Picture This!
What's
new this week in transportation
Seattle Holiday Lights Tour on historic Metro buses
Underneath the digital
holiday snow is a real
"Transi-Cruiser" bus
that served Metro Transit and the old Seattle Transit System from 1963 to 1986.
It has been painstakingly restored by volunteers to the red and gray colors it
bore in
the late 1960's and early
1970's. Whether it snows this week or not, the vintage bus will be one of
six historic transit vehicles to take passengers on a tour of some of the best
holiday lights in the north end of Seattle on December 15.
[click here to see the unretouched photo:
65K]
What does Santa do when he needs to travel and his
reindeer are still in training for their big Dec. 24 marathon? Like millions of
other people, he turns to Metro.
Actually in this case, Santa will be relying on a bevy of
volunteers who make up the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association (MEHVA).
These transit buffs are dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and
operation of historic transit vehicles, which have operated at one time or
another inside King County.
On Saturday, Dec. 15, MEHVA will host Santa and the
public on a trip back in time for a 2-hour tour of some of the best
holiday-light displays in the north end of Seattle. A fleet of six historic
motor buses will depart from Second Avenue South and South Main Street in
Pioneer Square, across from the Seattle Fire Department headquarters. The
buses leave at 7 p.m. Fares are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors 65 and
older, and $4 for children 2-11. Tickets are sold at the boarding area on a
first-come first-served basis.
This is the 17th year that MEHVA has been
hosting public excursions on antique vehicles. There are six trips a year that
feature the historic trolleys and buses in the association’s 17-vehicle fleet.
Metro employee volunteers formed the non-profit group in
1981. At that time, several 1940s vintage electric trolleys had been recently
retired and were headed for the scrap yard. MEHVA negotiated with Metro
officials and the Metro Council to establish a working relationship for saving
vehicles representing different eras.
In addition to the vehicles being used Saturday, the historic fleet includes several one-of-a-kind
vehicles; such as the only known surviving streetcar from Seattle’s municipal
rail system, and a 1948 bus that was part of a one-man transportation system on
Vashon Island.
Today, MEHVA membership is open to current and retired
Metro employees, and to members of the public who are transit fans. For more
information about the association and its activities, they invite you to
visit their website,
email them, or call (206) 684-1816.
Related links
Metro Employees Historic Vehicle
Association
The story of the
restoration of Seattle Transit Vehicle #598 (pictured above), special photo
essay on MEHVA Web site
"From Rails to
Rubber: 60 Years of Electric Trolley Buses in Seattle," special photo essay
on MEHVA Web site
"Homes
get gussied up for the holidays," Seattle Times, December 6, 2001
|
![[click here to see the unretouched photo: 65K]](http://www.mehva.org/bus/598a.jpg){kind=link}