Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

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panther998
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Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by panther998 »

I have recently booked flights from / to Perth that will enable me to visit Canberra for about 72 hours in late November 2014. I last visited our Nation's Capital about a quarter of a century ago, so felt it was about time I renewed my fleeting acquaintance with this 'important' place (which tends to be far too cold and clinical for my liking, I must confess).

Accordingly, I have been checking through my lamentably few scans of images taken on my VERY few past visits, and found the following shots dating from my very first visit to Canberra in 1972, plus one (so far) from my second visit, 9 years later, in 1981.

I hope that those ATDB bus enthusiasts who are incarcerated in the Ozzie capital, plus those with some passing interest in former Canberra buses, will find these images of some interest.

1972 -
Dept of Interior, bus 45, AEC Reliance, Kingston Depot, May 1972
Dept of Interior, bus 45, AEC Reliance, Kingston Depot, May 1972
DoI-045-AEC_Reliance-May72of-n1bcd.jpg (107.41 KiB) Viewed 33012 times
Dept of Interior, coach 100, AEC Reliance, Kingston Depot, May 1972
Dept of Interior, coach 100, AEC Reliance, Kingston Depot, May 1972
DoI-100_AEC-Reliance-coach-May72_n1cd.jpg (72.06 KiB) Viewed 33012 times
Dept of Interior, bus 126, AEC Swift, Kingston Depot, May 1972
Dept of Interior, bus 126, AEC Swift, Kingston Depot, May 1972
Dept of Interior, bus 201, AEC Swift, Kingston Depot, May 1972
Dept of Interior, bus 201, AEC Swift, Kingston Depot, May 1972
1981 -
ACTION, buses 302, Leyland National, plus 336, AEC Swift, Canberra CBD, July 1981
ACTION, buses 302, Leyland National, plus 336, AEC Swift, Canberra CBD, July 1981
Hopefully, the above pix will be of some interest to current (or past) Canberra bus enthusiasts.
Hopefully, one or 2 of you will feel inclined to enlighten me regarding what I might see, or should 'target' for viewing, during my Nov 14 visit.
For example, I know that the Kingston depot is now a market of some sort. But - is the site worth a 'revisit' from a bus historian perspective ?
ajw373
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by ajw373 »

Thanks they are good pics. It still amazes me how modern the Leyland National looked compared to the Volvo's (same body as the swift) that were delivered at roughly the same time. I guess the same is true of the MAN SL200's they looked more modern again, but only a few years later.

As for what you should see, I have a question what days of the week will you be there? Also what kind of backgrounds do you want? That will dictate where you go and what you can see. Being a Perth person I would imagine you would want to spot some PR100.2's so hope you are there on a weekday as they don't generally come out to play at the weekends. Same too with the PR100.3's, Perth had just one if I recall, Canberra 40 odd.

As for the old Kingston bus depot, would give it a miss unless you like over priced hand made market crap like you can find anywhere. Only one building remains not really worth the visit.
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Bus 400
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by Bus 400 »

The building that is left at Kingston Depot, looks like the one you snapped coach 100 outside of. Not knowing how things were back on your last visit, it could be worth comparing now & then.

You're only chance of seeing an AEC ACTION bus is looking in on 2 sitting in Woden Depot (Prospect Court, Phillip). By November numerous new Scania's will be on the road, so don't expect to see any Renault's out on the weekend. At the moment, we have no idea on what bus allocation will be during the week (due to an upcoming network change). But expect to see the low floors (Irisbus/Scania/MAN standards & Scania steer tag/articulated buses).

Also during your last visit, you would of visited Belconnen Bus Interchange. This has since been replaced with 3 bus stations. Also in coming years, Woden Bus Station is to be knocked down & replaced with a modern design. You can also compare our RTPIS to Perth's RTPIS & have a look before Northbourne Avenue is stripped for light rail.
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ozzipic2013
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by ozzipic2013 »

what ever happened to the AEC coach
1115
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by 1115 »

Very nice photos. Any more where they come from?
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panther998
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by panther998 »

ajw373 wrote:Thanks they are good pics. It still amazes me how modern the Leyland National looked compared to the Volvo's (same body as the swift) that were delivered at roughly the same time. I guess the same is true of the MAN SL200's they looked more modern again, but only a few years later.

As for what you should see, I have a question what days of the week will you be there? Also what kind of backgrounds do you want? That will dictate where you go and what you can see. Being a Perth person I would imagine you would want to spot some PR100.2's so hope you are there on a weekday as they don't generally come out to play at the weekends. Same too with the PR100.3's, Perth had just one if I recall, Canberra 40 odd.

As for the old Kingston bus depot, would give it a miss unless you like over priced hand made market crap like you can find anywhere. Only one building remains not really worth the visit.
I much appreciate your comments and advice, ajw373. Apologies for my tardy reply.
My 2 full days in CBR will be Thu 20 and Fri 21 Nov. Plus the morning of Sat 22 Nov. I will also have a hire car to zap around in, as needs and time limitations dictate. Regarding 'backgrounds' to photos, I would be leaning towards 'then and now' shots, but definitely not a 'slave' to any such parameter. I much prefer to focus on the 'contemporary scene', with 'past history ties' being a decidedly nice-to-capture, but not essential factor.

While I admit some surprise that any are still operational in the Canberra fleet (yes, I am distinctly 'out of touch'!), I would definitely like to 'spot' any Renault (or Mack in 'ACT parlance') PR100.2 and PR100.3 units. Perth MTT / Transperth bought 248 and 1 respectively of these Renault (but originally Berliet designed) marques. Around 30 of the -2 version and the solitary -3 unit (http://perthbus.info/report.php?vid=TP1133) still in service in Perth with 'original operator'. Plus a few ex Perth and Canberra -2 units serving with various private / charter firms.

I have seen a couple of ex ACTION PR180.2 artics advertised on Gumtree (et al) recently, so I presume the 'bendy' versions are no longer to be seen on Canberra streets in passenger service.

All that said, my main hope is witness and photographically record as much as I can of the current Canberra bus scene during my brief visit in late November 2014. Which is pretty much what I tried to do in 1972 and 1981.
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panther998
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Re: Canberra buses - 1972 & 1981

Post by panther998 »

1115 wrote:Very nice photos. Any more where they come from?
Thank you for the compliment.
Please try the following links (all are 1981 shots of Leyland Nationals - note that image sizes exceed ATDB restrictions so I am unable to post them here directly) -
http://members.iinet.net.au/~seedee/bus ... 8ja81b.jpg
http://members.iinet.net.au/~seedee/bus ... 8ja81b.jpg
http://members.iinet.net.au/~seedee/bus ... 1-p1cd.jpg
http://members.iinet.net.au/~seedee/bus ... 8ja81b.jpg
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