Saturday, January 20, 2007



On any nice sunny day in the garden, especially on Sundays when the noise level of nearby Granville Street is down I have been listening to a strange whistling sound that has grown on me. The Kerrisdale tracks are seldom used by trains these days. I miss that midnight train siren. The only sound that evokes the romance of transport from the past is that curious relatively new whistle. My friend Paul Leisz who has been know to drive one, says it's the supercharger of the B-Line articulated bus engine.

In the mid 80s my daughter Ale and I had a thrilling ride in Ed Aveling's convertible Auburn. As we sped on the Upper Levels Highway I heard the whistling sound. I asked Aveling what the noise was. "It's the supercharger."

I photographed Aveling's Auburn and other antique cars for an article that Alyn Edwards had written for Vancouver Magazine. I got to see many fine cars but Aveling's Auburn was tops.



He lived in a house in West Van. In his living room he invited us to go down to the motor rooms to see his collection. It was then that I realized that he had designed (Aveling was a contractor) his house around separate garages (the motor rooms). He told me he had recently spent $7000 on new leather upholstery for the Auburn.

When Ale saw the car she asked, "Why is it that new cars in a showroom don't look as new as this one?"