at the Harrisburg Mall office)

Cleanup:

- two firms due in Saturday to survey the bus cleanup and give us estimates.

Miscellaneous Bus Info:

- H and L was to pickup the Harran Flxible to transport to Museum (the Museum will clean it up for us as it will now become part of the "full size" sign in front of the Museum)

- ABC (Clancy Cornell)called and has okayed the move of the Flxible two–level to Camden.

Work Session:

Saturday (tomorrow) will be another workday with more cleanup.

Thursday, September 25, 2011 WORK UPDATE

On Wednesday, September 14 - the following volunteers showed up: Ken McNelis, Jot Bennett, Tom Mozer

This team concentrated on:

- Parts and Tool Room cleanup; the room is full of mud. Tom Mozer cleaned the cabinets and floor. The refrigerator and microwave were rendered useless and discarded for Derry Township to pickup. Service manuals were placed outside, in the sun, to dry out.

- Small free-standing building. This had been completely under water. All paper goods were destroyed and will be thrown out. Jot Bennett took the models that were on shelves and cases home to dry out (it appears they will survive).

Vehicles

- doors were opened in all buses inside to help them dry out

- roof hatch on Volvo closed to prevent further water damage

Electric Service

Certifed electric inspector contacted by T.Collins was dispatched to the annex to do the final inspection - he called PPL (our electric provider). They will need to install a new meter and then turn on the power (hopefully Thursday (today)).

Insurance Adjustor

Did not show up Wednesday - we will pursue this again today

(NOTE: There is a Saturday work session scheduled for September 17--we have a fair amount of help lined up). Thank you to all the volunteers who are helping with this disaster.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

VERY unfortunately, it is raining cats and dogs again in the Susquehanna Valley today. Yesterday, volunteers worked on emptying the small building that was in front of the Annex. Most all the paperwork stored there is ruined. Luckily, some of the vintage transfers that were in the process of being catalogued and were stored in plastic zip-lock bags will probably be able to be saved.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

After many inquiries on both our Facebook page and our email, I thought I'd post this:

Donations for a disaster fund should be clearly marked on the check and the envelope DISASTER FUND--the check should be made out to the MBT, and mailed to 161 Museum Drive, Hershey, PA 17033.

Thank you all for your support, phone calls, emails and offers of help.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011 UPDATE

Three volunteers (Ed Wolf, Paul Johnson, and Tom Collins) – some assistance in the morning from Museum staff Tom Border and Paul Taylor.

The Museum suggested using “their” outside electric contractor to check out our lines and service in preparation for PPL to turn on the power. The technician spent about 6 hours working on our switch box, etc…..the PPL meter was full of water and PPL was advised and will replace it prior to start of service…all the fuses in the box etc have been replaced.

Our technician needs to have his superior “certify” the work – then we call PPL back (referring to the “job number”) and we should have power by no later than Thursday the 15th.

Our Condon and Skelly adjustor did not show today but had advised us, earlier, that it might take him a few days to get over – in the meantime we can't move any buses out of the garage until he ascertains the damage.

Ed Wolf, assisted by Paul Johnson worked on the following buses:

Capitol 4l06…..drained engine, air filer, and transmission

Bonanza MC-9….engine and air filer drained

Peter Pan 2903…..engine and transmission drained

Long Beach RTS…..engine and transmission drained

Trans-Bridge MC-9…..engine drained

Here's the VERY GOOD NEWS: the RTS and Trans-Bridge engines turned over and were left running for a period.

NOTE: The Museum staff volunteered to power wash the Harran Flxible....in return they want to put it on the outside display – with the Studebaker (which is to be replaced with a ‘40s Chevrolet)

Taylor Made Services, of Hershey, will inspect the buses to see about cleaning them inside (they have some experience with this).

We opened both storage trailers--the one with the paperwork is a mess – most likely we will simply trash the paper items; the other one with the tables is OK…just muddy ….tables appear to be OK.

Small Office: We could not open it…we wanted to see how much damage we had with the models, etc.

Dumpster has been ordered but, due to high demand, will not be delivered until Tuesday, Sept 20th (Museum low rates will apply as previously).

Goal: to have us back as normal as possible by the Annual Meeting – October 29

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Here's another photo of the flooded Swatara Creek - this photo shows the Giant Center with Route 39 (the road that goes to the Museum) on the bottom--totally immersed in water.

Sunday, September 11, 2011 UPDATE

As you know, Hershey, Hummelstown, Derry and South Hanover townships (the areas where the Museum and our Annex are located)suffered severe flooding. The Museum, itself, suffered NO damage but was closed for 2 l/2 days mainly because highway Route 39 which serves it was closed to traffic. The MBT storage facility, George M Sage Memorial Annex, suffered severe flooding – reported to be in excess of Hurricane Agnes (1972). It crested 10 feet above any recorded flooding on record.

Earlier today, 4 MBT members (T. Mozer, E. Wolf, T. Collins, and D. Lehman) accessed the Annex – following is a recap of the damage:

- The Annex (garage) had 7 feet of water. Water entered the 7 buses which were housed inside….mud and debris in inside each of them.

- Waters flowed through the Annex with such force that our refrigerator, battery chargers, etc., were tossed around the building.

- The vehicles parked outside, in some cases, had water up to the top of the windshields and roof lines (see the previous aerial picture).

- The storage trailers were not able to be inspected (they have certain archives in them).

- Although the Swatara Creek has receded, mud is caked on the floor and items.

- Debris is scattered around the property and a segment of telephone poles have damaged our fencing. We also have garage door damage.

Now the good news:

- The bus fleet IS insured – our agent is Condon and Skelly, who we have been with for a number of years and has already been contacted.

- Bus insured values are those determined by the Appraisal done by Michaud Appraisals on the buses at or around the Annex, at the time of the appraisal range in value from $1,000 to $40,000 each--an adjuster is scheduled to visit the property in mid-week.

- Fortunately, there were a number of buses “off the property” (12 are located on the Museum floor, 2 were stored at the Museum, and 3 were away for restoration – and not affected)

Here’s where we need your help:

CLEAN UP WORK SESSIONS are slated for:

Tuesday, September 13th – 8:00 am to 4:00 pm

Wednesday, September 14th – 8:00 am to 4:00

Saturday, September 24th – 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

We are asking for as many people who can assist. Please bring/wear old clothes (you will be getting dirty!). Also please bring buckets and cleaning material. We will need mechanical assistance also.

We will come through this unfortunate episode (with the Creek rising so rapidly and so many buses not readily operational, it would have been impossible to move them – the entire surrounding area was affected).

Thank you for whatever support you can give us – we will survive!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Just to clarify something--from a comment made on yesterday's Blog--believe me we didn't LET this happen. This flooding was 10 feet higher than any flooding on record--no one in their wildest dreams ever thought this could happen. Most of those buses outside do not run under their own power--it would have taken dozens of tow trucks or flatbeds to move them--hindsight is wonderful. What we need now is help in cleaning up, fund raising to restore and support for those who are willing to work.

This flooding surprised everyone....no one had an idea that this rain would stall over the Hershey area. If you have read any of the news, the entire Hershey/Hummelstown area has been flooded....you can't plan for that. This is not a time for blame--this is a time for action, healing--helping us clean up these buses, the Annex, raising money to restore what we can salvage.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Sadly, the Swatara Creek crested 10 feet ABOVE any record flooding in the past.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

We have extensive flooding here in the Susquehanna Valley and the Hershey/Hummelstown area has been very hard hit. Here is a link to a picture of the Route 39 bridge (from Hershey to the Museum). The Museum was closed yesterday, is closed again today. We are concerned about flooding at the Annex--but right now non-essential travel is restricted. http://photos.pennlive.com/patriot-news/2011/09/swatara_creek_flooding_in_hers_3.html

At our home--our road is closed due to flooding--we live on a hill and basically are marooned here.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Well, we survived Hurricane Irene - so far, so good at the Annex - no flooding to report--however, we may still get high water tomorrow before the rivers/creeks crest.

Hoping everyone fared as wll as we did. Stay safe

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Here's another bus wrap - looking like a fire truck!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I just love some of these bus wraps--here's one from Copenhagen!

Monday, August 22, 2011

We had a GREAT work session on Saturday: Tom Collins, Tom Mozer (Shop Foreman), Ken McNelis (Fleet Manager), Phil, Walter Earl and Jim (guy who cuts the grass)were at the August 20th work day at the annex.

The MCI 5 was buffed; grass was cut; extensive weed whacking (place looks great);
buses were moved; maintenance, both preventive and repair performed. Also batteries were charged; luggage bays cleaned out and one bus washed.

Thanks everyone for your hard work.

Monday, August 15, 2011

I apologize for not posting this last week--I had an exciting week compliments of Lancaster General Hospital cardiac unit - thankfully not a heart attack but such a rapid heartbeat they had to take me to the cath lab for 2 procedures....sure glad to be home.

Ken McNelis asked me to post the following for this Saturday's work session:

Saturday August 20, 2011
Work sessions are at the Annex- 7281 Union Deposit Road, Hummelstown from
8:00 A.M. until 2:30 P.M.

Please call or email Ken McNelis 610-203-7998 Busman398@aol.com or
Tom Mozer 717-343-0058 tomm1947@msn.com if you plan to be there. We need people to help with various items.

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Let me also remind you of some upcoming fall work sessions:

Fall Work Sessions: Saturday, September 24

Saturday, October 1
Saturday, October 15

Please call 2 weeks to 10 days prior to a work session date to sign up. You will be notified if you have signed up if that particular work session has to be cancelled.


Please watch the website/blog to see if the Fleet Committee schedules any
WEEKDAY WORK SESSIONS during both the late summer and the fall.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Are you a computer geek??? Do you love to write???

We are looking for a volunteer (who is also a "bus nut") to take charge of both our Facebook and Blog! Yes, after 7+ years at the helm, I am retiring from all this.

We are also in need of a volunteer webmaster. I will stay on until the end of the year--but then it will be someone else's turn. Hope you can help--if you can, please email us at thebusmuseum@yahoo.com

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Not sure how many of you use PayPal or have used PayPal--perhaps with a sale or purchase through eBay. As you know, the Museum had its gift shop online and payment was accepted through PayPal. About two months ago, on a Saturday, when I was out of town, someone hacked into our Museum PayPal Account. Thankfully, we had a small (under $60) amount of money in that account at that time.

It has taken me a full two months to obtain that money back. The person who hacked our account was from CHINA! PayPal was able to retrieve the money back from that person's account--but here's where it gets tacky! When I set up this account, so as not to put the Museum at risk, I opened a small checking account to link to the account and used my own Credit Card as the required credit card for PayPal--by the way, the ONLY way to have PayPal send you money that is rightfully yours is to have a Credit Card online with them--not good!

When the person hacked our account, they closed my checking account AND credit card on the PayPal Account AND changed all the contact info AND Password. Now here's the tricky part--PayPal reinstates the money into that account--the hacker still has control of it. HOWEVER, I can no longer get into the account--when I was finally able to call PayPal and get a real person on the line who spoke and understood English, they said the only thing they could do would be to send a check to the address listed on the account--which had been changed by the hacker! Duh! I asked for a manager--AGAIN, explained the situation and got that check stopped.

I then had to open yet another account and they placed the recovered money into that account......but I had not been able to access it--they would NOT send a check because there is no credit card attached to the account and I will not put the Museum in jeopardy. I finally, today, was able to send a payment to my own account--for which PayPal will charge me a fee--I can then personally write the Museum a check. After the check comes from PayPal, I will be closing my own PayPal account.

Boy, this has been some lesson learned! That is why our gift shop is offline! I certainly would think twice about ever using PayPal again!

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Board Meeting tonight at 6:30 pm at the Museum.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Here's another use I found for old school buses: At the intersection of West Broad and Alps Road in Athens, Georgia, if you're looking to catch a bus, you can wait at the region's most innovative (and recycled) bus stop. It's made from three old school buses (years 1962, 1972 and 1977), with the seat taken from a decommissioned Atlanta city bus.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Ever wonder where America's yellow school buses go to die? Well, some found a second life on Central Africa's rutted, traffic-choked roads. The familiar boxy buses that once carted American children around are now hauling Congo's people, young and old, with their loads of preserved fish, powdered milk, beans, onions and cassava. These old yellow buses rattle fiercely, as they hurtle through the potholes peppering Kinshasa's roads.

Again, imagination has led to other uses for some seven old buses that once shuttled commuters around Chile's capital Santiago. They have found new life as makeshift classrooms in this earthquake-devastated city. Five of the buses became classrooms, one was turned into a teacher's lounge, and the seventh became a bathroom, complete with seven stalls for boys and seven for girls.

Each classroom bus has room for 20 children. Teachers have placed a blackboard in front of the windshield, and small wooden desks are in the spots where the seats were once attached to the floor. There must be numerous places on earth where such schemes would benefit the local community.