Bus crash kills 4 1962

[OzBus]

Hello,
Im doing research on the Clipper that fell of the cliff nearing Jenolan Caves in 1962.
I have news footage from the national film and sound archives.

My questions are:
Does anybody remember this?
What was the exact location of accident?
Was the coach left in the valley?
Has anybody ever seen the remains?

Thank you.

[tonyp]

I remember it, that's all I'm afraid.

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarg ... emID=88382

http://www.ema.gov.au/ema/emadisasters. ... enDocument

(Remember: "Google is your friend!")

[Mr Scania]

Hello,
Im doing research on the Clipper that fell of the cliff nearing Jenolan Caves in 1962.
I have news footage from the national film and sound archives.

My questions are:
Does anybody remember this?
What was the exact location of accident?
Was the coach left in the valley?
Has anybody ever seen the remains?

Thank you.

Ivan at Eastbus seems to remember the accident and what ended up with the remains.

[OzBus]

Thankyou Tonyp
for your links, i have googled but was finding the result's limited, i did see the link re government site (disasters)

Thankyou MrScania
Please advise me how i can contact Ivan of eastbus, is he on busaust.com?

Again thankyou both for your helpful information!

[VIKing]

The vehicle was a Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmaster ERT1/1 chassis # 573106 fitted with an Ansair (10/58) C41F body. It was new to Ansett Pioneer as fleet D309 initially used on their "Economy Express" services. The Worldmasters weren't particularly successful on expree work, so they were transferrd to tour work. My records indicate the accident near Jenolan Caves was 05/01/62. The remains were purchased by JD Barnes in Melbounre, and were rebodied with a CCMC (63.317 25/3/64) DP45F (seats with high chrome backs with removable headrests). It was regsitered in Victoria as HZC146, then rereg JDB 004 in 12/64. It was transferred to the Sydney operations (Barnes Coaches at Lane Cove) on 20/4/66 and reregisterd m/o 5005. It was sold with the runs to Deanes Coaches in 9/70. Deanes sold it in 3/72 to Warry, Myunah Bay - it was reg 3/4/72 as MO 5842. Warry traded it to Suttons at Arncliffe on a new Bedford coach 11/72, it was resold 1/73 to Hadfield, Engadine. It was reg m/o 5856 on 19/2/73 and remained with Hadfields for many years. It was eventually deregistered and partly stripped. It was then sold around 1986 to Highway Tours, where it was repaired and registered m/o 4130. Highway sold it to Westlink, Regents Park. It was finally withdrawn around 1989. I can remember talking to the late Bill Hadfield in 1973 not long after he purchased the vehicle - he was unaware of it's past history, but knew the tow truck operator who had recovered the wreck from Jenloan Caves... a small world.

[robert]

I can remember the vehicle at Barnes, painted in his dark green livery. It had an incredibly small destination sign.

[Red and Cream]

Here is a photo of m/o 5005 at Lane Cove shortly after J.D.Barnes brought it to Sydney to operate on his services.

[Bus 400]

I've asked my Gran about this accident.

Just before this accident work had been done on this road. My Great Grandfather was either the grader driver or the foreman for this job. There was a inquest into this bus crash, but my Gran can only remember that my Great Grandafther didn't get in any trouble.

She vaguely recalls the accident occurred in the top third of the mountain.

[deepthought2006]

Hmmm. This has stirred some brain cells of mine. I wonder if someone can answer a few questions (sorry to take this thread off-topic somewhat):

1. Where did the 224 (pictured above) go? Was it similar to the full length present-day 261, going between Lane Cove and Chatswood? I note that today's STA route 261 uses the same stop in the photo as the terminus for the Lane Cove bound 261s (from QVB) and also uses this stop when it (rarely now) continues on to Chatswood.

2. Where in Lane Cove was the Barnes depot? From my early childhood recollections, I believe that there was a bus depot down a lane off Burns Bay Rd, opposite Ross Smith Parade. Was this it?

3. Further early childhood recollections in the late 1950s are that there was a morning school bus route that went down Burns Bay Rd past Garthowen St and then somehow via some back streets (along Cullen St perhaps - memory vague here as I was only 3-4 years old at the time!) to Lane Cove West Public School, then via more back streets including (I think) Garling St, across Centennial Ave into Sutherland St, then right into Graham St, left into Burns Bay Rd, up Burns Bay Rd to the shops and then right into Longueville Rd (no Lane Cove Plaza then), left into Alpha (very steep and tight turn - I've done it driving a charter in an STA Scania low-floor ), right into Beta then right into Zeta before right again back into Longueville with a set-down at what was then Woodley School/Kindergarten (now Currumbeena). Does anyone have the route and number for this school bus?

4. Where did the afternoon bus go? I don't have any recollection of this one so maybe I didn't catch it (or there wasn't one ).

[Red and Cream]

At the time of the photo route 224 operated between Wynyard and Tambourine Bay via Northwood and Lane Cove and did not go to Chatswood.
Barnes used the depot at 159 Burns Bay Road which was the premises of Jack Hales whose services Barnes had just taken over and sounds like the area you described.
The 1950's school bus route you mentioned would have been operated by Jack Hales and utilised some streets from the Tambourine Bay run. He also operated route 169 between Lane Cove and the Mars Road industrial area which was also taken over by Barnes.

[CCCC]

You might track some info down when it was with Road runner.
Reg Warry past away a few years ago but his two sons are still in the industry.

Ray Warry lives at Dora Creek or could be Cooranbong now sure which one,
maybe in the phone book or you will find him at Coastaliner 43923050

Edit 28/2/12
No longer at CL

[robert]

Deepthought, I have a timetable for Route 169 dated 31 May 1962, which shows the trips going to/from Woodley in both am and pm, although it does not spell out the streets along which they ran.

[PanAm812]

I am 57 years old and lived half my life
in California but can remember vividly
as an 8 year old in May 1963 traveling to
the Caves with my parents in a Cottrells
Bus. The driver pointed out the site if the
accident. That bus went way down the
mountain. All the vegetation was still
destroyed in May63. The Blue door of the
bus had been placed against a tree as a
Marker. It was clearly visible off the left
side of the road way down. Apparently the
driver said he had moved over to let a car
pass by and got into the gravel. I remember
seeing them winch the bus itself up the
mountain on TV. That door is still most
likely there to this day - Hope this helps.

[Rclasstramcar]

Apparently the
driver said he had moved over to let a car
pass by and got into the gravel.

I think it moved over for a car, then the ground collapsed. It somersaulted 8 times, ending atop a 150 metre drop. Ozbus, if you're interested, a video named "Great Australian disasters of the 20th Century" has this.

Cheers,
Ben

[On Air]

Here is a photo of m/o 5005 at Lane Cove shortly after J.D.Barnes brought it to Sydney to operate on his services.

No photo?

[Rclasstramcar]

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDeta ... emID=88382

Ben

[PanAm812]

Now I'm interested again in the Blue and
Silver Scenic Clipper the door of which
had been placed standing upright against
a tree after the accident in 1962. Does
anyone know if the door is still standing
at this spot on the mountain?

[tonyp]

http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=88382

Ben

This is not a photo of, as requested: "m/o 5005 at Lane Cove shortly after J.D.Barnes brought it to Sydney to operate on his services"!

Now I'm interested again in the Blue and
Silver Scenic Clipper the door of which
had been placed standing upright against
a tree after the accident in 1962. Does
anyone know if the door is still standing
at this spot on the mountain?

You might be waiting a while - it's a long way from anywhere and it would require a bit of work to identify the spot let alone find the door! Plus you probably couldn't park there too get out and have a look.

[Centralian]

Quite a fascinating history of one vehicle. Do I remember correctly, but didn't an Australian Pacific Mercedes also go over somewhere on that road in the '70's or '80's. And then of course not that long ago I remember reporting on here how Blue Mtns Bus Co lost one of their Volvo B10M coaches on the road when a motorcyclist lost control, went under the vehicle and the motorcycle exploded - the whole bus being gutted. All passengers were evacuated, but the cyclist died.

Here's a shot of the Worlmaster with the CCMC body at Hadfields where it was registered mo5856, and the small desto that Robert refers to in this post.

mo 5856 Leyland RTW ERT1/1 CCMC 63.317 DP43F 25.3.1964 (rebody of ex Ansett Pioneer D309)

mo 5856.jpg (112.91 KiB) Viewed 287 times