Malta & Gozo 2008 Part II

The second "organised" trip took us to Gozo. Here was the plan.

Thursday 17th April – Gozo Day Out

We will be picked up at 0800 from the Palm Court and taken by coach to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa where we will catch the 0900 ferry across to Mgarr on Gozo. A prompt departure from the hotel is vital as we will need to buy our ferry tickets before we board and they will stop taking foot passengers around 5-10 minutes before departure – if they are running to time. The crossing time is around 30 mins and hopefully it will be a fairly calm crossing.

We will have an initial 20 minutes or so at the ferry terminal at Mgarr to take pictures of those vehicles there to meet day-trippers. Since our last visit the new passenger terminal facilities at Mgarr have opened, and foot passengers no longer disembark with the traffic. This means the buses now wait outside the terminal in a different location.

We will then head off for a morning of visiting various owners premises. As there will be around 36 of us in total, and most of the "traditional" types only seat 36 (but in a rather cramped manner) we have decided to hire two vehicles on Gozo for the day. This will mean we can spread out in comfort a bit more. The exact identity of the vehicles we will get will be confirmed nearer the time once Rita knows which buses are available. The plan at the moment is that you will be allocated to a particular vehicle at the start of the day and you will then swap over after lunch. This means everyone gets a chance to sample both buses, and also it means the person in charge of each bus knows how many people they should have when we set off each time, and who those people should be. We will have the services of Rita Farrugia again – not only is Rita an owner herself (and the various parts of the family own nearly half the buses on the island) but she is also a licensed Tour Guide and will no doubt be giving a commentary again on the bus she happens to be on.

After our morning trips around the island we will go to Xlendi for lunch – where you have the option of having lunch in a small restaurant we have used on previous visits. We will need to know the likely number of people going for this option in advance so that enough table space can be reserved. Prices are quite reasonable although I must admit after a large breakfast last year, I made do with a rather nice Ice Cream and a stroll along the sea front.

After lunch we will "do" the school run back in Victoria – the main school finishes around 1415-1430 with around 25-30 buses normally in attendance, although being the summer term there may be slightly fewer if some children are already on study leave for exams etc.

We will then spend the rest of the afternoon visiting more garage sites tracking down more of the fleet. If time permits we may run down to Ramla Bay on the north coast as this normally is only served during the height of the summer, so is a location not many will have visited unless they like to brave the summer heat ! Which owners premises we visit during the day will depend on which vehicles are not out that day, and also to a certain extent what we want to see.

Something we managed to do last year was visit the owner of FBY 007 and FBY 026. These two vehicles are currently off the road long term and Rita managed to arrange access to see them. As around half of those on this years trip were not on last years trip we hope to be able to arrange a repeat visit, although we will not be able to confirm it until the day we go. We will aim to get back to Mgarr for around 1600-1630 at which point people are free to do what they want – either spend more time on Gozo, or return to the main island either to return to Qawra (the 48 is every 30 mins).



The first surprise was our transport to Cirkewwa.

Austin CXB Pn C29F
new 4/50 to Born's, Northlew (DN)
to Bruce & Roberts, Lewdown (DN) 4/68
to WETC, Winkleigh (p) 2/71
to Hickmott, Kingsnorth (KT)
to Rambler, Hastings (ES)4/04
to Cancu Supreme, Zetjun (O) 4/07, as LCY 003

At the bottom of the page is a video clip to listen to engine.



The two ferries cross. This is MV Malita which is the Malta Shipbuilding Hull-180, built in 2002.


http://www.gozochannel.com/



Back to normal now that the building work has been completed. The days "round the island" coaches line up for their passengers.



Dolly FBY 042. Perhaps the most interesting vehicle on Gozo ?

Reo f/c dating from 1933 and now carrying a 1962 Zammit body. Grille etc is pure SB !

Gaetano & Joseph Zammit were building bodies in Hamrun from 1933 to 1972. 27 bodies have been known to have been built.



Opel was the second bus hired.

The new chassis of ‘Opel’ was imported from the UK and assembled in 1968 by Lawrence Zammit of Zebbug. It was fitted with a Bedford front axle, a Thames Trader rear and was powered initially by a Leyland O.370 engine. After a while it was re sold and bodied by Michael Barbara of Luqa as a B36F. He was probably the second most productive builder working from 1932 to 1973. By late August 1969 it entered service into the Zabbar route as 2522. It was subsequently transferred to Gozo where it became Y-0819 much afterwards. When all buses were renumbered into the current series it became FBY057. The original chassis number MP230 was superseded and replaced by CHMP3201G82 in 1982. The badging would signify that a Leyland engine is fitted.



Our day saw us meet up with the tours in a few locations. Here we meet at the entrance to the Ggantija Prehistoric Temples.

The Prehistoric Temple Complex that lies at the edge of Xaghra dates back to about 3600BC. The complex is made up of two temples the newer of which was finished around 3200BC. The whole place is regarded to be the oldest free standing monument in the world and has been declared by UNESCO as one of the World Heritage Sites in 1980. The main walls are built with the largest stones ever used in any of these constructions throughout the Maltese Islands and some of them weigh a staggering fifty tons.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/malta/ggantija-temples.htm

http://www.gozo.gov.mt/pages.aspx?page=15

http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/malta/

FBY 079 the last in the registration series is a Scarnif bodied Optimal. Chassis were assembled by Scarnif I believe. This is one of eight to be found on Gozo.

In total 11 were built with three more to be found on the main Island.



Now the fun. Many stops to allow individual interests to be persued.



As well as buses lorries were also of interest.



Slightly more interesting !



On to Victoria and the bus station. FBY 052 is one of a pair of Hino BT51 chassis that were bodied by Michael Debono at Zebbug, this one at the end of 1976. Debono built bodies from 1953 to 1977 producing a known 33 bodies. This was probably one of the last built.



Whilst the tour coach passenger inspected the lace shops and the "laundry" others were known to cause confusion !



Xlendi and lunch.



Here is a Royal Tiger FBY 037 pretending to be a Super Comet ! New in 1953 to Ribble as FCK 402 with a Burlingham Seagull body the chassis was exported to Malta in 1973. The body was built by George Schembri at Tarxien. (Scembri built bodies from 1946 to 1976)



The underneath view shows the engine and radiator mounted midships. This would have allowed th body to be a front entrance as this could be placed before the front axle.



Eventually and thanks to Rita, FBY065, a Bedford YNV/Caetano Algarve could be located and photographed. It was new as D511 WNV to Alpha, Brighton. Currently the Gozitan fleet is a fixed fleet of buses and coaches varying from 10m to 12m in length, with anything else in between.


So to the schools "Exodus"



FBY 054 Bedford YMT Plaxton Supreme. New as PGT 527P 6/1976
to Margo,Thornton Heath arriving in Gozo 3/86.



FBY 064 Dennis Javelin with a Duple Metsec body. Originally imported as a demonstrator before "emigrating" like others to Gozo !

Short video clip at bottom of page.



The pround owner of this 1940's Dodge. Nearing the completion of a restoration from a rusting wreck.



The side valve engine in the Dodge.



The day's buses and Tony one of the drivers posed in the square at Nadur.



This is what we were awaiting ! A restored Austin K6 recovery six wheeler.



Another garage and another stored normal control ! FBY 006 is another of the Gozo "indivduals" ! A 1995 ERF E6.18BC2 with a Marshall "Islander" body. This demonstrator was built in a hope to attract orders despite its very high floor !





The stored normal control body is that of former 3138 a Thames/Aquilina which had a Perkins engine and was re registered as Y-0829. This was then quickly replaced in 1986 by a Bristol LH6L/Plaxton Supreme iii C45F which remains in use to this day as FBY048.



Well behind time owing to such an interesting day it was a dash to the ferry ! There was no chance to thank Rita who did literally unlock garages and to the two drivers (Opel) and Joyce (Dolly)



Time to catch the GAS bus ! The Gozo Airport Shuttle in the hands of King Long DBY 370


Video Clips:











E & O E. All comments are believed to be accurate but remember I have had a bus pass for many many years !

Thanks to Marco Zammit - our man in Malta - for his invaluable help with the captions and then proof reading what I actually type :-)

Right click on images to access larger (1600 x 1200) images.