What gems.
Since we have an operator posting: how smooth were they for riding, or were NT roads so horrible that the vehicle didn't make a difference?
How soon before Redcliffe surfaces?

My memory was triggered to a South African thread. Here is a good sampler of semitrailer buses there, more modern than the Australia ones. In the discussion leading to it, there had been a proposal for a long-haul double-deck semitrailer bus, for the Joburg - Cape Town route. I may have missed key words, but it didn't eventuate.

Enjoy
www.sa-transport.co.za/buses_and_coaches/semi-trailers/s-t.html

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Then of course to show off Bert Bond had to try and impress everyone with this one he built, called it a "parlour coach" We called it a poofter coach, had none of the character of ours so we ended up with it, old mate Merve Farrell standing next to it, Merve married Ted Stiles daughter Wendy in case anyone is interested but this was all a million years ago, :

But of course the creme de la creme for luxury and comfort, nothing comes close to a customized unit catering to top drawer travellers

Murray Valley coaches used White's going from Mildura to Adelaide in the 1940's, they used to stop for lunch at the Barmera hotel where my mother was the cook, these things realy flew aty a high rate of speed, then they re-engined them with Gardner 5LW diesels which I imagine REALLY ticked the drivers off > >

How times have changed? When these old girls were retired people were glad to see the last of them. I suppose there were many reasons for this. Now they would be very popular as curiosities showing how we used to travel around. Make a good motor home too
Billy

Mairjimmy, good old photo you posted, pity about all the fellas standing in front of it. The prime mover isn't a Federal, it's a 1940-1941 Ford.-Hamish Petrie

The Scarborough Bus Company had some semi tailer busses over here on the left coast. They disapeared in the early 60s also.
There seems to have been quite a few around Australia - Why were they all scrapped at abut the same time ?? Safety reasons or what ?
Cheers Neil

Talk of semi buses got me looking for this one ,a Federal I think 1946 or there abouts of Murray Valley Bus Lines


Would have been a better picture if the footballers were not standing in front of it

Colin

I recall very well going on a primary school excursion on one of these semi bus' in the very early '70s from school at Connells Point (Sydney) to the Rotolactor at Menangle.......I remember it well because the semibus even at the time seemed like a vintage relic from a wrecking yard or a museum & the trailer smelt like it been exhumed from a tip - I'm sure I have photo's (old polariods ) somewhere of the excursion with the bus in the background.
The other things that stick in my mind is that it was a hot summer 40c+ day when we climbed aboard this "cattle crate" & the old vintage (presumably White ) prime mover was lethargic, belching exhaust fumes non stop into the open (& from age very clouded )windows of the trailer ....... add copious amounts of warmish milk fed to us at the Rotolactor & the return journey turned into a trip from hell on a very slow moving "vomit comet" ....I reckon the bus company (can't recall who it was, but probably one based around the local Hurstvile area ) reserved this trailer monstrosity solely for school excursions & didn't every clean it hence the nauseating smell in the thing.....

There were one or two operating on the gold coast late 50's too.

at least the driver wouldn't have to put up with screaming kids

IIRC, other operators included one over Hornibrook Hwy to Redcliffe Peninsula (Brisbane, Qld), and Murray Valley Coach Line (Vic.). I don't have any documentation available fast.
Somewhere I have photos of examples in South Africa.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

Ryde Bus Company ( also trading as "Trailer tours" ) had these buses in Parramatta in the 60s.

In the 1950s, Portsea Passenger Service ran semitrailer buses.
The last ran in 1965 (over 35 years ago), as a school bus for Rosebud High School. At the end of the year, the bus was declared illegal and retired. The White prime mover was sold; the trailer went to a chook farm in Balnarring to be used as a chook shed.
Bill was at one stage a driver of interstate tour buses, and is now a supervisor with Portsea Passenger Service.
His two photos were taken on the last day of the bus in traffic, in Dec.65.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

This Oldb did his truck licence in an Austin 245F fitted with a 20 seater bus body - I remember the examiner asked me to use hand signals during the test but the drivers seat was very close to the middle of the bus, so my arm didn't reach outside the window - that was the end of that !! The Austin had the Austin 4litre petrol engine and a 4 speed crash box - with typical pommy engineering and planning when you engaged 1st gear you smashed your knuckles on the back of the engine cover.
First truck driven for $$$ was a Ford F700 v8 with a 5 speed and a 2 speed diff - there was still the instruction sticker for the 2 speed on the sunvisor - a rapid but noisy learning curve for me......
Did my semi licence on a rather worn out D series Ford with a 25' trailer ...enough said about that bloody thing.
1st real drive in a semi was a Mercedes 2638 twin steer towing a b train with 2 containers of sodium cyanide on the back.