THERE’S a new landmark along the Castlereagh Highway at Lidsdale — and it’s nothing to do with our usual scenery.
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When proprietor of GoodEarth Landscaping Paul Curran was offered the opportunity to purchase what was left of a vintage Sydney double decker bus hidden in the bush on a nearby property he decided to buy it on a whim and worry later what to do with it.
But it’s become quite an attraction.
“Old bus enthusiasts have been coming in asking if they can have a look at it and travellers have been asking to photograph it.
“I didn’t realise there was such a following,” Paul said.
The interest has been such that he’s now considering turning it into a coffee lounge (there was once a popular coffee stop in an old railway carriage when Caddies restaurant was operating at Bowenfels).
The enthusiasts dropping in have been able to help Paul in putting together the history of the old bus — a public transport veteran that has clearly seen better days.
The AEC regent double decker was built at Clyde Engineering in Sydney in 1952 and began service from Burwood depot.
It later operated from North Sydney, Randwick, Pagewood and Waverley depots until retiring from government service in 1971 to begin a new role with private bus companies at Wollongong, Wallsend and Chester Hill before being converted to a rather bulky motor home.
It was later known to be at Kandos and Wallerawang before finishing up on the Lidsdale property.
Will GoodEarth be the final resting place for this much travelled (and still mechanically operational) 64-year-old veteran?
