The. No 323 July Bus Museum of Western Australia

Transcription

1 The No 323 Bus Museum of Western Australia Monthly Newsletter

2 RATTLER 323 TlK Rattler is published monthly and circulated to members of the Bus Museum of Western Australia (Inc) as part of their subscription. It is not sold separately, through newsagents or booksellers, so does not have a cover price. Copyright 1999 Bus Museum of Western Australia (Inc) and individual authors. Material published in T '"' RATTLER may not be reproduced in any form unless prior written approval is sought and received from the Editor, except in the case of information extracted from news items which may be used in kindred enthusiast publications provided that acknowledgment is made of the source. The opinions expressed in articles in "'" RATTLER are those of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect or coincide with the views of the Bus Museum of Western Australia or of the Editor. Editor» Colin W Davison Distribution» Jim Bond Editor mail E3) - It will be appreciated if material for publication in»»rattier, including news items, articles and photos, is sent to PO Box 58 Burswood WA 6100 or by to seedee@networx.net.au BMWA maiis- Membership, general enquiries and other matters to Secretary <=/- PO Box 58 Burswood WA 6100 lit** * On the cover... A view taken some 70 years ago showing Metro * Na 24 when brand new. One of a batch of 10 * Leyland Lion LT1 machines delivered to Metro in * 1929, this was the only one imported as a complete * vehicle, with bodywork by Leyland to the latest design. In contrast, the * nine locally bodied units were closer in appearance to the 1927 design. * * But they built them to last and two former Metro Lions, 22 and 24, if survived to eventually join the BMWA collection. The bus pictured had * deteriorated most, due to corrosion arising from its use as holiday * accommodation in a seaside suburb south of Mandurah, so it has * * become a source of some parts for the current restoration of Ns 22. * * Illustrations Ltd (Perth, WA) photo; by courtesy of the Leyland Museum *

3 Tha RATTLER 323 Bus Museum News General Meeting The next General Meeting will be held on Friday 23 starting at 20:00, followed by the 1999 Annual General Meeting. The venue will be the PATH Transit Depot, 51 Truganina Road, lalaga. When approaching along Truganina Road, turn into the small carpark to the west of the main depot entrance, not into the main bus parking yard. The meeting will be held in the Training Room in the small building immediately adjacent to the carpark - there is no need to enter the main depot building. Other General Meetings in 1999 will be on 24 September and 26 November. (September date subject to confirmation.) Whiteman Park Depot / Workshop The next two regular workdays will be on 8 August and 12 September, starting from about 10:00. Bus Running Ex Metro 81 again took on the role of Bertie Bus for the Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine Day on 23 May, organised by the Bennett Brook Railway. A 'though numbers were down from the previous event of this sort, an teotimated total of 1182 passengers, mostly children, were carried on 18 round trips of about 6 km each, between Whiteman Village Junction Station and Mussel Pool. On most journeys, the 1949 Leyland OPS4 ran with very few of its 40 seats unoccupied and there were standees on at least three or four occasions. New Members A warm welcome is extended to Dave B Adams, Cameron C Bell, Dennis Law, John Paton and David Urquhart, who joined the Bus Museum over the past few months.

4 RATTLER 323 Daimler Dossier Jim Bond The accompanying photo depicts MTT 71, ex Carlisle Bus Company Ns 8, taken in 1960 at the ex United Buses Pty Ltd depot in Claremont. Seated inside is a bus driver friend of mine, who shared my affection for the bus and had moved it for me. It was a Daimler CD650, with a CD litre engine and FB42F body by Bolton. It had a 5 speed pre-selector gearchange and its chassis number was It entered service in 1951 as the last diesel bus bought by RATTLER 323 Carlisle, which subsequently bought three Bedfords, most likely because of financial stringency. Number 8 was what I think of as a "Daimler Daimler", because it had a Daimler engine, whereas most Daimlers in WA had Gardner engines. Gardner engines were plodders, but Daimler engines had "get up and go" and sounded great. Number 8 was undoubtedly Carlisle's best bus and I enjoyed many a ride in it travelling to jand from school. Driver "Two Bob jlac" shared my love of number 8 and }t was a real joy to roar across the Causeway in it when he was driving. At the time of the photograph, 8 still bore the Carlisle registration, Carlisle had two greens in its livery and extensive metal beading separating the greens. The beading was removed by the MTT. Number 8 had a twin! It was Scarborough Bus Service number 29, new in March 1952, chassis number The photograph on page 6 was taken at the terminus of the Roberts Street route (in what is now Joondanna - Ed), in 1961, when Scarborough was still operating. At that time it bore registration number UAN029. Scarborough had its own body building subsidiary, Motor Body Builders. 29 was the only one of its type in the Scarborough fleet to be

5 RATTLER 323 ;.; ;..- bodied by Bolton. One Scarborough driver told me that it had been built "on spec" by Bolton, but that information was unconfirmed. One possibility which occurs to me is that it could have been built for Carlisle, but Carlisle could no longer afford it when it was complete. Another possibility was that MBB lacked the capacity to build 29 and so Scarborough gave the contract to Bolton. Interestingly, it is one of three consecutively numbered chassis, which may well have been imported at the same time, by the local agent for Daimler. Scarborough 28 was 17772, in service December 1951, Scarborough 29 was 17773, Carlisle 8 was In my opinion, the Bolton body style was much more attractive than the bulbous fronted, flared skirted, obsolescent looking MBB style. For a comparison, refer to the cover of Rattler Na 222 (February '91) which shows Scarborough 23. Scarborough 29 became MTT 74.

6 The RATTLER 323 This former WA Government Railways Road Services Guy Victory (above) was discovered in February 1999, tucked away in a cul-de-sac in a Geraidton industrial area. Its old fleet number, G63, was still discernible on the inside of the front dome. According to the Editor's limited records, this was a 36 seat, toilet equipped coach bodied by MBB (Motor Body Builders - see Daimler Dossier, this issue) that joined the WAGRRS fleet in November It was withdrawn about 1975 or 1976 and, although stripped of most internal fittings, seems to have been little modified by its subsequent owners. C W Davison photo Private Operator News BMWA gratefully acknowledges the use of material from Australian Bus Panorama, produced by the" Bus & Coach Society of Victoria Coastal Cruisers of Rockingham, Hillman Acquired - [TC3417] Mercedes BenzO303 MB Mannheim C51F..82 ex South West Coach Lines, Bunbury (previous identity not yet determined) Horizons West, Welshpool Acquired - [1AEF446] Ley. Atlantean PDR1A/ PMC H39/31FDD a [1AGL464] Ley. Atlantean PDR1 A/ PMC H39/33F DD b a: ex Osborne, Muswellbrook, NSW [MO9301]; ex /originally NSW UTA/ PTC 1139

7 8 RATTLER 323 [M/o1139]H39/27D b: ex Thompson, Strathpine, Qld [014AQB]; ex / originally NSW UTA / PTC 1209 [M/o1209] H39/27D London Transport Excursions, Middle Swan Ceased operation late 1998 and fleet of three ECW bodied Bristol VRTSL6G double deckers, TC414, TC550/6, sold to Blue Mountains Bus Company, NSW. [TC314] AEC Regent IIIRT / Park Royal H30/26R (ex London Transport RT1024) retained as a preserved vehicle (reregistered?). Transperth News Bus fleet mmmwmmmmmmwwmmmwmmmwmmamm Delivery of new low floor Mercedes Benz units picked up pace in June, with the first vehicles built at the new Malaga plant. Note that these have body numbers in a new series starting at VP0001, the VP denoting 'Volgren Perth New deliveries 6/ TP1504 Mercedes Benz O405NH 1506 TP1506 Mercedes Benz O405NH 1701 TP1701 Mercedes Benz O405NH 1702 TP1702 Mercedes Benz O405NH New deliveries 7/ TP1301 Mercedes Benz O405NH 1505 TP1505 Mercedes Benz O405NH 1703 TP1701 Mercedes Benz O405NH Chassis Nos: WEB WEB WEB WEB Body Nos: VG VG VG VG WEB WEB WEB VG VP VP0002