AEC Regent I 1694

When the Second World War started in September, 1939, U.K. bus chassis manufacturers soon found that they were unable to continue producing, owing to the war effort. The Department of Road Transport and Tramways (D.R.T. & T) was then faced with the need to look for alternatives. In December 1940, Waddingtons of Granville were contracted to build double deck bodies to a revised design on the last five AEC Regent chassis available. These buses were fitted with 30 seats in the upstairs saloon and 27 in the lower deck. They had front and rear entrances in the same locations as those on single deckers of the era. Canvas concertina doors were fitted, and the stairs leading to the upper saloon were relocated from the rear platform to a position over the rear axle. The purpose of this change in layout was to have a body design that could be placed on either double deck or single deck chassis.

The design was not regarded highly by the crews as the front door was considered awkward to supervise. The public complained about the narrow rear door and steps. These buses, based at the Randwick depot, were withdrawn after comparatively short periods of service. 1694 covered some 431,058 miles and was sold on 14 November 1956 to Linsley Brothers of Wallsend in the Newcastle district. It was used by the Company until December 1974.

Realising the significance of the bus, a member made approaches to the Company to acquire it. The Company agreed, provided that a replacement double decker bus was found. The member purchased withdrawn Leyland OPD2 double deck bus 2484 from Chullora bus workshops and used it as an exchange vehicle for 1694. The swap taking place on 21-12-1974.

For authenticity, the Association has externally painted the bus in the camouflage livery carried by about half of the D.R.T. & T. fleet between 1942 and 1945. These colours were applied as the buses were sometimes used for the movement of troops during that period of World War II. Windows were replaced with sheet steel on some buses, to reduce the possibility of injury from shattering glass. The headlights were fitted with 'brown out' masks. All buses travelling on coastal routes were required to be very dimly lit, so as not to attract the attention of enemy aircraft, shipping and submarines. The Bondi beach area was shelled and midget submarines actually did manage to enter Sydney Harbour and cause havoc on one occasion.

The vehicle remains in the collection as a static exhibit.

Specifications:

Engine: Six cylinder O.H.V. AEC Diesel, 8.8 litre displacement. Bore 115 mm (4.5"), stroke 142 mm (5.5625") 130 BHP @ 1700 RPM.

Transmission: Four speed constant mesh gearbox with a worm drive differential.

Brakes: Vacuum assisted Lockheed hydraulic foot brake to all wheels and mechanical park brake.

Status:

Preserved, on display at Leichhardt.