BUSES WORLD
With the full collaboration of J.Joaquin, author of the buses here shown 
 

In 1959 obviously not everybody had his own vehicle. Because of the work center was pretty far, Radio Liberty facilitated a free transport service to the workers from their village to the transmitter; first with cars, later with a microbus and finally in a bus of the Sarfa company. On May 2,  1960, a daily transport service made by SARFA began in St. Antoni de Calonge to Platja de Pals, having bus stop in petrol station AZUR, Hotel Trias in Palamós,  then Sant Joan, Palafrugell, Pals, Masos and Platja de Pals. The bus was a 25 seats Pegaso. It is but  possible, that before this date transports in Sarfa were already made. This section is born thanks to the gentility and inestimable aid of Jose Joaquin Hernandez, author of all these so fabulous scale models. 

In August 1921 was inaugurated in the town of Palafrugell (Girona), the regular line of buses company called  S.A.R.F.A. (Societat Anonima  Ribot, Font and Artigas). Pioneer in the transport of travelers by highway, Sarfa has become one of the most emblematic events of Palafrugell and neighborhoods and is considered one of the oldest companies of transport of all Catalunya. Still nowadays, when talking about  these buses, people talk about how “I have to take the Sarfa”, or “what hour leaves the Sarfa which goes to such place at?”. 
 

Since I was a little child, I have always had a great admiration to this company. Every morning, I watched how the busses arrived at the town of Begur, place where I was born. Next to the old Cooperativa of Begur there was a building site where a lot of neighbors  used as parking, the same place where the bus parked to gather the travellers. I was born at the beginning of  seventies, and then, Sarfa had precious cars made, most of them made by PEGASO, models like 5020-A, Monotral 6030-N, Pegaso 5031L and others. The image of those buses is still engraved on my memory. That boy never found those buses in miniature, because no scale enterprise made them. With the years, my desire became obsession and I decided to make the scale of my favorite models by myself and have an exhibition at home dedicated to Sarfa. Therefore, I went to the Sarfa company and I commented my desire to them. I admit that I felt fear thinking that they would take it as a joke, but my great illusion was the very good treatment they me, when they  gave me photographies from the models I missed them for a long time. With the necessary photos and lists of credits of these old buses, the work began. The result was the car number 75 of Sarfa with plate number GE-59674: everything was a success, as on the images can be seen, and the scale model is so detailed that it includes even the smallest piece of the motor, armchairs, system Wilson, lace curtains, sunshade, etc, etc. With these scale models, some made by the Asturian company/signature of Modeltrans, I want to pay a tribute to the memory of Mr. Ricard, originator and designer of the vehicles Pegaso, as well as a tribute to Sarfa, giving them thanks not to have left us in their bad times. The construction of each one of these scale models is very complicated, since each bus takes until the last detail of which it was its real model. With all the planes and lists of credits of the real model on the table, I begin the work. The first step is to take the exact measures of the real bus and then I reduce them to 1:43 scale, the scale preferred by the modeling collectors. Once I know its measures, I begin to draw the planes on which I will be based to guarantee the fidelity of the model. One of the photos shows one of the models that I remeber to have seen many times in the garages of the Sarfa company in Palafrugell: this model was unit 75 of Sarfa, the Pegaso Monotral 6030-N made in 1.966. Sarfa facilitated me a photo of this model, and I was said by them, that this bus burnt in the town of Flaçà. So, I requested for help to Hispano Suiza, asking for a list of credits, which was gently sent to me, because with the photo of the burnt bus that Sarfa gave me, it was impossible to appreciate some important details. I have needed about 7 months to finish this miniature, but today I am specially proud of this model, that at present time is very looked for by collectors, lovers of our unforgettable Pegaso. I have about 30 buses already built and now I am finishing constructing number 84 of Sarfa. These miniatures are not to sale, they are unique pieces and are done just for and to me as a hobby.

 

J.Joaquín.