The first 40 with pneumocyclic transmissions were a dream. So nice to drive. The 2 speed ZFs were slow, but durable. The front platform arrangement was brilliant. On the flip side of their lives, the aluminium in the Brisbane Leopards and Panthers made them particularly valuable when they were sent to scrap.
I started going to school on the buses in 1971 so these Panthers are straight out of my childhood. At the time there were still examples of the predecessors running around too (they were light blue and looked like the old trolley buses in styling) and I remember waiting at the bus stop to see if I'd get the new dark blue bus or the old light blue one. By the time I was in high school in the late 70's we were always hopfull, especially in summer, that our bus would be one of the upgraded orange ones with air conditioning. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Jeffery what a wonderful video. Fantastically researched and presented. As a kid growing up in “Brissie” in the 70s and 80s I was a bus spotter (as well as a train spotter). I have learnt so much in this one clip compared to other sources. Well done. These were dominate for years until the Volvos and then M.A.N.s came along. I remember riding in these and they were noisy, hot in summer and thanks to their gearing were limited in speed along the freeway ( thanks to a 2 speed gearbox). But they did revolutionise transport in Brisbane. The council there became more innovative express services with the “Rocket” and then the high frequency “Citixpress”. Their fleet evolved and had some unique members as well as big fleet numbered ones. A couple of unique was their last Leyland Nationals, they had a short life and leading up Expo '88 needing more buses quickly imported the Fuji built articulated Volvos. I remember reading Japanese signage on those. Absolutely thrilled with your video. I am sorry many of Brisbanites will chip you over your pronunciation of Brisbane. But most of us will let that go, as they know when they travel, our Aussie English is very nasally, full of abbreviations and has other quirks p, meaning we have to repeat ourselves. So ignore them. I appreciate the vid. Keep up the great work.
Hello! Thank you very much for your very nice and kind comment and bus info! I definitely appreciate it! Yes, I now know I made a pronunciation error, I really thought I offended a lot of people, but after reading your comment, I'm relieved that that's not the case. Thank you so much for watching!!!
I can remember getting one of these to school in the 80s. I can vividly remember the sound of it as it turned the corner and accelerated down the hill to the bus stop.
Jeffrey Your bus videos are addictive! I never realised buses could be so fascinating. It shows your research and presentation skills are so good. Many thanks 👍
I caught a ride in one that had passed to a small Sydney private operator back in the mid 1990s and was amazed how spacious and comfortable a 1968 bus could feel. It felt very solid and free of rattles and felt better than many much newer buses. That ZF Busmatic and Leyland lump was a fantastic sound combination. Beautiful coverage of the Brissy Panther story.
I look forward to the following video on the series on the later generation of buses in Brisbane. Lots of interesting topics and innovations to explore. By the way, all of Brisbane and the state are trialing 50 cent bus fares for upto 3 transfers regardless of distance, from 5 August 2024. The adult fares previously started at about $3.50. We might experience some good governance!
Informative video, thank you. It was a brave order by Brisbane, to acquire so many of what was, then, a relatively new and untried bus. I understand the chassis frame was shared with its AEC counterpart, the Swift. Both suffered (allegedly) from flexing, which caused problems later in life with the bodywork on some examples. Maybe the adoption of a design with thicker window pillars than contemporary UK designs mitigated against this. Whatever, they seemed to perform well enough "down under"
They also fitted tropical radiators at the front which overcame their known engine cooling problems and allowed them to cope with Queensland's hotter climate. They were like an early Leyland National 2 in having a front radiator and Leyland O680 engine at the rear.
Hi from Sydney Australia, almost 70yrs old now and saw Sydney as a kid when it still had the WORLDS biggest tram network by milage of tracks. However as population grew and head count of cars grew trams were useless as they stopped all other traffic when passengers entering and/or exiting, whereas busses pull to the kerb and let other traffic pass by. The New South Wales public transport department bought 100's of Royal Leyland Tiger chassis in the mid1950's, by the time trams finished in 1961 the mega fleet of Tigers were ready to go, and these tough hardy busses saw near 3 decades of service. I knew a member of a local car club on Sydney's' northern beaches who had worked as a mechanic at both the Mona Vale and Brookvale depots Mike stated that the Leyland Tigers were so much more durable than the Mercedes & Mans that followed them, that the two German brands were NOT suited to the Aussie summer heat in peak hour bumper to bumper stop start driving often wrecking the Merc's transmissions. Mike reckons that the Leyland's were by far a better design, and the chassis engine combo was better in every way than the Merc's or Mans, with the Leyland's seldom broken down and off the road. In Sydney's' Royal Leyland Tigers there were 2 styles the early ones with taller lower sliding windows, and above them a near 2 foot long & 6 inch tall, fixed glass window that did not open, the inner roof was very high up for good airflow on hot days. in the later 1959 & onwards, the later version had opening upper and lower windows, so they were way cooler than the earlier ones on a hot day as the taller upper opening windows made the roof taller than the earlier version. Their girder like 1/2 inch thick steel front and rear bumpers meant that if run into by some other vehicle that the Leyland Tiger would have zero accident damage. I'm 6foot 3inches tall and they were roomy & very comfortable & well upholstered if you took one on the 25 mile trip from Sydney city home to Bilgola Plateau on the very northern end of Sydney's Northern beaches with a nice breeze coming in the open windows. Re the swift fast removal of the tracks, during the great depression a vast public works program was commenced to keep people in work. With NSW public works dept building 1,000's miles of 6 lane concrete roads all with tram tracks in the middle 2 lanes. The tram tracks were easy to remove from the concrete, PLUS, NSW police wanted them pulled up asap as in the wet cars "tram tracked" (slid/aquaplaned) on them. Initially tar was poured into the track cavity prior to track removal to improve wet weather driving/safety. Post removal the ditch remaining was filled with cement and smoothed off soon you would never have known that there were any tram tracks ever there. I grew up at Middle Harbour area of Mosman and from the mid 1960's my granddad's mate that owned Mosman bus company bought 4 Bedford VAL dual axle front steering. Same as the one in the original Italian Job movie starring Michael Caine. In the end Bill Heath had 16 Bedford VAL's doing scenic tours and day trips, with a driver sick and unavailable on an easter in the early 1980's I filled in and drove a VAL down to Canberra, Australia's capital city. It was a fantastic thing to drive, fitted with a big Leyland diesel and the VAL's unusual 8 speed manual gearbox. I enjoyed every minute of the 4 days driving it. These were beautifully finished off inside and looked very classy if some stupid car driver came too close, they had a set of three GM trumpet horns behind the front bumper, high, medium, and low pitch, they sounded just like a GM diesel freight train was just about to run you down.
Hello! Wow, that is some great information!!! I have to read it again to digest it all! I could make a video on it, LOL! Thanks for the info, it's always interesting to hear about buses in Australia!!! Thanks for watching!
Since you grew up in Mosman you would know that filling in the void after tram track removal with concrete actually rarely happened, and you only need to go to Gordon Street in Balmoral to see that the void was filled in with bitumen, and the route followed by the Balmoral trams there can be easily discerned. Also, tram tracks that were set in concrete and not bitumen were in most cases never pulled up (e.g. Elizabeth Street in the CBD, and Parramatta Road); the tracks were tarred over and remain there to this day. Remember that Sydney's trams were removed to make more space on the roads for cars, not to improve public transport; that has worked out really well, hasn't it!
The council really took a gamble with replacing an entire trolly system with the bus system based on American advisors, and it all worked out, Really enjoy these videos, thumbs up,
Again you thank Lord Mayor Clem Jones for this as he was a town planner before taking office. As Lord Mayor he went to many cities in the USA and adapted it here . Brisbane would not be what it is without him.
Brisbane this year (2024) is introducing another fleet of around 60 new buses which are bi-articulated. They are from Hess and are called Light Tram 25. These buses are 82 feet long. The council has called the project "Brisbane Metro". Great video by the way.
I've seen those running around under test in KIngsford Smith Drive, near Eagle Farm. Wondering how long the spats, installed to cover the wheels will remain? As the wheels and tyres are a regular service item, it might not be long before the workshops just leave the spats off, as it might end up being a pain to keep taking them off, for wheel and brake servicing.
@@railtrolley I've never seen the procedure to removing and installing the spats. I guess I'll see how it goes later this year when they start on the 192 (I think) services.
Thankyou for that. A lot of facts I didn't know even though I grew up with these buses. I remember the blue Panthers as they were everywhere and I travelled on many. I can still remember the sound they made with a two speed automatic transmission.
Thanks for this video, great historical content. I travelled on these buses daily from the late 1970's into the mid 1980's. The BCC kept production going as the city grew bigger and the busses seemed to be getting better, smoother and faster.
I don’t know about other people but I never really thought about the buses in Australia before. A whole different and yes interesting world down there. Thanks for the video Jeffery. You’ll never have to worry about running out of material for bus videos.
I started my Motor Mechanic Apprenticeship at the Brisbane City Council in January 1968. My first job at the Milton Road workshop was assisting qualified mechanics fit additional piston rings to most of the Panther buses. I can't remember the reason why the bottom ring was left off the piston but must have been a good idea at the time. Also a large number of the ZF 2 speed gearboxes were replaced under warranty as the clutch plated were disintegrating.
At the time, Bris-Bane had the newest trams in Australia. As I remember as a kid, it was possible to purchase ”tramburgers” from kiosks in former tramcars.
There is a blast from the past. They had a lot of clever design which was ahead of their time, like a step free platform and a wide aisle, so you could easily wheel a child's pram onboard to the pram space, good 30+ years ahead of that becoming standard. The 2pd ZF was great at generating heat and noise, but not so much at making the bus move. Despite that, in the 1960s what other citybus could claim stepless platform, ability to wheel a pram, all Aluminium body plus a fully auto gearbox etc?
Thank you for this great video. The Leyland Panther was a good concept, and quite a few were sold in the U.K. Sadly the bodywork seemed to let the buses down, with many requiring strengthening of the rear frame, due to flexing caused by the weight of the rear engine. Nevertheless, many did work full service lives, and I always enjoyed the ride and sounds they made !
Thanks Jeffrey and ❤from Australia. A similar thing happened in Sydney where consultants convinced the council to replace the trams with diesel buses. I’ve spoken to a few old timers who speak of the speed of which the tram tracks where either filled in or totally ripped up to make sure there was no going back. Seems like there might have been a few vested interests involved. Thanks for the vid, excellent as always.
Actually, it were "transport experts" from London Transport who, after ripping out London's tram system in 1952 , advised the NSW Government to do likewise in Sydney and Newcastle. That wasn't the only damage they did, either; they recommended that quadruplication of the Northern Line from Strathfield to Hornsby, started in 1948, be stopped as it would not be needed. As a result, that section of main line is very congested and going to get worse as the people moving into the new high-rises along the Line will need extra trains that can't be fitted in. It is a myth that U.S. auto and tyre manufacturers had anything to do with Sydney's tram system closure.
@@ktipuss thanks for the info. I think I remember reading that the tram line went all the way to Bondi Beach. It would have been a nice ride, unlike the bumpy horrible bus that gets you there currently.
I grew up in Melbourne, during this time. Live in Brisbane now. The most common buses I rode in at the time were Bedford SB types. There was an older version:SB3? the front end of which was styled similar to the Bedford S type truck. And a later model, which was styled similar to the TK series trucks. The later SBs introduced the front door in front of the steering axle. The front axle moved behind the door. The Bedfords were getting quite old by this time in the mid 1970s. Some of them were from 1950s, and still in use.
Simply wonderful buses.. spacious interior was most appreciated due to Brisbane's ridiculous hot humid days average 270 out of 365 yr. 35°c 80% hum. Lucky for me a Museum of Brisbane Buses appeared from what was an old Brisbane City Council Roads Maintenance Depot NOW OPEN . . and there she is ..clearly visible from road .. that big blue gal ( in 100% running condition ) and still looks swanky- cool.
The Brisbane Transport Museum with some of these buses is open next weekend the first Saturday of every month . The 'Depot' is at the old Cemetery Office building on Mains Road Nathan right next door to the most likely 2032 Olympic Games Venue!
A nice video. I always liked the Brizb'n (not "Briz-Bane") Panthers and rode most of them over the 15 years I lived there, including the prototype No. 10. Incidentally, the previous colour scheme for the buses like the Leopards was a pale green, not blue (certainly not Araluen Blue), with a dusky pink stripe and cream upper. No. 10 persevered with the horrible, uncomfortable fibreglass seats of the previous Leopards (80 of them) and AEC Reliances (of which there were 40). The production Panthers used padded seats.
@@JeffreyOrnstein Hi. I wasn't meaning to tell you off as it's a common mistake Americans make. I hope it helps for any future videos you do about Brisbane, or even other parts of Australia. I liked the Leyland Panthers, and helped advise a model manufacturer about the correct colours to use (which you correctly identified as Zenith Blue, Araluen Blue and Arctic White, although the latter tended to weather to more of a very pale grey shade over the years). The blue scheme looked very smart when new, but often faded in parts to a dull greenish colour in Queensland's sun. For reference, if you do one on Melbourne at all (we kept trams here as well as buses), it's generally pronounced Melbin, or Melb'n. Keep up the good work and keep posting these videos. 🙂
Jeffrey, I have a suggestion for you:- Transperth (formerly the Metroplitan Transport Trust), the government owned commuter bus company in Perth, Western Australia, had for years and years bought diesel Mercedes bus chassis with locally built bodies, and got good service from them. Passengers liked the quiet smooth ride, much better than the British busses they replaced. And they were airconditioned, which was appreciated on most summer days. However, the last batch of Mercedes buses, which were LP gas powered, were a disaster. Quite a few caught fire over a short period, up to as many as one per week. No passenger was killed or injured and that is really quite amazing considering how ferociously they burned, completely destroying themselves in a matter of minutes. I don't think the reason for the fires starting was ever discovered, or if it was, they didn't tell the public. At one stage engine oil leaks was blamed but inspections and more fires indicated that might not be the problem. The whole fleet of nearly 500 buses was taken off the roads as soon as Transperth could get new busses (from anybody except Mercedes) I think Mercedes' reputation in Australia is ruined for many years to come. If I remember correctly, the same model was bought in smaller numbers by other operators and a few of them were destroyed in fires too. The model was specially designed for Australia and not the same as a few Mercedes buses that burnt in other countries. An operator in Sydney with about 250 of the same model had its drivers go on strike when they were told the cause was unknown. You might like to do a video on these busses. It all happened about 10 years ago, so the heat has died down (pun intended) and you might be able to find out what went wrong. My wife used to go to work on a bus. I remember advising her that if it is a Mercedes, to sit near the front door, since the fires always started in the back.
Hello! Thanks for the suggestion of Transperth! Wow, that Mercedes incident sounds interesting as well as scary - I'll see if I can find anything on that. Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein I've since realised there are a couple of old news reports on RUclips. This one will entertain you:- ruclips.net/video/LZhWCjGDFNM/видео.html See also ruclips.net/video/qO9oSPBuZyw/видео.html. After the events depicted, Mercedes were forced by initiated legal action to modify the busses, but whatever they did didn't fix the problem.
Hi Jeffrey yep that was great and very interesting, im the bloke that suggested the Reading Trolly Buses that you answered and Thankyou much appreciated, OK! I have since leaving Reading lived in Australia these last 43 years, 41.5 of them in Far North Queensland a long way from Brisbane 🤣 My kids live in What we call 'Brizzee" and my bro and his wife settled there when they emigrated from UK in early 1968 (they would have travelled on those Panthers! no doubt back then!) I was first in Briz in 74 when in merchant marine and it was a much nicer place then, in your vid I could see Brizzy as I first remember it, we calked it a big country town and it was! Anyway I could go on and on and on 😅😅 Just wanted to say thanks for that vid, Briz has changed so much not always for the better, So if you want to be hip with us "Aussies" 😅 with all due respect to you Jeffrey we pronounce it "Brizbun" or Brizb'n, please not Briz Bayn 😂 and its in Oss Tray Liah (Limey pronunciation 😂) Aussies just say "Straya"! Keep up the great work mate! 👍👍👍
Hello! Glad you liked the video!! I now know about the pronunciation mistake...you are only comment number 4,237, LOL. Didn't exactly know.... I just said it the way an American see it spelled. Thanks for your experience and for watching!!!
Wilbur Smith and Associates got involved in Brisbane and Melbourne in the 1960s also for developing freeway plans for both cities. What was built was generally what was reserved for in previous planning schemes (hence the land was available) with the routes that would have resulted in large scale property acquisitions dropped
I used to use these buses when I was going to my first jobs after I left school, from Balmoral to the city in Brisbane. while I went to high school in the old AEC buses that the Panther was replacing, as shown in the video painted silver.
Jeffery - Another interesting bus purchase - South Australia's - State Transport Authority's B59 Volvo's - ran for 25 years and also their O-Bahn network Bus operation with full fare box recovery.
The "go faster" slanted windows on these buses wich only had a limited opening were fine in the U.S., but didn't really suit Brisbane's subtropical climate. The old drop-centre trams (or "Droppies" as the locals affectionately called them), were popular because of their suitability to Brisbane's climate. Remember that Brisbane's tram system was intact until the 1962 disastrous fire at the Paddington Tram Depot. And no, Clem Jones (Brisbane Lord Mayor) was no town planning guru. I mean, who nowadays would plan a motorway running along the Brisbane Rive right next to the CBD!.
Hello! Yes, you are partially correct about the angled windows that didn't open all the way and the climate in the US compared to Australia. But also, the GM and Flxible New Look buses also had the option of air-conditioning since their introduction in 1959. Not all transit systems opted for it at first, but it became a standard within a few years in the US. New York and LA also had very similar drop-center trolleys (what we call trams), also known as "hobbleskirt" cars or more techically "Hadley-Doyle" cars, named after the designers. Having highways along a river was quite common back then...just look at New York City.... Although it would NOT be done today! Thanks for watching!
the main difference between these and the western australian ones were the radiators,the perth ones had rear radiators with gear driven fans(they originally had a fan clutch but this was deleted) and the brisbane ones had a front mounted radiator with electric fans that required a weekly air bleed or they would overheat,the brisbane buses were geared very low which limited them to 50km/h top speed,most were not denning bodied and there was a modern update model called the "manther" cos it looked like a MAN bus LOL,the ZF 2 speed auto did not like higher diff ratios and a few bought to western australia were fitted with 2 speed eaton no.4 diff,early ones used an air/ spring suspension with conventioal spring hangars,the later ones the springs were mounted on rubber blocks
Getting rid of trams is still seen by many people as a huge mistake. How many people had reduced lives due to the diesel fumes and particulate matter from those buses is probably very hard to work out, but wouldn’t be insignificant. Now the Brisb’n busses are mostly natural gas powered, which are at least a bit cleaner.
Hi Jeffrey, I wonder if the west nederlands Nationals took the window screen( to reduce window reflections) design from the Panthers. Well researched video thank you.
Hi! Yes, I know the front window screens are similar to the Nationals in the Netherlands! This was already in use on the "New Look" buses in the US since 1959 - so that may have been where the design came from. Thank you for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Is often referred to as a lantern windscreen. They seemed to be in vogue during the 1960s. Adelaide's AEC Swifts, Daimler Roadliners (which had Cummins engines) and Volvo B59s all with the same style bodywork, featured them.
Well you can thank Lord Mayor Clem Jones for the modernization of Brisbane . The man was a visionary as before him Brisbane did not even have a sewerage system . Between Himself and Sir Gordon Chalk . When the new Victoria Bridge was replaced along with the Paddington Tram Fire more or less spelt the end of the trams. Leyland had been the suppliers of bus chassis since the depression years with partnerships with AEC and Albion until the Leyland Leopards and Leyland Panthers until 1978 when the Swede and German buses took over with Volvo, MAN and Scania.
Ahhh this only makes me miss the 'old' Brisbane. Going into town was exciting in the 70's and 80's . As a kid I remember the 1 zone ticket was 5 cents, 2 zone 10c and 3 zone 20c.
Manchester in the UK bought a fleet of Leyland Panther Cubs and then the larger Leyland Panthers, the latter in 1967, when they were given the new livery of mainly white with a red band, rather than the previous mainly red with a cream band. Our local bus was one of these single deckers, as part of the route included a low bridge, which wouldn't accommodate a double decker. However, these buses proved unreliable and by the mid 1970s they were taken out of service, less than 10 years after entering service. By then, out local bus had been re routed to avoid the low bridge, so we were treated to double decker buses. The chief problem with them was the epicyclic semi automatic gearbox, it was unreliable.
Great video! But your pronounciation of Brisbane is a bit off, the 'bane' part should be pronounced more like 'bin'. Also, if you're interested, you should check out John Dunn's history of Commonwealth Engineering series. Vol. 2 go over these buses a little bit, but what you'd find more interesting would be Comeng's involvement with the Budd company. Both of them worked together alot, and Vol. 5 goes in depth on the Comeng designed C1/C3 cars for the LIRR in NYC. Vol. 3 also talks a lot about the 1950s era of Budd and how they adapted Budd's stainless steel for use in trains in Australia. I've read all 5 volumes and I use them frequently for making my own videos. They're a fascinating read.
Hello! Sorry about the wrong pronunciation, LOL! Great info - those books sound interesting - would make a nice addition to my collection! Thank you for watching!
It’s sad they couldn’t have added bus routes without destroying the tram network - definitely one of the big transit blunders of Brisbane’s history (unfortunately there are more).
I presume they were quite successful in Australia? Which is fascinating as they were a complete disaster in the UK! Not a huge number were sold, and they quickly gained a reputation for being under engineered and unreliable. UK operators wanted the Bristol RE if they could get it, or stuck to the Leopard. Perhaps the hot dry Brisbane climate agreed with the Panthers more than cold soggy UK weather!
The heavily american influenced alexander M Type, years ahead of its time, and used on the gruelling anglo scottish service, only 1 or 2 were sold outside Scotland, the angular windows high floor for its time was clearly reminiscent of a greyhound coach, take a look my freind youll be suprised
I think the Portsmouth and King Alfred of Winchester Panthers were the most attractive versions of the Panther in the UK but I will have to "pass" on the looks of these Brisbane Panthers but they may be "an acquired taste".
As an Aussie bus man I found them ugly as sin in first encounter, but they have definitely grown on me and are very well designed. Their subsequent orders of different chassis makes recieved derivatives of these body designs such as the Volvo B59s in 1978 and MAN SL200s in the 1980s all the way until 1987.
Yes getting rid of the trams was stupid. We had the tracks and infrastructure right up north to Petrie. Urban planning in Brisbane is the worst in Australia.
@@JeffreyOrnsteinIt’s something we always grit our teeth in preparation for, when we see the word written out. Thankfully most American RUclipsrs are correctly saying “Bris-bin” and “Mel-bin” these days. Now we have to work on British speakers who say “Barth-hurst” instead of “Bathurst”.
@ JeffreyOrnstein - "Bris-bin"... like in garbage BIN? More like Bris-ban.. like in Police State BAN. But, certainly not Bris-bane.. like Bane of existence. @whophd - Here in Aus we, have a 'Deep North' and the Capital city is BrisBANE... just North of the over-developed Surface Parasite with it's vanishing beaches. Much of the reasoning behind the removal of trams in Sydney and Brisbane was based on the establishment of large oil refineries with substantial USA interests - Caltex (California Texico Oil Co.) The ran roughshod over any Aus heritage arguments and efficient Public Transport networks.
@@BTW... If you say it quickly, then it becomes the most correct answer, the upside-down e symbol: ə or "schwa". It takes longer to explain IPA and how to say "BRIS-bən" though.
A few points.. It becomes painful to listen to Brisbane being pronounced incorrectly so frequently. The E is silent - Read at it as being spelt Bris/ban. Point 2 is a city 'Council' making decisions based on a Consultant from the USA, that through their default policy over many years has an abysmal public transport that doesn't serve the community well at all. Seems that is based on 'pissing resources up the wall'... because Y'all have been getting that fuel for free in terms of true production and environmental cost. So yeah, the last place to seek advice on public transport is the USA, the land of copious consumption.
Dude... Trams suck.. they are slow, they took up expensive realestate Reality is buses offer superior service. Brisbsne being a city built after the invention of trams, this exploded urban sprawl, trams csn work oo when everything is within 10km of the CBD.... Brisbane is just to big of a region to have trams work.
![Would You Fall for It? [ST08]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n94-_yE4IeU/mqdefault.jpg)
The first 40 with pneumocyclic transmissions were a dream. So nice to drive. The 2 speed ZFs were slow, but durable. The front platform arrangement was brilliant. On the flip side of their lives, the aluminium in the Brisbane Leopards and Panthers made them particularly valuable when they were sent to scrap.
Thanks for your memory of the Leopards and Panthers! Thank you for watching!!
I restore those pneumatic gear shifters off the Leyland buses
I started going to school on the buses in 1971 so these Panthers are straight out of my childhood. At the time there were still examples of the predecessors running around too (they were light blue and looked like the old trolley buses in styling) and I remember waiting at the bus stop to see if I'd get the new dark blue bus or the old light blue one. By the time I was in high school in the late 70's we were always hopfull, especially in summer, that our bus would be one of the upgraded orange ones with air conditioning. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Great to hear your experience with these buses! Thanks for watching!!!
Jeffery what a wonderful video.
Fantastically researched and presented. As a kid growing up in “Brissie” in the 70s and 80s I was a bus spotter (as well as a train spotter).
I have learnt so much in this one clip compared to other sources. Well done.
These were dominate for years until the Volvos and then M.A.N.s came along. I remember riding in these and they were noisy, hot in summer and thanks to their gearing were limited in speed along the freeway ( thanks to a 2 speed gearbox).
But they did revolutionise transport in Brisbane. The council there became more innovative express services with the “Rocket” and then the high frequency “Citixpress”.
Their fleet evolved and had some unique members as well as big fleet numbered ones.
A couple of unique was their last Leyland Nationals, they had a short life and leading up Expo '88 needing more buses quickly imported the Fuji built articulated Volvos. I remember reading Japanese signage on those.
Absolutely thrilled with your video. I am sorry many of Brisbanites will chip you over your pronunciation of Brisbane. But most of us will let that go, as they know when they travel, our Aussie English is very nasally, full of abbreviations and has other quirks p, meaning we have to repeat ourselves.
So ignore them. I appreciate the vid. Keep up the great work.
Hello! Thank you very much for your very nice and kind comment and bus info! I definitely appreciate it! Yes, I now know I made a pronunciation error, I really thought I offended a lot of people, but after reading your comment, I'm relieved that that's not the case. Thank you so much for watching!!!
I can remember getting one of these to school in the 80s. I can vividly remember the sound of it as it turned the corner and accelerated down the hill to the bus stop.
Good to hear your experience with them! Thanks for watching!
Jeffrey
Your bus videos are addictive! I never realised buses could be so fascinating. It shows your research and presentation skills are so good. Many thanks 👍
Hello! Thank you very, very much for your nice comment, it is much appreciated! And thank you for watching!!!
I caught a ride in one that had passed to a small Sydney private operator back in the mid 1990s and was amazed how spacious and comfortable a 1968 bus could feel.
It felt very solid and free of rattles and felt better than many much newer buses.
That ZF Busmatic and Leyland lump was a fantastic sound combination.
Beautiful coverage of the Brissy Panther story.
Thanks for your memory of the Panther! Glad you liked the video! Thanks for watching!
I've been waiting for some Australian content! nice!
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!!
I look forward to the following video on the series on the later generation of buses in Brisbane. Lots of interesting topics and innovations to explore. By the way, all of Brisbane and the state are trialing 50 cent bus fares for upto 3 transfers regardless of distance, from 5 August 2024. The adult fares previously started at about $3.50. We might experience some good governance!
Glad you liked the video! Eventually, I'll probably do another Australian bus! Thanks for watching!
Great presentation and delivery. I do like your videos, really lovely.
Hello! Thank you - I very much appreciate your comment! Thank you for watching!
@@JeffreyOrnstein I do like your in depth of knowledge and detail on the buses as well as your clarity of delivery. Really nice job!
Informative video, thank you. It was a brave order by Brisbane, to acquire so many of what was, then, a relatively new and untried bus. I understand the chassis frame was shared with its AEC counterpart, the Swift. Both suffered (allegedly) from flexing, which caused problems later in life with the bodywork on some examples. Maybe the adoption of a design with thicker window pillars than contemporary UK designs mitigated against this. Whatever, they seemed to perform well enough "down under"
Thanks for the additional info on the chassis! And thank you for watching!
They also fitted tropical radiators at the front which overcame their known engine cooling problems and allowed them to cope with Queensland's hotter climate.
They were like an early Leyland National 2 in having a front radiator and Leyland O680 engine at the rear.
Hi from Sydney Australia, almost 70yrs old now and saw Sydney as a kid when it still had the WORLDS biggest tram network by milage of tracks. However as population grew and head count of cars grew trams were useless as they stopped all other traffic when passengers entering and/or exiting, whereas busses pull to the kerb and let other traffic pass by. The New South Wales public transport department bought 100's of Royal Leyland Tiger chassis in the mid1950's, by the time trams finished in 1961 the mega fleet of Tigers were ready to go, and these tough hardy busses saw near 3 decades of service. I knew a member of a local car club on Sydney's' northern beaches who had worked as a mechanic at both the Mona Vale and Brookvale depots Mike stated that the Leyland Tigers were so much more durable than the Mercedes & Mans that followed them, that the two German brands were NOT suited to the Aussie summer heat in peak hour bumper to bumper stop start driving often wrecking the Merc's transmissions. Mike reckons that the Leyland's were by far a better design, and the chassis engine combo was better in every way than the Merc's or Mans, with the Leyland's seldom broken down and off the road.
In Sydney's' Royal Leyland Tigers there were 2 styles the early ones with taller lower sliding windows, and above them a near 2 foot long & 6 inch tall, fixed glass window that did not open, the inner roof was very high up for good airflow on hot days. in the later 1959 & onwards, the later version had opening upper and lower windows, so they were way cooler than the earlier ones on a hot day as the taller upper opening windows made the roof taller than the earlier version. Their girder like 1/2 inch thick steel front and rear bumpers meant that if run into by some other vehicle that the Leyland Tiger would have zero accident damage. I'm 6foot 3inches tall and they were roomy & very comfortable & well upholstered if you took one on the 25 mile trip from Sydney city home to Bilgola Plateau on the very northern end of Sydney's Northern beaches with a nice breeze coming in the open windows.
Re the swift fast removal of the tracks, during the great depression a vast public works program was commenced to keep people in work. With NSW public works dept building 1,000's miles of 6 lane concrete roads all with tram tracks in the middle 2 lanes. The tram tracks were easy to remove from the concrete, PLUS, NSW police wanted them pulled up asap as in the wet cars "tram tracked" (slid/aquaplaned) on them. Initially tar was poured into the track cavity prior to track removal to improve wet weather driving/safety. Post removal the ditch remaining was filled with cement and smoothed off soon you would never have known that there were any tram tracks ever there.
I grew up at Middle Harbour area of Mosman and from the mid 1960's my granddad's mate that owned Mosman bus company bought 4 Bedford VAL dual axle front steering. Same as the one in the original Italian Job movie starring Michael Caine. In the end Bill Heath had 16 Bedford VAL's doing scenic tours and day trips, with a driver sick and unavailable on an easter in the early 1980's I filled in and drove a VAL down to Canberra, Australia's capital city. It was a fantastic thing to drive, fitted with a big Leyland diesel and the VAL's unusual 8 speed manual gearbox. I enjoyed every minute of the 4 days driving it. These were beautifully finished off inside and looked very classy if some stupid car driver came too close, they had a set of three GM trumpet horns behind the front bumper, high, medium, and low pitch, they sounded just like a GM diesel freight train was just about to run you down.
Hello! Wow, that is some great information!!! I have to read it again to digest it all! I could make a video on it, LOL! Thanks for the info, it's always interesting to hear about buses in Australia!!! Thanks for watching!
Since you grew up in Mosman you would know that filling in the void after tram track removal with concrete actually rarely happened, and you only need to go to Gordon Street in Balmoral to see that the void was filled in with bitumen, and the route followed by the Balmoral trams there can be easily discerned. Also, tram tracks that were set in concrete and not bitumen were in most cases never pulled up (e.g. Elizabeth Street in the CBD, and Parramatta Road); the tracks were tarred over and remain there to this day.
Remember that Sydney's trams were removed to make more space on the roads for cars, not to improve public transport; that has worked out really well, hasn't it!
The council really took a gamble with replacing an entire trolly system with the bus system based on American advisors, and it all worked out, Really enjoy these videos, thumbs up,
Glad you liked the video!! And thank you so much for watching!
Again you thank Lord Mayor Clem Jones for this as he was a town planner before taking office. As Lord Mayor he went to many cities in the USA and adapted it here . Brisbane would not be what it is without him.
Brisbane this year (2024) is introducing another fleet of around 60 new buses which are bi-articulated. They are from Hess and are called Light Tram 25. These buses are 82 feet long. The council has called the project "Brisbane Metro".
Great video by the way.
I've seen those running around under test in KIngsford Smith Drive, near Eagle Farm. Wondering how long the spats, installed to cover the wheels will remain? As the wheels and tyres are a regular service item, it might not be long before the workshops just leave the spats off, as it might end up being a pain to keep taking them off, for wheel and brake servicing.
Hello! Glad you liked the video! Wow, that sounds quite interesting - He Hess buses. Thanks for watching!
@@railtrolley I've never seen the procedure to removing and installing the spats. I guess I'll see how it goes later this year when they start on the 192 (I think) services.
Thankyou for that. A lot of facts I didn't know even though I grew up with these buses. I remember the blue Panthers as they were everywhere and I travelled on many. I can still remember the sound they made with a two speed automatic transmission.
Hello! I'm glad you liked the video! Thank you for watching!!
Great story about the BCC Panthers.
Hello! Thank you for your kind comment! And thank you for watching!
Thanks for this video, great historical content. I travelled on these buses daily from the late 1970's into the mid 1980's. The BCC kept production going as the city grew bigger and the busses seemed to be getting better, smoother and faster.
Hello! Thanks for the memories of those Panthers! Thank you for watching!!
I don’t know about other people but I never really thought about the buses in Australia before. A whole different and yes interesting world down there. Thanks for the video Jeffery. You’ll never have to worry about running out of material for bus videos.
LOL, Australia does have some interesting bus history! Thanks for watching!!
I started my Motor Mechanic Apprenticeship at the Brisbane City Council in January 1968. My first job at the Milton Road workshop was assisting qualified mechanics fit additional piston rings to most of the Panther buses. I can't remember the reason why the bottom ring was left off the piston but must have been a good idea at the time. Also a large number of the ZF 2 speed gearboxes were replaced under warranty as the clutch plated were disintegrating.
Very interesting to hear your experience! Thanks for watching!
At the time, Bris-Bane had the newest trams in Australia. As I remember as a kid, it was possible to purchase ”tramburgers” from kiosks in former tramcars.
Wow...I want a Tramburger! LOL! Thanks for watching!!
There is a blast from the past. They had a lot of clever design which was ahead of their time, like a step free platform and a wide aisle, so you could easily wheel a child's pram onboard to the pram space, good 30+ years ahead of that becoming standard. The 2pd ZF was great at generating heat and noise, but not so much at making the bus move.
Despite that, in the 1960s what other citybus could claim stepless platform, ability to wheel a pram, all Aluminium body plus a fully auto gearbox etc?
Yes, it was quite innovative for its time!!! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this great video. The Leyland Panther was a good concept, and quite a few were sold in the U.K. Sadly the bodywork seemed to let the buses down, with many requiring strengthening of the rear frame, due to flexing caused by the weight of the rear engine. Nevertheless, many did work full service lives, and I always enjoyed the ride and sounds they made !
I'm really happy you liked the video! Thanks for watching!
Thanks Jeffrey and ❤from Australia. A similar thing happened in Sydney where consultants convinced the council to replace the trams with diesel buses. I’ve spoken to a few old timers who speak of the speed of which the tram tracks where either filled in or totally ripped up to make sure there was no going back. Seems like there might have been a few vested interests involved. Thanks for the vid, excellent as always.
I believe Sydney was first in 1961before Brisbane in 1968 .
Hello! Thanks for your comment about what happened in Sydney! And thank you very much for watching!!!
the tram system was a State Govt service, nothing to do with the Sydney City Council.
Actually, it were "transport experts" from London Transport who, after ripping out London's tram system in 1952 , advised the NSW Government to do likewise in Sydney and Newcastle. That wasn't the only damage they did, either; they recommended that quadruplication of the Northern Line from Strathfield to Hornsby, started in 1948, be stopped as it would not be needed. As a result, that section of main line is very congested and going to get worse as the people moving into the new high-rises along the Line will need extra trains that can't be fitted in.
It is a myth that U.S. auto and tyre manufacturers had anything to do with Sydney's tram system closure.
@@ktipuss thanks for the info. I think I remember reading that the tram line went all the way to Bondi Beach. It would have been a nice ride, unlike the bumpy horrible bus that gets you there currently.
I grew up in Melbourne, during this time. Live in Brisbane now. The most common buses I rode in at the time were Bedford SB types. There was an older version:SB3? the front end of which was styled similar to the Bedford S type truck. And a later model, which was styled similar to the TK series trucks. The later SBs introduced the front door in front of the steering axle. The front axle moved behind the door. The Bedfords were getting quite old by this time in the mid 1970s. Some of them were from 1950s, and still in use.
Hello! Thanks for watching and for the memories of the Bedford buses!
Simply wonderful buses.. spacious interior was most appreciated due to Brisbane's ridiculous hot humid days average 270 out of 365 yr. 35°c 80% hum. Lucky for me a Museum of Brisbane Buses appeared from what was an old Brisbane City Council Roads Maintenance Depot NOW OPEN . .
and there she is ..clearly visible from road .. that big blue gal ( in 100% running condition ) and still looks swanky- cool.
The Brisbane Transport Museum with some of these buses is open next weekend the first Saturday of every month . The 'Depot' is at the old Cemetery Office building on Mains Road Nathan right next door to the most likely 2032 Olympic Games Venue!
Hello! Thank you for your experience with these buses! And thanks for watching!!
Thanks for the info....got to get there one day!!
A nice video. I always liked the Brizb'n (not "Briz-Bane") Panthers and rode most of them over the 15 years I lived there, including the prototype No. 10.
Incidentally, the previous colour scheme for the buses like the Leopards was a pale green, not blue (certainly not Araluen Blue), with a dusky pink stripe and cream upper. No. 10 persevered with the horrible, uncomfortable fibreglass seats of the previous Leopards (80 of them) and AEC Reliances (of which there were 40). The production Panthers used padded seats.
Hello! Oh, sorry about the pronunciation! Thanks for the additional info and thanks for watching!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Hi. I wasn't meaning to tell you off as it's a common mistake Americans make. I hope it helps for any future videos you do about Brisbane, or even other parts of Australia. I liked the Leyland Panthers, and helped advise a model manufacturer about the correct colours to use (which you correctly identified as Zenith Blue, Araluen Blue and Arctic White, although the latter tended to weather to more of a very pale grey shade over the years). The blue scheme looked very smart when new, but often faded in parts to a dull greenish colour in Queensland's sun.
For reference, if you do one on Melbourne at all (we kept trams here as well as buses), it's generally pronounced Melbin, or Melb'n.
Keep up the good work and keep posting these videos. 🙂
@@jeffreylynn135 Thank you!
Jeffrey, I have a suggestion for you:-
Transperth (formerly the Metroplitan Transport Trust), the government owned commuter bus company in Perth, Western Australia, had for years and years bought diesel Mercedes bus chassis with locally built bodies, and got good service from them. Passengers liked the quiet smooth ride, much better than the British busses they replaced. And they were airconditioned, which was appreciated on most summer days.
However, the last batch of Mercedes buses, which were LP gas powered, were a disaster. Quite a few caught fire over a short period, up to as many as one per week. No passenger was killed or injured and that is really quite amazing considering how ferociously they burned, completely destroying themselves in a matter of minutes. I don't think the reason for the fires starting was ever discovered, or if it was, they didn't tell the public. At one stage engine oil leaks was blamed but inspections and more fires indicated that might not be the problem.
The whole fleet of nearly 500 buses was taken off the roads as soon as Transperth could get new busses (from anybody except Mercedes)
I think Mercedes' reputation in Australia is ruined for many years to come.
If I remember correctly, the same model was bought in smaller numbers by other operators and a few of them were destroyed in fires too. The model was specially designed for Australia and not the same as a few Mercedes buses that burnt in other countries. An operator in Sydney with about 250 of the same model had its drivers go on strike when they were told the cause was unknown.
You might like to do a video on these busses. It all happened about 10 years ago, so the heat has died down (pun intended) and you might be able to find out what went wrong.
My wife used to go to work on a bus. I remember advising her that if it is a Mercedes, to sit near the front door, since the fires always started in the back.
Hello! Thanks for the suggestion of Transperth! Wow, that Mercedes incident sounds interesting as well as scary - I'll see if I can find anything on that. Thanks for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein I've since realised there are a couple of old news reports on RUclips. This one will entertain you:-
ruclips.net/video/LZhWCjGDFNM/видео.html
See also ruclips.net/video/qO9oSPBuZyw/видео.html.
After the events depicted, Mercedes were forced by initiated legal action to modify the busses, but whatever they did didn't fix the problem.
Hi Jeffrey yep that was great and very interesting, im the bloke that suggested the Reading Trolly Buses that you answered and Thankyou much appreciated, OK! I have since leaving Reading lived in Australia these last 43 years, 41.5 of them in Far North Queensland a long way from Brisbane 🤣 My kids live in What we call 'Brizzee" and my bro and his wife settled there when they emigrated from UK in early 1968 (they would have travelled on those Panthers! no doubt back then!) I was first in Briz in 74 when in merchant marine and it was a much nicer place then, in your vid I could see Brizzy as I first remember it, we calked it a big country town and it was! Anyway I could go on and on and on 😅😅 Just wanted to say thanks for that vid, Briz has changed so much not always for the better, So if you want to be hip with us "Aussies" 😅 with all due respect to you Jeffrey we pronounce it "Brizbun" or Brizb'n, please not Briz Bayn 😂 and its in Oss Tray Liah (Limey pronunciation 😂) Aussies just say "Straya"! Keep up the great work mate! 👍👍👍
Hello! Glad you liked the video!! I now know about the pronunciation mistake...you are only comment number 4,237, LOL. Didn't exactly know.... I just said it the way an American see it spelled. Thanks for your experience and for watching!!!
Very informative and very well resrarched .Thanlyou for this enjoyable look at our history
Hello! Thank you for your kind comment, and thank you very much for watching!
Wilbur Smith and Associates got involved in Brisbane and Melbourne in the 1960s also for developing freeway plans for both cities. What was built was generally what was reserved for in previous planning schemes (hence the land was available) with the routes that would have resulted in large scale property acquisitions dropped
Oh, that's interesting! Thanks for watching!
I used to use these buses when I was going to my first jobs after I left school, from Balmoral to the city in Brisbane. while I went to high school in the old AEC buses that the Panther was replacing, as shown in the video painted silver.
Hello! Thank you for your memories of the Panthers, and thank you for watching!
@@JeffreyOrnstein You did a great job and coming from so far away.
Jeffery - Another interesting bus purchase - South Australia's - State Transport Authority's B59 Volvo's - ran for 25 years and also their O-Bahn network Bus operation with full fare box recovery.
Hello! I'll look into the B59 buses and the O-Bahn! Thank you for watching!
I miss the volvo b58 artics in Adelaide a couple have came back though
The "go faster" slanted windows on these buses wich only had a limited opening were fine in the U.S., but didn't really suit Brisbane's subtropical climate. The old drop-centre trams (or "Droppies" as the locals affectionately called them), were popular because of their suitability to Brisbane's climate.
Remember that Brisbane's tram system was intact until the 1962 disastrous fire at the Paddington Tram Depot. And no, Clem Jones (Brisbane Lord Mayor) was no town planning guru. I mean, who nowadays would plan a motorway running along the Brisbane Rive right next to the CBD!.
Hello! Yes, you are partially correct about the angled windows that didn't open all the way and the climate in the US compared to Australia. But also, the GM and Flxible New Look buses also had the option of air-conditioning since their introduction in 1959. Not all transit systems opted for it at first, but it became a standard within a few years in the US. New York and LA also had very similar drop-center trolleys (what we call trams), also known as "hobbleskirt" cars or more techically "Hadley-Doyle" cars, named after the designers. Having highways along a river was quite common back then...just look at New York City.... Although it would NOT be done today! Thanks for watching!
the main difference between these and the western australian ones were the radiators,the perth ones had rear radiators with gear driven fans(they originally had a fan clutch but this was deleted) and the brisbane ones had a front mounted radiator with electric fans that required a weekly air bleed or they would overheat,the brisbane buses were geared very low which limited them to 50km/h top speed,most were not denning bodied and there was a modern update model called the "manther" cos it looked like a MAN bus LOL,the ZF 2 speed auto did not like higher diff ratios and a few bought to western australia were fitted with 2 speed eaton no.4 diff,early ones used an air/ spring suspension with conventioal spring hangars,the later ones the springs were mounted on rubber blocks
Hello! Thanks for the additional info on the Western Australian buses that were of similar build! Thanks for watching!
Great video…..Thankyou 👍🇮🇲
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching!!!
One can scarecly call it beautiful!
LOL, thanks for watching!
All the holdens and ozzy fords on the streets wow
Thanks for watching!!
Getting rid of trams is still seen by many people as a huge mistake. How many people had reduced lives due to the diesel fumes and particulate matter from those buses is probably very hard to work out, but wouldn’t be insignificant. Now the Brisb’n busses are mostly natural gas powered, which are at least a bit cleaner.
It was seen as "progress" at the time, I guess. Thanks for watching!
As always, very informative, Thank you. One small point though Brisbane is pronounced as Brisban
Brisben.
Hello! Thank you for watching!
Hey! The Fonz says buses are now cool....;) Seriously interesting video though!
I'm really glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
I like the front lower windows...the better to see those from "down under " go under... while complaining about the mispronunciation of their names .
Hello! LOL, oh yes, the pronunciation thing. LOL. And thank you so much for watching!!
Hi Jeffrey, I wonder if the west nederlands Nationals took the window screen( to reduce window reflections) design from the Panthers. Well researched video thank you.
Hi! Yes, I know the front window screens are similar to the Nationals in the Netherlands! This was already in use on the "New Look" buses in the US since 1959 - so that may have been where the design came from. Thank you for watching!!
@@JeffreyOrnstein Is often referred to as a lantern windscreen. They seemed to be in vogue during the 1960s. Adelaide's AEC Swifts, Daimler Roadliners (which had Cummins engines) and Volvo B59s all with the same style bodywork, featured them.
@@JeffreyOrnstein thank you.
@@jamesfrench7299 thank you.
@@JeffreyOrnstein thank you.
Hi you Should do a video on mercedes O305 /G bus they were in big numbers in parts of Australia
Hello! I will look into that! Thank you for watching!!
They should have kept the trams😢😮
Yes, they should have!! Thanks for watching!!
Well you can thank Lord Mayor Clem Jones for the modernization of Brisbane . The man was a visionary as before him Brisbane did not even have a sewerage system . Between Himself and Sir Gordon Chalk . When the new Victoria Bridge was replaced along with the Paddington Tram Fire more or less spelt the end of the trams. Leyland had been the suppliers of bus chassis since the depression years with partnerships with AEC and Albion until the Leyland Leopards and Leyland Panthers until 1978 when the Swede and German buses took over with Volvo, MAN and Scania.
Hello! Very interesting about Mayor Clem Jones! Thanks for watching!
Ahhh this only makes me miss the 'old' Brisbane. Going into town was exciting in the 70's and 80's . As a kid I remember the 1 zone ticket was 5 cents, 2 zone 10c and 3 zone 20c.
Manchester in the UK bought a fleet of Leyland Panther Cubs and then the larger Leyland Panthers, the latter in 1967, when they were given the new livery of mainly white with a red band, rather than the previous mainly red with a cream band. Our local bus was one of these single deckers, as part of the route included a low bridge, which wouldn't accommodate a double decker. However, these buses proved unreliable and by the mid 1970s they were taken out of service, less than 10 years after entering service. By then, out local bus had been re routed to avoid the low bridge, so we were treated to double decker buses. The chief problem with them was the epicyclic semi automatic gearbox, it was unreliable.
Hello! Thanks for the info on the Manchester Panthers! Thanks for watching!
Great video! But your pronounciation of Brisbane is a bit off, the 'bane' part should be pronounced more like 'bin'.
Also, if you're interested, you should check out John Dunn's history of Commonwealth Engineering series. Vol. 2 go over these buses a little bit, but what you'd find more interesting would be Comeng's involvement with the Budd company. Both of them worked together alot, and Vol. 5 goes in depth on the Comeng designed C1/C3 cars for the LIRR in NYC. Vol. 3 also talks a lot about the 1950s era of Budd and how they adapted Budd's stainless steel for use in trains in Australia. I've read all 5 volumes and I use them frequently for making my own videos. They're a fascinating read.
Hello! Sorry about the wrong pronunciation, LOL! Great info - those books sound interesting - would make a nice addition to my collection! Thank you for watching!
It's after Sir Thomas Brisbane - French for broken bone.
Bus 80 the AEC Regal III is also in the care of the Queensland Omni Bus and coach society.
Yes, it's part of their heritage fleet as well! Thanks for watching!
5:11
How can you tell that this guy is American, because of the Mispronunciation of Australian Place names
LOL, I'm sure you mispronounce American place-names, too.....
"Two to the Valley mate".
Thank you for watching!!!
I think he's referring to Fortitude Valley a prominent area in Brisbane's centre.
It’s sad they couldn’t have added bus routes without destroying the tram network - definitely one of the big transit blunders of Brisbane’s history (unfortunately there are more).
Wonder what the other blunders were??!! Thanks for watching!!
Jeffrey, please give a story about a New York bus.
Hello! Yes, I should do more New York content! I have done a few NYC buses - the 5th Avenue double deckers and the Grumman 870s. Thanks for watching!!
It looks like the old Flxyble New Looks.
Yes, it sure does!!!
I presume they were quite successful in Australia? Which is fascinating as they were a complete disaster in the UK! Not a huge number were sold, and they quickly gained a reputation for being under engineered and unreliable. UK operators wanted the Bristol RE if they could get it, or stuck to the Leopard. Perhaps the hot dry Brisbane climate agreed with the Panthers more than cold soggy UK weather!
Well, they did like them in Australia, so I guess they were sort of successful there. Thanks very much for watching again!!
Try pronouncing it Brisbin. Great video my guy.
LOL, thanks...you're number 4,215 to let me know the correct pronunciation. Thank you for watching!!
The heavily american influenced alexander M Type, years ahead of its time, and used on the gruelling anglo scottish service, only 1 or 2 were sold outside Scotland, the angular windows high floor for its time was clearly reminiscent of a greyhound coach, take a look my freind youll be suprised
Oh yes, that's a really great-looking bus! Thanks for watching!
I think the Portsmouth and King Alfred of Winchester Panthers were the most attractive versions of the Panther in the UK but I will have to "pass" on the looks of these Brisbane Panthers but they may be "an acquired taste".
Yes, and I myself like the Merseyside Panthers - a picture of which I had in the video. Thanks for watching!
Sunderland leyland Panthers were the best.
As an Aussie bus man I found them ugly as sin in first encounter, but they have definitely grown on me and are very well designed.
Their subsequent orders of different chassis makes recieved derivatives of these body designs such as the Volvo B59s in 1978 and MAN SL200s in the 1980s all the way until 1987.
They had to listen to some Americans instead of seeking advice from here in Australia 😮
LOL, that's how it always is....just kidding. Thanks for watching!!!
Getting ride of trams was the worst transit decision ever made.
You're probably right! Thanks for watching!
Yes getting rid of the trams was stupid. We had the tracks and infrastructure right up north to Petrie. Urban planning in Brisbane is the worst in Australia.
why did we need the America to come over here and study our transport system to tell us to get rid of the trams and trolley buses
LOL, because everyone needs the Americans to tell them what to do. For a price. LOL. Just kidding. Thank you for watching!
Because Australia invented the "suburb" and America wanted revenge? 😮
These videos would be so much better if the robot would not talk into the microphone!
Then please go elsewhere to watch your videos. Thanks.
Sent you a mesg on FB
It It's pronounced brisbin, not brisbane, even though It's spelt that way 😂
LOL, you're number 4,214 to let me know. Thanks for watching!!
I was all ready to watch this, but only got two words in. With the mangled mispronunciation of both the city and the country, I could go no further.
Ok. You can find other videos to watch.
With all the great research you couldn’t pronounce Brisbane properly
Ok, sorry you're disappointed in the pronunciation. But thanks for watching!
@@JeffreyOrnsteinIt’s something we always grit our teeth in preparation for, when we see the word written out. Thankfully most American RUclipsrs are correctly saying “Bris-bin” and “Mel-bin” these days. Now we have to work on British speakers who say “Barth-hurst” instead of “Bathurst”.
@ JeffreyOrnstein - "Bris-bin"... like in garbage BIN? More like Bris-ban.. like in Police State BAN. But, certainly not Bris-bane.. like Bane of existence.
@whophd - Here in Aus we, have a 'Deep North' and the Capital city is BrisBANE... just North of the over-developed Surface Parasite with it's vanishing beaches.
Much of the reasoning behind the removal of trams in Sydney and Brisbane was based on the establishment of large oil refineries with substantial USA interests - Caltex (California Texico Oil Co.) The ran roughshod over any Aus heritage arguments and efficient Public Transport networks.
@@BTW... If you say it quickly, then it becomes the most correct answer, the upside-down e symbol: ə or "schwa". It takes longer to explain IPA and how to say "BRIS-bən" though.
Rude and unkind.
A few points..
It becomes painful to listen to Brisbane being pronounced incorrectly so frequently. The E is silent - Read at it as being spelt Bris/ban.
Point 2 is a city 'Council' making decisions based on a Consultant from the USA, that through their default policy over many years has an abysmal public transport that doesn't serve the community well at all. Seems that is based on 'pissing resources up the wall'... because Y'all have been getting that fuel for free in terms of true production and environmental cost. So yeah, the last place to seek advice on public transport is the USA, the land of copious consumption.
Hello! Thanks for your insight and for watching!
Dude... Trams suck.. they are slow, they took up expensive realestate
Reality is buses offer superior service.
Brisbsne being a city built after the invention of trams, this exploded urban sprawl, trams csn work oo when everything is within 10km of the CBD.... Brisbane is just to big of a region to have trams work.
Hello! Thank you for your insight and thank you for watching!!
Brisbane!!!!!
Pronounced "Briz-b'n" here.
Ok, thanks for clarifying (No. 5,387). Thanks for watching!