coaches
A review of the Great Whites 220mm 18 diode round LED driving lights
I recently had the opportunity to see a set of Great Whites 220mm round 18 diode LED driving lights in action – to say I’m really impressed is an absolutely true understatement! I truly like how quick these lights start up – almost instantaneously unlike a HID light which takes time to start…. another plus with these is that they use relatively little power on the circuit so they will not flatten your battery/ies if your alternator decides to cark it!
The light emitted from these is a crisp, white light which virtually mimics daylight – this allows you to see a wider view of any animals on the side of the road and can take appropriate action where possible as evidenced on this trip…
I would highly recommend these lights as they are the best! They may not be cheap (at $660 including GST per light – see Great Whites 18 LED Wide Angle Round Light for more info) but the extra initial expense gives you added safety!
Blogosphere help required!
Hi blogosphere!
I need your help in this – my friends and one of their coach captains (another friend of mine) at Langley’s Coaches in Dubbo, NSW, Australia have been nominated in Dubbo’s biggest night of the year, the Rhino Awards. I need you to vote in these categories:
Service With A Smile:
Nominee to vote for: Adam Millington – Langley’s Coaches
Website: 2016 Rhino Awards – Service With A Smile
Dubbo’s Most Popular Business:
Nominee to vote for: Langley’s Coaches
Website: 2016 Rhino Awards – Dubbo’s Most Popular Business
All you need to do is click on the blue link next to Website for both categories and vote for the named nominees…. I have specifically nominated them as they don’t get the recognition they deserve….
Thanks a million,
Joe
Langley’s Coaches Fleet Profile: 1988 Austral HRP2 Minimaster TV8354
Today, I have a very special vehicle profile for you – this little Austral is the subject….
Originally owned by Deluxe Coachlines of Wangaratta, Victoria, wearing fleet number 203, it then went through to Hopkinson’s of Sydney as TV533, then Australia Coach in Cairns, Queensland as 578IDY then to Coach Australia (Red and White Coaches) as 578IDY then COA30 before coming to Dubbo, NSW and joining the Langley’s Coaches fleet as TV8354.
Phil Langley was one of Deluxe’s employees and had an idea to repaint the Minimaster into their colours as they purchased all five Minimaster units that were built – Austral made coaches to what their customers required. This particular example was the third to come off the production line.
This particular coach is very, very smooth in it’s ride – being that it is 10.6m long helps in that smoothness. My mother and I were very fortunate to be taken out by Phil for a pretty long ride – the big 6V92 combined with the 6 speed Spicer crash box made for a smooth ride as well….
Thanks must go to Phil as I would not have had this opportunity if he wasn’t there….
Upcoming Photo Alert!
I have a photo shoot coming up next week – friends of mine have just completed a project on one of their coaches and I will be profiling it in a very special vehicle profile on here! So excited….. bring it on! As a teaser, here is a photo of said coach:
The Austral MiniMaster is a very rare coach in that there were only 5 made and all of them ended up going to Deluxe Coachlines in Wangaratta, Victoria, Australia. This is ex-Deluxe #203 and has been put back into their colours by the Langley family of Dubbo, NSW, Australia. The patriarch of the Langley family, Phil Langley, used to work for them so it was fitting to put this lovely little coach back into their colours
Tamworth Country Music Festival
At the moment, the largest festival dedicated to country music in the southern hemisphere is happening. The Tamworth Country Music Festival is held in January every year and attracts visitors from across the world….
The highlight of the festival is the Country Music Cavalcade – the Cavalcade is a parade showcasing singers who are singing songs from the artist who is being featured. In 2014, the Cavalcade featured the late Slim Dusty….
I will be in Tamworth on Saturday – stay tuned for a new blog entry for this year!
As a closer, I will be featuring this song from Adam Harvey – this is the latest single from Adam’s latest album, Harvey’s Bar… The Backyard Sessions. This song is called Harvey’s
Backyard Bar:
Langley’s Coaches Fleet Profile – Scania K320IB/Higer A30 TV7681
Today I want to feature the largest 2 axle coach in the Langley’s fleet. This Scania K320IB is a 57 seat charter coach – featuring a Chinese built Higer A30 body, this is a fairly versatile vehicle for all small-medium charters and any local work.
Langley’s Coaches Coach Profile: Scania K470EB 6×2*4, Mr. Big
I am starting a series of blog posts to profile some of the coaches in the Langley’s Coaches fleet. Today, I am featuring Mr. Big, a 2007 Scania K470EB 6×2*4.
Make/Model: Scania K470EB 6×2*4
Rego: TV5594
Body: Coach Design
Body Number: 521
Body Date: May 2007
Seating Code: C50DT
Notes: “Mr Big” – ex Australia Wide Coaches Pty Ltd, Sydney “Mr Big” (110) TV 5594 by 22/1/11; ex (SA) XNU 346.
This coach has the very big honour of being the first coach sold in Australia as a 6×2*4 (rear-steer) – the rear-steer tag helps with manoeuvring in tight spaces and, in doing so, avoids scrubbing on the tag axle tyres
A Day On The Green Trip Review
Yesterday (31/10/2015) saw me and a group of people make our way over to Mudgee, NSW, Australia for A Day On The Green. Although the day was drab and dismal, the rain held off and we all had a great time!
We left Dubbo a little later than usual because of the weather – but that delay was more than made up for with the coach we had…. we had TV4407 (1988 Denning Decker 92 Turbo – in this case, the 92 Turbo in this coach was a 8V92TA DDEC). Arrived a bit before 2:30pm and had to park… easier said than done on a wet field! Ended up heading down to the coach parking – we stopped for a moment and our coach slid down the grass. Got into the venue and went to sit down and realised I’d taken someone else’s chair – luckily I found the right owner!
Music started and we all got dancing – I didn’t drink as I am on new medication and I did not want to risk getting drowsy and missing the show…. I almost fell over a few times as it was! We enjoyed music from Mark Seymour, Pseudo Echo, Moving Pictures, James Reyne and Icehouse. The highlight for me was Icehouse – they were terrific! It was worth the $160 I spent to go and see an amazing concert!
I left the venue at around 9:20pm and headed back out to our coach – I met up with Adam, our coach captain, who was talking to an old colleague of his who still works for Ogden’s. I got introduced to him and, for the life of me, I couldn’t work out who it was…. I only figured it out after he told me about his project with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service Heritage division. I worked out it was a friend of mine on Facebook – mind you, I was so tired I got home and went straight to bed!
All in all, a great day and night and amazing music!
Coach Travel I have done
Hi folks! I had a thought today – I want to share some of my expansive coach travel “resume” with you all…. here it is! I will include vehicle details where I remember…
Coach trip 1 was with Ogden’s Coaches Dubbo. Brooks & Dunn, Sydney, May 2009. Mercedes-Benz O500RF-3, TV3908. I had brought myself this trip as a self-bought birthday present.
Each of the trips below were with Langley’s Coaches Dubbo.
Coach trip 2: Temora Aviation Museum, June 2011. Mitsubishi Rosa Deluxe, 5157MO. My first trip with Langley’s – and it sure as hell wasn’t the last!
Coach trip 3: Tamworth Country Music Festival, January 2012. Denning Landseer Super Decker, TV5580. My first trip to the mecca of country music in Australia – I had a ball and have done this trip twice after!
Coach trip 4: Canberra, March 2012. Scania K470EB 6×2*4, TV5594. This trip was to a Daniel O’Donnell concert at the National Convention Centre in Canberra. I was the youngest out of 46 people on the coach!
Coach trip 4: Tamworth Country Music Festival, January 2013. Scania K470EB 6×2*4, TV5594. Second trip to Tamworth. Had fun as this was quite a small group this year!
Coach trip 5: Tamworth Country Music Festival, January 2014. Scania K470EB 6×2*4, TV5594. Third trip to Tamworth…. had a little larger group than 2013…..
Coach trip 6: A Day on The Green, Mudgee, NSW, Australia, October 2014. Scania K94IB, TV7519. First time at this concert – had a ball! The highlight for me was seeing 5000 people singing along with Troy Cassar-Daley to an iconic Australian truck song, Lights On The Hill. It didn’t matter if they were country fans or not – they all sang along! See the video below for the original!
If you want to look up any particulars on the coaches mentioned in this blog, you can use this website: Bus Australia – you use the search function in the fourth box along on the top of the home page. Simply type the registration number (the number starting with TV) into the white search box – the Registration radio button is the default selection for searching – then press Enter!
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