Overlander's old Photos

That piccie of the red Flintstone with what looks like a Detroit Diesel badge, and the Trans Otway coach in the background is awesome. As well as a very nice collection of buses and coaches, they also had a fleet of LAD and Ergomatic Albions and/or Leylands of both 6x4 and octopus flattops. The truck depot was right where the Shell servo now is, opposite the Geelong train station carpark on Latrobe Terrace in Geelong, and was demolished for the servo in the earlyish mid 80's!!

Fred, The Trans Otway coach and the R model were taken at Detroit's in Launceston when I worked there at the end of the 70's. The R model was re-powered with an 8v71 that the customer supplied. The Launceston branch used to maintain the coaches for Trans Otway and also the PD4106's for Reg. The PD4106's were buggered when Reg sent them to Tasmania having been flogged on the mainland so we did our best to make them better. The T-O coaches were much better to maintain and service. When the coaches were not being used they were parked at Detroit's.

Thanks for that info, Overlander. I've read that you could get a Detroit powered Dog from the factory. Matty Harkin has an R700 with an 871 in Queensland and Billy Gordon had a B model with an 871, but l don't remember seein' any others around. Trans Otway always used ta keep their coaches and buses in immaculate condition. It was a sad day when they downsized to only a couple of coaches and painted 'em white with yellow and blue stripes. My dad once told me that the Ansett Flxible Clippers, and maybe the PD4106's used ta drop off and pickup at the Trans Otway depot in Ryrie street in Geelong city in the 50's and 60's.Fred.

During the late 60's - early 70's Roadway Express here in the States had a massive fleet of R-700's with 8V71 power.

Fred,
for many years I have hankered after an AEC V8. Some 40 years ago, when I was a young man, I tracked down a paddock just outside Geelong that had the remains of several Ergomatic cabbed AEC's/Leylands. There was one AEC V8 but the cabs were very badly rusted away and none of them had bodies. Because of my perpetual shortage of money and very limited mechanical skills, I had to leave them there. I went back about twenty years ago and the area is now covered with houses. I suppose the trucks were all sent for scrap. I wonder if they were the remains of Trans Otway's trucks?
Who knows, if I had been able to restore one, I might have had to call myself AEC instead of Morris.