The history of public transportation in Åland started some 90 years ago. Quite a few buses have rolled on the Åland roads since then. Two stamps issued on 19.09.2012 now feature two of them - a Ford TT and a Volvo L224. The Ford TT from 1924 was initially owned by Rafael Virtanen in Saltvik. The nickname ‘Smugglers' bus' derives from an incident in August 1925, during the Prohibition when it was illegal in Finland to sell alcoholic beverages. One night, the bus, its passenger and driver Rafael Virtanen were stopped in a small road in Saltvik by a police constable, the head of the enforcement district and the county sheriff. The bus as well as the cargo of "crayfish", which proved to be liquor, was confiscated. The case was treated in the district court twice, Mr Virtanen and his partner being sentenced to pay a fine for complicity in trickery with liquors. The other bus stamp shows a Volvo L224 from 1954. It had 29 + 1 seats and was owned by Toivo Williams in Lumparland between 1954 and 1967. The bus was out of use until 1978, parked in a coach house in Lumparland. It was later displayed at various shows in Stockholm and Helsinki, and in 1999 it was inspected to operate as a classic bus. It is currently owned by Roland and Rolf Lundström in Inkoo in southern Finland. Tired Theodore got its nickname because of its original weak 90 horsepower engine. Presumably, the vehicle was not meant for quite as heavy loads as it turned out to carry.
Thank you Ella for these pretty cards and the FDC. The vehicles do tell a good story!
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