Hundreds turn out to enjoy bus heritage at Alford

“The best open day attendance we’ve ever had” was the excited response from George Mair, a Trustee of the Aberdeen & District Transport Preservation Trust, as hundreds of enthusiastic people of all ages admired and rode on some wonderful buses ranging from the 1930’s to the very latest 2022 fully electric double decker.

Yesterday meets tomorrow - 1930 Albion, restored in Aberdeen with timber from Fyvie estate, meets 2022 Falkirk built BYD-ADL Enviro 400 fully electric Zero emissions bus of tomorrow

On a gloriously sunny Sunday the Trust opened its doors to the public to see behind the scenes of bus preservation in action in the Collection Centre based at Grampian Transport Museum in Alford.

With the buses out in the sunshine, many giving free rides around the arena and the village of Alford, the centre itself was transformed into a haven for enthusiasts with lots of history on display and memorabilia to be enjoyed, bought and collected.

George added: “A number of our colleagues from bus collections further away were unable to attend this year because of the very high cost of fuel at the moment, but we have so many buses here and in action that the day has been a huge success.

Visitors queued enthusiastically for rides all afternoon

"We have had many very encouraging comments from happy visitors who have thoroughly enjoyed themselves soaking up the atmosphere of the sights and sounds of these wonderful old buses doing what they do best – carrying people on a journey into the past. It is heritage in action and we are delighted to welcome everybody here today.

"Look out for our open day date for next year, we will definitely do this again!”