WAGR AEC Regal IV WAG8975 in 1969

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Roderick Smith
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Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 8:44 pm

WAGR AEC Regal IV WAG8975 in 1969

Post by Roderick Smith »

Perth (WA) station bus terminal: WAGR AEC Regal IV WAG8975. Fri.24.1.69. (Roderick Smith).
This one was another which was easy to locate in the WA ABFL. It was unique, and was built for Midland Railway of WA (taken over by WAGR ~1964). I don't know why that company chose an airporter layout, or what its use was in that era. Likewise, I don't know its WAGR use as at 1969.
From ABFL: AEC Regal IV 9823E 9823E2180 HPorter 06/57 RC36F? RC38F?
Ryan (A J & P J); ex-WAG8975 Western Australian Government Railways (A75); ex-UAN190 Midland Railway Co (10).

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Bedford-29
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Re: WAGR AEC Regal IV WAG8975 in 1969

Post by Bedford-29 »

WAGR A75 it say in WA fleet list that the coach was under powered and restricted to doing the wildflower tours in its last days.And your picture of A75 on a charter service probably doing a Wildflower tour.
Previoulsy known as United Diesel 15
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panther998
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Favourite Vehicle: Aberdeen Corp 274, AEC Regent
Location: West of Widgiemooltha, WA

Re: WAGR AEC Regal IV WAG8975 in 1969

Post by panther998 »

This unique AEC Regal IV 'deck-n-a-half' coach apparently survives in the hands of a preservationist, although I have no idea of its current condition or location.

Roderick, your description of the body style being 'airporter' is intriguing. To other enthusiasts, this might be an 'observation' or 'deck-n-a-half' style of body. While a few might even prefer the terms 'camel-back' or 'hump-back' or 'raised deck', for reasons presumably rooted in ancient history, if not logic. Semantics, I know, and some descriptions have more validity than others, but the reason(s) for adopting such a 'raised deck' body style seemingly varied from operator to operator, I believe.

For certain Australian airlines, such as Ansett-ANA, MMA, etc, and some operators of long distance bus routes, it was mostly about accommodating more parcels and passengers' luggage in the space beneath the raised deck and over the rear wheel arches. Even BEA in London was using AEC Regal 'coaches' of a raised deck design in the late 1950s for such work, albeit these had a high roofline throughout and did not feature the characteristic 'stepped' line of the true 'deck-n-a-half' bus.

With the Midland Railway Company of WA, the 'requirement' to cope with luggage, etc, was probably also true to some degree. However, with the advent of seasonal 'Wildflower Tours' in WA, as largely pioneered by the Midland Railway Co in the 1950s, there was possibly a 'higher priority' placed on giving the 'back-stalls' customers a slightly 'better' view of the surrounding countryside / wildflowers than they could 'gain' from the rearmost seats in a 'standard' coach. Hence the adoption of what some would call an 'observation coach' body on one of its units. Possibly an experiment that 'proved' there was insufficient reason to buy more of these. Possible also that Midland Railway was a 'victim' of growing affluence in Australia, which led to a percentage of potential customers being able to afford to drive motor cars into the prime wildflower viewing areas to a 'flexible' itinerary, instead of travelling aboard a tour coach that adhered to certain 'set' parameters. So far as I know 'the jury is still out' in regard to Midland Railway's decision to spec its no 10 with an 'observation coach' body.

Last, but not least, with regard to your wonderful photo of WAGR A75 (ex MRC 10) outside Perth Station in early 1969, I offer the following observations.
a] this coach was withdrawn from WAGR service about 3 months later.
b] WA's wildflower season typically runs between about mid September and early November, but your photo was taken in January.
c] a sign in the windscreen appears to read 'CHARTERED', which suggests that A75 was NOT engaged on Wildflower Tour work, merely a 'private hire' of some sort.
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