This is Nothing But a Frame-Up

All the roof bows and side pillars have been fabricated by FRG Bagnall at Silverwater; waist rails (window sills) and letter boards (the frame sections above each side window), gussets to go between roof bow and pillar, floor bearer and pillar, waist rail and pillar are cut and bent, and most parts for the cab frame made from scratch.
The photos show some bits laid out ready to weld, or clamped in place to see how they will fit up.
click on any photo to enlarge it

NEW PILLARS AND A ROOF BOW LAID OUT ON THE FLOOR TO SHOW HOW THEY WILL RELATE TO EACHOTHER WHEN RAISED TO THE VERTICAL AND ATTACHED TO THE FLOOR BEARERS ABOUT 15" FROM THE BASE OF THE PILLAR

PILLARS, IN BLUE, WITH WAIST RAILS AND THE ACCOMPANYING GUSSETS HALF-WAY ALONG. AT THE FAR END SOME MORE WAIST RAILS HAVE BEEN LAID IN TO SIMULATE LETTER BOARDS WHICH ARE ACTUALLY MORE THAN TWICE AS WIDE IN SECTION


THE SAME COMPONENTS, VIEWED FROM ONE SIDE. THE CURVE IN THE PILLAR AND THE FLANGES ATTACHED TO THEM CAN BE SEEN

VIEWED FROM THE OFFSIDE OF THE BUS, JUST BEHIND THE CAB DOOR, A PILLAR WITH WAIST RAILS AND GUSSETS IS CLAMPED IN POSITION USING THE ORIGINAL SEAT RAIL CHANNEL WHICH IS STILL IN GOOD CONDITION AND REUSEABLE
April 2007. Photos by Bill Parkinson

Since then, more cutting and folding of sheet metal has gone on, to make sections for the drivers cab and the so-called letter boards, about 9 inches high, positioned above each side window in the bottom deck saloon. Six 8 foot by 4 foot sheets of 20 gauge galvanised steel were purchased, enough to make all the necessary stringers and gussets for the bottom deck frame, also cab parts, and have some left over for cab ceilings, cab door frames, etc.


CRAIG MEASURES THE DEPTH OF A SHALLOW CHANNEL SECTION STRINGER WHICH SITS IN THE OFFSIDE CAB WALL: ITS FUNCTION IS A BIT OBSCURE BUT IF WE LEAVE IT OUT.........
Above it and forward a bit, below the side window sill is a black box with wires into it: this is the stop light switch. It is actually a mercury switch arranged so that if deceleration occurs, the mercury surges forward, completes a circuit, and the stop light comes on! Trouble is, once you stop, the stop light goes out again and traffic behind you may not realise you have stopped. So a conventional switch attached to the foot brake linkage will be installed.
click on the photo to enlarge it

THE FRONT CORNER PILLAR OF THE CAB, AN EXACT REPLICA OF THE OLD EXCEPT NOW IT IS GALVANISED AND A BIT RESISTANT TO RUST.

THE SILL OF THE WINDSCREEN, ACTUALLY TWO PIECES, AN INNER AND AN OUTER WHICH WILL BE SPOT WELDED TOGETHER.

MARKING THE POSITION OF THE NEXT FOLD IN ONE OF 12 LETTER BOARDS. I HAVE TAKEN THE LIBERTY OF ADOPTING RAILWAY CARRIAGE BUILDERS JARGON FOR THIS ITEM, WHICH GOES ABOVE EACH SIDE WINDOW AND IN A TRAIN CARRIAGE WOULD CARRY LETTERING, e.g. SECOND CLASS, SLEEPING CAR, etc.

THE FIRST FOLD HAS CREATED THE INSIDE BOTTOM LIP, TO WHICH THE LINING PANELS CARRYING ADVERTISEMENTS AND INTERIOR LIGHTS WILL BE FIXED. THE NEXT WILL CREATE THE BASE: THE DIVIDERS HAVE BEEN SET TO THE WIDTH OF THE BASE OF THE LETTER BOARD, 45 mm. Although the bus was built well within the era of Imperial Measurement standards, it is handy to use the metric system because a tolerance of +or- 1mm here and there is an easy rule of thumb, preferable to +or- 3/32 of an inch!

CRAIG USES THE SPOT WELDER AT SYDNEY BUS MUSEUM, TEMPE TO ATTACH THE OUTER FLANGE OF THE DRIVERS CAB DOOR JAMB, FRONT, TO WHICH THE DOOR LATCH STRIKER WILL EVENTUALLY BE SECURED.


ANOTHER VIEW OF THE FRONT JAMB OF THE CAB DOOR: THE STEP CAN BE SEEN CLEARLY. This accomodates the thickness of the finished cab door, so that the wall of the cab is flush with the door when closed.