LONDON TRANSPORT (Timebus) TD89 Interior Restoration part 2 of 2

Описание: Part 2 and the concluding video for the restoration of ex London Transport TD89. It follows the restoration work on the interior and drivers cab of TD89.

At the time of TD89's manufacture the generic layout for the interior of London's buses incorporated the basic elements of: cream painted roof, cream and green rexine coated moldings above and below the center line of the windows, brown rexine side panels and brown linoleum covered coving panels to the floor where cork tiles and hardwood slats were fitted. Steel/aluminium tubular seat frames were fixed in place with side bolts and brackets with fixings in a timber floor rail, the seat cushions were covered in the standard linear design moquette. Although it is possible to recreate the original colour scheme with modern substitutes it is not without difficulty or expense. With the exception of the linoleum and the cork tiles all the coverings used for the interior were already held in stock by the owners and in part represents their established corporate image.

As mentioned in part 1 the original and unique seat frames had been removed at some point and lost forever. This could have been disastrous for the project but there was an answer very close to home. After much testing with seat frames from compatriot vehicles of that era it turned out that the only suitable replacements could be sourced from the top deck of the more modern Routemaster. Routemasters are the backbone of the owners current fleet so it was relatively easy to secure the required frames. A minimal amount of modifications were needed to fit the seat frames but those with stations had to be extended by eight inches to reach the roof cups.
The reupholstered seat cushions are held in storage off site and will be fitted at a later date. Seating for passengers was originally 31 but this was reduced to 30 by London Transport by means of replacing the front off side double seat with a single thus providing more room for passenger movement around the staircase.

The cab of TD89 was also earmarked for improvement, the original level of equipment was basic to say the least. Before the introduction of indicators the dashboard consisted of a speedometer and a warning light for the vacuum brakes. The update has introduced a new speedometer, a vacuum gauge, a water temperature gauge, a voltage gauge, a hazard switch and an oil pressure gauge. Warning lights for high beam and passenger door open have been included. The void below the original dashboard was untilised as a secure location for the distribution and connection of the new electrical system with additional fuses and associated relays.