diff --git a/simgear/bucket/newbucket.hxx b/simgear/bucket/newbucket.hxx
index 92b0297d..6243b146 100644
--- a/simgear/bucket/newbucket.hxx
+++ b/simgear/bucket/newbucket.hxx
@@ -182,6 +182,20 @@ public:
 	    return ((lon + 180) << 14) + ((lat + 90) << 6) + static_cast<unsigned char>(y << 3) + x;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Generate a tile index for this bucket shared with all other buckets with the same lat/lon.
+     * Used as an index for VPB tiles, which are 1x1 in size.
+     *
+     * The index is constructed as follows:
+     * 
+     * 9 bits - to represent 360 degrees of longitude (-180 to 179)
+     * 8 bits - to represent 180 degrees of latitude (-90 to 89)
+     * @return tile index
+     */
+    inline long int gen_vpb_index() const {
+	    return ((lon + 180) << 8) + (lat + 90);
+    }
+
     /**
      * Generate the unique scenery tile index for this bucket in ascii
      * string form.
diff --git a/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.cxx b/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.cxx
index 75ca6a30..3bab4097 100644
--- a/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.cxx
+++ b/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.cxx
@@ -765,7 +765,6 @@ struct ReaderWriterSTG::_ModelBin {
     osg::Node* load(const SGBucket& bucket, const osgDB::Options* opt)
     {
         osg::ref_ptr<SGReaderWriterOptions> options;
-        osg::ref_ptr<osg::Node> vpb_node;
         options = SGReaderWriterOptions::copyOrCreate(opt);
         float pagedLODExpiry = atoi(options->getPluginStringData("SimGear::PAGED_LOD_EXPIRY").c_str());
 
@@ -819,27 +818,6 @@ struct ReaderWriterSTG::_ModelBin {
                 VPBTechnique::addCoastlineList(bucket, coastFeatures);
             }
 
-            std::string filename = "vpb/" + bucket.gen_vpb_base() + ".osgb";
-
-            // Lock for this scope
-            {
-                const std::lock_guard<std::mutex> lock(ReaderWriterSTG::_tileMapMutex); 
-
-                if (_tileMap.count(filename) == 0) {
-                    vpb_node = osgDB::readRefNodeFile(filename, options);
-                    if (!vpb_node.valid()) {
-                        SG_LOG(SG_TERRAIN, SG_WARN, "Failure to load: " <<filename);
-                    }
-                    else {
-                        terrainGroup->addChild(vpb_node);
-                        _tileMap[filename] = vpb_node;
-                        SG_LOG(SG_TERRAIN, SG_INFO, "Loading: " << filename);
-                    }
-                } else {
-                    vpb_node = _tileMap[filename];
-                }
-            }
-
             // OBJECTs include airports
             for (auto stgObject : _objectList) {
                 osg::ref_ptr<osg::Node> node;
diff --git a/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.hxx b/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.hxx
index 9fa1354d..bbf3ebbb 100644
--- a/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.hxx
+++ b/simgear/scene/tgdb/ReaderWriterSTG.hxx
@@ -50,10 +50,6 @@ public:
     static void removeSTGObjectHandler(const std::string &token, STGObjectCallback callback);
 private:
     struct _ModelBin;
-
-    inline static std::map<std::string, osg::ref_ptr<osg::Node> > _tileMap;
-    inline static std::mutex _tileMapMutex;  // protects the _lineFeatureLists;
-
 };
 
 }