The Sydney Bus and Truck Museum

Above: a magnificent pair of double deckers. Having gone through the museum's website and noticing several of the same type that, to me, look the same but differ in age, I'm simply going to identify (hopefully correctly!) these two as a Leyland Titan OPD2/1 and an AEC Regent Mk III.

Peter Lynch visited this marvellous museum late last year and was full of praise for the hospitality, exhibits and value for money. Here's what he had to say:

I was up in Sydney recently and took the chance to visit the Sydney Bus and Truck Museum at Tempe. They have a large collection of vintage trucks and buses going back as far as 1914. I was particularly taken with the big White semi-trailer bus which dominated the entrance area. This museum is run by volunteers from the HCVC of New South Wales who welcome local and overseas visitors alike. The modest entry fee includes a vintage bus trip and I enjoyed the local sights from the top deck of a beautifully restored Leyland.

Above: the White semi-bus referred to by Peter. The prime mover is 1943 M3A1 White Scout Car converted to RHD by Motor Body Assemblies for a bookmaker and his family and was/is equipped with four seats, a wardrobe and a toilet. So, clearly, the original trailer was not intended for use as public transport! When discovered derelict by a museum member in 1980, only the prime mover was salvageable but a 53-seat trailer was found shortly after to complete the combination. Only 123 semi-trailer buses served in Australia so this is a remarkable "tilt of the hat" to them.

For more on the museum and its collection, visit http://www.sydneybusmuseum.com/

Pictures are worth a thousand words so without further ado, here's a couple more stunning vehicles from the Lynch lens. I've attempted to add further detail from the museum website where possible but, particularly with the buses, my identification/matching skills may have let me down!

Above: the museum's 1952 Leyland Hippo imported new to work at Sydney's Charles Kingsford Smith Airport. Donated by Shell in 1990, her tank has a capacity of 1,500 gallons. Stopping on vacuum-assisted hydraulic brakes, her Leyland 600 diesel produces 125 bhp at 1800 rpm, displaces 9.8 litres and her six pistons run through a bore of 4.8 inches over a stroke of 5.5. Below: 1952 AEC Regal Mk III. A former Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board machine, she was rescued by a syndicate of four museum members in 1982. In comparison to the Hippo's engine above, this bus has an AEC six-cylinder diesel producing 125 bhp at 1800 rpm with a bore of 4.72 inches and a stroke of 5.59. The little Bedford between the AEC and Leyland is a 1937 WLG with under 13,000 miles on the clock and still on her original tyres.