Permanently parked in the inhospitable Strzelecki desert,
just off the road near Cameron Corner stands one of the most incongruous
objects you’ll ever see: a cheery though weary yellow 1952 Leyland
double-decker bus – or to be precise, the abandoned remnants thereof.
About 2,000 mechanically powered double deck buses have
operated in Australia since 1905. The last one was withdrawn from service in
May 1986 as new, more-reliable, articulated “bendy” buses were introduced.
Other abandoned double-decker buses are mouldering away -
behind the Betoota Hotel between Windorah and Birdsville, and near the road
from Karratha to Port Hedland. And I believe I saw another one in White Cliffs.
You have to admire the people who managed to drive the
huge unwieldy creatures so far into the desert (they weighed about 12 tons,
imagine digging that out a soft sand bog). Must be some cosmic connection with
the Outback.
More pictures and further detail at the WebUrbanist post -
Deserted Double Decker : Oz Outback’s busted bus
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