Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

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Red and Cream
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Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by Red and Cream »

Recently " route 35 " asked for some photos of Red Top's buses in the 50's and 60's and i have these from my files.
Red Top was formed about 1949 to purchase various bus services in the general area of Hurstville , Bankstown and Punchbowl . In the period between the mid 50's and the mid 60's when i knew of their operations they were operating at least four routes 26, 34, 39 and 176. Also in this period they had seemed to have standardized their fleet to consist of Albion forward control and AEC forward control and half cab buses although a few other makes of other vehicles lingered on. Another thing they favoured was the wooden framed bodywork of Syd Wood and all new buses in this period were by them.
When Canberra Buses started selling off their AEC Regal Comeng bodied half cabs Red Top became an enthusiastic buyer and purchased a substantial number of them, operating some of them as half cabs but converting the major proportion to forward control buses with the Comeng body featuring at first, a new Comeng front but the most of them received the PMC front end. The next wave of selloffs from Canberra were the underfloor AEC Reliance's again with Comeng bodies and Red Top Bought quite a few. As the 1970's approached Red Top realised it needed new buses to retain charter business and eventually started to take delivery of some new Leyland Leopards with PMC bodies commencing in 1970. Sit back and enjoy a rollercoaster bus ride through the swinging sixties.
Religious groups must have thought Aussies were a load of heathens as starting in the late 50's to the late 60's we had three large religious gatherings at the Sydney Showground at Moore Park, two of them by the well known American evangelist , Billy Graham. Here we see m/o 4368 after leaving its load of passengers at the Showground.
Religious groups must have thought Aussies were a load of heathens as starting in the late 50's to the late 60's we had three large religious gatherings at the Sydney Showground at Moore Park, two of them by the well known American evangelist , Billy Graham. Here we see m/o 4368 after leaving its load of passengers at the Showground.
m/o 4377 was one of the forward control conversions that had the rarer Comeng front treatment seen here at Roselands.
m/o 4377 was one of the forward control conversions that had the rarer Comeng front treatment seen here at Roselands.
Seen at Red Top's Depot At 79 Wangee Road Lakemba is m/o 4859 ( 5/52 Comeng )with the PMC front forward control conversion.
Seen at Red Top's Depot At 79 Wangee Road Lakemba is m/o 4859 ( 5/52 Comeng )with the PMC front forward control conversion.
One of the exceptions to the standard AEC / Albion stock at the time was this late stayer m/o 090 a Chevrolet with a Syd Wood body at Strathfield Station on 24/3/1959
One of the exceptions to the standard AEC / Albion stock at the time was this late stayer m/o 090 a Chevrolet with a Syd Wood body at Strathfield Station on 24/3/1959
Another bus kept as a half cab was m/o 333, taking on passengers at Punchbowl.
Another bus kept as a half cab was m/o 333, taking on passengers at Punchbowl.
At the Sydney Showground for the religious gathering is m/o 4338 a Syd Wood AEC.
At the Sydney Showground for the religious gathering is m/o 4338 a Syd Wood AEC.
m/o 4308 at Roseland Shopping Centre.
m/o 4308 at Roseland Shopping Centre.
m/o 145 a Syd Wood bodied Albion at Hurstville . Later sold to Cribb Island Bus Service Brisbane and the m/o 145 plate taken by one of the PMC conversion Regal's.
m/o 145 a Syd Wood bodied Albion at Hurstville . Later sold to Cribb Island Bus Service Brisbane and the m/o 145 plate taken by one of the PMC conversion Regal's.
m/o 4851 AEC Regal ( Comeng body 10/52) at Roseland.
m/o 4851 AEC Regal ( Comeng body 10/52) at Roseland.
We have now reached the period of the ex Canberra Reliances and m/o 5044 stands at the front of the Red Top Depot it is a Comeng build of 14/3/56 and was registered in Canberra as ZIB 002
We have now reached the period of the ex Canberra Reliances and m/o 5044 stands at the front of the Red Top Depot it is a Comeng build of 14/3/56 and was registered in Canberra as ZIB 002
lunchbox
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by lunchbox »

5044 with an off-side desto! How rare is that in Australia?
lunchbox
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by lunchbox »

SYDNEY TRAINS SIGNAGE
It's improved out of sight over recent years, no doubt at great cost, so it's interesting that Hornsby booking office is not even identified as such. These shots were taken on SUNDAY 7.4.19.
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boronia
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by boronia »

lunchbox wrote:5044 with an off-side desto! How rare is that in Australia?
Was a feature of Canberra buses up to that era
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
tonyp
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by tonyp »

More common was a board mounted on both sides of bus showing the places served by the route.
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Industry
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by Industry »

Hornsby Station Booking Office since the deal to reopen it as a shop have fallen thru, and is now Drivers/Guards Meal Room as has been heavily modified for tis use inside.
burrumbus
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by burrumbus »

Great stuff again Dave for one of the most interesting fleets in Sydney.
Route 34 was the companies mainstay route and was an incredibly busy route,even up to Eddie Hayman's ownership as Canterbury Bus Lines..
It is now a shadow of it's former self with the Roselands centre providing the bulk of a much reduced patronage.The other routes are now incorporated into various Punchbowl routes having lost much viability over the years.
There was a really interesting history of Red Top by John Birchmeier in an Australian Bus magazine piece several years ago.
hugh45
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Re: Red Top Transport Service in the 50's and 60's.

Post by hugh45 »

I remember these buses when living near Beverly Hills in the 50s & 60s. The photos of m/o 090 and m/o 4338 are the first time I have seen these photos and have forgotten them from my memory. I am also interested in photos when Marrin was the owner of routes 34 and 35.
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