The good old days!

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
Peta mechanic.
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The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

I'm relatively new to this forum, as a result I might be stepping on a previous thread but I hope not.

I started work at Westbus as an apprentice mechanic at Northmead in January 1986, even before Westbus bought Rowes Coaches. I continued on with my coaches to Burrows Road and then got out of the coach maintenance and went to Penrith. I was well known around the company too, everybody knew me as "Little Pete". I had a lot of good times and to tell you folks the truth, there are a lot of times when I seriously do miss them as well as the people that I worked with back then.

I hoping to start this thread off and continue it by asking anyone who worked with Westbus back then to join in here and describe "the good old days". Back through the years when we not only bought Rowes Coaches but Toongabbie, Windsor depot and Calabros to name a few. I really do miss so many of you and to hear/talk to some of you here would be so brilliant! Let's reminise here with some happy stories and a good few laughs as well huh?

Let's jog some memories with some fleet numbers:
TV 827 (later 403), TV 828 (later 404), TV 753 (later 402), TV's 408, 409, 410, 416 (later 248), 417, 418, 419, 247 for starters.

Not to mention some of the buses:

071, 4406, 100, 200 (before it was a Volvo!) 7299, 7300, 7884, 7885, 873 and many, many more.

P.
I really loved the years of my early working life at Westbus Coaches.
mcvicars bus service
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Re: The good old days!

Post by mcvicars bus service »

hi there here is a few to bring back those memories for you :D
176.jpg
westbus1.jpg
725.jpg
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bigdogprime
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

:D hi little pete you woudve known my dad and john christos and rodger graham thursday nites at the toll gate :lol:
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Geoff »

Hi Little Pete:

If my memory is correct, you were the apprentice that was placed into a barrel of oil one day - am I correct?????

Geoff H.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

:lol: who could forget the women drivers charlotte, dawn,musso changing tyres in the doorway of the meal room ,with the drivers chairs rescued from a council clean up day :cry: doing nightride then takeing a old decker out on a schol run..............bob bosnjack demanding a driver wash his merc!!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

No not me Geoff! We put a work experience guy who was a cheeky so and so in a half full 44 of grease. Thursday nights at the Tollgate were brilliant as well and yes I very vividly remember those men that were mentioned also. 725, well I very vaguely remember that one but yes, I did work on some of its' sister vehicles though. Friday nights in snow season were a busy time for me as well especially when a certain yardman was on holidays and I was washing and doing the refuelling too! Oh and by the way, I washed Bobs' Mercedes every Friday morning for about two years. Yeah, the good old days!

We had a great bunch of people there then, and it's a shame that life went on and we drifted apart, that's why I started this thread. My stories are many and I remember them so often but the people....so many really shaped my life.

After one day here I've had a reply from someone that I can't quite place (Bigdogprime???) and I've also had a reply from someone that I still have a very high regard for and think of quite often. Remember teaching me how to drive a Hyliner Geoff? Photos of an old ex Adelaide Worldmaster and 5115, the prototype gas bus too. Rather ironically, not long before I finished at Westbus I ended up doing an out of chassis engine rebuild on that very vehicle when it was at Penrith.

Who else is out there from the good old days and can someone jog my memory with the name of the company that used to own Windsor?
I really loved the years of my early working life at Westbus Coaches.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

winsor was owned by macquire town services my dad is ray that did niteride with christos, do you remember a young large guy who would eat 2 large pizzas and and 2 large bottles of coke for a snack loved leylands,his name was bob potts who is now gone,drove a mini,young glen who drove coaches, woodsie, fat merv, the young guy who played the gitar?and not least"SNAPPY TOM " :lol: :lol:
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

Ok now I'm getting an idea who you are Bigdog. I'm thinking Ray Bodd.........burg????? Another real character! I remember Macquarie Towns now too, it was derived from the old Gospers Bus Service. Charlotte was a really nice lady and strong too. She drove old 071 for ages morning and afternoon with no hassles or complaints, the part to remember was that the "armstrong" steering on that bus was really, really heavy. Male drivers even commented about how good she was to handle that bus, always with a smile! As for Bob Potts, I worked with him at Busways Glendenning when he died and attended his funeral too. We even took his bus to Pinegrove as a mark of respect, number 73 I think. Woodsie ended up at Penrith and I worked with him there too, he was at Northmead when I started there, driving the first ever twin deck in oz, TV 827 before it became TV 403. Glen, yeah he did a bit of coach work and ended up driving 7612 as a permanent ride for a while, the first of the 61 seaters. And who else did you mention? The guy who played guitar??? The only one that I know of was Junior, he drove TV 828, later to become TV 404 which I drove to Qld. in 1992 for the Lions conference. Junior later ended up in TV 419, the fourth twin deck that was bought and which had the intercooled motor. Now Snappy Tom, you've got me there? Now for Merv, the guy who spent a season in the snow driving 7686 which was a 61 seater from Windsor on the Guthega shuttle run. Ahhh yes, there's not many that I've forgotten!

Some more regos for anyone who's reading: TV 1204 (GH), TV 1207 (KY), TV 1212 (JB),
And some buses, I haven't even come close to getting away from Northmead yet! Where do we start? 176, 177, 726, 4124, 7205, 4795, 4800, 7037, 7066, 7067, 7068, 7363, 7365, 7456, 7458, 7539, 7542, 7544, 7585, 7586, 7588, 7590.

There's many more and I could go on forever but special mention of 7457, the 50th Volvo. 100, they bought those plates from another operator so that they could put them on that anniversary bus. 8122 which was the 150th, I drove that one on emergency rail at Gosford when it was about three weeks old, quite a highlight at the time for me! Lastly 200, the plates on that one came off an old step deck Leyland in the yard that Carol Bosnjak used to drive on a school run in earlier times.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

snappy tom was tom seale, you are talking about my dad! he drove 7585 new on nightride with john christos you would remember dawn.geoff night, musso.ect I HAVE ONE OF THE ORIGNAL PLATES of 200 when it was a semi coach for snow, ron ison who was manager at endenser park works at frenes of wagga now busabout, you should orginise a reunion at the toll gate
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Mother »

Although never having driven a bus for a living, I'd like to share some reminiscences of Northmead.

My earliest ride on route 200 was on a CAC Bedford in 1966. This was the Lake Parramatta bus, an odd-bod in a fleet of heavy-duty Leylands, Albions and AECs.

I was impressed when their first Leyland pneumo with CVI Goldstar body entered service. And then came this totally strange bus with some of its dashboard signs in Spanish and a huge Leyland Olympic badge on the front. This magnificent vehicle (so heavy, its drivers all called it "The Tank") and the other Leylands in the early 70s were part of that group of Leyland Olympics that survived the sunken ship in the Thames River.

Many bus companies in Parramatta would only use their newest buses on school specials and charters, but Bosnjaks would always introduce them directly into front-line service. However, old buses would always be used on Sundays and holidays, and these would often be Leyland Comets.

Ah yes, the Worldmasters. The unrebodied ones, such as in your photo of m/o725, were always referred to by the drivers as "The Adelaides", and these were worked to the max, also becoming the Sunday buses. Most of the rebodied ones had CVI step-deck bodies, such as m/o 727. Of course it thrilled Me at all times to hear the roar of these Worldmasters as they thundered through Parramatta, and also at Model Farms High School, where I worked from 1978 until the end of 1985.

When I began at Model Farms High in 1978, I would often catch the bus from Parramatta, often on a route that went via Churchill Drive and eventually to Old Windsor Road. Two drivers were allocated to this route on two long and well-paying broken shifts, and each driver had his own bus. These drivers for several years were the very likeable Kevin Davis, now retired, and Tony Huddlestone, who still works at Northmead, and whose two sons I used to teach at Model Farms.

Within a short time, I was needing to start at the high school well before the first outbound bus would reach it each day. I would walk from My Fragrant Garland Mansion in Victoria Rd to the depot in Northmead each morning, and simply walk into the depot, where the foreman was always happy to direct Me to the bus and driver who could transport Me to Model Farms while running special before their first revenue trip. These were the sort of people and style of operations that were possible then, when rarely was anything a problem.

I never had any problems doing "bus duty" at the end of the day, seeing off old Comets, Albion Clydesdales, converted Olympics, "The Tank", the Worldmasters, and eventually the Volvo B10Ms. It was also a chance to have a very quick chat with the drivers, including on one occasion Bob Bosnjak who had to stand in for a "no-show" driver.

There was an initial delivery of 6 of the Volvos, and they were carefully allocated to only their most trusted drivers. Kevin and Tony were among these, plus the very loyal and affable "Jacky Mack", who had worked there for some 35 years. It was Jacky who also broke in the new Rolls Royce. These 6 drivers would take great care of their bus, each one also washing and cleaning it. There was one guy, who was so fastidious about washing his Volvo, that he washed it too much, and the newly fashionable black paint around the windows soon scratched off!

You've mentioned the early women drivers, the first of whom was Darelle Stapleton, who surprised me by driving a crash-box Leyland Comet on one of the Lake Parramatta shifts. These shifts and their allocated old buses were usually the break-in shifts for new drivers. And then there was the irrepressible Dawn, who left Bosnjaks to drive a Bedford VAM at Harris Park, before returning to Bosnjaks. She later became an inspector, and would regularly be checking Our tickets on the Riverside Parramatta - West Ryde services.

There were of course, as anywhere in those days, wonderful characters! The zany Arthur Makin drove at several Parramatta bus companies, and while at Bosnjaks he was kind enough to drive a tour that We organised in the early 1970s, using the intact Leyland Olympic. Rouse Hill was a dirt road terminus at Mile End Road at that time.

And of course there was Bob Lavender, known by Me as Sir Robert, and later as Robbie Baby, a name that he carried on his name badge. After leaving Harris Park in the late 1960s, Bob came to Bosnjaks and stayed with them until his retirement a few years ago. For many years he drove the "back road" shift, doing mostly school trips around Castle Hill, Kellyville and "North Kellyville". He was always a thorough gentleman, a perfect driver and also a car driving instructor.

It was a sad day for all of Us when We heard the shocking news about the death of Bob Potts. I was honoured to have known him with his larger than life manner and unfailing sense of humour - and his incredibly skillful driving. He was very encouraging to and supportive of enthusiasts, and made so many friends throughout his too short life.

I must also say that We were always well received by the Bosnjak family. John Bosnjak certainly did some creative engineering with his various chassis conversions. Bob was the public face that i often spoke with. Jim was usually at Edensor Park, and he and Ron Ison were always very supportive and helpful with new information about their fleets, the industry itself and also about the direction in which their operations were to be heading.

We miss the likes of these operators, and the drivers of the day.

Thank you very VERY much, Peta mechanic, for starting this thread.
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bigdogprime
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

who could forget bob lavender and playing that "COUNTRY WESTERN MUSIC"carol bosnjack driving bus 200, the dail up ticket machines, the adelaide worlmasters on night shift, reving the engine to keep the lights bright,delivering the mail & papers out to the shops at kellyville,the smell of the dairys at wisor rd kellyville in the wet, a true story my dad told me was bob potts at the hotel were the ettamonga pub is now bogging a leyland of course in the mud there, and getting the local circus to drag the bus out with a elephant!!!!! comming back to depot and washing the bus!!! what a personally, sadlly missed the trial run by "MR WESTBUS" rodger graham saddley missed. of one man deckers on a sunday to castle hill, then council opened parra mall,that ended that!the old iglo depot at nth parra with the blue deckers!a great "FAMILY COMPANY"to work for sadlly all gone,the arrival of the then new twin deck coaches and the WEEK END $99 SNOW TRIPS.if you were in the bad books you did route 200/609 lake parra grr,those were the days, thank you "MOTHER" for the history lesson and you seeing the first fleet comming up the parra river, the steam trams to castle hill. the milk bottle, electric lights, thumos flasks, hills hoists, the "T" model ford, mother shopped ex at murry bros parra, banked either at the rural bank or the E.S&A bank. drank s& g soft drinks, teaching the kids to write with a slope card! and picking who would be milk moniter/ink well moniter yes she is a "LIVING LEGAND!!!! :lol:
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Mother »

Bigdogprime: The resemblance between your writing and that of your father is uncanny, bordering on the scary. And I do indeed remember most of what you list in your last sentence.

Yes, we have wonderful memories here, especially of Bob Potts' getting a bus bogged at the Ettamogah Pub. One copped it on the chin, then had a drink and a laugh with the mates, and everyone at the depot would still be on speaking terms the next day. And it all happened without OH&S juggernauts, reflective vests, harassment legislation and multiple layers of managers.

I also recall chartering two buses on a Sunday afternoon to bring kids back from a weekend at Vision Valley in the Arcadia area. The 2 drivers were Theo Lucas and Kevin Bolton, both good blokes and very helpful. But as the pick-up time had long past and we were despairing of getting our Westbuses, we actually had to ring Keith Tod (Jnr) at Glenorie Bus Co to see if he could supply buses and drivers at short notice. But a few minutes later, Kevin and Theo arrived with much apology. They had missed the turn to Arcadia and ended up passing through the entire stretch of the Galston Gorge with its multiple hairpin bends - all in rebodied Leyland Worldmasters with no power steering.

We then got all the kids home, and the story ended, as it so often did, with an honest admission by the drivers to their manager, ending in some good healthy belly laughs all around.

I think we all miss actually knowing the people for whom we work - and knowing that they do in fact live in this country and understand the needs of the local community.

I might also add another well-known name, Eddie Hayman, who owned and operated the Greenacre Bus Service and the Cremorne Bus Service. What did he have to do with Bosnjaks? Well, he wrote the timetables for their Edensor Park and Parramatta operations in the days of route 200 and old old tin "igloo" depot in Church Street.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by David10 »

Speaking of Eddie Hayman, saw that he was running one of the CityRail replacement bus stops a few months ago. Was nice to see someone who actually took pride in his work, a lot of them give the impression they wish they were elsewhere.

Wasn't aware that Westbus purchased the coach operation from Rowe's, did Westbus buy any vehicles with the business? I know later the coaches were based at Alexandria, but were they at Nothmead prior to this? Those Volvo B10M CC Hyliner and Volgren Twin Decks were certainly stylish vehicles, was disappointing Westbus decided to get out of coaches in the late 90s. I think the 3 Volgrens were sold to Gold Coast Tourist Shuttle, not sure where the others went?
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Glen »

I worked with the late Roger Graham at Westbus from late 1988 to early 1989 and learnt a lot about scheduling in a very short space of time.

I also learnt how to drive his red Volvo (BUS200 number plate I recall) as on occasions when Roger was planning a 'bender' he would let me drive it home for the night.

Roger sent me to Windsor to help Cor with the first days of the new timetable up there. Those poor Macquarie Towns drivers had never seen anything like Roger's microscopically handwritten A3 shift bats. I remember one morning peak sitting in the office with both phone lines going with frantic parents, the two way radio going, Cor having to go out driving and me not knowing where any of the streets were.

A little off topic, but I knew the late Bob Potts in later years when he was at Shorelink, MidShore and finally Busways. Who could forget the amazing impressions he used to do of bus engines and train locomotives.

I used to marvel at him sitting in the bus drivers' meal room reading 'The Economist' and think how much potential he had to do more in his career if he could have. He knew a lot more about running buses than many managers of the day. He once said to me "you can be anything in the world (in terms of being accepted at work) but you can't be fat".

When some of the Shorelink drivers used to whinge about new timetables Bob would say "it's a walk in the park".

I recall doing time checks with him on a 596 in the PM peak driving up Somerville Road at Hornsby Heights and he would announce the street name of every stop for the passengers. Sometimes after I finished in the office I would give him a lift home to Hornsby and he would say he wanted to go "Special to Hornsby".

A tragic loss.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

David 10, in response to your question, Westbus didn't quite buy any vehicles from Rowes Coach Tours. I say quite because when they first took over/purchased that operation, six of the seven Dennings that Dick Rowe owned got dry hired for a number of months. After Westbus built their fleet up, the Dennings were returned to Rowes who sold them off. The vehicle that didn't come was sold at the buyout time, that was the only reason. The next part of this was our first 2 Hyliners wwhich were actually the 2nd and 3rd built by CCMC (the 1st went to Relaxaway), these were TV 408 (Geoff) and TV 409 (Keith Y). They were delivered new to Westbus but the build orders were actually placed by Dick Rowe. In fact, when 409 was delivered you could see "Rowe No. 2" written in texta on the spare wheel rim hanging underneath. It was strange too, many people commented that they couldn't believe that Dick ordered vehicles with a toilet but he did with both of them.

Geoff H, here come your memories too! We had Dennings TV 711 and 712 which were 2 axle vehicles powered by 6v71 Detroits. Next there was 713 and 714, both with 6v92 engines (non turbo) and a further point, 713 was a 3 axle coach and 714 was a 2 axle job. Then there was 716 and last but not least the one which my colleague here used to drive, 718. These 2 were powered with 8v71 engines and were three axle air conditioned coaches too, the other 4 only had jet air. Tv 715 was sold straight away by Dick Rowe to Allan Pearce in Valley Heights.

As much as I had many a great bus experience in my younger years, my coaches were my favourites though. I used to come up past the side of the workshop in one of the Dennings, making 2nd gear at that and then letting the Jake brakes happen, waking up the whole depot! Yes, when it suited the boss I got in trouble for it also! I spent most of my first 6.5 years at Westbus maintaining the coaches and I took great pride in my work too. I knew that my work had to be good as the coaches didn't just run around Sydney then, they went anywhere and my work did too with no hassles. As an apprentice I had great pride in that fact.

In time David, I'll probably start another thread and go into the details of the Rowe vehicles a bit more so hang in there and good things will come.

Glen, if you are the bloke I'm thinking of then I'll say this....Hi Mr egg and lettuce!!! I do remember you and as much as you drove Rogers' Volvo, I had to do a breakdown on it one Sat. morning because it blew a radiator hose! As with everybody I worked with Glen, you were a brilliant person and always treated me well. If you are who I think you are, remember when the 61 seaters were new? You drove 7612 and Peter Clarke drove 7622 and at one stage I thought that the two of you were having a competition to see who could have the most tyre black on their bus such was the attention that the both of you put in! Good times and it would be nice if vehicles were respected like that these days.

There's more great memories to be had here and they will be, I spent all of last night on my garbage run thinking about people and stories and there's some brilliant things to say here and they will happen in due time.

P.
I really loved the years of my early working life at Westbus Coaches.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Glen »

Peta mechanic. wrote:Glen, if you are the bloke I'm thinking of then I'll say this....Hi Mr egg and lettuce!!! I do remember you and as much as you drove Rogers' Volvo, I had to do a breakdown on it one Sat. morning because it blew a radiator hose! As with everybody I worked with Glen, you were a brilliant person and always treated me well. If you are who I think you are, remember when the 61 seaters were new? You drove 7612 and Peter Clarke drove 7622 and at one stage I thought that the two of you were having a competition to see who could have the most tyre black on their bus such was the attention that the both of you put in! Good times and it would be nice if vehicles were respected like that these days.
P.
Hey mate thanks for the complimentary remarks ....... :) ..... but sorry I'm not the Glen you are thinking of!
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Re: The good old days!

Post by David10 »

Westbus were certainly a good customer for Volvo in the 80s purchasing nearly 200. When I first visited the Parramatta area in 1988 Westbus’ services were dominated with near new B10Ms. And compared to the Saint’s Bedfords I had traveled to school on, they seemed space age.

Had there been an increase in services requiring the new buses, or had Westbus decided to renew in one hit? At the other end of the scale, Westbus had also placed some ex STA Leopards into service, but these didn't last long don’t ever recall seeing one on route service.

Some of those 76xx high deck B10Ms also had coach seating I recall, were they ever used on route services or just on charter? Rode one on rail replacement last year and it certainly defied its age.

With all the renewal done in the 80s new deliveries slowed to a trickle in the 90s and it wasn’t until the Cabcharge DelGro purchase that we again saw mass deliveries. The Scanias certainly lack the character of the Volvos, and the mundane livery doesn’t help.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by boronia »

Peta

did you know Alex "le Frenchman"?
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Geoff »

Geoff H, here come your memories too! We had Dennings TV 711 and 712 which were 2 axle vehicles powered by 6v71 Detroits. Next there was 713 and 714, both with 6v92 engines (non turbo) and a further point, 713 was a 3 axle coach and 714 was a 2 axle job. Then there was 716 and last but not least the one which my colleague here used to drive, 718. These 2 were powered with 8v71 engines and were three axle air conditioned coaches too, the other 4 only had jet air. Tv 715 was sold straight away by Dick Rowe to Allan Pearce in Valley Heights.


Hi Pete:

TV 715 is now based at West Wyalong - Heffers I believe.

Funny thing, TV 711 is now living as a mobile home at Orchard Hills - the Rowes name can still be seen on the aluminum.

Geoff.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Glen »

David10 wrote:Westbus were certainly a good customer for Volvo in the 80s purchasing nearly 200.
Hence (I suppose) Roger's car number plate BUS200 !

Roger used to roster the Volvo's on 'V' rosters, designating them to the best work.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

Rogers' number plate came in time for 1988, the bicentennial year of Australia, hence the 200.

P.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

Of course we remember Alex the frenchman! His wife at the time used to be a cleaner at Northmead as well and he went on to work at Murrays with you and Geoff Turner as well didn't he Boronia? I've now worked out who you are as well! From a previous post by Mother, I used to catch the route 609 bus every morning from Parramatta station to get to work and the driver was the one and only Kevin Davis, he drove 7585. He, Jack Mack (abbreviation) and Rob Lavender were very respectable and highly regarded drivers too. Jack drove 7539 and Rob drove 7542 when I was there. Jack and Kevins' buses were also the nightshift buses when I started and they were driven by P. Dayton (7539) and R. Boddenburg (7585).

Thanks for info. about the two coaches Geoff, I'll include that too in my eventual spin off thread about the Rowe business. It's really gold to be hearing these stories about the old vehicles and where they ended up. Another old vehicle thing here was the photo of 725 in these pages. I worked on 726, a sister vehicle and (I think) that Tony Musso used to drive that on a school run when I was there as well but to get back to 725, it was moved to an ex. England double decker a short time before I started in January 1986, the 28th to be precise.

To continue on about your questions David. The big purchases were the result of two main factors, expansion and fleet updating. At the time, the company wanted Volvos and they got them happening in a big way. Part of and a lot of (I feel) of this expansion was due to the solid work of Roger Graham, "Mr Westbus" as Bigdog previously named him. I truly believe that if it wasn't for Roger, Westbus would not have climbed to the height that it was back then and who knows where things would have ended up now as a result? The Volvos did set great standards back then and I do feel though that the current build Scanias are a nice vehicle too but unfortunately they've been compromised. Due to the fact that they're putting the "tell tales" on the wheel nuts, the front hub caps have been taken off thus destroying the appearance of a nice vehicle.

By for now, P.
I really loved the years of my early working life at Westbus Coaches.
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Re: The good old days!

Post by bigdogprime »

pete rodger grahams car bus 200 was for the route bosnjacks owned route 200 covered everything ,not the bi centenry :)
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Re: The good old days!

Post by Glen »

bigdogprime wrote:pete rodger grahams car bus 200 was for the route bosnjacks owned route 200 covered everything ,not the bi centenry :)
Are you sure? "Route 200" was long gone by then, the Hills buses had been renumbered in the 600s since 1983 (according to Robert's web site!).
Peta mechanic.
Posts: 58
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 10:11 am
Favourite Vehicle: Westbus Hyliner TV 408.
Location: Mt Druitt. Sydney.

Re: The good old days!

Post by Peta mechanic. »

Not to start a fight here but there was another number plate which surfaced on the Camira that Rhonda Staples used to drive at the same time. It was BUS 488 and Rhonda gave me that answer about Rogers' as well so maybe it was a double whammy.
I really loved the years of my early working life at Westbus Coaches.
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