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Fleet Overhaul Series, Part 3 of 6: The paint shop

Fleet Overhaul Series, Part 3 of 6: The paint shop

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Here is the third in a six-part series about Fleet Overhaul, the vehicle maintenance centre down at Burnaby Transit Centre. (Check out the first article, on the body shop at Fleet Overhaul, and the second article, about panel fabrication.)

Well, once a bus is repaired, it needs to be painted! And that happens here, in the large paint shop at Fleet Overhaul.

The paint shop is right next to the body shop. See the video above for a very quick look at how it’s laid out. The door visible in the far left corner is the long room where articulated buses are painted, and the room visible on the right is where conventional buses are painted. The bus on the far right is being washed in anticipation of a paint job.

The conventional bus paint booth

A Nova bus in the conventional bus paint booth.
A Nova bus in the conventional bus paint booth.
The same Nova bus in the conventional bus paint booth, from a different angle.
The same Nova bus in the conventional bus paint booth, from a different angle.

A paint job doesn’t always require a full repainting. This Nova bus only needs the front painted after some repair work – that’s why there’s paper covering the rest of the bus up.

The articulated bus paint booth

A West Vancouver Blue Bus in the articulated paint booth.
A West Vancouver Blue Bus in the articulated paint booth.

As mentioned earlier, articulated buses get their own paint booth, because they’re too long for the conventional paint booth!

When I went to visit, a Blue Bus was in the articulated paint booth for some paint work after repairs. It’s not an articulated bus, but since conventional buses fit in the articulated booth, a conventional bus can be painted there.

And I’ll just leave you with a few more photos of the articulated paint booth:

Inside the articulated bus paint booth.
Inside the articulated bus paint booth.
Another look at the articulated bus paint booth.
Another look at the articulated bus paint booth.
The back end of the articulated bus paint booth. As you can tell, there’s some extra room because the Blue Bus is a conventional bus length.
The back end of the articulated bus paint booth. As you can tell, there’s some extra room because the Blue Bus is a conventional bus length.
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