Bus or Spaceship? Australia's Futuristic 1940s Transit Coach! [Australian Bus History]
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- The Bedford OB - a very recognizable classic bus with an engine-out-front design. Starting production in 1939 and ending in 1953, over 13,000 were built, not including the OWB, its wartime version.
Australia also had the OB. But, in 1946, GM Holden, or GM-H, which was GM's subsidiary in Australia, and which owned Bedford, wanted something much more streamlined than the UK version.
And so, the streamlined Australian Bedford OB was born. At first, GM-h built a scale model of a concept bus, that soon became a real full-size vehicle. Mechanically similar to the UK version, it was its concept bus-style and motorama aesthetics that made it very different. It could be said it looked more like a spaceship than a bus! It came in two versions - a transit bus and a parlor coach with three lengths seating either 21, 27 or 31 passengers.
The bus was very successful in Australia, with a total of 933 being built. The first prototype clocked over 1,000,000 miles in its lifetime!
See and hear the story of the Australian Bedford OB!
Also, I would like to thank driverclassics.com.au for giving me permission to use their photos, etc., in producing this documentary.
#buses #transportationhistory #vehiclehistory #vehicledesign #automotivedesign #automotivehistory #motorcoach #australia #automotive #spaceship #rapidtransit #1940s #melbourneaustralia #aussie #generalmotors
![Brisbane's Superbus: The Leyland Panther with American Flair [Australian Bus History]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yLZiRC5_xf4/mqdefault.jpg)
Just got home from a very long tiring day at work, opened up TH-cam and wondered what would be the perfect video to watch. And here it is! Thanks so much for making these videos Jeffrey!
Hello! Thank you so much for the very nice comment - much appreciated! I'm so glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!!
As a Brit who spent his childhood holidays riding OBs on mystery tours of the Isle of Wight it is fascinating to see what the Aussies did with them. Great video and link to the site you used for source pics. The days when you could recognise a vehicle coming by the individual noise before you saw it.
Hello! I'm glad you liked the video - yes, the Australian OB was quite interesting! Thanks for watching!!
Hi Jeffrey, here on the IOM 🇮🇲, we have via a local tour bus / coach operator, an original Bedford OB that’s available to hire….I had never seen the Australian version, I hope some exist in preservation, what a great looking design…..as ever….Thankyou, this channel is superb.👍🇮🇲🤘. Ps I’ve just got to the end….and see that there i# at least one…👍
Hello! That's great that you have an OB that still is in use! I'm sure not many of the suriving ones can even be hired! I'm glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!!
Another very interesting video. I`ve driven many Bedfords of all chassis configurations, from one OB to the last 500 turbo Y series, including a VAL with a Turner "Chines" gearbox and even a VAS with the same box, but the OB has a special place in my mind as not only did I get to drive one on special private hires, but went for many holidays in OB`s and SB`s as a kid in the 50`s. Glad you mentioned the OB whine. In common with the SB`s, that forward control OB seems to have the gear change back behind the driver`s seat in an awkward position just like the SB`s.
I wonder if it influenced the SB
Hello! I'm very glad you found the video interesting!!! Yes, very odd mechanically in some respects. Thanks for watching!!
Amazing. Nice production as always. The buses do look futuristic, however I wouldn't like to be the person changing a flat tyre, looks like a real challenge. Thank you for your super work Jeffrey.
Hello! I'm really happy you liked the video!! Thank you so much for watching!!
I was wondering about that! I thought they were usually enclosed by a removable panel, but here the bodywork seems to be continuous - perhaps a really clever illusion. :).
Yes I agree I'm not sure how it's done? @@davepx1
Very interesting - I had thought the bus originated with CAC - didn't know Bedford built it beforehand, then handed off the design to CAC. A new nugget learned today - thanks...
Yes, it's quite an interesting story! Thanks for watching!!
Another fascinating video! Thank you for all you do, Jeffrey.
Hello! I'm very happy you found the video interesting!! Thanks for watching!!
Hi Jeffrey, another interesting video. The very first picture you showed is two miles from my house at Weybourne Station in Norfolk
Cheers Russ
Hello Russ! Oh, that's great, that you know the area in that first picture! Glad you found the video interesting! Thanks for watching!!
Fascinating! Looks like a really good thing, and having a forward control bus was something Bedford should have done earlier. It looks so much more modern that the trad OB/Duple combo - though the concept of streamlining a bus that could probably struggle to get to 40mph is somewhat pointless!
Switching to forward control makes it tricky for driver to collect fares
@@highpath4776
In what way?
The passengers still enter past the driver.
I never saw any driver having difficulty collecting the fares.
Maybe Aussies are more flexible and cooperative. 🤔
The family of one of my secondary school classmates owned a local bus service that included one of these.
Hello! Oh yes, it appears the streamlining was for looks only! Thanks for watching!!
When you have so little power available, even the smallest assistance is welcome. 😉😊🤣
Plaxton did offer a more conventional-looking forward control conversion in the UK, but as it only gained a couple of seats over the standard version it wasn't a big seller.
Hi Jeffery, I have really enjoyed your presentations and hope to see more. Thank you for your efforts!
Hello! I'm really glad you enjoy my videos!! Thank you very much for watching!!
0:05 This type of British bus forms part of my earliest memories as a toddler in the early 1950s in Northern England. I distinctly remember waiting to board an OB with my eyeline just level with the top of that distinctive dimpled front wheelhub cap. How tall the wheels were on that charabanc! Just seeing the pictures in the video flashed my now 74 year old memory😊.
Hello! I'm really happy you liked the video and how it brought back some nice bus-riding memories!! Thank you very much for watching!!
Australia's alternative to the Flxible.
Except better, of course..
I have fond memories of these buses.
Hello! Thanks for watching!!
Thank you so much Jeffrey for your video. Excellent production as always. Certainly brings back memories, there were a couple of these buses used to regularly go past my childhood home in Chatswood, Sydney, way back in the 1950s. They didn't seem especially powerful, quite slow, but appeared very modern at the time. One bus was different to the other, it had open wheel arches for the front wheels, the other had the same arrangement that you show in all your examples. Perhaps it was modified by the operator. I should think that changing wheels due to flat tyres etc may have been bothersome. I think Canberra had a few of these OBs in their fleet as well.
Hello David! I'm really glad you liked the video! And thanks for the memories of this bus near your childhood home! Thanks for watching!!
Wow! That bus looks really weird. It looks exceptionally wider than most buses of the era. Even with removble panels I but the tyres were a pain to change!
Hello! Yes, it certainly was an odd-looking bus for the time! Thanks for watching!!
Thank you for your series of videos on vintage buses. I was born in 1946 in Sydney and spent my entire school years catching buses and trains as we had no car at that time. We lived in an area that had many different bus companies operating many different types of buses. I tried to ride as many routes and bus types as I could after school even if it meant walking a long way home after getting off the bus. I do remember the Bedford OB due to its unique shape and seem to recall that it was sometimes used on the route closest to our house.
Hello! Thanks for the memories of the OB bus in Sydney, very interesting and must have been fund to ride all those buses!! Thank you very much for watching!!
Great video, thank you Jeffrey. I'd love you to do the Comair bodied SBs next as I owned one once.
Hello! Glad you liked the video!! I'll take a look at the Comair SB! Thanks for watching!!
Excellent Jeffrey 👍
I'm surprised at the low 27HP power output!
Yes , very well done Jeff, very happy to see this type of video, once again well done.
Hello! I'm very glad you liked this video!! Thanks very much for watching!!
My late friend had one of these streamlined coaches as his home with add on timber annexes/sheds on his block.The motor had given up the ghost years before.After he died it disappeared and have no idea what happened to it.This was over 20 years ago.Although the body from memory was sound he had made many alterations to it as well as stripping the interior for cupboards etc.The drivers seat wheel and dash was still there.One passenger seat was campfire furniture.No other seats were around.
Hello! Wow, that's a very interesting story! Thanks for relaying it! Maybe someday the bus body will be found and perhaps restored. That would be great. Thanks very much for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Got a feeling it got crushed/bulldozed because the new owners of this bush block bulldozed a big clearing and built a modern house with landscaped gardens and the sight of an old bus would not be for them and I was told they were very arrogant and unfriendly.The house has had 3 or 4 new owners since.Only the old neighbour up the road has said one day the bus was there then gone.I do hope it may be somewhere awaiting a resto.
I did my apprenticeship with Grenda Bus Service in Dandenong; Melbourne and our body shop had several of these in for repair work or painting while I was there in the 1970's. The company did have a few of their own but they were gone by the time I started, and the oldest Bedford's were the first S models with CAC bodies when I was there. There is one of the OB OZ Bedford's for sale in Chinchilla Queensland, but it will require a lot of work to restore. The seating for these vehicles differed depending on their purpose and I have seen them with 2x2 seating with a center isle and full-length bench type perimeter seating that allowed for standing passengers, prams or shopping trollies when used on urban route work.
Hello! Thank you for all of the memories and information on the OB buses! Didn't know that some had full longitudinal seating - very interesting! Thank you for watching!!
Thank you so much for this. I used to travel on the Transit OBs in Sydney when I was a kid.
Hello! I'm so glad you liked the video! Must have been great to ride those OBs! Thank you for watching!!
My father used to drive Bedford OB's [ and other makes ] on a suburban route in Australia in the Fifties. Fun times!
Great to hear that! The OB must have been great to drive and ride! Thank you for watching!!
Sometimes when i was a kid Ventura used to roll out there OB to pick us up from school as we were right near there depot
it was old the circa 1975 but was always a treat to ride on.
Hello! Great to hear you rode those buses, must have been great to do so! Thank you very much for watching!!
I guess i am one of the few who have not heard of these, learn something new on all these videos, looks like a rugged little coach thanks for showing them
Hello! LOL, lots of viewers didn't know about these buses! Glad you liked it, thanks for watching!
When I was school in New Zealand in the 1960's, the school busses were privately owned OB's and one 1936 Chev bus(!) Those busses were ancient even then.
Hello! Thanks for the interesting info on the New Zealand buses! Thanks for watching!
Greetings from the UK a completely and totally fascinating video such a gorgeous looking coach/Bus thanks for uploading your video ❤
Hello! I'm really glad you found the video interesting, and yes, the Australian OB was a very good looking bus! Thank you very much for watching!!
Thanks again Jeffery you did it again educating me.
I knew about the CAC SB but not the forunner started by Holden.
Fascinating they converted a bonnetted chassis to forward control and those covered wheels, taking advantage of the narrow track.
Another must cover Aussie edition is Adelaide's overwidth buses that began with the 1950s three door tram replacement buses.
Hello again! Those buses look interesting - will look into! Thanks for watching!!
A lovely looking thing.when all autos had character and individuality.
Yes, it sure as a nice vehicle! Thanks for watching!!
Fascinating what Holden did with these busses! It looks like the forward control conversion didn’t include the gearstick though. That looks like it is in a very awkward position!
Hello! Yes, Holden was very innovative!! Thanks very much for watching!!
Fascinating. Thanks.
Hello! Very glad you found the video interesting! Thanks for watching!!
Great video, as usual. One detsil, at thar time Holden and GM were heavily associated, and holden did build, and design bodies for manufacturers and custom private or commercial clients, but Holden was a family business. . There is an OB for sale currently for $20,000 in ok condition and drivable but needs work. Some body modifications and updates completed the late 1950, which detract from the origional.
Thanks for the additional info! Thanks for watching!!
Those BEDFORD engine out front buses certainly were attractive. Perhaps I’m the only one but those long wheel well skirts make the bus look a bit weird.
Thanks again Jeffery.
Hello! Yes, it's unconventional in design, but I guess that was what GM-H was looking for! Thanks very much for watching!
Looks very much like my school bus in the late 1950s. Ladysmith to Wagga Wagga. Very slow but featuring interchangeable GM car parts for engine and drivetrain. It was easily maintained and readily modified by its owner (the bus driver)
Hello! Thanks for the memories of the OB bus! Thanks for watching!!
Fascinating, as always. I wonder if those fully enclosed front wheels inhibited steering in any way, and if they presented any challengers with tire changes..
Probably. & regarding tire changes...I'm sure they were used to crawling "down under"
Hello! Good question about the steering! For changing tires, I think there was a panel that can be removed. Maybe, LOL. Thanks for watching!!
Hi Jeff. A few OB’s in the Scottish Bus Group were converted to forward control, Highland bases in Inverness and SMT in Edinburgh mainly.
Hello! Thanks for the info about the OBs in Scotland! Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein happy to help mate
When i started school in 1947, the buses on our route were called "Federal" but I have no idea who the manufacturer, was, I do remember that it must have had a 2 speed differential as the driver, when shifting gears ,flipped a little lever situated on the side of the floor shift lever.
Hello! Thanks for your childhood memories of the buses you rode! Federal was actually the name of an American bus manufacturer. Thanks very much for watching!
"The Bedford OB looked more like a spaceship had landed". Jeffrey, that's hilarious. But I suppose, in its day, it did look pretty modern, if somewhat odd with the body a lot wider than the wheel track. I wonder what the handling was like.
When I was in high-school (in Australia) some school-bus contractors had second-hand Bedford SB's with a similar GM-H attractive body design withe shiny fluting down the sides. We teenagers found them very comfortable as they had adult seat spacings. Other schoolbus operators had imported Austin busses for which some idiot decided that school-buses transport children, and children have legs only 500 - 600 mm long. Of course teenagers have legs at least 900 mm long. The Bedfords broke down a lot less too, though in commuter service they were regarded as not very reliable compared to the British diesel heavies such as AEC, Leyland, etc. Hauling a full load of adult men in summer they would overheat on hills. One weak point on the Bedford engine was the distributor - I remember as a 14-year old helping the driver with a roadside distributor fix while about 50 teenagers were calling out - split about 50-50 some wanting us to take as long as possible and some telling us to hurry up.
Hello! That's a very interesting story! Thanks for watching!!
Like the look of the Australian OB, the headlights, grill and the windscreen, the whole body design really. Only exception, they should have cut out wheel arches as in a conventional bus.
On the other side of the Pacific, Japan also built some handsome looking buses and trams in the post war period.🐞
Hello! Oh yes, it was really different, especially compared to its UK cousins. And yes, there's some interesting buses in Japan, I have a video on one coming soon! Thanks for watching!
Holden were a coachbuilder prior to GM purchasing them and until "Australia's own car" came out they assembled and bodied a large range of cars from the US and UK GM range. Interesting that Commonwealth Aircraft were vital to the story, numbers of UK aircraft manufacturers over the years had an interest in coachbuilding particularly after the world wars.
There were a few forward control conversions of the OB and OWB in the UK too. Plaxton, Trans-United and Willenhall Coachcraft converted brand new chassis (the first two were full front, but the Willenhall version was a half-cab) and in the mid 1950s Scottish Motor Traction commissioned Burlingham to rebody OWBs as 24 seat tour coaches for themselves and subsidiary Highland Omnibuses, as these resembled the Seagull style on full size chassis they became known as baby Seagulls. In the UK when Bedford launced the SB as a 33 seater late in 1951, the price with a Duple Vega body was the same as a 29 seat Duple Vista bodied OB.
Hello! Thanks for the information, very interesting! Thanks for watching!!
That looks like a bus that Noddy would drive!
LOL! Thanks for watching!!
Thoroughly interesting mini-documentary. Wasn't aware of the 'Aussie OB'. It might be nicer if wheels were in view. This look makes it very 50's. It's not a bad variation. The UK Bedford OB looks dated to me and not a real favourite, but it is amongst many enthusiasts. Reminds me of London Transport's GS, based on Guy Vixen chassis, which looked much nicer. The GS was a beauty. The preserved Aussie OB you show at the end looks fantastic in the beautiful two-tone livery.
Hello! I'm really glad you found the video interesting! Oh yes, the GS had a nicer design to it than the OB. Thanks for watching!!
its funny how the motor forward design continued in UK buses into the 1970's at least, the AEC Routemaster being the last to feature the design I believe.
@@gooseknack Yes, last Routemaster built 1968, but last ran 2005.
@@ROCKINGMAN Yeah, that's right.. it was the 1960's.
The clsssic OB remind me of the things Bere RegiS coaches used to lug us kids about - in the 70’s 😂
Hello! Oh yes, Bere Regis had a very interesting fleet! Must have been fun to ride! Thanks very much for watching!
I drove one of the Commair’s in the late 1980’s on a country school run. Petrol engine 4 speed crash box.
Hello! Must have been interesting to drive! Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Yes. A lot more driver input back then. No electronics to aid you as you were sliding along on black ice!
Not to mention greasy clay tracks or mobs of Roos randomly cutting across our path. Nevertheless we always got to school on time.
Too young to have ridden in OBs when they were in service, but old enough to have ridden in the SBs. One memorable trip an SB struggled to cold start from a standstill on a steep road. A full passenger load.
Hello! Interesting to hear about the SB! Thanks for watching!!
Thank you Jeffrey. I never got to work on the UK version of the OB. The Australian version looks a beautiful looking bus , but does look like a mechanic's nightmare.Being with LT we had the Guy Special/ECW in the London country fleet. It would have been interesting if it had been designed as a Foward control vehicle.
Hello! Yes, it does look like it could be difficult to work on! Thanks very much for watching!!
Jade, mechanically both the earlier WTB and the OB were very simple, this, with them being inexpensive to buy, easy availability of spares, there was usually a Vauxhall agent close by and easily repaired made them extremely popular. The only fly in the ointment was actually getting to the oily bits when you needed to do so, it is a well known fact that body designers never ever talked to chassis designers about maintenance access which raised issues actually getting to the bits you needed to. Unless, of course you were three foot tall with 6 foot long double jointed arms and ambidextrous with eyes in your finger tips… The joys of being a bus mechanic.
@@scrumpydrinker Yes,the first time I looked at an atlantean over a pit with pit Jack's up. I thought no.
Slight reminds me of the RAF / police bodies in the UK on SB chassis ( some were Austin chassis indeed some Austin chassis had bodies that looked like Duple OB bodies)
Hello! Gotta look up those buses you mentioned! Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein also made for coach companies there is a preserved one i think is in epsom coaches livery they don't have the crome bling and are probably the most boring ones ever but I have a photo of one I took in a car coach park in Okehampton devon
I used to go to school in the early 80’s
Hello! Must have been fun to ride those buses! Thank you for watching!!
A nice looking coach.
Yes, it sure was nice looking! Thanks for watching!!
It definitely looks like a 1940s view of the future. A bit silly and impractical though with the wheel skirts.
Hello! LOL, yes, although futuristic for the time, it does look odd! Thanks for watching!!
"Castlemaine Bus Lines" in Castlemaine VIC Australia had a lot of Bedford buses in the 1960's, some looked similar to the one in your video. Also I think the Chinese family at Austimer, Wollongong NSW also ran those in the early 1970's.
Hello! Thanks for the additional info! Thanks for watching!!
Dion's still had it out the back of their depot in Fairy Meadow in 2002 i went to High school across from there. While ever Charlie Dion was alive he wouldn't part with the old stuff. The Dions are still going strong and much loved part of Wollongong Community and History.
@@mtozzy11 With luck one of the family will restore it or donate it to the bus museum at Leichardt. I remember around 1976 an old Chinese man driving it wearing a grey dustcoat.
@dieseldavetrains8988 That would of been Charlie, the only person I've ever heard of being booked for driving to slow.
@@mtozzy11 Slow boat to China? I also remember John J. Hill buses in Wollongong too, used to sit in front of Wollongong station and watch the buses pass through back in 1976 & 1977. Cleary Bros trucks was another I remember.
thank you for this fascinating history. i am in tasmania! i wonder if i can track down the folks who used one for a school bus. 🤔
Hello! I'm really glad you found the video fascinating! And thank you for watching from Tasmania!!
I know it was a very different time and No numbers have gotten insane. I was pretty happy with a 3l I5 diesel in a Benz coupe that only had 88 HP. it was a dog but acceptable. But 27 hp hauling around even a handful of people blows my mind. Seems like even under 45mph it would really struggle even with tons of gear changing and low gears.
That 28 HP (not 27 HP) is the rating for taxation purposes in Britain. Like many things thought up by law makers and politicians, it has no relation to the engine's output and makes no sense at all. It was determined by applying a scale factor to the cylinder bore size - which is why British cars used to have long strokes for the bore size - a long stroke for a given bore gives more power (and more fuel consumption) but the tax is the same. The actual power output of the Bedford 3.5 litre engine was about 72 brake horsepower - not exactly quick, but not as hopeless as you might think. In Bedform tradition it was geared down quite a bit, and these busses were built light compared to commuter busses. Austin in Australia had a comparable light gasoline bus and it was no more powerful.
As an alternative to the 72 b.h.p. petrol engine you could have the Perkins P6 diesel. Some of the vehicles shown here have the Perkins, and can be recognized by the four interlocking rings used as a radiator badge. Noisy but economical!
Yes, on the face of it, it does sound strange, but it looks like someone with knowledge of this rating system has explained it!! Thanks for watching!!
Very interesting! Thanks for the explanation!
As always, wonderful. Thank-you!
What an odd looking monkey!
Hello John, glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!!
Australia certainly did things differently
We still do.
Leading the world - quietly and without fuss. 😉😊
Yes, they sure did! Thanks for watching!!
@@trueaussie9230 Really? We make almost nothing now. You got the quiet part right though.
@@amraceway
Manufacturing - especially 'heavy' manufacturing - is not the 'be all and end all'.
Especially in these 'technological' days.
Aus is a world leader in scientific and medical research and development.
The first COVID vaccine was developed in Qld.
On the 'heavy' manufacturing side, have you never heard of the Perentie - very well regarded by militaries of MANY nations.
Aus manufactures and exports to MANY countries tramway and railway engines and carriages.
Maybe you need to expand your knowledge of what Aus actually contributes to the world.
Obviously we're too 'quiet' for you. 😉😊
@@amraceway
Manufacturing - especially 'heavy' manufacturing - is not the 'be all and end all'.
Especially in these 'technological' days.
Aus is a world leader in scientific and medical research and development.
The first COVID vaccine was developed in Qld.
On the 'heavy' manufacturing side, have you never heard of the Perentie - very well regarded by militaries of MANY nations.
Aus manufactures and exports to MANY countries tramway and railway engines and carriages.
Maybe you need to expand your knowledge of what Aus actually contributes to the world.
Obviously we're too 'quiet' for you. 😉😊
They were so slow, they were not fitted with a Speedo, they had a Calander
LOL! Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Thanks Jeffery, I am old enough to remember some of these buses and always enjoy your videos.
Hopefully there are a couple more hiding out there somewhere.
Hello! Yes, hopefully!! Thanks for watching!!
they were popular school buses until the petrol engine ban in 1984
Hello! Oh, that's interesting to hear, didn't know that! Thanks for watching!
Bus from the fuiture,, with an underpowered long out of date Bedord mechanicals
LOL! From the future in looks only! Thanks for watching!!
I remember riding on the SB buses in the 50's. The buses were exclusive to the Beam Bus Service which had its depot at the Perth Airport.
Hello! Thanks for the memories of the SB buses in Perth! And thank you very much for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein My memory of the SB was, instead of pulling a cord to get off, it had an electric button.
I would loved to has watched this clip but there is no way can I listen to that voice.Is it AI or the result of some tragic industrial accident.Please consider putting this clip back on with sub- title's.
He does an amazing job and that's all you care about?
Embrace it or stay away.
Well, why are you watching then? I can hide you if you prefer (or if I prefer) so that you can only talk to yourself. Thanks.
Basically a lorry.
Yes! Thanks for watching!