The 2003 Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 10 June 2003 at the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum, Lathalmond

The 2003 AGM was held at the Scottish Vintage bus Museum at Lathalmond and was well attended by members. The evening commenced with a "sneak preview" for those who arrived early of some of the exhibits and afterwards a buffet was provided. The formal business was conducted with the Scottish Region Chairman, Simon Hindshaw, outlining the progress made over the past year.

The incoming Chairman, John Standaloft, made reference to the new structure that was now in place and to the new method of electing the various committees and officials. The Treasurer, Stewart Dick, presented the Region's financial accounts and explained the overall financial position.

The members were then given a brief history of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum and this was followed by a tour of the site.

Bus preservation was being undertaken by various individuals around the country, with vehicles kept at a variety of locations, often unsuitable for preserved vehicles and by the early 1980's preserved buses could be found in garages, on farms and other places throughout the country. A few dedicated preservationists got together with the idea of buying a site to keep their vehicles and enable restoration work to be carried out. This resulted in the acquisition of premises at Whitburn that could accommodate 40 buses and the first buses moved onto the site in 1986.

In 1994, the business next to the museum made an offer to buy the site and this was too good to refuse, so the museum had to find new premises. By this time the Ministry of Defence was reviewing its needs and had decided to dispose of the Royal Navy stores depot at Lathalmond. This establishment had been built during the Second World War to serve Rosyth Naval base, but with naval cutbacks, this was no longer required. The museum was able to acquire half of the site, an area of about 45 acres, complete with several large sheds, ideal for storing buses and by July 1995 the buses kept at Whitburn were all at the new site.

The members were then given a guided tour of the facilities, including the workshops. There are two workshops, the main one covering some 20,000 square feet and having 14 vehicle bays. It is fully equipped with low voltage and standard mains power and in addition has a three-phase supply. It also features a full ring-main air system enabling a wide range of air powered tools to be used, including sanders, drills, grinders and a shot-blaster.

There is also a 12 tonne vehicle lift and mobile lifting posts, along with welding equipment, metalworking machines, band-saws, lathes, jacks, stands and all the various tools needed to working on vehicles. During 1999, the building adjacent to the main workshop was converted into a second workshop to meet growing demand on workshop space. The new workshop is mainly used for bodywork repairs and minor mechanical work that does not need the facilities of the main workshop.

In addition to buses, there are two railway locomotives undergoing restoration at the Museum. These, Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 ST No. 17 and a Fowler 0-4-0 diesel mechanical, are on loan from the Scottish Railway Preservation Society. All of the sheds at the museum were originally connected by a rail network, used for moving the naval stores. The locomotives are housed in the former locomotive shed and a short railway track has been constructed.

The tour finished in the exhibition hall where members were able to see a number of restored vehicles and were able to spend some money in the well-stocked museum shop. The museum is open to the public every Sunday between Easter and the end of September. Click here to visit their website where further details can be found.

The Scottish Region would like to thank the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum for hosting the AGM and in particular to Graeme Fraser for making the arrangements, Eddie Taylor for his talk and Jasper Pettie for driving one of the buses.

Report by John Fender.