Gary 'Two Hats and a New Year' Richards is back on the down-under semi-trailer bus theme and says: "Now all refreshed after the usual Xmas dash to Victoria and a host of family events, I thought I would start the year by adding to the discussion on Gardner-powered Whites (as Mike Davies started on Dec 22). I thought I would include this 1952 pic of a White Semi. It appears to still be petrol (no extended bonnet) at this point....And Check out the dapper looking coach captain (my father), ready for road with his white dust coat and tie, the trailer hostess and a passenger - the days of serious coach travel !! " Now click through here for more...but before you do Andrew Blacklock has also sent me this e-mail rel;ating to artic Aussie buses which says: "Brian, have a look through the bus photos on this site, plenty of Aussie semi trailer buses. Cheers Andrew. http://www.home.railscene.com/batman/
"And this ad confirmed that the units were powered by 5LWs... Regards, Gary."
Thanks Gary
Facinating stuff it was obviously another world back then and the power race had'nt yet started as the good old 5LW was still popular,mind you it was almost unbreakable and once in bottom gear would climb the side of a house!
Do you know if they got away with using the existing gearboxes or were they also replaced.In the UK even early ZF's didn't last long behind Gardners due to their low down torque characteristics
Regards
Mike
Smart looking outfit Gary, I think Murray Valley Coaches managed to fit a 5LW in without stretching it.
I recall seeing one or possibly two of those Whites advertised for sale complete with trailer in the Gosford region around 25 years ago.