White semitrailer bus

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 > >

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

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, :

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

Pells Comet from Nambucca.

You,ve seen this one before! White Super Power.

AEC Matador from Parramatta Bus Lines.

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

Colin

Murray Valley Coaches got 3 or 4 semitrailer coaches in the mid 40s, but they had quite streamlined bodies. This one looks like a military specification bus, a couple of Melbourne operators had similar designs for industrial services.

A good reference on this design is "The Australian Articulated Bus" by Greg Travers (1987). Covers the semi trailer era through to the more recent "bendi-bus".

There is also a book on the history of MVC which is still in print available from specialist transport bookshops.

Beaver,
Sorry if I am wrong but I was told it was one of Murray Valley's by an old bloke a few years ago who was in the picture [I wouldn't know as I wasn't born yet] he also names for a fair few of the people in the photo,there is not many about to prove him wrong
Colin

Eggins comfort coaches of Taree had one of those trailer bus set ups in the early 1960s on the Harrington to Taree school bus run.It had a white 3000 as the prime mover.I can still remember riding in it on school excursions.A few years back it was located on a property in Brisbane. As to its where abouts now I dont know.