Route 89 Epping - Ryde. 1959 to 1967

[Red and Cream]

In the period between 1959 and 1967 when i took these photos route 89 Epping to Ryde via Eastwood was owned by three operators, Mrs. Troy uptill 1962 then sold to partnership of Carl Tattam and Col Sinclair and then in 1965 Col Sinclair became sole owner before being sold to Deane in 1973. Here are a few vehicles of each operator.

[ross johnson]

Really great to see the Rte 89 photos, particularly those from 'the Troy' days.

[AEC Decker]

To finish off here is a Don Allitt photo of Troy's m/o 3132 before the government bus plate was recalled and it became m/o 4167.

That would have to be the SCOOP of 1959.
Looks like the DMT / RTA incompetence hasn't changed in the last 50 years.
Putting an AEC number plate on a Bedford, how dare they

[boronia]

At least in those days someone from the DGT got off his arse and got the plate back.

The STA just sits back and lets it happen again and again.

[AEC Decker]

At least in those days someone from the DGT got off his arse and got the plate back.

The STA just sits back and lets it happen again and again.

How true , good point.

[Red and Cream]

To finish off here is a Don Allitt photo of Troy's m/o 3132 before the government bus plate was recalled and it became m/o 4167.

Putting an AEC number plate on a Bedford, how dare they

AEC Decker,I knew when i posted that photo, that you would be suitably outraged that the m/o 3132 plate had been sullied by that Bedford before it assumed it correct and rightfull place on the hallowed AEC Regal IV it was intended for.

At least in those days someone from the DGT got off his arse and got the plate back.

The STA just sits back and lets it happen again and again.

Commonsense ruled in those days.

[Simes]

In that first pic of m/o 824, is that a little sign on the nearside front of the bus have something to do with that bus serving the channel 7 studios at Epping? Or am I reading too much into the ATN?

[Andrew]

I reckon you're onto something Simes - it does say 'Television Station' under the ATN.

[Dave Wilson]

The photo of 3132 is interesting as in thebackground it shows Ryde Rialto Theatre which was on the corner of Pope St and Lane Cove road. A most unusual Spanish looking building,it was pulled down in late 1960 to add space to the 'Ryde Regional Centre' parking area. The theatre would have still been operating in 1959, so really dates the photo.

[AEC Decker]

I reckon you're onto something Simes - it does say 'Television Station' under the ATN.

AEC Decker noticed that as well.
Maybe one of Troys routes operated via the new (1956) channel 7 TV station or operated a staff special to the TV station from Epping or Eastwood railway station.

[Swift]

Thnks for these fascinating pics of a bygone bygone era!Am I correct in guessing that colour pic with the railway staunchions in the background is High St Epping?
Did the 89 originally terminate there and run along there to get to Chesterfield Rd instead of Victoria St as Deanes did during my childhood?
I wonder what small alterations the 89 saw in it's history?

[boronia]

In that first pic of m/o 824, is that a little sign on the nearside front of the bus have something to do with that bus serving the channel 7 studios at Epping? Or am I reading too much into the ATN?

IIRC ATN was the Australian Televison Network, and the station was known as ATN-7.

Equivalents were TCN-9, ABC-2, and TEN-10.

No doubt the sign was for the benefit of passengers travelling to the studios, and a bit of subtle advertising as well

[Red and Cream]

I am fairly sure the colour picture is in Cambridge St. opposite the depot.

[Simes]

In that first pic of m/o 824, is that a little sign on the nearside front of the bus have something to do with that bus serving the channel 7 studios at Epping? Or am I reading too much into the ATN?

IIRC ATN was the Australian Televison Network, and the station was known as ATN-7.

Equivalents were TCN-9, ABC-2, and TEN-10.

No doubt the sign was for the benefit of passengers travelling to the studios, and a bit of subtle advertising as well

Yeah I recall they had the callsigns in the old SMH pink TV guide

[ALBION1881]

Can anybody remember what streets and roads the route 89 took as you could trace the route on google maps as it might give you your answer if the 89 went pass the ATN studios back in 59 as how old was the White back in 59 before being sold to Riverstone B/S.

[AEC Decker]

Yeah I recall they had the callsigns in the old SMH pink TV guide

Try this Sydney TV programme guide from 4th April 1960

[Swift]

Can anybody remember what streets and roads the route 89 took as you could trace the route on google maps as it might give you your answer if the 89 went pass the ATN studios back in 59 as how old was the White back in 59 before being sold to Riverstone B/S.

Here is the route Deanes and later Metro West took from Epping to Top Ryde untile the route 89 ceased in 1990.
Commence Beecroft Rd opposite the station.
Left Carlingford Rd.
Left again Rawson St
Right Bridge St
Left Victoria St
Right Chesterfield Rd
Left Midson Rd
Left again Eastwood Ave
Right West Pde to Eastwood Stn.
Up Hillview Rd (Before Eastwood plaza was built over Rowe St in 1983, 89 continued West Pde then right into Rowe St.)
Left Lakeside Rd
Straight The Avenue
Right Rowe St(to resume after the plaza)
Left Trelawney St
Left again Rutledge St
Left East Pde
Straight Railway pde then curled to the right to May St
Right Blaxland Rd
Right Dalton Ave (sometimes the service would go straight and skip the hospital but not often-same in opp direction)
Left Denistone Rd to Ryde Hospital
Left Florence Ave
Right Blaxland Rd all the way to Top Ryde(sometimes bus would divert Left Beattie Ave Right North rd back onto Blaxland)
Right Devlin St where it would terminate outside Ryde Shopping Square.

Must note on return bus went right from Devlin into Blaxland Rd behind Ryde Council building before resuming along the main part of Blaxland Rd on the return trip.

[Simes]

Yeah I recall they had the callsigns in the old SMH pink TV guide

Try this Sydney TV programme guide from 4th April 1960

yikes

[ross johnson]

Re the discussion about the ATN TELEVISION CENRE sign displayed [permanently] under the front windows of Troys buses, the sign simply meant that the service went near the channel 7 studios at Mobbs Lane Epping. The letters ATN stood for [when the station went on air], Amalgamated Televion services, the N indicating the staion was in NSW. Likewise TCN stood for Television Corporation and the N indicating Nsw. TEN 10 was different in that the operator, United Telecasters was allowed to use TEN to match the channel number [should really have been UTN!! The now ABC1 was known as ABN2 before networking kicked in and then became known simply as ABC TV.

[boronia]

Thanks for the clarification of the names Ross, I had forgotten about those.

Some quirks from that early era were (IIRC) that 7 and 9 were reversed in Melbourne, and the "10 Network" used Channel 0 there for many years (and maybe other states too?). When SBS started up they used VHF channel 0 nationally, before adopting Ch 28 on the UHF band. I don't think it was ever SBN or SBV, etc.

Up to at least the late 70s, most country TV stations were "independent" and showed programs selected from all the commercial city networks.

Also in that era, radio stations used their names almost exclusively; frequencies were unheard of. Radios had dials with the station names printed on them. It wasn't until the invasion in the early 60sof Japanese portable transistor radios that only showed frequencies that this method of identification came into prominence.

[Mark Ando]

I'm doing some research on Epping and came across this post. I can't seem to access the photos of Troy's bus service. Can anyone help me out to access them?

[BanksfielderIdiot823]

Some quirks from that early era were (IIRC) that 7 and 9 were reversed in Melbourne, and the "10 Network" used Channel 0 there for many years (and maybe other states too?). When SBS started up they used VHF channel 0 nationally, before adopting Ch 28 on the UHF band. I don't think it was ever SBN or SBV, etc.

Melbourne's HSV-7 and GTV-9 never swapped as far as I can recall, albeit, there was a network swap between 7 and 10 in Adelaide involving SAS-10 and ADS-7, now the other way around. The 10 Network's channel 0 was only in Victoria, ATV-0 from its launch in 1964 until 1980, which yes, SBS took Ch 0. And yeah, SBS has always been callsign SBS right across the country, it was the ABC that abbreviated their stations' callsigns by state (ABN-2, ABV-2, etc.).

[boronia]

I did find this on the Museums Victoria website, which is perhaps what I recall. In effect, Ch 9 Melbourne had similar content to Ch 7 Sydney.

The Herald and Weekly Times launched HSV-7 commercial television station in Melbourne in 1956. In 1957 the Fairfax-controlled television station ATN-7 went live in Sydney, initially affiliated with GTV9 in Melbourne. In 1959 BTQ-7 (Brisbane) and TVW-7 (Perth) were launched. The following year Kerry Packer bought 62% of GTV-9 for £3.76m. In 1962 CTC-7 (Canberra) was launched. In 1963 HSV-7 and Sydney's ATN-7 formed an alliance as Australian Television Network (ATN).

and from Wiki:

Ownership has changed over the decades. The station was first licensed to the General Television Corporation Ltd., a consortium of two newspapers, The Argus and The Age, together with cinema chains Hoyts, Greater Union, Sir Arthur Warner's Electronic Industries, JC William's Theatres, Cinesound Productions, and radio stations 3XY, 3UZ, 3KZ. In early 1957 The Argus was acquired by The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, and the paper was closed on the same day that GTV-9 officially opened. The Herald in turn sold its interests in the station to Electronic Industries, later acquired by UK television manufacturer Pye, in 1960. Because of the restriction on foreign ownership of television stations, GTV-9 was then sold to Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press, which already owned TCN-9 in Sydney, resulting in the formation of the country's first commercially owned television network. Prior to this GTV-9 was affiliated with ATN-7 in Sydney.

[BanksfielderIdiot823]

Wow, good find. So GTV-9 and ATN-7 actually did have some shared history...

[hugh45]

What buses operated on Route 89 between 1959 and 1967.