A busy fortnight

Laphroaig whisky barrel courtesy of Black Isle Brewery

Wow!! What a busy couple of weeks we have had.  We have so much going on at the moment and lots to report as we go ahead in leaps and bounds on bringing the bus online.

Firstly we have been gifted some very nice slabs of Elm from our friends at the Black Isle Brewery. The slabs were expertly chosen by local craftsman Alistair Mann of Westward B & B who is now crafting the slabs in to some very unique table tops.

Elm Table Tops in the making Elm Table Tops in the making

We have also obtained a couple of old Laphroaig whisky barrels again via the generosity of the Black Isle Brewery, these will be cleaned up and used on the upper deck to support a rather unique and characterful piece the Ali is working on for us.  No previews yet but cant to show that off when its ready.

In the meantime a lot of the seats downstairs have now been removed and the cleanup done, painting to be undertaken this week to prepare for the re-installation of chairs when steam cleaned and the fantastic tables once ready.

X435FGP Lower deck X435FGP Lower deck completely stripped out X435FGP Lower deck completely stripped out & cleaned

We have heating equipment on order and some electrical work scheduled so that we can hopefully bring the bus online in the coming weeks, even if it is in a limited capacity.

The transformation begins

Upper Deck rear seating

After weeks of cleaning the bus is finally beginning to take shape. Over the last week all of the safety rails from the bottom of the stairs to the top and the advertising panels have all been freshly painted.

Painted safety rails Painted safety rails
Painted safety rails Painted advertising panels

We have a new floor installed, which I think really looks great,

Upper deck flooring

And after a good steam clean the first seats are now returned to the bus to mark the start of the transformation from passenger vehicle to bar & cafe.

Like the rest of the bus the seats have years if not decades of built up dirt and dried out chewing gum.

Upper Deck rear seating

But they look great when cleaned and put back in place.

Upper Deck rear seating

 

 

 

2 weeks of cleaning…

After 2 weeks of cleaning, and sanding; stripping of glue from the floor and 20+ years of chewing gum and dirt the upper deck is finally ready to move to the next stage.

prepared upper deck prepared upper deck
prepared upper deck prepared upper deck

With all that preparation done I can now start the painting and final touches in readiness for the new floor.

Masked up and ready for paint Let the painting begin