DRIVEN
VOLVO B10M MARK 1
RETRO RECALL Westbus’ Volvo B10Ms were an iconic sight on Sydney’s Western Suburbs roads in the 1980s and their spirit lives on in a beautifully restored Mark 1 today. Built to last, the 50th B10M that Westbus bought is at the Sydney Bus Museum and it still runs like a charm. WORDS AND IMAGES PAUL ALDRIDGE
T
he Sydney Bus Museum has more than 250 members that work together to preserve a rare collection of historic buses dating as long ago as 1920. Housed in the Old Tram Building in the Inner West suburb of Leichhardt, NSW, the building is the perfect industrial backdrop to showcase these great vehicles that are meticulously restored by the members, who have an incredible eye for authentically recreating the past. For die-hard busies, a visit here is always a real privilege and delight. There are buses here with important historic significance to our industry; it’s a timeline of change and growth preserved for future generations. For today’s drive we have a bus painted in livery and signage that was part of many’s childhood and younger years; a real trip back in time. To use the saying “kid in a candy store” certainly fits how walking the aisles of the Sydney Bus Museum makes a local bus enthusiast feel. If you’re in the industry, there’s sure to be a bus here to take you back to your first driving job, or to times as a teenager without wheels and fond memories of a past era. The Volvo B10M Mark I was part of the huge
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ABC January 2021 busnews.com.au
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