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
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1947 and was withdrawn in Dec, 1969.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)