THE SCOTTISH VINTAGE BUS MUSEUM -
AUSTRALIAN ALBION VENTURER 050 OJO
1877 is a
winner!
Former New South Wales Department of
Road (later Government) Transport & Tramways Albion Venturer
SPCX19W double decker 1877 which arrived from
Australia last September is to benefit from a lottery grant of £30K towards its
complete restoration. It was one of 160 purchased between 1939 and 1949. 1877
dates from 1947 and is fitted with a Commonwealth Engineering body built at
Granville, Sydney. The chassis is to export wheelbase of 17'6" and the
body is 8' wide.
The DRT&T developed its own
steel framed bodywork in conjunction with Waddingtons
of Camperdown (later Granville), who were absorbed
into Commonwealth Engineering during WWII and the unique features of this
design which owes as much to American as British practice are becoming apparent
as the vehicle is stripped for restoration. The body is now a bare shell, and
the running units have also been removed for attention. Seats are also away for
refurbishment and reupholstering.
Albion Motors were an important part
of our vehicle building history here in Scotland, and many bus chassis were
exported as well as being seen in Scotland, Glasgow Corporation being one of
the biggest customers. A fully operational, preserved Albion Double Decker from
'down under' will assist greatly in underlining the importance of Passenger
The group who were responsible for
bringing the vehicle to Scotland hope that the main
restoration work will be complete in around 12 months. 1877 last ran in
commercial service for a New South Wales Independent, Guilfoyles
of Scone NSW in 1981, after an impressive 34 years of service. - perhaps it will visit Scone Perthshire
in the future?
The arrival of this bus fills a very
important gap in the ranks of preserved buses here in Scotland. The Albion CX19
was the Glasgow Company's most successful double deck chassis, but none of the
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Lathalmond Open Weekend, August 2006 (Jim Crichton) – JOB DONE
A trip to West Fife villages, May 2009 (Jim Crichton)
My name is Graeme Knappick and I live in Lawson, New South Wales, which is in
the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney.
The black & white photo was taken in Pittwater Road, Brookvale
on Dec. 8, 1968 when it belonged to the Department of Government Transport
(DGT). The bus was operating on V6 route 190 to Wynyard from Palm Beach which
is the longest run in Sydney. ('V' stands for Brookvale
Depot). 1877 entered service in Sept, 1947 and was withdrawn in Dec, 1969.
I drove this bus a couple of times on special events and was a very close friend
of Bruce Pinnell who was the former owner.
He passed away on June 6, 2004 and would be so pleased to see the bus back in
Scotland and under restoration.
Terry
Peters, an ex service-driver of 1877 between 1965 & 1969, e-mailed on 22nd
March 2008 to say the black & white photo was taken at the driver
change-over point outside Brookvale Bus Depot.
Follow restoration progress at the restoration project website at www.albioncx19project.org.uk
An Albion Discovery
Members of the Group involved with 1877
recently discovered an Albion AM463 in poor but restorable condition 'somewhere
in Fife'. The AM463 was a special chassis built for the War Department and most
were turned out as Ambulances. They were sold off post-war and a number were
acquired by Walter Alexander & Sons for service vehicle use. The example in
question was Alexanders 159, and was new in 1939,
being purchased by Alexanders from W F. Wight Ltd. on
17th April 1947. It ran as a lorry at Alloa until
19th July 1952 when the breakdown crane from similar 150 was fitted and it was
sent to Pitlochry, being withdrawn and later sold to
a David Smith Jnr. on 26th June 1967. As an ex Alexander vehicle and an Albion
there must be somebody out there who would like to attempt a restoration.
Other Australian restoration
projects:
www.albion1615.blogspot.com
follows the current restoration of the only prewar CX19 to survive in the
world.
www.leyland1379.blogspot.com
follows the current restoration of ex Sydney Leyland 1379 which carries a Camperdown-built body by Waddingtons.
(David
Griffiths)