Leyland Titan OPD2/1 - 2033

After World War II, Leyland Motors secured orders for several batches of double decker bus chassis. Of these, 203 were of the OPD2/1 type, equipped with synchromesh gearboxes. They were nicknamed the 'Synchros'.

2033 was bodied by Commonwealth Engineering, Granville, and entered service in August 1948 from Burwood depot. It was one of the replacement vehicles for the Ashfield and Burwood to Mortlake / Cabarita tramway, now bus routes 464 and 466.

In 1950, the bus was transferred to Newcastle, where it served for the next 18 years. On June 11, 1963 the bus was involved in a serious collision at Broadmeadow, where the jib of a mobile crane pierced the top deck and caused extensive damage. During rebuilding at Hamilton workshops, the front destination and route number display were set in rubber. The livery was also modified. From 1966, both double deck and single deck bus overhauls at Hamilton recieved these rubber mountings and a revised livery, and were said to have been 'Newcastleised'.

In December 1968 the bus returned to Sydney and went to Randwick depot. 1970 saw the bus transferred to Kingsgrove depot, where it remained until withdrawal in September 1972.

After withdrawal, 2033 was sold to Jim Hill, a bus dealer in Wollongong, who in turn sold it for use as a school bus in Leeton in the Riverina area. It then passed to the Londonderry Evangelical Fellowship. It was then acquired for preservation by a syndicate of members, who then sold it along with fellow OPD2/1 2186 to the State Transit Authority.

2033 & 2186 both underwent full overhauls at the Pressed Metal Corporation and went back into government service for State Transit as charter vehicles from Willoughby depot. 2033 was withdrawn from government service for a second time in 1997 and immediately made available to the Museum on permanent loan.

2033 is currently undergoing an extensive restoration by Museum volunteers and is planned to relaunch to service in 2022.