Australasian Bus & Coach - May 2018

busnews.com.au May 2018 ABC^37

Specs

OPERATOR:Sydney Bus

Museum

MAKE:Mercedes-Benz

MODEL:O305 MARK I - 1923

BODY:Pressed Metal Corp

withaVOV-designedbody

(prototype for the Mark II).

ENGINE:Mercedes-Benz

OM407h, 11.1-litre, six-cylinder

POWER:200hp@2200rpm

TRANSMISSION:Mercedes-

Benz W3D080/2.2R, three-speed

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Looking for your next Mercedes?

1988 MERCEDES-BENZ OH1625

Rear mount Merc 250 HP V8 Auto, flat floor, power

steering, air bag suspension, excellent ceiling height.

Highway diff. 47 seats. Very easy to drive and in

excellent condition. Ideal for motorhome conversion.

VIC

03 9998 4741

$24,500 inc GST

TA453887

TA821107

TA714996

MERCEDES-BENZ 1418

1992 Mercedes Benz 1418 Chassis Austral Denning

Bodied 11.7m Side Luggage Bins Rear Engine Manual

Transmiision Good Head Height Ideal for Mobile

home conversion.

QLD

07 3171 1766

$15,000 inc GST

1995 MERCEDES-BENZ 1418

614000 kms, Manual, 57 passenger, Flat Floor, Side

Bins.

VIC

03 8373 7196

$32,000 inc GST

1986 MERCEDES-BENZ DENNING MAJESTIC

Mercedes Benz/Dennings Coach 48 Seater-TV DVD

Toilet.Huge Luggage Space.Would mske ideal Motor

Home.

NSW

02 6171 3989

$25,300 inc GST

TA627824

said. “Our buses have recently
featured in Love Child on Channel
Nine, A Place Called Home on
Channel Seven and we featured in a
recent Mel Gibson war movie.
“We can’t do charter work as we
are not an accredited operator,
but we take many thousands
of passengers on board for
community events.
“For some funding we rely on
government grants, but most
funding usually comes from the
events we hold and the shop here
at the museum. We have to earn
our money to fund our restorations,”
he added.
When asked if the museum
purchases buses or gets most via
donations, Checklacz says they
prefer donations as they can’t
set precedence for purchasing
older vehicles.
“State Transit, when they remove
a particular bus from operation, will
always offer us one. Some private
companies also donate [to us].
We had Westbus donate a great
Volvo; Forrest Coachlines donated
a Volvo as well; and our most
recent acquisition was a Busways
Mercedes-Benz, which they did up
very nicely for us. There is also the
Perrett’s Bedford – that’s another

great donation. These donations

help keep our work alive”.

IMPORTANT COMMUNITY

WORK

The work the volunteers do at the

museum is important for both

the community and the people of

Sydney. So what does Checklacz

enjoy most about his role?

“I think I can answer that by it’s

a lot of hard work and sometimes

you wonder whether it’s all worth

it, but at the end of the day when

visitors come in and it puts a smile

on their face I think that makes it all

worthwhile,” Checklacz responded.

“What’s interesting is that visitors

are always quite surprised at the size

of the collection. That’s not what

they expected; they expected an

old shed with a few buses, but the

building and the bus collections are

very impressive,” he added.

All bus enthusiasts and industry

workers are encouraged to come

see the great work being done at

the Sydney Bus Museum. It’s open

on the first and third Sundays

of every month and admission

includes unlimited bus rides

from the museum to the Queen

Victoria Building (QVB). It’s about a

30-minute ‘round trip, but you can

get off in Sydney, have some lunch,

then return – and they usually have

a double-decker running, which is

extremely popular.

Whether you are a foreign tourist,

domestic enthusiast, or simply

looking for something cool to see

and do, we recommend you come

check out the Sydney Bus Museum.

For more information visit: http://www.

sydneybusmuseum.info