Blue Mountains postcard - Winter 2019

[Centralian]

Here's my next instalment of photos covering some of the bus and coach activity I captured over the last few months in the Blue Mountains of NSW.
Hope you enjoy this selection.

Following the cessation of Station Link bus operations in Sydney, CDC dispersed 14 of its Volgren bodied units to their Blue Mountains operations.
Fleet listings provide full details, but 5 went to Katoomba, 3 to Valley Heights and 6 to Emu Plains. All are still on metropolitan m/o plates in operation.
So my first photo is of Katoomba based m/o 6880, still displaying some Station Link pink at the front.

Blue Mountains Transit Katoomba m/o 6880 - Volvo B7RLE of June 2018 build.
This vehicle still retains a clue to its past operating history.

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As well as something new, there was also something old. Former Pearce TV 1045, now carrying accreditation for CDC Travel at St Marys and registered TV 8068
made an appearance for about a month or so at Katoomba, operating the Jenolan Caves tourist service.

TV 8068 of CDC Travel P/L St Marys. M-Benz 0404-3 with PMCA 'Apollo' body of 1996 build.
Formely TV 1045 of Blue Mountains Bus Co (Pearce) and still in those colours. At Carrington Hotel pick up point.

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On the northern edge of the Blue Mountains Bilpin Coaches have rebranded their charter coaches to Eastern Australia Coaches. They identify on their website
that while Berambing remains their head office, the luxury coaches now operate out of a Sydney based depot (details not provided) "minutes away from the M7".

TV 4099 of Bilpin Coaches displaying new Eastern branding. This is a Scania K124EB with Coach Design body of 2006 build.
Captured here at Echo Point with a school group.

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I have a soft spot for the double deckers of Blue Mountains Explorer Bus, especially on cold misty winter mornings.

TV 645 of Blue Mountains Explorer Bus. BCI double decker of 2018 build, coming into Echo Point.

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Blue Mountains Explorer Bus Volvo Olympian TV 654, crosses paths with Moore's Tours Denning Decker TV 5961 at Echo Point.

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Plus some other visitors over winter:

Recent new addition to Cumberland Coachlines was TV 5052, a Volvo B12 with Austral Denning body of 1996 build, and formely with
Baxters. Captured here at Echo Point.

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It's Easy Tours from the Central Coast XQ89DP a Scania K450EB with Coach Concepts body of 2018 build.
Now part of the Palmers Coaches group from Queensland and displaying their cockatoo logo.
Captured outside the Carrington Hotel on a freezing morning and the lens was fogging up faster than I could wipe.

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TV 1368 of Road Runner Leisure Tours of Wyong. An Autobus/Cummins of 2005 build. Originally new to Doherty Coaches.

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6137 MO accredited to Holiday King Coaches P/L but in Kingsford Smith Transport livery. A Volvo B10M Austral, formely Brisbane Transport 296.
The vehicle provided a shuttle service during the Ultra Trail marathon event through the BM National Park. Captured near the Edge Cinema, Katoomba.

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I kept seeing the vehicle below for a couple of months around the Mountains.
Reminded me very much of the Mercedes Benz Unimog 4WD's that AAT Kings operated in the early 1990's in Central Australia.
If so, then very modified compared to some of the brochure images, but still very similar in other respects. Any thoughts ?

Unidentified vehicle, possibly a Mercedes Benz Unimog 4WD along the style of ones operated by AAT Kings Tours,
although if so has had extensive body and window modifications.

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[Centralian]

A few more:

TV 8515 of Crowthers Coaches. A Mercedes Benz 0500RF-3 with Coach Design body of 2017 build. Mt solitary in the background.
I noted that the vehicle accreditation shows 'Queanbeyan'.

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TV 4981 of Langley's Dubbo. A Scania K124EB with Coach Design body of 2006 build, previously with Australia Wide Coaches.
In the Carrington Hotel car park - no easy task to fit something this big into there.

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Group Charters Autobus coaches TV 4585 and TV 3344 at Scenic World.
I note some of this operators coaches are now based in a transport yard in Castlereagh Rd, Penrith.

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Sorry, no buses in snow images this time around.
Cheers !

[burrumbus]

Great stuff as allways Centralian.
Group Charters are going very nicely.
I see their coaches in my neck of the woods reasonably often.Very good utilisation.
I think you are right on the money regarding that Mercedes unimog.
Holiday King Coaches Pty.Ltd was an inbound operator that was purchased by Kingsford Smith Transport Pty.Ltd a number of years ago and is maintained as a separate operator and accreditation with a few buses.

[Swift]

Australia must have the most bland and unimaginative bus and coach liveries in the world, which is why the pair of Autobus coaches of Group Charters are a breath of fresh air in that attractive eye catching green.