You may know someone that collects vintage cars, but how about someone that collects vintage buses? It takes up a lot of garage space but, one man in Colusa County is doing just that.
Ted Campbell is his name but everyone in the small town of Williams calls him "Bus Man Ted."
"Yeah. I have a few buses," laughed Campbell. "Some days I lose count."
At first glance it may look like a junk yard, but Bus Man Ted's collection is far from a scrap heap. He's trying to preserve a long history of bus manufacturing.
"I have some of the only remaining working buses known to exist park here," said Campbell.
Campbell has been in the bus maintenance business since high school. In fact, he got his first job while riding a bus in 1960.
"Left my camera on a charter bus. When I went to go get it I asked if they were hiring," explained Campbell. "I started cleaning the buses the next day."
Today, Campbell only works on vintage busses. Some date back to the late 1920's.
"The newer buses don’t have any style," said Campbell. That style caught the eye of Hollywood. A few of his buses have been in a number of films. Most recently the 2007 movie Zodiac.
"No, I didn't get to meet any of the actors," said Campbell.
The bus business has been good to Bus Man Ted even though the market for old buses hasn't.
"There really isn’t a market. It’s what someone would pay you for it," said Campbell.
That may not seem like a sustainable business model but Bus Man Ted has made it work.
"It’s fun... I never considered it work." You can check out some of Campbell's buses on his website or stop by his shop on Husted Road in William, Ca