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CARILLA BUS SERVICE OLD CARILLA BUS RESCUED Scroll Down |
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CARILLA BUS SERVICE Depot: Pickering Brook Road, Carilla. Livery: Mid green with cream roof and window surrounds. Later changed to mid green window surrounds and below waist band with cream waist band and roof. The Carilla Bus Service operated from Carilla through Pickering Brook, Carmel, Bickley, Lesmurdie Hill and Welshpool Road to Perth. The route wound its way through the Daring Range to the south of Kalamunda passing through bush land and orchards and transversing some of the most scenic and hilly country in the environs of Perth. Before the bus service began, public transport had been by rail along the Upper Darling Range Railway. Commuting to Perth had been slow and tedious, the route being via Kalamunda, Gooseberry Hill, the Zig Zag and Midland. The one train a day took 1 hour, 50 minutes to reach Perth from Pickering Brook and two hours to return. The bus service was, therefore, very welcome to the neighbourhood. |
CARILLA BUS SERVICE "M.A.N." TAKEN IN TERRACE ROAD, PERTH. |
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KALAMUNDA No 16 BEDFORD PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY CARILLA |
The service was begun about New Year 1947 by my Brother Max using a Bedford Bus. Later acquisitions were a forward control White from Scarborough Bus Service (licensed DR.1250 and a new normal control MAN diesel from a N.S.W. operator (licensed DR.924) and a new normal control Bedford OB which was subsequently sold to the Kalamunda Bus Service. The body from the MAN was later transferred to an Austin truck chassis, the licence number becoming DR.1221. Only two buses were necessary to maintain the service and one of these was generally laid over in Perth during the day. The importance of the service increased in July 1949 when trains ceased using the railway on a regular basis. In June 1957, I took over the operations from Max. The Bus Service left Carilla each morning for Perth at about 7.30 p.m. and returned every evening. There were two buses on Wednesdays and Thursdays. It was very handy for the locals to go shopping in the City. |
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BUS PURCHASED FROM SCARBOROUGH BUS SERVICE DR.924 #10 |
CARILLA BUS SERVICE SHELTER CORNER POMEROY & CANNING ROADS #9 |
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DOUG WATERS LEANING AGAINST HALF CAB LEYLAND LION AND AUSTIN BUSES PARKED AT
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The sparseness of the population in the districts served, the low utilisation of the vehicles, the increase in private car ownership and rising costs combined to make the enterprise become a poor commercial proposition. This gave me no incentive to outlay the additional capital which was necessary to upgrade the vehicles to continue the service. Neither was the M.T.T. anxious to take over such a far-flung and unrenumerative route. The situation was saved by an agreement whereby the M.T.T. loaned the Carilla Bus Service a vehicle. Buses loaned under this scheme included an ex Metro Leyland Lion (MTT No. 37 licensed DR.2367) and an ex Beam Transport A.E.C. Regal Mark 3 (MTT No.139). Latterly, the route was cut back to operate between the Lesmurdie Shopping Centre (where it connected with the Kalamunda buses) and Carilla. The arrangement continued until March 1972 when the M.T.T. finally assumed full control of all services in the district. George Whittle from Pickering Brook was the first official passenger on the Carilla Bus. |
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MTT BUS CARILLA ROUTE 1974 $4 |
There were times when it took lots of "overtime" to get the bus ready for the next day. I remember once I just got back to Carilla when the bus broke down. I finished the job - just in time to have a quick breakfast and be ready to leave for the 7.20 a.m. trip to Perth. Another day a gear box main shaft broke outside the bus shelter at the corner of Pomeroy Road. I arranged for another bus to collect the passengers and changed the shaft on the side of the road. "Archie" Anderson from Carmel will remember the night, coming home from the Saturday late night run (pictures) the bus gave up opposite Gray's place in Welshpool Road. I ran down to Gordon Gray's and he took me in his ute out to Archie's place. I woke him up and he got out his big, light blue Pontiac car, then piled in the waiting passengers. That car was certainly full that night but everyone was safely delivered home. |
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The only sure way to start this bus when it was cold, was to give it a sniff of ether, so I kept a bottle in the destination box. One night, after sitting in the terrace for several hours in the cold I decided it was time for the ether. I reached up, fumbled the bottle, it fell on the floor and smashed. That really caused a panic as, forgetting the cold, the passengers opened doors and windows to let the gas escape. Over the years there was only the one accident on record. I was following a gravel truck on Welshpool Road when a snake wriggled out in front of the truck. The driver jumped on his brakes - I braked and swerved to avoid him but collected the side of the truck. Luckily the only casualty was one lady got a broken leg. I had another fright one night. A young lad from Carmel, who used to be a passenger on the Bus, bought himself a motor bike and used to take great pride in lairing past the bus. I'm sure to impress the girls. This particular night, as he tried to pass, just outside McNabb's place in Pomeroy Road, he hit a puddle, lost control and the bike went one way and he landed in front of the bus. |
A METROBUS IN THE FRONT YARD BRINGS BACK MEMORIES FOR FORMER |
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EARLY CARILLA BUS SERVICE TIMETABLE #6 |
Luckily the brakes were good as when I got out his head was only about a foot away from the front wheel, We left the bike at Mrs. McNabbs and I think his suffering was more of embarrassment as he climbed on to the bus and accepted a ride home. One night when we got to Bickley I pulled up to let a passenger off but he sat not moving, and colourless. I really thought he had died but we managed to find as pulse so set to work till he revived and we got him mobile and into his neighbours, we went on our way to Pickering. One of the "characters" on the bus had a "problem" and found the trip too long to go without a sustainer but of course alcohol was not allowed on the bus. This day, from the rear vision I noticed he would periodically duck this head inside his coat. I thought he must be having a problem with his neck but when I asked him he showed me. He had a straw in a flask hidden in the inside pocket of his suit coat. Top marks for initiative. |
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Another "regular" had one feathered bird on his place, an emu, but he would often board the bus with a powdered milk tin full of eggs to sell in Perth. After some complaints from a nearby poultry farmed about the disappearance of eggs from his place, I asked this old chap where the eggs came from and pointed out he only had one emu. He was quite unruffled and said "Oh I get them". Max told me that he once employed an Indian Driver. He pulled up at the Pomeroy Road corner to collect passengers, tried to take off but the bus only shuddered. After a couple of these starts, he went into Blamire's and rang Max. Down came Max, the Bus moved with no trouble but when the other driver tried he still only got the shudders. Max looked - suggested the driver try again but this time with the hand brake off. |
ORIGINAL WEEKLY TICKET FOR THE CARILLA BUS SERVICE #7 |
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REVISED CARILLA BUS SERVICE TIMETABLE 1968 #8 |
So many stories came back as the passengers became almost like a family. If one of the regulars just didn't turn up at the bus stop it was almost a matter of concern and all eyes would keep a look out in case they were running late and had only made it to the gate. Quite often the next day there would be an explanation. The Carilla bus run was typical of a community that still had time. |
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RESEARCHED BY DOUG WATERS
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Reference: Article: Memories of Walliston Image: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Margaret Waters
Copyright : Gordon Freegard. 2008-2022
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OLD CARILLA BUS RESCUED Last updated September 2022 The history behind this old bus is very interesting. It was originally known as Beam 48 operated by the Beam Bus Company. When this company was taken over by the Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT) the bus became known as MTT 139. The third major change for MTT 139 occurred in January 1963 when it was leased to the Carilla Bus Service at a peppercorn rate to provide a MTT timetabled weekday service between Perth and the lightly populated Hills district around Pickering Brook. From Carilla, the route ran through Pickering Brook. From Carilla, the route ran through Pickering Brook, Carmel, Bickley, Lesmurdie Hill, then along Welshpool Road, Shepperton Road and the Causeway to the City. The service passed through some of the most scenic and hilly bush land and orchards south of Kalamunda. In 1963 Carilla Bus Service was operated by Doug Waters, a former Beam driver. Two buses, garaged in Pickering Brook, were needed to maintain the service. The leased bus left Carilla each weekday at 7.40am and left the City at 5.30pm. During the day, it laid over (parked up) in Terrace Road, one of a long line of buses waiting for the evening peak period. The second bus, an Austin Loadstar fitted with the body off an earlier M.A.N. bonnetted bus, acted as a spare and was used for a middle of the day shopping trip to Perth on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Rather than take over an uneconomic route, the MTT opted to provide Carilla with a bus suitable for regular scheduled running. MTT 139 was the second of three buses allocated to this duty, the first being Metro 37, a half cab Leyland Lion LT7c of 1935. Five years later, in December 1967, MTT 139 was replaced by ex-Beam 62 (MTT 141), another half cab AEC REGAL 111 and 139 was returned to the MTT. Yet, its time in Perth's Hills was not ended. On 14th February 1968, |
DOUG WATERS LEANING AGAINST HALF CAB LEYLAND LION
OLD HALF CAB "A.E.C. REGAL" CARILLA BUS RESCUED #2 |
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OLD HALF CAB "A.E.C. REGAL" CARILLA BUS RESCUED #3 |
Over the years, Mundaring and the Hills community were strongly supportive of the need for such a venture. A major benefactor was one of Perth's wealthy early philanthropists, Walter Padbury, who himself had been orphaned at the age of eleven and left to the ruthless treatment of fellow settlers, sometimes mixed with mental cruelty. Former Beam 48 was eventually bought for conversion to a motor home and kept in the open under tarpaulins at a property in Glen Forrest. The conversion was only partly completed, however, and subsequently the bus was offered for sale "as is". Because of its historical significance, it was purchased by BPSWA on 17th October 2014 and brought on a tilt tray truck to the Society's workshop at Whiteman Park. It is currently the only authentic example of a Beam bus in the BPSWA's collection. |
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OLD HALF CAB "A.E.C. REGAL" CARILLA BUS RESCUED #4 |
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According to some contemporary reports, Beam 48 was a uncomfortable bus to drive. The steering wheel was set high and the driver' seat had been lowered to allow the driver to see under the relatively low top of the windscreen. Tall drivers had to bend forward. Skill was needed when handling the sliding (crash) gearbox. Changing gears required double declutching and practiced judgment was needed to match engine speed with road speed. A stop clutch was fitted which engaged in the mid range for changing from first to second gear when gathering speed on hills, otherwise it was bypassed. The lower power of the 7.7 litre AEC engine was satisfactory for keeping time on the flat but was demonstrably "weak" when climbing the challenging gradients of Greenmount. At BPSWA, unfortunately Beam 48 is stored out of sight under a tarpaulin in the open, because of lack of covered space. Before the bus is ready for display to the public along with its story. the engine and drive train need to be overhauled, the body refurbished completely, seats fitted and the Beam livery reinstated. BPSWA hopes that, one day, Beam 48 will be available for display at venues from Mandurah to the Swan Valley, from Cottesloe Beach to Mundaring and Pickering Brook - the areas where it served with Beam, with the MTT, with Carilla Bus Service and as a school bus at Parkerville. The two images below were taken during a visit by members of the Kalamunda & Districts Historical Society of the Bus Preservation Society of Western Australia on Sunday 18th September 2022. The old bus has now been moved under cover and is awaiting restoration
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OLD HALF CAB "A.E.C. REGAL" CARILLA BUS WAITING RESTORATION 2022 #5
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OLD HALF CAB "A.E.C. REGAL" CARILLA BUS WAITING RESTORATION 2022 #6
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Reference: Article: Bus Preservation Society Western Australia Image: 1 Margaret Waters
Copyright : Gordon Freegard. 2008-2022 |
