Leyland PD1A

Leyland PD1A DTP 823 number 189 Owned by: Working Omnibus Museum Project Ltd . It was operated in service until 1967 and on withdrawal was sold via a Warwickshire dealer to the Fire Service Training College at Moreton-in-Marsh. Following purchase for preservation, it has been stored at various locations before eventually arriving at CPPTD in 1995. Years of open storage caused it to suffer badly from vandals, but some restoration progress had been started. In November 2009, serious restoration work recommenced. Progress reports will be updated here from time to time. Delivered 1947 as fleet number 189 Withdrawn from service in 1967 Sold to the Fire Service Training College Acquired by WOMP in 1995

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Progress Report - August 2010 We now have a new floor - tongue and groove, topped with plywood and to be finished with cork tiles, as originally fitted, not lino as we had previously planned. The rear step riser has been strengthened, adding to the work previously undertaken and the rear part of the chassis cleaned off, primed and re- silvered. Doug has rebuilt one of the battery boxes which will now take two 12v batteries; the other battery boxes will be dummies. The stress panels have been temporarily fitted to the nearside to allow the rusted panels on the other side to be removed, along with the window pans that will require complete replacement. November 2010 The rusted panels on the offside have all been removed. We were a bit concerned about the bus collapsing on us like a pack of cards, so additional temporary strengthening has been fitted. The new stress panels have been fitted to the offside, again just bolted at the moment to ensure that everything fits properly. With the stress panels fitted, the floor coving has also been manufactured and fitted to the offside (this is more difficult, so we did this first to get it out of the way), as well as the seat rail. With everything in place, the vehicle structure has become very solid. Despite appearances, these are not vehicles to have a collision with! As soon as this is all this has been fitted, stress panels, cove panels and seat rails to both sides, we need to remove it to thoroughly rust proof and paint before reassembling. Once this is done, it can all be riveted in place. Meanwhile, John continues to remove the paint in readiness for a bare metal repaint. The Tuesday Gang who are doing all this work are Doug Stewart, Clive Wilkin, John Bulman and Kevin Warrington. We have recently been joined by new member, Tony Smith. The next challenge is going to be re-manufacturing the window pans. Estimates are approx £160 each and we need 20 of them. Still plenty to do, but overall progress is being made quicker than we originally thought it would. There are a few areas that are going to cause us problems though... December 2011 Much progress to report, even after the delays this year due to being diverted to repair LRV 996. The lower stress panels are now all in place, properly riveted and secured. The floor cove panels are similarly fitted as are the window flitch plates. Window pans are being manufactured and the ceiling has been removed to allow the upper deck frame to be rustproofed and repainted. The floor has been treated to prevent any rot and also painted. Wires are currently being installed for lighting and bells and new ceiling panels will be fitted. We are now very close to completing the lower deck and our next problem will be where to put all the junk stored upstairs while we set to work here.