British classic buses in New Zealand - page 2 (by Dick Gilbert)

Last updated 8 November 2021

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SOME PICTURES FROM 2016

Charles Loughlin kindly sent me these pictures in April 2018, which were snapped during a holiday he spent in New Zealand during 2015 and 2016. This first one was taken in New Brighton, Christchurch on 18 February 2016. It shows former Midland General no. 677 (SRB 75F), a Bristol FLF6G Lodekka which has had a busy life. After Midland General withdrew it in 1979 it worked for Trent, West Yorkshire (briefly) and a jazz band! It came to New Zealand in 1993 and is seen here wearing an advert for the Carlton Bar & Restaurant in Christchurch.

The next one shows a bizarre conversion of a Leyland Comet bus advertising Gadgets and Gizmos, an organic mechanic, and announcing that the lost gypsy gallery is open! A clue to the Comet's history is the arrangement of pale blue stripes down the side, which is a distinctive design used by New Zealand Railways Road Services in the late 1950s and early 1960s. So I think that's where it came from. Charles can't recall exactly where he saw it. However Euan Kennedy contacted me in January 2020 to say that it's in Papatowai in the Catlins (south-eastern Southland NZ), which is a favourite destination of his when he's travelling through the region. Thanks Euan.

Finally this conversion hiding behind the pampas grass was spotted at Franz Josef Glacier, South Island. It's a Bedford SB and may well be another bus from the fleet of New Zealand Railways Road Services, who had loads of them. Thanks for Charles for the interesting photos.

WELLINGTON TIGER TURNS UP

Mat Foster found yet another classic piece of history when he spotted this for sale on the trademe.co. nz website in March 2018. It is former Wellington City Transport no. 50 (later renumbered 250), a Leyland Tiger OPS2/1 (chassis number 473112) with a NZ Motor Bodies B37D bus body. Probably it's the only complete example of a Wellington Tiger.

Built in 1948 and registered EV 6810, it appears to have been owned by P. Beech of Waikawa Bay, Picton, for over 40 years, used as sleep out and storage. The seller was offering a buy now price of NZ$10,000, describing it as a runner but with no seats. Thanks again to Mat for letting me know about this. Photos from trademe.co.nz.

ANOTHER MYSTERY AEC REGAL (NOT A MYSTERY ANY MORE!)

Mat Foster (bless him!) has kindly alerted me to another vintage gem for sale on the www.trademe.co.nz website (Feb 2018). It claims to be a 1937 Leyland Regal but is in fact an AEC. The advert says "Needs total restoration or wrecking. Hasn't run for 20 years."

Everything looks right for a late 1930s example which makes it an interesting machine. At the time of writing this, the bids stood at over NZ$500 and apparently the reserve had been met, so it was about to be sold from its present location at Waimate, just south of Timaru.

My guess is that this bus came from Dunedin (see the Regal on the back of a truck further down this page), but maybe you know better. As far as I can tell (and assuming the seller's date of 1937 is correct), the AEC Regal imports to New Zealand were 1936; Christchurch x 6 and Wellington x 2, 1937; Wellington x 3, 1938; Dunedin x 1 and Wellington x 1. Anyway all suggestions are welcome, and meanwhile I hope it gets a good home. Thanks again to Mat for letting me know about it.

UPDATE! I came across this photo taken by Ted Lister in 1980 which is clearly the same vehicle when it was in much better shape (and it was for sale even back then!). It provides a useful clue by showing the registration DS 6173, which reveals it to be chassis no. 6625049, delivered in 1947 to New Zealand Railways Road Services as their fleet number 1385 with an NZMB B33F body. Problem solved.

DUNEDIN GERTIE BECAME A LIBRARY

Allan Steel contacted me in August 2017 and explained that he manages a Facebook page in Dunedin attempting to find pictures of all the trams that operated in the city from the 1880s to 1950s, and they have managed to obtain photos of all but one of them. The page is here.

They have now extended the scope of the page to include motor buses and trolleybuses that operated in the Dunedin area from 1925 onwards and are searching for any photos, both Dunedin City Corporation and private companies. Have a look at the collection of images already on the page, and maybe you can add something new. Meanwhile Allan kindly sent me this picture.

The photo (from the Dunedin City Council archives) shows Dunedin number 17 in use as a mobile library. In the 1930s DCT purchased the chassis of five Leyland SKPZ2 Cubs (numbers 16 to 20) upon which they built their own B27F bodies. Number 17 was bought from the city council in 1950 for £175 and refitted to carry about 1000 books. Affectionately known as Gertie, it started its rounds on 17 April 1950. The first such service in New Zealand, it was intended "primarily for the use of housewives and there is also a selection of books which mothers can read to children" according to a city council report at the time.

Allan says that it was retired and replaced in 1968. After life as a mobile library, Gertie later became a pie cart and, later still, graced the front of a coffee outlet in Lower Stuart Street for a number of years. The photo above was taken in the 1960s, and thanks very much to Allan for sending it.

MORE VIEWS FROM MAT'S TRAVELS

It's always a pleasure to hear from Mat Foster who sends me great pictures from around New Zealand as he travels about. This time we start with a very intriguing AEC Regal, as shown below. It's registered PI 3926.

This isn't a Regal I've come across before and Mat tells me it has been rescued for rebuild down in Christchurch. It was delivered to New Zealand Railways Road Services in 1947 as their No.1375 (chassis number 6625043).

Mat also sent me this image of a Leyland Comet motorhome that he took last time they were in South Island. It belongs to a friend of theirs.

He also sent me another picture of our old friend Bedford VAL Chubby Cheeks, and you can find that at the top of page 3, as well as a photo of a Sydney AEC Regent which now appears on my Australian pages. Thanks Mat, as ever, for your interesting contributions.

LONDON RTL

Joe Goodin from New Plymouth called me in 2005 to ask for repair information for his wonderful ex London Transport 1948 Leyland Titan RTL68 (JXN 391). I'm not the man for technical stuff, but I knew someone who could help. He was also looking for an authentic London Transport driver's uniform !

This is almost certainly the only RTL ever to come to New Zealand and, by my reckoning, the fourth oldest surviving RTL in the world - only RTLs 43, 47 and 48 (all in the U. K.) pre-date it. Whether it was actually built at the very end of 1948 or January 1949 is not clear, but it's a pleasure to see it in use. Thanks Joe.

In 2013 Alan Bond contacted me with the following additional information: "I remember RTL68 when it was owned by the late Ted Brakell and I drove it many times. I was very disappointed when he sold it to the chap in NZ, as roof box RTLs are as rare as hen's teeth. Ted also had RTL 247 for a while and sold that to Sentosa Island, Singapore where it finished up being driven over a cliff into the sea to create a marine wildife conservation area. The entire Sentosa fleet of 8 RTs and RTLs was disposed of in this way and included RT 3420 which was a Windsor bus that was decapitated under a low bridge at Kingston while on Green Line relief duties. Quite by coincidence it was the same bridge that decapitated RT1420 whose body was then removed and replaced by the prototype RT body (18246) and the bus is now known as RT1 and resides in the London Bus Museum at Brooklands."

"I can provide a full history of both chassis and body of RTL68. Brief details are:- chassis unit no 8317 - new as RTL1319 (body 6527) 6/52 until 1/56 at Hackney. Overhauled 1/56 as RTL1324 (body 6527 again) and to Middle Row, Clay Hall and Tottenham respectively until 1/60. Overhauled again 1/60 as RTL1333 (body 6527 again) and to Dalston until 1/64. Final overhaul 1/64 as RTL68 (body 2038) and to Bow and Poplar."

"Body 2038 - New as RT759 6/48 until 2/56 at Mortlake and Plumstead. Overhauled 2/56 as RT2929 to Enfield until 9/59. Overhauled 10/59 as RT3476 to Enfield again until 1/64 when the body went on to chassis 8317 above as RTL68."

"RTL68 was withdrawn from service at Poplar wef from 1st April 1967 and sold to White City Coaches, Bryony Road, London, W12 wef from 4th July 1968. It passed to Ted Brakell in the early 1970s who sold it to its present owner."

Many thanks Alan.

I received a further update from Charles Loughlin in June 2017. He told me "I have seen and taken photos of the 1948 Leyland Titan bus RTL68. It was parked in a layby near Governor's Bay, South Island on 14 February 2016. I think the bus had been parked in the layby for quite a while as the warrant of fitness had expired on 23 April 2015. She was covered in cobwebs around the bonnet and grille but the tyres hadn't deflated much. Sad to see her in that state."

Thanks Charles. Let's hope a fairy godmother turns up soon.

OLD LEYLANDS STILL AT WORK

Philip Murphy sent me this picture of his 1966 Worldmaster (former Dunedin 136, on the right) alongside a 1981 New Zealand Motor Bodies Leyland Leopard (Dunedin City Transport 194, the city's last Leyland) belonging to the Otago Heritage Bus Society. They were ferrying people attending the FRONZ convention in Dunedin early in June 2017. (For the full story on the Worldmaster, see the item further down this page.)

Philip also sent me this photo of 1976 Dunedin 170, a Leyland Leopard with an Emslie body. After retirement by Dunedin it became a school bus, then a motor caravan and finally wound up on a farm. Rescued in 2012 it is now a valued working member of the Otago Heritage collection.

Here's another picture of Leopard 170 in the background with similar 174 on the right. Acquired by the Otago Heritage Bus Society in 2014 No.174 wears the later livery as used by Citibus. Thanks very much to Philip for the pictures.

MEMORIES OF OLD BEDFORDS

In January 2017 Jeffery Leeden kindly sent me these two pictures. He says that the Bedford OB above, (Old Bedy), was his second bus and that he converted the vehicle below to a mobile home and always regretted selling it. It apparently had a Bedford chassis and a Perkins 6354 6-cylinder diesel engine.

At first I thought it could have come from New Zealand Railways, but Jeffery said it was a sister to Chubby Cheeks (see the Bedford VAL on Page 3) but not a twin-steer. Chubby Cheeks was apparently one of 28 that came to New Zealand in 1964 and has a very similar body built by Modern Motor Bodies in Christchurch. The VAL was initially a Bedford promo bus, so perhaps this one was too. Thanks to Jeffery for the photos.

ANOTHER WELLINGTON RELIANCE TURNS UP

In April 2016 Richard kindly sent me these pictures of his housebus, a former Wellington AEC Reliance. New to Wellington City Transport in 1957 as no. 92 (but later renumbered 292) it has an MCCW 40-seat bus body and was one of 77 delivered that year. The original AEC engine is apparently long-gone, as Richard tells me it now has a Bedford diesel engine. He says "It was reregistered in 1988. A Bedford 500 motor and gearbox with a front radiator was fitted during this time - notice the Bedford badge and Bedford-style grille. It was fitted out to a motor home in 1990. I purchased this bus in 2012 and have kept up the COF and all NZMCA requirements over this time."

Another one (no. 122) of these Reliances is preserved by the Omnibus Society, and another one (no. 83) was noted working as a movan a few years ago - see the bottom of my webpage here. Thanks Richard - it looks terrific.

But in late September 2010 Philip emailed again to say "Well the bus is now mine. It had unfortuately been sold for use as storage, but someone who knew I was after it, saw it in a field and told me. I was lucky enough to be offered it. It's going to get a quick service just to ensure it can move under its own power, and will then be shipped up to me in Timaru, where I guess I will spend MANY hours restoring it!"Here's a video of it coming off the low loader in Timaru.

Now there's more news. In December 2015 Phil said "Above is a photo of her almost ready to be painted and here's a video of her back in Dunedin heading to the testing station for a pre certification check. Excluding the interior, she passed with only a couple of minor things (tyres and a sticky brake). The Otago Heritage Bus Society, of which I am a member, is completing the painting for me."

And here is the final result. Philip says "All finally painted, and with me at the wheel about to depart on her first passenger run in many years for the Otago Heritage Bus Society's Dunedin Suburban Rambler Service, Easter 2016".

Congratulations Philip, and thanks for keeping us informed of progress. If anyone out there knows of any other examples, please let me know.

NZ RAILWAY BEDFORDS

Peter Anderson took quite a few photographs of NZ buses around 1978, and here are some of them, concentrating on the huge fleet of New Zealand Railways Road Services Bedford SB buses. This picture shows No.3473 (DU 9979) in use between Ashburton and Timaru to transport personnel working on the railway tracks. The SB3 bus was delivered in 1963 and stayed in the fleet until 1980.

Here's the back of the same vehicle, showing an unusual boot door design!

Colour schemes for the New Zealand Motor Bodies coachwork changed over the years, and this bus (probably dating from around 1972) is in an orange livery. It is seen outside the Gladstone Tavern - is that the one in Masterton?

Finally we have another livery, but unfortunately no clue to the identity of this bus. Thanks very much to Peter for sending the interesting collection of images.

SURVIVING AUCKLAND ROYAL TIGERS

Paul Pollard kindly sent me this picture. He says "It's a 1953 Leyland Royal Tiger OPSU1/1, originally Auckland Transport Board no. 479. Still running sweet and legally roadworthy, it's now located in Motueka, New Zealand."

Thanks Paul. She looks good. Similar bus no. 464 is at the MOTAT Museum in Auckland (see details on their website). They claim it's the only survivor, but now we know better...

Update; In fact we now know quite a bit more, as Murray Jessop contacted me in December 2013 to say that this is one of 50 acquired by Auckland in 1953 with Saunders Roe lightweight 'Rivaloy' 44-seat bodies. They were used right up until the early 1980s and, at the time of Murray's email, this one was up for sale at a rather optimistic NZ$18,000. Not only that, Murray said that about six of them are still around the country as movans, believed to include numbers 470 and 471. He also said that the one in Paul's picture is actually no. 497, not 479. Thanks very much to Murray for the information.

In November 2021 Dane Gray sent me this picture (above) of Auckland no. 461 which belongs to him and is "still roadworthy". He said "I drove it about 20km from where it was, and everything seemed to work fine. It's close to Morrinsville in the Waikato region of North Island. The thing is in amazing condition really, considering it's almost 70 years old!"

So there's another survivor, which seems to suggest that those Rivaloy bodies were built to last. Thanks to Dane for the photo and info.

YET MORE CONVERSIONS!

Mat Foster keeps sending me such fantastic pictures from around the campsites, and they really deserve posting here, so here is another selection from 2009. For starters, how about a twin-steer Daimler?

"That's not a Daimler!" I hear you cry, "It's a Bedford". But it IS a Daimler - mostly. It started out as a Saro-bodied Daimler Freeline, but was then fitted with twin-steer front axles from a Leyland Octopus and a Perkins V8. What a monster! It will be interesting to see how it looks when painted. The owners are apparently from Katikati.

Just a quick break from Mat's collection for a moment, because I received the following email and photo from Deb and Ross Curtis in May 2010:

"We have just been browsing the net and came across this old photo of our bus taken just before we bought her. She was a dream started by Noel and Sharon Snow, but sold on to us to complete the job of getting her ready for the road. We live in Nudge full time, currently based in Blenheim after spending in the summer in Cromwell. Needless to say we have had our moments with two major breakdowns in the 18 months we have been on the road, but at end of the day we love her."

Thanks a lot Deb and Ross. Nudge looks in great shape, and I'm glad she's found some good owners.

Back to Mat's collection again - and in contrast, below is an original twin-steer:

Yet another New Zealand Bedford VAL, and this one seems to be on the market. An attractive styling.

Rego AH 6694 is yet another Leyland Comet (a Comet 90 from 1954)...

...and is this a Dodge? No. Shane Conway tells me it's a Ford V8.

TIGER LILY SHAPES UP

In 2003 Terry Bingham emailed me to say that he had just bought this Leyland Tiger, which he understood was built in 1950 and originated at Dunedin.

He said "My intentions are to restore this into a housebus for my own purposes. Its original motor and gearbox run well. It was registered in New Zealand first in 1950 as DK 3253, chassis number 494337. The timber cab frame appears to be made of ash. I'm currently restoring the cab and dashboard, and need to locate an original clock - and also the front cab sidelight is rotten, can you help locate one?"

I asked around for further information, and John Murphy told me "The picture of the bus converted to a motor caravan is a Leyland Tiger OPS3. It was new in 1950 to Dunedin City Council Transport (DCCT) as no. 50 and had DCCT bodywork, B34/17D. It was one of two (49 and 50), which were unique in that the rear passenger entrance was forward of the rear wheel arch. No. 49 also still exists as far as I know. DCCT had 11 OPS1, 1 OPS2 and 2 OPS3, all half cabs, put into service 1947-50." He explained that B34/17D refers to a vehicle licenced to carry 34 seated and 17 standing passengers.

Well, take a look at Tiger Lily now! In March 2009 Terry wrote "I have done a lot of work on the halfcab. As you can see I have re-roofed it and I have almost finished re-panelling it. We semi live in it on our property in Tuahiwi. We only travel short distances because, as you can imagine, it takes forever to get anywhere." Thanks Terry. It's looking in great shape.

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