Arncliffe Depot/ Tempe Bus Service Ex Govt. Buses

[Leopard_071]

Sydney Govt, Buses that worked Rt.129 Rockdale-Rozelle for Tempe Bus Service, the little 33 seater "Frogs' handeled the hills around Lillyfield & Rozelle best of all.Evern the passengers loved them & as "Preselecters" they were a dream to drive.If anyone can suply me with Govt. numbers of these buses I would be very thankfull & I shall post them with each bus, best regards Leopard 071. Thank you to the Guys that gave me more info to which I have posted.

[captainch]

i REMEMBER DRIVING MO600 IT ONLY HAD 1ST GEAR AND 4TH GETTING STUCK HALF WAY UP EGWERE RD ENMORE ANOTHER NIGHT IT WAS LEFT AT ROZELLE TERM RUNNING ALL NIGHT AS IT COULDNT BE TURNED OFF PLUS THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED ON THE DRIVER HAD TO GET A CAB BACK TO DEPOT!

[Bedford-29]

The first MO-127 is ex 2655 and second frog which is MO-4845 is ex 2838.

[Rick R]

m/o 435 - AEC Regal IV (water filler hatch on the front, not on the near side)
m/o 4864 - Leyland ERT 1/1 (Export Royal Tiger "Worldmaster")
m/o 5018 - Leyland ERT 1/1 (Export Royal Tiger "Worldmaster")
1st m/o 600 - Leyland ERT 1/1 (Export Royal Tiger "Worldmaster")
2nd m/o 600 - Leyland OPSU 1 - ComEng (water filler moved to the front by Newcastle, no access hole in the near side engine door)

Thanks for the great photos

[Tas Bus Nut]

ANOTHER NIGHT IT WAS LEFT AT ROZELLE TERM RUNNING ALL NIGHT AS IT COULDNT BE TURNED OFF PLUS THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED ON THE DRIVER HAD TO GET A CAB BACK TO DEPOT!

Imagine the outcry if that happened NOW There'd be a mad rush to get the thing moved or shutdown I'm sure

[captainch]

those were the days,stop were the ppl wanted,give you the money next time i see you,drivers got presants at xmas,you knew the school kids, waited for ppl,they were the family run bus companys giving personel service!

[Tas Bus Nut]

those were the days,stop were the ppl wanted,give you the money next time i see you,drivers got presants at xmas,you knew the school kids, waited for ppl,they were the family run bus companys giving personel service!

Not only with the buses captainch. Also happened at the airlines (TAA/Ansett). Then that bloody computer was introduced and personal service went out the window Mind you, back then people (younger people) had respect for their elders AND themselves, something greatly missing nowdays

[Duncan]

4864 in 4th picture is standing at the Rozelle terminus in Alfred Street near Gordon Street.
5108 is also in Alfred Street outside but facing the wrong way. The factory in the background was subject of an asbestos scare whilst being demolished. It is now town houses.
Whilst stopping where the people wanted, my neighbour Doreen got dropped of at her front gate in Cheltenham Street, the buses were noisy, badly maintained, blew copious volumes of smoke and were a poor example of public transport. The 129 suffered from the anti-competitive 1931 act in that its Rozelle terminus was in a side street and the route to Rockdale didn't pass anywhere that was remotely passenger generating.
Duncan

[Leopard_071]

It may have been a "Bit Rag Tag" bus service but the locals loved it.In the good old day the 1st bus started at 0410am & the last bus came in at midnight/////We use to do 3 Industrial Runs around 10PM to Sydenham Station from all the factories in the area,on each they would be hanging out the doors. On Wednsday & Friday night we would carry full standing loads from "The Albert Palace" of "Oldies " playing "Housie" we drove to the last passenger do a 3 point turn, back to the "A/P" do the same , to the last passenger,then carry on with our trip to Rockdale. Yes it may have been a "Bit-Rag-Tag" but it was a great place to work. We always had parties and the owners the late Doug Nelson & Arthur Appleby would give all the staff a leg of ham and a carton of beer plus a Xmas party each tear at Arncliffe Scotts Club so please don't "Rubbish" the company to much.

[captainch]

I ENJOYED WORKING THEREeven if some of the buses wernt up to scratch,and yes doug and his wife were good boses!

[busmadrod]

sound to me like they were a good boss to work for. Yes the buses may have been a "Bit-Rag-Tag" but at least operated. and as any boss knows you treat your workers well and they will stick by you through thick and thin.

[boronia]

There were a lot of private operators like that back in those days. There was not a lot of profit in route services, so the operators did the best they could. Service was first class and personal, even if the buses weren't.

[lunchbox]

Does anybody remember driver Charlie Richardson? I worked for him later when he ran a community bus operation.

[wayne062]

Hi lunchbox,

where did he work? and when?

you don't mean Charlie Rogers do you?

[r_rogel]

What are the former PTC/UTA numbers of other buses pictured besides ex 2655 & 2838?

[AEC Decker]

Leyland OPSO1 ex Govt. The water filler was moved to the front at the Hamilton Workshops, Newcastle

This was done because a header tank was added to increase water capacity of the cooling system to stop overheating.
The 1st series AEC UFs may have had a similar setup.

[boronia]

IIRC all 3 series of AEC U/Fs had front mounted radiator fillers. Not sure whether there were actually any header tanks up there.

[Rick R]

All of the DGT Regal IV's were fitted with header tanks from new. The OPSU 1's overheating probelms were behind their being sent into exile in Novacastria (along with a long line of other underperforming vehicles).

[Bedford-29]

Brisbane Waters coaches at Gosford had one of those ex Newcastle Leyland Royal Tigers like MO-600 but the Brisbane Waters coaches one had the same problem with overheating I pass it one day at Erina High school and the driver was filling it with water from a bucket.They would of been popular in Newcastle with this overheating problem.

[boronia]

The ERTs obviously didn't have this problem, but don't have a front filler.

What was the difference??

[On Air]

Rag-Tag fleet is a description that could be fittingly applied to a certain LARGE bus operator that serves Sydney's CBD

I always found this operation fascinating. I would often see one of the Frogs scuttling along the bumpy concrete roads around one of the intermediate stations between Summer Hill and Ashfield, usually from my comfy seat on a red rattler. They rarely had more than one or two passengers aboard and always laid a lovely rooster tail of diesel even on the slightest grade

[Rick R]

The ERT's have a header tank inside the panelwork behing the filler on the nearside. The chassis in general had many changes from the OPSU's so there may have been other improvements to the cooling system.

Having a larger engine in the later AEC's & Leylands probably ment that they were over the top of the hill before they got hot

[Swift]

Would these brown frogs have been operating into the 1980s? When were the pics taken?
Those frogs would have been an experience to travel in regularly!