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The talents of our volunteers at BPSWA are not restricted to bus restoration and driving. This enthusiastic team can turn their skills and intellect to many things. In recent months, a working party has been erecting dome shelters to protect the heritage buses stored in the southern lease compound.
Photos: L McDiarmid, C Davison and D McDiarmid |
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It's full steam ahead with the upholstering project for our 1950 AEC Regal III (MTT 378). It has been cold and rainy in Perth but that hasn't stopped our enthusiastic team of restorers. One of our newest volunteers, Claudia Armstrong, teamed up with Brett McPherson and Ian Richter to get some hands-on restoration experience with the seat trimming for 378. Claudia said she enjoyed the day and will definitely be back for more. Ron Franklin made sure that the efforts of the team are preserved for the future by asking the BPSWA members to sign the back of one of the seats. A nice touch Ron!
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A major project commenced in the workshop in early July was installation of a mezzanine floor in Shed A. The mezzanine was purchased second-hand to provide better storage for our archive material. First, to enable better access to the shed floor space, some of the buses, including the colourful Drift bus which served as our office for many years, had to be moved to the southern lease compound.
Then began the huge task of sorting the archive material onto the floor space. Over the following weeks, the mezzanine floor, guard rails and staircase were installed, followed by re-packing the archive material back onto the mezzanine. The final step in the project was to enclose one section below the mezzanine which will serve as a tool store. Our sincere thanks and appreciation are extended to all BPSWA members who helped bring this project to fruition, either directly, or by supporting and sustaining our essential workshop, driving and restoration activities over the past 3-months. A great team achievement! |
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With 2020 off to a quick start, we looked back at the happy snaps of our 2019 busy days, at the progress of our restorations, at our participation in providing essential bus services within Whiteman Park, in community events, weddings and reunions and at the work in and around our workshop. Despite the busy schedule and workload, the enthusiasm and camaraderie of our team of dedicated volunteers shines through.
Our sincere thanks to all our volunteers and supporters on their amazing achievements in 2019. |
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Any Tuesday is busy at our depot workshop and here is just a glimpse of the activities that interest and engage our members.
From the top left clockwise:
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With the temporary suspension of our Tuesday and Thursday workshop days due to the viral COVID19 health threat, BPSWA member John Young found himself with time on his hands and whilst looking through his vast collection of transport memorabilia, found a real gem.
Those amongst us who are “Baby Boomers” may remember the weekly cleanliness and hygiene inspections at primary school and the annual inspection by a visiting school doctor. In the 1940/50s, the Western Australian Government Tramways (WAGT) was on board with the cleanliness and disease control message being re-enforced throughout our schools. Shown is a WA Government Tramways ticket of One Penny, approximately 2cents in today's language, with a clear message on the reverse of the ticket - a message that is very relevant to us once again in 2020. |
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This week “My Mind Wandered” to a 1980’s bus service that not many people know about – the short lived Perth to Ayers Rock via Kalgoorlie, Laverton, Warburton and Docker River. The route is 2,300kms long and it took about 34 hours to complete.
It was unfortunate that I never travelled with either of the two companies that, at different times, operated over this route but I have travelled over this road a few times with other bus companies and once by 4WD towing a caravan. The first part of the journey - Perth to Laverton - is a sealed bitumen road in good condition. There is plenty to see as you travel past Midland and over the Darling Ranges to Northam and the wheat belt region. The next big town after passing through Merredin is Southern Cross. From there the wheat fields give way to low trees and dry scrub as you enter the vast goldfields region which includes Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. From Kalgoorlie to Laverton you pass the small mining town of Leonora – which in its gold-rush days had a tram service operating to the Gwalia Gold Mine. (If this blessed Convid-19 keeps hanging around for too long there will be a “The Mind Wanders” article on the Leonora/Gwalia tram service). Luck plays a big part in the level of comfort for the journey from Laverton in Western Australia to The Olgas in the Northern Territory. The road surface on this part of the journey is gravel. If the Shire of Laverton road grader and the South Australian counterpart have made a run ahead of you the road surface should be reasonably smooth. On the other hand, there are times when rain has turned the gravel road into mud and the road gets cut up by the traffic. Then, when things dry out the road is pitted with “Bull-dust holes” and very bad corrugations. From Laverton the small communities of Cosmo, Warburton, Giles and Docker River are passed. Most of these communities play a vital role in the provision of services to the local Aboriginal people and travellers through the region. It was thought at the time that these services would not last too long as the road conditions caused the coach maintenance costs to skyrocket and the logistics of dealing with serious break downs in the remoteness was difficult. “The Last Great Adventure” advertised by Transcontinental Coaches did not appeal to most travellers. Winter time, April to September, is the best season to travel along this very remote and scenic road with its cool nights and days that are usually not too hot. Think about the isolation when making your plans if you take up the challenge. Make sure you have plenty of drinking water, food, some spare fuel, a selection of vital spares for the vehicle and you’re Permit to Travel through Aboriginal Lands. Whether you have the latest and greatest 4WD or a 24 year old Landcruiser like mine, one simple break down or accident could spell disaster, even Aboriginal folk that live in the area have perished while travelling in this unforgiving land. I have spent many happy hours touring around Australia by bus – it is nice not to be driving for a change. John Young Click the Perth to Ayres Rock by Coach button below to see the Timetables and costs in 1986 and 1989. * Shoreline Coaches 01/10/1986 advertising connections with Ansett Pioneer. * Transcontinental Coachlines approximately 1989 advertising connections with Greyhound and Pioneer. |
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Video: Courtesy of Graham Horton
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Slide Show: Courtesy of Graham Horton and
Elaine Young |
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This week in “My Mind Wanders” I ventured into the West Australian Wildflowers and the very popular tours operated by The Midland Railway Road Bus Service (MRRS) and then by the WA Government Railway Road (WAGR) Bus Service.
The coach tours were introduced by the MRRS in the 1950's and when the WAGR took over the Midland Railway in 1964 they continued the Wildflower Tours well into the 1980’s. The coastal plains between Perth and Geraldton, which is approximately 400kms north of the Perth, are relatively dry with farms of wheat and sheep spread among large areas of state reserves, featuring undisturbed natural bush land and abundant wildflowers. At the time, coach tours were very popular, and people from all over the world would travel to Perth to study our very unique wildflowers on the 6-day all-inclusive tours. The Midland Railways tour included a couple of nights accommodation in Midland Railway sleeper carriages at the Watheroo Railway Station. After the WAGR take-over, tour passengers stayed at motels for the whole tour. With the driver, tour guide and botanist on board, the coach passengers received first class service. Staff were specially selected for these tours. Not every staff member enjoyed the “close contact” with passengers over 6 days. I have travelled on a few extended bus tours and some folk can be very difficult to deal with. As with all good things, other bus operators decided to get into the action and Parlour Cars, Feature Tours, Metro Tours, to mention a few, entered the market with different ideas and options including Wildflower Tours of the South West. The South West has a lot more rain and with this a different and unique wonderland of wildflowers. These days, patrons want more value for their dollar and 6-day tours on one specific subject are very rare. People want to include, wildflowers, bungie jumping, a boat trip, a first class meal and wine and complete all of this in a 1-day tour. From my observation, passengers who take 1-day rush tours spend most of the day asleep on the bus. A very sad downside is overseas tourists trying to do too much 1-day touring on their own. They hire a car and attempt to follow the path of Day Tours. Their comprehension of time and distance confuses them. Australia is a big country and an inch on a map looks easy, but in-fact it usually relates to 300kms or more. Tourist drivers quickly become tired and some tragic accidents are the result. Trusting CV19 “Rules for Washing Hands” hasn’t caused your skin to rub off. Stay Safe John Young |
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One Saturday evening I was operating Route 762 from Cottesloe back into Perth when I came across a middle aged couple dressed up to the nines, obviously heading out for a night on the town. The gentleman was dressed in his tuxedo and his wife was wearing what you would describe as a formal ball gown. As my bus was empty at the time, I pulled up at the bus stop (much to their surprise) and asked them whether they would like to come into town with me. They were a little hesitant at first but eventually hopped on board after I had assured them that this was indeed a normal bus service and that I was going into the city. Off we went and as they relaxed they could see the funny side of their ride into town for a night out. Route 762 was the Surfing Special service and the bus I was driving was MTT #33, the Surfing Special bus complete with the surfing paint job and the right hand side seats replaced with racks for surfboards. This bus is now part of BPSWA’s collection in its original livery as the Riverton Bus Service’s #8.
Ray McNaughton |
The Surf bus on Route 762
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This week "My Mind Wandered" to my collection of old bus calendars. For many years I had ordered a bus calendar from the Queensland Omnibus and Coach Society (Inc) (QO&CS) in Brisbane. As a fund raiser, they had been involved in supplying photos to publishers of themed Christmas calendars. Along with buses, the calendar titles included trams, trains, navy, old postcards, aircraft and the like and distributed throughout Australia, usually at the local Newsagent. At a very reasonable cost, calendars make great Christmas stocking fillers or a small gift for friends.
In 2014, I submitted these 10 photos to QO&CS for inclusion in their calendars. 2016 was the last QO&CS calendar to be produced and featured my photo of two Greyhound coaches captured at Mundrabilla Roadhouse in Western Australia. Mundrabilla is not much more than a service station, located on the Nullarbor Plain 1,363 km from Perth and 1,331 km from Adelaide. |
The demise of the QO&CS Calendar coincided with the introduction of our very own BPSWA Bus Calendar, which has become another source of fund raising for our Society. These are available by ordering direct from BPSWA at $10 per calendar plus postage.
To me, every photo has “My Mind Wandering in Overdrive” - such beautiful memories. John Young |
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Hi folks
This week “My Mind Wandered" into the Stonehouse Vegie Shop which was located on Great Eastern Highway, approximately 35 kilometres east of Perth. The Stonehouse Vegie Shop was a favourite stop for the interstate coaches bound for Adelaide. The passengers usually purchased some fruit to eat on the journey and more importantly, Deluxe Coachlines and others had contracts to deliver fresh fruit and vegies to the various towns and roadhouses across the Nullarbor Plain. Freight and Royal Mail contracts were an important financial sideline for long distance buses and often covered a big part of the cost of operations, especially during slack times. Before the arrival of the budget air fares in Australia we had two major airlines, Ansett (of bus and coach fame) and TAA, a Government owned airline. Air fares were high and it was cheaper to travel interstate by bus. Bus operators from around Australia saw that there was a dollar to be made and joined the market, which originally had Greyhound and Ansett Pioneer as the main Australia-wide service providers. At one stage, the 2,925 kilometre Perth to Adelaide bus route had 32 services per week, operated by six different bus companies. Due to the cheap air fares these days, Perth to Adelaide bus services ceased some years ago. The coaches in the slide show are a few of the service providers of the era, others included Ansett/Pioneer, Continental Trailways, Across Australia Coachlines, Olympic East West Express and Sandgroper Express. The only photo not taken at the Vegie Shop was of Greyhound “Silver Eagle” at Northam heading for Adelaide. The photo is a little on the dark side, as Greyhound departed Perth at 18:00 and went through Northam at 19:30, just before sunset. The completion was fierce, the fares were low and a high number of “bums on seats” for every trip had to be maintained to cover operating costs. Some coach operators did not survive the competition and others were taken over by new owners. |
Passengers were a top priority and if any coach suffered a major breakdown on the hot, dry and isolated Nullarbor Plain, they were transferred to the next coach on the route, no matter which company was operating the service.
In 1980, I was on a Greyhound “Silver Service” trip from Adelaide to Perth and about 2am we stopped at a small bakery in country South Australia and took on board about a dozen large boxes of bread, which were delivered to shops and roadhouses for the next 600 kilometres. When I think about that trip, I can still the smell the aroma of that fresh baked bread! Stay Safe John Young |
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This week “My Mind Wandered” into three vital operational areas of running a bus company.
SERVICE: Think back to “the good old days” on the buses – how "service" mattered and it was expected by the passengers who relied on the service provided. Bus drivers were respected members of society and often they were long term friends of the passengers they carried. In the 1950’s, we did not own a car and we relied on Beam Transport and in particular “The Hillbilly Service” they provided which is the present Midland/Baskerville Route 312. The timetable was four buses a day, the last leaving Midland at 15:40. We had to structure our travel to and from Herne Hill to a timetable which for people living on Stirling Hwy with a 15-minute headway, had no idea about. We were just extremely glad that Beam Transport provided our very basic but reliable bus service. Fellow BPSWA Member, Paul Gentilli writes: Perhaps what is less well known is working conditions on buses from the high point of usage in 1940's. We forget that drivers were a skilled occupation requiring mechanical knowledge, and that it was a sought after job. Correctness was not an issue so conductresses were judged on sex appeal first and ability second. The aim was for "smartness" in presentation of bus and of uniform; the present equivalent image being of the pilot and air hostess! My mother (then Edna Heinrichs) joined Metro as an 18 year old in 1937; her money handling abilities were undoubted even in her later years. Driver and "Clippie" always worked as a pair and worked the same roster each week so that they knew their regulars. My mother's driver was Fred Lavery who also ran a farm at White Gum Valley. After the war he drove a tanker for COR before entering state parliament. Fred's sons bought the last of Scarborough's semi-trailers which were last seen on a golf course they were developing. My mother remembered the David's (at Metro) as hard task masters; there was definitely no interaction between management and workers and I never heard of any Union activity. I still have my mother's Metro uniform badge. SERVICES: Scarborough Bus Service (SBS), a very progressive private bus company of the time, operated the Perth/Scarborough Beach service from the 1920’s to 1962, when they were reluctantly acquired by the Government of the day. The patronage on their major Perth/Scarbrough service and their minor routes did not just fall from the sky. It was based on hard work, meeting customer travel requirements and providing the most frequent time table they could afford to operate. These early bus services were critical to the people of Perth and especially so for those living in the outskirts and rural areas. SBS was not alone, most other private operators survived WWII and into the 1950’s. Private car ownership started to soar in the late 1950’s and the resulting falling patronage affected most services, except the larger companies operating in the more lucrative areas. Unfortunately, the need to re-equip ageing fleets with more modern buses was beyond the capital resources of most of the smaller operators. Commencing in 1958 most private bus companies were absorbed by the (government-owned), Metropolitan (Perth)Transport Trust - the MTT. The private ownership of cars continues to be a challenge for bus operators worldwide. Even with a fleet of the most modern buses obtainable, TransPerth, is still competing with relatively cheap and reliable small cars. SERVICING: There is no use having a fleet of buses that are unreliable due to lack of servicing. Bus breakdowns are embarrassing, inconveniencing to passengers, and a drain on resources. The good old days, where at 100,000 miles a bus was due for a major overhaul of mechanicals and body, are a thing of the past. These days, if a bus has a major failure and the motor and gear box hasn’t completed close to 1,000,000kms of stop/start suburban running, you have been “robbed”. Our BPSWA mechanics that have experience on buses, know that at the completion of each repair job or servicing, you have to maintain and sign the work-card for that particular bus. These are important records and the practice is still followed in our BPSWA workshop. In 1962 as an apprentice working on Foden, AEC, Leyland and other makes of buses, when your Tradesman asked, “did you tighten the tail-shaft bolts”, and you answered “Yes” - you were in effect putting yourself and him on the line. A Foden tail-shaft turns a few million times on the Perth/Hopetoun/Perth, Passenger/Freighter service. The bolts better be tight! How the tramways and private bus operators in Perth survived the shortages of spare parts, tyres, batteries etc during WWII, and still managed to operate peak services with ageing buses week after week is a topic for the future. It is a credit to all of the workshop staff at all of the bus depots. In closing, there are two basic Rules that covers Customer Service.
John Young |
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Further to the earlier story by the terrible twins, John Young and Graham Horton, about their bus trip towards the Birdsville Track and getting bogged, this happened quite regularly when I was trucking in the North West of Western Australia in the 1960s. Some of the roads and creek crossings in those days were primitive. The Pioneer buses, which ran passenger services from Perth to Port Hedland used to get bogged regularly and prior to entering a flooded creek, they would get all of their passengers to alight and get their luggage out from the storage bins. The driver would then open all of the flaps on the bins before driving through the creek, the reason being that it reduced the side pressure on the bus and made it less likely for it to be swept downstream and off the crossing. The other problem was the fact that the buses in use then had V8 GMs in the rear and if the rear of the bus slipped down into the water table, there was no way that the driver could ever get it back up on the road without assistance. My photos of getting a truck through a flooded creek gives an idea of the conditions. The usual reward for a truck driver pulling a Pioneer coach back onto the road was the grand sum of $2.00. While 2 bucks may sound insignificant today, in those days on the way out of Perth, we used to stop at Rakichs' store at Baskerville and buy a carton of coke for $2.40.
Dave Tierney |
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It was sizzling hot for the sausages and for the volunteers at the workshop depot this week when the temperature hit 40c, however, everyone was smiling through the heat and found plenty of tasks to do.
Clockwise from the top right;
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Our 1967 Leyland Lion PSR1/1 is over the pits to ensure that the bus is ready for display at the upcoming Railfest event in Bassendean.
This bus - WAGR DP0 - served in the Western Australian Government Railways and was donated to BPSWA for preservation in 1983. John Young, Graham Horton and Ross Tinley were on the job to make sure the bus is in tip top shape for the event. |
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The birds were calling and the kangaroos were watching as BPSWA members gathered at the Whiteman Park workshop depot for the 2019 AGM. The well-attended meeting started with a bus parade around the Park and business got underway at 13:00 hours. President, Tom Curtis, gave a report on the year's achievements and finances and an overview on the direction of our future efforts toward restorations and a museum. The existing council members were re-elected unopposed and attendees were very appreciative of the afternoon tea that followed - once again provided by the generosity of Daryl Clark. Photos by Dean McDiarmid |
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A regular visitor to our Whiteman Park workshop recently is BPSWA Member, George Luke, who visited from the UK. Despite the long journey to Perth, George rolled up his sleeves and was actively involved in our Tuesday workshop days by helping us to set up our new offices as well taking a keen interest in the current restoration projects and collection. George has also given us a digital copy of a booklet that he has painstakingly compiled on buses and routes of the MTT (Perth). There were lots of laughs around the lunch room table with our other esteemed volunteers and we hope that George enjoyed the visits. Thanks George for all your help and we look forward to seeing you on your next visit to Perth.
Enjoying some laughs around the lunch room table are BPSWA members George Luke (right) and Dave Tierney (left) |
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Capable volunteers, Shane and Ron donned their construction hats and were measuring up panels to build a shed. The end result of this project is a much-needed enclosure for the bus cleaning equipment so that our cleaning crew can secure all the necessary cleaning supplies and equipment in a single, purpose-built shed.
_____________________________________ In addition to the construction and restoration works in progress at the workshop, this week we were visited by the Hon Donna Faragher MLC, a regular visitor, who caught up on developments and improvements to our facilities since her previous visit. It was a beautiful sunny morning and President Tom Curtis provided an overview of the restorations in progress as well as the new office facilities and our future plans for building a museum. |
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John Young and Graham Horton are continuing the maintenance on our 1967 Leyland Lion. The former WAGR DP90 is having a full chassis lubrication, replacement fuel filters and radiator hoses, repairs to engine and gearbox oil leaks and a general engine bay clean up.
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The 3rd dome shelter on the southern lease is now complete and work has begun in the workshop to install a mezzanine floor for archive storage. The first step is to shuffle the buses around to allow access to the workshop floor space.
The Mercedes Benz H2 Fuel Cell Ecobus and our office bus, (the colourful star of the movie "Drift") have now been moved to the southern lease. Our Leyland OPS4/1 Tow Wagon did the heavy work moving the Ecobus with Colin Davison at the wheel, while Ray McNaughton steered it into the undercover storage. Tom Curtis and Ron Franklin directed operations on the ground. Packing up and clearing of Shed A has begun in preparation for installation of the mezzanine floor. A big job! |
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Bus restoration work was put aside temporarily by BPSWA member Ron Wiggins as he put the finishing touches to the installation of air-conditioners for our office accommodation unit. The air-conditioners were purchased using funds awarded to BPSWA under a Stocklands Care Grant. Thank you Stocklands and thank you Ron, we sure needed the warmth this morning! We now have a thoroughly modern and comfortable office.
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It has been a hive of activity around the workshop lately:
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| 2019_calendar_order_form.pdf |
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The new industrial sewing machine is up and running! BPSWA volunteer Brett McPherson has been getting to know the operations of the machine and honing his skills in preparation for trimming the seats in our 1950 AEC Regal Mark III (MTT 378). The team at BPSWA are willing and able to put their intellect and efforts to whatever needs to be done to get these old buses looking sensational.
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One of our newest volunteer members, Darren Longden, has been working on the former Westrail (M199) coach which is in the workshop for panel and paint work. The exterior paintwork has been given a face lift and is looking fresh and bright. Darren says he has more to do on the roof of this 1987 Mercedes Benz to complete the job of providing some much needed TLC.
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Although it may be standing room only for now inside this 1950 AEC Regal Mark III, restoration efforts have turned to placement of the seats and sourcing of the replacement flooring. The work continues on the outside too, as our dedicated electrician Bruce, puts the finishing touches to the external rear light fittings. As the saying goes, "two heads are better than one" as these two industrious restorers inspect old parts to determine their viability as spares. |
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The cold weather has not slowed our team of volunteers. There's a million things to do to restore and preserve a fleet of heritage buses.
Would you like to join us and become involved in our restoration projects? Click here to Contact Us. |
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One of BPSWA's most recent recruits, Tony, is on a winning streak. After successfully completing driver training in some of our heritage buses, Tony also completed his first solo "mission" driving the scheduled shuttle service around Whiteman Park in our 1977 Mercedes Benz O305 (MTT 171). Read more about this bus here. Tony also knows how to pick a winning football team as evidenced by his West Coast Eagles scarf! Photos: D McDiarmid |
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Looking very smart in its MTT livery is MTT 452 which was in the workshop this week for maintenance on the batteries and starter motor. This bus is used regularly on the Whiteman Park Explorer tours and needs to be in tip top condition. The bus has also recently received an update to its front route numbers. It can now display a full range of route numbers from 001 to 999 plus the special 000.
Photos and update courtesy of C Davison. |
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The Bus Preservation Society of WA (Inc) encourages family participation in its activities. Our membership categories include Adult, Concession, Family and Associate members (students and <18 yrs). Contact Us or Join Us if you would like to participate.
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Kevin Nicholls has methodically worked at repairing the rusted panels including the front door which had to be completely rebuilt. Kevin, assisted by Mike, are seen here working on a repaired panel on the rear of the bus.
Kevin has also been repairing the water tank whilst colleague and fellow restorer Reg Goddard worked on repairing the front steps. When he has finished repairing the water tank, Kevin says his next job is repairing the rear window seal which has completely perished |
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From bush block to usable parking/storage space - clearing, surfacing and fencing of the BPSWA southern lease area is now complete! Steps and hand rails to the personal access gate are in position and the vehicle access gates at the top and lower end of the block are in place and ready for lockup.
Multi-talented members Phil Gates and Ron Franklin are shown at work on the cement mixer during fencing whilst Ron McDiarmid steps aboard the digger for the 90 post holes needed for the perimeter. Sincere thanks to BPSWA member Greg Shemeld who donated the use of his fencing equipment which made the job so much easier and more economical! Over the past months, there has been a steady stream of BPSWA volunteers of all ages and capabilities giving their time and efforts to bring the project to successful completion. Well done BPSWA volunteers! |
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Celebrating his 90th birthday recently was Bill Allnutt, a long time volunteer who works every week at both the Bus Preservation Society and the Perth Electric Tramway Society at Whiteman Park. Bill worked tirelessly on the recent restoration of International D35B SBS15, where his knowledge, skills and persistence were greatly appreciated by the team. But it's not only bus restoration work that Bill applies his skills to, he is currently working on our extensive collection of artefacts and memorabilia.
Below, Bill's assistant Olivia displays the birthday cakes - a bus and a tram of course. Happy Birthday Bill from all your friends, you are an inspiration to us all! |
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One of our regular volunteers every Tuesday is Trevor Bindeman who has generously donated this MIG welding machine to BPSWA for use in the workshop. Trevor says it's a good machine and in good condition too. He hasn't used it for a while and felt it may as well be put to good use. Thanks Trevor!
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Kevin Nicholls and Peter Hancey were revelling in the new Plasma Cutter donated to the workshops by Trevor Bindeman. This welcome addition a was immediately put to work cutting up the Daimler chassis that has been sitting outside the west side of the sheds.
Previous methods of cutting up chassis etc., involved the use of an Oxy torch and Angle Grinder to cut the large steel sections in chassis into a manageable size for disposed. This can be expensive with the cost of consumables such as gas and cutting wheels. The addition of this new piece of equipment will make the job easier (and quicker) and reduce the overheads in the workshop. The plasma cutter is a metal cutting machine that utilizes gas blown at a high speed from the nozzle of the tool. Getting the right nozzle for the job is important and Trevor made a special effort to get some high quality nozzles for the cutting head. The application of electrical arc to the gas will turn the gas into a plasma which forms a super-hot torch that makes short work of the job of cutting the heavy steel frames in these old chassis. The workshop staff are indebted to Trevor Bindeman who donated the equipment and who helped in the job of breaking up the Daimler. Parts recovery and sorting the metals has gone on 'apace' and the job should be finished quickly now. Thanks Trevor! |
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One of our stalwart 'workhorses' the AEC 1965 Regal IV No 654 has been in the workshop these past two weeks with replacement and repairs being conducted to the rear steps. The platform had become worn and was considered a danger to passengers boarding and alighting from the bus so a replacement needed to be rebuilt and fitted. Kevin Nicholls took on the task of removal, rebuilding and refitting the platform and should be finished next week. We are looking forward to the bus returning to the operational roster, soon.
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Kalamunda 17
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The Wagonette ready for loading to go to 'Naval Base' for its 'makeover'.
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Emerging from the Workshop, all 'Spick and Span'.
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The refurbished 'Wagonette' on display at 'Arthur Grady Day', Fremantle
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workshop volunteer Hours: |
Each Tuesday 08:00 to 13:00 at the Whiteman Park workshop.
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TO request A VISIT
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To tour the bus collection or see the BPSWA workshops in action any Tuesday, click the "Contact Us" button below. Visitors and new volunteers are welcome.
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How Secure is this site? |
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Any gift made to BPSWA of $2 or more, is tax deductible (within Australia).
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