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Issue number 369, May 2003 Monthly newsletter of the Bus Preservation Society of Western

Australia

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Metro Leyland Lion No 22 loading passengers at St George's Terrace Terminal, circal935. On the left Emu Leyland Lion operating

Perth - Subiaco - Shenton Park. Note the fashions of the day with everybody wearing a hat and the ladies in gloves.

Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia (inc) Postal Address for all general correspondence, including membership enquiries and other matters -

Secretary 1 Kobelke Street Dianella, WA, 6059

The Rattler is published monthly and circulated to members of the Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia (lnc) as part of their subscription. It is not sold separately, through newsagents or booksellers, so does not have a cover price. Copyright © 2001 Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia (Inc) and individual authors. Material published in The Rattler may not be reproduced in any form unless prior written approval is sought and received from the editor, except in the case of information extracted from news items which may be used in kindred enthusiast publications provided that acknowledgement is made of the source. The opinions expressed in articles in The Rattler are those of the respective authors and ^ .tot necessarily reflect or coincide with the views of the Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia or of the editor. Editor: Mark Tattersall Distribution: Christopher Bell . Material for publication in The Rattler, Including news items, articles and photos, should be sent to -

PO Box 879 Mirrabooka, WA, 6941

Or by e-mail - brat@joinet.net.au

Nuts and Bolts Every Tuesday is a work day at Whiteman park and all are invited. Dates for the remaining BPSWA general meetings for 2003 financial year are - May 231 and July 25f . Help for "sizzles" at the Harvey Norman store in Midland is always welcome. We are seeking professional quotations for the painting of 101 and 22.

Ramble Number One, by a Metro Roadie: David Seeker. The bus shown on page 5 of the Rattler, May 2002 and labelled

FMT 7 had an interesting history before March 1946. Of the first 10 buses built for the FMT only No 6 had the rear five-place seat. On the left hand side was a three-place seat. The row in front of that was of two, two place seats facing rearwards over the rear wheel humps. No 6 was alas the onlv AEC bus with a full cab. No's 8, 9 and 10 Reos were

Page three all full cab but were all withdrawn from service because of transmission (gear box?) problems. About the end of World War II No's 1 - 7 were all extensively overhauled and re-entered service with their numbers scrambled No 6 becoming No 7.

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J Bus News

Leyland No 81 has recently had all the windows replaced with laminated glass and all rubber window channel replaced. The timber trim around the inside of the rear emergency door recess had also been replaced. Leyland No 22 is still in progress. Installation of the radiator tubes almost completed, original exhaust muffler repaired, drivers cab being flu Jl out, and re-wiring has commenced. Guy Arab No 101 is still in progress but nearing completion. Wiring is almost completed. Only final interior fittings to be installed before being painted. Dennis D 24 This fine old bus owned by member John Young has been donated to our society, and will be brought to the depot after completion of our new building extension.

Page four Ex Scarborough Bus No 15, this D 35 International bus has been given to us, and will be at our depot shortly.

New Building Extension: An A to Z summary of events. November 2000. Lotteries forwarded details of new future grants for cultural groups. We were encouraged to apply and application forms were forwarded. We estimated at the time that the cost of a building extension would be $90,000. The maximum grant was $5000 for non-incorporated or non-registered GST organizations (see item G). January 2001. We began preparation of our application containing many requirements. A - May - Support letter from the City of Swan, Whiteman * )k management, Minister for Heritage received. B - June - BPSWA Annual Financial Report. C - Plans drawn up by Module Design - Midland free of charge. D - August 14th - Two building quotations received, $138,500 and $139,200. The new building will be of 438 sq. m, with three roller doors, a vehicle service pit, 125mm floor, lighting, an elevated annex and completion of previous pit. E - August 28th - Completed application with all requirements lodged with Lotteries. Decision in three months. F - September 6th - Applied to W.A. Planning Commission for approval to build. G - September 10th - BPSWA registered with A.T.O. for GST. H - November 12th - W.A.P.C. approval to build received. I - December - Lotteries advise no decision before February 2002. J - February 2002 - Lotteries advise no decision before March. K - March - Lotteries advise no decision before April. L - April - Lotteries advise our application beyond the limits of cu! jp.1 groups. M - May - We ask builder for new quotes for various deletions, such as using existing gates in lieu of roller doors, reduce floor to only 50% of area, delete elevated annex, and previous pit concreting and cladding to western wall only. These changes were over a period and resulted in a new quote of $103,600. In the middle of all this the W.A.P.C. demanded additional provision for fire equipment totalling $5,435.

Page five N - June 17th - We advised Lotteries of the new quote of $103,600. Their reply was to ask us to provide them with the answers to five questions, including seeking finance from the corporate sector. O - Five 'begging letters' were sent out, including to the State Government (who own Whiteman Park and who will eventually own the new extension). Of these only three replied, two in the negative and one a Rotarian who donated $1000. P - September 23rd - Lotteries offered us two alternative options. 1. To accept $30,000 towards the project. 2. To demonstrate by answering seven more questions that we needed and could justify a larger grant. f > October 3rd - We sought assistance from our Patron Ms. Judy Edwards, who whilst unable to assist us with a government grant did discuss our position with the Lotteries. R - October 4th - We decided as a last ditch, do or die effort to seek a further quotation from a different builder. S - October 24th - A lengthy letter of four pages was sent to Lotteries answering questions and re-stating our case. T - October 25th - The new builder was not prepared to quote us to re­use the existing trusses etc. Instead to our amazement they quoted us a figure of $70,000 to provide brand new steel work, the entire building including the pit, but only 25% of the floor (as we had requested). U - November 18th - The reduced quotation allowed us to add back the total concrete floor bringing our new funding request to $74,000. V - December 24th - Lotteries advised us that a grant of $74,000 had been approved, and was confirmed in writing on January 28th 2003. Thus a long and tedious struggle for a grant stretching over two years had come to a happy ending. r y February 2003 - detailed plans of the new building were drawn up and a building contract signed. X - March - Plans sent to City of Swan as required for a building permit. Plans also sent to FESA ( Fire and Emergency Services Authority) for approval as required. Y - March 13th - FESA required additional hose reels and hydrants etc. with other major complications involving Whiteman Park administration.

Page six Z - April 15l - City of Swan and FESA reach agreement for issue of permit after a further delay of three weeks. Footings for the new building are scheduled to begin on May 21st. Footnote - The Society has owned six steel trusses donated to us many years ago and it was planned to use these to save costs, and to meet our obligatory 10% of total cost as required by the Lotteries. In addition we purchased in advance at low cost to us a quantity of near new RS J steel for support pillars. Whilst the use of these materials was possible, the cost of blasting, painting, transport and modifications proved to be too costly. This was why the use of new materials was cheaper. The old materials have been disposed of and we have more than recovered }s cost of the RSJ. Therefore to meet our 10% commitment, the sale of the steel plus the sale of our Leyland RTL will adequately cover this, and has also given us the cash to finance the completion of the old floor, and to possibly reinstate the elevated annex.

History of the Metropolitan Omnibus Company: Max Hayles 1938 November 3r . Vacuum offered petrol to Armadale Metro depot at Perth prices. November 3( within a week. December 14th

some time with Leyland in Lancashire. Extracts from Minutes of AGM for 1938, held January 25th 1939

Receipts had increased by £6554 in spite of the introduction of Trolley Buses since May 1938, and government Restrictions imposed. Net profit was £12,141 against £8231 last year. Mileage travelled was 1,503,078. Miles by petrol buses was 502,971 and diesel 1,000,116. Some petrol buses ran 500,000 miles and it was proposed to rep )); them with new diesel units. Eight new diesel buses with steel bodies had been ordered, at a total cost of approximately £20,000. Four bodies would be assembled in Metro workshop and four by a body builder. During the year Metro had taken over Perth Fremantle Omnibus vehicles, and all shares were held by Metro. The elimination of PFO had greatly improved profitability on the Nedlands route. The basic wage increased by 5/1 d per week. South Suburban Buses had made a profit of

November 30th. Two new buses would go on to the Armadale route k.

December 14th, Charles Spicer was to visit England and would spend

Page seven £2123 for the year. Following the death of Mr David, Mr E.W. Adams was appointed manager. 1939 January 18th. An account for four Lion LT9 chassis total £5,466 had been paid. January 25 t \ Work was being done to improve the Armadale depot. February 1st. Agreed to purchase 2 new buses, bodies to be assembled by Metro. February 15th. 1,000 shares in Pioneer Bus had been sold for £1,525. February 22nd. Mr Samson to visit petrol and oil companies in Eastern States to negotiate preferential prices. f_ )ch 8_\ Kalgoorlie Electric Tramways purchased two more Metro buses at £200 each (these would have been Lionesses). March 22" . Problem of loss of time with gearless buses was to be examined. March 29th. Tourist Omnibus Service could not meet all requirements with three luxury buses. Agreed to trade in two Guy buses and purchase a further luxury coach. April 5 n . Mr Spicer (in England) advised that new six cylinder buses were becoming available in November. Meanwhile he had ordered two more chassis and spare parts. April 19{ . A serious accident had occurred on the Armadale route between a bus and a motorcycle with a sidecar. A man his wife and child had been killed. A previous accident had occurred on April 15 , two men in a car had been injured. April 26u . Kalgoorlie Tramways had advised that the Maritana St bridge had been widened and no further buses would be needed. May 3rd. Leyland Motors Sydney had quoted £195 to convert a torque c )7erter to a conventional gearbox. Agreed to do one bus. In addition Metro to ask L.M.L. England for a quote to convert all gearless buses to conventional, and for any trade-in allowance for torque converters. May 10th. Metro bus No 34 had been renovated for a cost of £195. May 241 . Another crankshaft had broken making a total of six, three of which had broken in the past month. Mr Spicer (still in the UK) was asked to order a gross (144) of main bearing bolts which were considered to be responsible. June 21st. The last of eight new buses were in the paint shop.

Page eight June 28 _. Mr Spicer reported that a new device which would allow gearless buses an . extra five mph at a cost of £15. He ordered one for trial. August 16th. The absorption of South Suburban into Metro was proposed. August 23rd. SSO would be absorbed into Metro from 31st August. Consideration was to be given to extend the Beach Service from Cottesloe via North Cottesloe and Swanbourne to Perth. September 13th.Three new Ford V8 chassis at £400 each were available and could be fitted with old Lioness bodies. Manager to investigate the possibility to replace old White and Studebaker buses on Amu. h route.

Marlboro Country Safaris This photo of an AEC comes courtesy of Illustrations Ltd Archives.

Can anyone shed some light on its history?