Looking back Part II
A journey in time thought the pages of Truck & Bus Transportation
By Steven Haby
In this article we will look back at some Truck and Bus Transportation journals from the mid to late 1960s.
Vol. 27 no. 12 (December 1963)
For many years Ansair had a regular advertisement on the inside of the front cover promoting its bodybuilding activities. In this issue Ansair highlighted their current series of buses claiming that their buses were 'years ahead' in styling and appointments. Features included all steel bodies, sloping windows and 'extra driving vision out front'. Pictured was a 'Coachette' for Hoys of Wangaratta on a Bedford VAS. A two-door 36 passenger track bus for Benders Busways and a one door 41 passenger track bus for Mooroopna - Shepparton Bus Service both on Bedford SB chassis were also pictured.
Page 10 featured an advertisement from Pressed Metal. For years their byline was 'Progress with Pressed Metal' and this advertisement stated that 'up to the minute engineering design', 'jig-built all steel frames' and 'molded fiberglass biaxial panels'. Impressive claims indeed. Pictured was a Bedford SB for Lowe's Bus Service of Auburn in Sydney fitted with 'Canberra' windows.
Cycle Components Manufacturing Company (CCMC) placed an advertisement on page 14 and featured the usual Bedford SB 39 seat bus for Allomes Motor Service of Kotara in NSW.
Athol Hedges championed the use of colour advertisements and their advertisement highlighted their school bus range. Shown were three buses painted in the 'EDSA' standard livery of yellow with black trim: a Bedford J1 forward control bus, a Ford Trader with the Thames normal control cab cowl and an Austin truck cab. Athol Hedges claimed that their buses had the most 'customer appeal'. Opinion might be reserved on the Ford and Austin cab cowls as being 'appealing!'
Vol. 28 no. 2 (February 1964)
A feature article in this issue focussed on Grenda's Bus Service, part of a continuing series on this operation. The article looked at the overall management policies, practices relating to route planning, and maintenance to meet growing residential and industrial expansion. Pictured was HDB-650 a Bedford SB / CAC (then a standard bus for the fleet) at the then newly opened Chadstone Shopping Centre and route maps of their current school and track services. Pictured was a young Ken Grenda in the office.
In the 'Bus and Coach News' section two Bedford VAS buses with bodywork by Motor Body Builders of Mt Hawthorn in WA were pictured, including a 31 seat coach for Sargent's Scenic Tours of Wyndham, in the state's north, used on tours of the Ord River Project.
Bus deliveries for the month of December 1963 were listed and included:
Bedford SB / Comair for R.M. & P. Robertson of Ballan;
Leyland / Comair for Melbourne-Brighton Bus Lines;
Three Bedford / City Body Works track buses for the M.T.T. (Tasmania);
A Bedford / Comeng for Rennie's Bus Lines of Box Hill;
A repowered Bedford with a Perkins motor and Denning coachwork for Redline Coaches of Brisbane.
Vol. 33 no. 10 (October 1969)
The cover of this issue included a picture of a Skennar's Denning at the Brisbane terminal - of which a feature article focuses on the Skennar operation. The article explores the history of the company and the then present operations in Queensland. Skennar's operated coach services across much of southeast Queensland including the Gold Coast but to also far flung places such as Mt Isa. The article discusses owner Clarrie Skennar's philosophy on bus design and the various chassis modifications and innovations to suit his requirements.
Advertisements included a foldout double-page spread from Athol Hedges highlighting their 'Star' range of bodies - Starliner, Multi-Star and Metro-Star. Featured were line drawings for each model and artist's impressions of each model in an appropriate setting. A Fearnes coach was featured and a Hermit Park Bus Service track bus was pictured running a service in a city setting - far removed from tropical Townsville!
Ford included advertorials in Truck and Bus Transportation issues in the 1960s and 1970s titled 'Fleet buyers report' that highlighted operators who used Ford trucks and buses in their fleets. This issue features, Alpen's Griffith Express, who operated two Ford Transit VS4 buses on their Griffith - Melbourne stage service. This service ran day return service weekdays - departing Griffith at 0600 arriving in Melbourne at 1300, returning later that afternoon.
Photographs in the 'News' section featured two Leyland / PMC track buses that were displayed at the Maintenance Conference in Melbourne and were representative of buses available through a new agreement between PMC and British Leyland Australia. Pictured was KJM-068 a Leyland Leopard for Frankston Passenger Service and an Albion Viking for Boronia Bus Lines.
Finally to round off the issue, the inside rear cover advertisement was from Comair advising customers to finalise orders over the Christmas period. Pictured was a line up of Bedford SB / Comair buses for various operators including one for Ford of Shepparton.