(^32) ABCMay 2018busnews.com.au
It seems turning 40 is ‘the new black’ for a range of
other age groups – just take your pick! Yet when test
driving this mint 40-year-old Mercedes-Benz O305
Mark 1-1923 from the Sydney Bus Museum she still
feels in the prime of her life.
WORDS / IMAGES PAUL ALDRIDGE
F
ORTY AND FABULOUS?
Absolutely! At a recent
visit to the Sydney Bus
museum this Mercedes-
Benz 0305 Mark 1-1923
was chosen for a test drive out
of the collection there for two
reasons. We’d seen the Mercedes
last year at Sydney Bus Show
and thought it was in amazing
condition – plus nostalgia took over.
The Mercedes was initially
allocated to Kingsgrove and
Tempe depots, where they had
49 of them in 1978. It operated
thereuntiltheearly1990s,before
becoming an early withdrawal.
Being in such perfect running
order, we asked AndrewABSOLUTELY
FABULOUS
Chechlacz, operations manager at
the Sydney Bus Museum, what the
Mercedes is usually used for.
“A couple of weeks ago
Transport NSW used it in the
Sydney Mardi Gras parade. The
reason they picked that bus was
that it was built in 1978 and
that’s the year the Mardi Gras
began, so it was a 40-year
celebration,” he explained.
He added: “It came to us in good
condition; the guys at Kingsgrove
did it up for us and the Bus Union
paid for it to be repainted in its
original colours. It goes like a
rocket and when you drive it, it’s
hard to imagine it is a museum
piece. I think it could put a fewnew buses to shame being a
powerful 11.1-litre. For a 40-year
old bus it goes very well.”
What makes this bus special
and unique is the livery it’s painted
in – it was unique to the Mark
1 Mercedes. It’s an overall blue
with a bit of white lining, which,
apart from being smart-looking,
is also a representative of the
first Mercedes-Benz buses when
they changed from a British-base
chassis to European base.THE DRIVE
The first thing you notice when you
drive the Mercedes is the power
with an 11.1-litre Mercedes-Benz
six-cylinder diesel.Top left:
A polite
reminder for
those hopping
on board
Top right:
It may be 40
years old, but
the blissful Merc
gives its younger
counterparts
a run for their
moneyFEATURE DRIVEN