The Journey Home
Below are some images taken during 255's journey home. Although there were five in the crew, the driving was quite arduous.
Miraflores depot alongside Carris 254. An inspection of the flexi-exhaust is taking place.
Commercial Square, Lisbon. A quick tour of the capital before setting off on the long journey home. Note the Portuguese trade plates.
Coimbra, and a chance meeting with a Regent V. An opportunity was taken to visit the Tram depot during our overnight stay.
It soon became evident that the fabric injectors fitted were not going to last the journey. Several stops were made to tighten the connections to stop fuel leaking.
The group gather. Something had gone wrong. 255 looked very tired, but mechanically very sound. A few years after this trip, some of the group helped return Carris 141, a single deck Regal, which was stuffed full of useable spares, from an engine to axles and other large components.
The morning after a stop in the Spanish hills the night before the ferry crossing resulting in the starter motor jamming. A British lorry driver gave us a 'pull' start.
Where 255 came to rest after the attempted pull-start. Pretty, yes, but we were facing the wrong way and still weren't able to start it. The solution was to drop the starter motor out and drip some engine oil in to lubricate it. Luckily, it worked and we had enough time to turn around and head for Santander and the ferry.
As if we weren't delayed enough! We had to pull over and wait for this wide load to pass in the hills.
Several stops had to be made when descending the hills due to brake fade. We were, by this time, getting the measure of the vehicles mechanical condition!
Santander - made it! We had just enough time to queue up and get aboard. We did, however, by-pass some of the export procedures in our haste. Something the Spanish authorities remembered when we brought back Carris 141!
Despite the ferry nearly overturning during it's approach into Plymouth (the reason was never fully explained), we survived the 24hr crossing, and cleared customs without any undue problems.
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