Sydney, Sunday February 15th: off my cruise ship at 0800, flight back to Melbourne not until 1900. After finding some breakfast (no time for this on the ship) I joined 9.30 Choral Matins at St James’ Church, Sydney’s oldest surviving church, consecrated 1824.

With several hours to kill, I checked out some possible places to visit and was thrilled to find the Sydney Bus Museum, open on the first and third Sunday of each month with Feb 15 being a third Sunday! A free shuttle bus service using vintage buses from the museum collection runs between the Sydney Town Hall and the museum so no problem getting there.

The bus museum was established in 1986, its collection initially being housed in the former 1912 Tempe bus depot, before being moved to its present location, the 1914 Leichardt tram shed, in 2010. After much work by museum volunteers the new venue was opened to the public in 2016.

Here’s a selection of the exhibits. There’s lots more to see, both vehicular and otherwise.

1924 Ruggles

This 22-seater bus combines a 1924 US-built Ruggles chassis with a timber framed and panelled body by Syd Wood of Bankstown. It was delivered to Riley Brothers of Ettalong Beach on the NSW Central Coast in 1925 who used it for district services for 21 years. Following its withdrawal from service in 1946, it was used as a mobile food shop. Later discovered derelict in Newcastle, it was acquired for preservation, subsequently undergoing a complete rebuild to delivered condition in 1978.

1935 Albion

1187 is the oldest double-decker bus in the museum collection. Its Albion Venturer chassis was imported from UK in 1935. The body, steel sheeting on a timber frame, seats 30 passengers on the upper deck and 26 on the lower. This style would carry over to the standard steel-framed body design produced in large quantities for Sydney and Newcastle in the late 1940s.

This bus was withdrawn in 1948 then being used as a mobile racecourse totalisator, a shed and then a kid’s cubbyhouse. In 1983 it was bought for preservation and underwent a full body restoration in 1988. It is finished in its original Department of Road Transport and Tramways (DRTT) red and cream livery

1938 Dennis Lancet

During the 1930s, the DRTT designed a standard single-deck bus body which was suitable for fitting to the various makes of British chassis. These new buses supported the double-deck fleet by working on routes with lighter patronage or low-clearance bridges, also replacing an assortment of older non-standard single-deck buses acquired over the years.

The new design had front and rear entrances, seated 34 passengers, and positioned the driver in a separate cabin aside the engine in the same manner as the double-deckers. Known as ‘half-cabs’, 78 vehicles were delivered between 1935 and 1939 on AEC, Leyland, Albion and Dennis chassis.

Of the six Dennis Lancet half-cabs built, the last four constructed in 1938 had steel framed bodies and were delivered in DRTT’s new single-decker green and cream livery, After just nine years 1492 was withdrawn from Government service in 1947, then saw service with private operators until 1958. In 1978 the body and chassis, devoid of the engine, were saved for preservation by a group of Museum members.

1940 AEC Regent I / 1947 AEC Regent III

The AEC Regent chassis was well established in the UK when the NSW government ordered 161 in three batches. Regent I 1688 was bodied by Waddingtons and could carry 74 passengers, 61 seated and 13 standing. It entered service in 1940 and was withdrawn in 1960. It was then used on BHP steelworks services in Newcastle until finally retired in 1978. It was acquired for preservation in 1988, restored to original condition and painted in the pre-war DRTT red and cream livery.

Soon after the end of World War II, 845 double deck bus chassis were ordered by the Department of Government Transport from manufacturers in the United Kingdom, A.E.C., Leyland and Albion. AEC supplied 359 Regent III chassis. While the first batch of buses were Leyland OPD1’s, an AEC Regent III chassis was bodied in advance of the rest of the type by Commonwealth Engineering Co of Granville, Sydney. This bus had a revolutionary new pre-selector gearbox. The driver moved the gear lever to the anticipated next gear position, then when ready, pressed a foot pedal to engage the chosen gear.

Regent III 1792, in service from 1947, was the prototype of a large number of this type of bus introduced between 1947 and 1952; 359 postwar AEC Regent III’s entered service. This one was withdrawn from service in 1973 and was then used as a school bus until 1983, then restored and placed in the museum.

The Regent III chassis found its greatest success as the backbone of London’s RT buses, thousands of which were built. The Sydney museum collection includes London RT and Routemaster buses restored to as-new condition.

1948 Leyland OPD2

6057 is a steel-bodied bus on a 1948 Leyland OPD2 chassis. The bus was built for Dion’s, a private bus company still in existence. It is similar to Sydney’s double deckers but was never a government bus.

121 double deckers were built for private bus companies between 1947 and 1950 and 6057 is the only known survivor. 6057 was built for the Wollongong to Austinmer service and ran until retired in 1964. It was then parked in a shed until acquired for preservation in 1982.This bus was acquired by the museum in 2024,

1949 White Semi-trailer

This vehicle is one of 123 semi-trailer type buses built and operated in Australia between 1939 and 1984. Most were constructed as specialised or one-off units.

The prime mover body was built around 1949 for a bookmaker from the Riverina area of NSW. The cab was assembled on a White Scout Car chassis extended to accommodate four seats, a toilet and a wardrobe area. The vehicle was to be used as a private caravan.

When the outfit was discovered derelict at Murrurundi, NSW in 1980 by a museum member, only the prime mover was salvageable. He then located a semi trailer bus body equipped with 53 seats and coupled it to the prime mover in 1984. The semi-trailer bus body is of timber frame construction and was built by Parramatta Bus Co, Northmead, NSW in 1947.

The complete semi-trailer unit was used on the firm’s services from Parramatta to ‘The Hills’ district until 1952. and sold to George Clements, proprietor of Nambucca Heads Bus Service in 1954. Over the years it changed hands several times until withdrawn in 1977, by when it was0 the last semi-trailer bus in service in NSW.

1954 AEC Regal IV

3197 is an example of a second series underfloor bus, purchased by the Department of Government Transport (DGT) to finalise the tramway replacement program, and to enable the last pre-WW2 buses to be withdrawn.

The body, built by Clyde Engineering, was completed in August 1959. This bus spent most of its PT career at Randwick Depot before being sold to Fellowe’s Bus Service in 1978. They used it until 1983 before selling it for preservation. The bus was cosmetically restored to its as-delivered condition. Subsequent mechanical works completed over the next few years restored this bus to operational service in 2025.

1957 Bedford OB

Bedford OB 200: Although badged as a Bedford, this bus is a mixture of parts from many different manufacturers. The chassis is constructed from pre-war truck components, mainly General Motors in origin. The front axle is from a pre-war REO, whilst the rear axle assembly and transmission are mid-war Ford parts. The engine is a Perkins P6 diesel.

The body is metal sheeting on a timber frame, built by Syd Wood of Bankstown. The only Bedford parts on this exhibit are the engine cowling and front guards.

This bus went into service in 1957 and was not retired until 1976, by which time it was one of the last ‘normal control’ (bonneted) buses in NSW. It was purchased for preservation in 1986, and fully restored over a three year period.

1973 Leyland Atlantean

Atlantean 1224: This is the last of 224 Leyland Atlantean double deckers which entered service between 1970 and 1973. The chassis was built in England by British Leyland, and all were bodied locally by Pressed Metal Corporation of Revesby. 1224 was the last bus completed, and entered service at Pagewood Depot in March, 1973.

The Atlanteans were the centre of a bitter dispute between the PTC and the Unions regarding one-man operation and the removal of conductors. This, coupled with severe reliability problems meant that they were not the most successful buses in service, and had relatively short service lives.
1224 was withdrawn after only six years of service in June 1979. After a period of storage, it was sold to Rover Motors of Cessnock who used it on school services. In February 1993 the bus was purchased by two museum members for preservation
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1970s Denning Landseer

State Rail introduced Denning coaches in the mid 1970s to replace early diesel powered rail motors servicing NSW regional rail routes.

The vehicle is an Australian-made Denning. They were common throughout Australia from the 1970-1990s in particular. Denning Landseer build no DL1247, was new to the NSW Government and originally assigned to the NSW Police. It travelled across the state as transport for officers, carrying the Police Band to various performances and carrying juries on court cases. In 2007, the vehicle was sold to Comealong Tours in Bass Hill and later passed to Bankstown Coaches. It was retired in 2016 and sold to a motorcycle enthusiast group in Dandenong, Victoria before being acquired by the Sydney Bus Museum through generous member donations.

In 2023, the Museum was the successful recipient government grant which allowed for the restoration into State Rail livery. It remains in preserved as the Museum’s only coach representative of long-distance travel. It is capable of re-entering service once minor mechanical works are attended to.

1999 Scania L94IB – something more recent

John J Hill started operating bus services in the 1930s. 7649 was the last bus delivered to them in 1999 before the company was sold to John King’s Premier Motor Service in 2001. The Scania L94IB was a totally new chassis, featuring an updated 9-litre engine. This bus was finished in this complicated but striking livery. It was retired from service in 2024 and restored to new condition by Premier Transport Group before being donated to the Sydney Bus Museum.

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