Getting involved in bus preservation - Conductor

[grcwaaron91]

Hello everyone,

I've been interested in buses since I was a child after my uncle introduced me to 'On The Buses'. I am now 31 years old and would like to get into bus preservation, my interests are in the half cab buses. I also have a particular interest in becoming a Conductor, I have been aquiring a few bits and bobs, so far I have a reproduction Summer Dust Jacket with Maroon/Red trim, an number of original Conductor PSV Badges from the South Wales Traffic Area (GG) and Western Traffic Area (HH), I am currently sourcing a ticket machine and money pounch. I was wondering if anyone could advise me on how to get involved please? I live in Tonypandy, South Wales if that is of any help to anyone. 

Thank you all in advance. 

[Catford94]

Oct 8, 2023 7:31:09 GMT grcwaaron91 said:

Hello everyone,

I've been interested in buses since I was a child after my uncle introduced me to 'On The Buses'. I am now 31 years old and would like to get into bus preservation, my interests are in the half cab buses. I also have a particular interest in becoming a Conductor, I have been aquiring a few bits and bobs, so far I have a reproduction Summer Dust Jacket with Maroon/Red trim, an number of original Conductor PSV Badges from the South Wales Traffic Area (GG) and Western Traffic Area (HH), I am currently sourcing a ticket machine and money pounch. I was wondering if anyone could advise me on how to get involved please? I live in Tonypandy, South Wales if that is of any help to anyone. 

Thank you all in advance. 

I don't know that part of the world at all, so can't suggest any specifics, but are there any preservation groups / museums that organise / take part in running days in that bit of the world? I'm aware of (but have never visted) the Swansea Bus Museum (website here) but there may be others a bit nearer you.

That may be the way to go rather than try and find an individual preservationist.

Some of the events / organisations I've been involved with in recent years are finding it harder to find conductors than drivers - this will vary from one organisation to another, but experience there was that the younger conductors of a few years ago have either drifted away or have now passed their PCV driving test, and some of the older conductors are no longer physically able to do it or are sadly no longer with us.  And of course (depending on where they live/d) many people much under 50 now won't remember conductors 'for real'.

Most museums / preservation groups will tend to prefer members / volunteers to do a share of the 'behind the scenes' stuff, rather than turn up at 10 am on the day of an event and expect to crew a bus that others have worked on to restore and maintain over the year, others have washed and cleaned the day before the event, and where others have got up early on the day to set the event site up and so on...

There may also be an expectation to share bus crewing duties with tasks like car park marshalling, looking after the sales stand and so on.  Some groups / museums (and volunteer organisations in other fields) can take the whole hierarchical / seniority thing a bit far to the extent that new volunteers / members are made to feel unwelcome (and those organisations tend to be the ones making the most fuss that they are short of volunteers.)   I can't comment on any in your bit of the world of course, this is just based on experiences elsewhere.

While it's fair to say that the technical skills aren't in quite the same league as a driver's, it is still a safety critical role, particularly when it comes to assisting the driver reverse, the bus, and any reputable museum / group will offer a bit of training (perhaps a journey or two with an experienced conductor) - and there's the 'people skills' element of it all - any one-off running day will involve being asked more questions about where the bus is going, how long the journey takes, and what's it all about, than working on a regular service will.  There's also a need to keep an awareness of what's happening on and around the bus while it's on the road (passengers standing up and wandering around, people trying to board at traffic signals or in traffic and so on) rather than just switch off the moment you've given the starting signal.

And there will occasionally be passengers who treat it all as a fairground ride and think they can ring the bell from upstairs while passengers are getting on and off, or other nonsense like that.

There is a guide to running days / free bus services on the NARTM website (towards the bottom of this page - opens as a PDF) - it's aimed more at event organisers, but touches on the conductor's role, so might be worth a read.