Random ramblings and things that are, well, random and informative. All photos used within are copyright Joe Hupp (or their respective owners) 2012-2015 and do not belong to the public domain. Any unauthorised use may lead to civil action. Feel free to reblog my posts
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.
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 outside the Quality Hotel Dickson
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
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!
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!
Denning Landseer Super Decker TV5580
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!
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 outside the Quality Hotel Dickson
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…..
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 – the first rear-steer coach sold in Australia
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!
The title says it all, really – I am an avid fan of their products. Here are a couple of my favourites!
Scania – the best bar none! In trucks, buses and coaches, the name Scania is synonymous with comfort, reliability and strength
This coach is the coach I often travel on with Langley’s Coaches of Dubbo, NSW, Australia. This ex-Australia Wide Coaches 2007 K470EB 6×2*4 is their largest single deck coach without having to resort to the “Super Deckers”.
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 – the first rear-steer coach sold in Australia
If you are a Scania truck fan, you’d know they use both 6 cylinder and V8 engines. I am a definite V8 fan – this big 2003 R164G V8 580 8×4 tilt tray calls my home town home and is owned by a former parts shop owner….
2003 Scania R164G V8 580 8×4 Tilt Tray
This video is of the R164G running and revved up while the owner was adjusting the steer axle airbags:
This is an exterior walk around of the K470EB 6×2*4:
The last week has been rather hectic – I apologise to those I have promised blog entries and updates….
Just recently, I booked a coach trip to Mudgee, NSW, Australia with Langley’s Coaches of Dubbo for one of Australia’s leading concert series, A Day On The Green – I went last year (Jimmy Barnes, Troy Cassar-Daley, The Living End, Dan and Dan and Mahalia Barnes and The Soulmates) and had a ball… this year sees me going again… this year’s performers at Mudgee are below:
Today, I have booked another coach trip (again with Langley’s) to Tamworth for the annual Country Music Festival. I’ve been before and absolutely loved every minute of the trip…. some pics from the trip are below:
Myself and Anne Kirkpatrick, daughter of Slim Dusty – January 2012
Myself and Joy McKean wife of Slim Dusty – January 2012
The Big Golden Guitar – January 2012
Paul Costa in Concert, January 2013
Graeme Connors – special guest of Paul Costa in Concert, January 2013
Country Music Cavalcade – January 2014
Dale Hooper at the Country Music Cavalcade – January 2014
Doug McIntyre at the Country Music Cavalcade – January 2014
I will be travelling to both events in luxury with Langley’s Coaches Dubbo. If you want to know more about their business and any upcoming tours, you can get in touch with Langley’s in one of five ways:
Phone: 68828977 (02 68828977 outside NSW)
Web: http://www.langleyscoaches.com.au/
Email: contact@langleyscoaches.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Langleys-Coaches-454268784637824/timeline/
Office: 5 Depot Road West Dubbo, NSW, 2830 (soon to relocate to 4 Janalli Road West Dubbo)
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 – the first rear-steer coach sold in Australia
I’ve been following the whole “rear-steer” (or 6×2*4) coach market in Australia for a while…. it’s all thanks to one Scania I know which actually has a “rear-steer” set-up….
Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 – the first rear-steer coach sold in Australia
I’ll go back to 2007 when this Scania K470EB 6×2*4 was first delivered – it joined the fleet of a highly respected company called Australia Wide Coaches. First registered (SA) XNU346, it then got transferred to Sydney and re-registered TV5594 (livery in the photo below). On the 22nd of January, 2011, it got transferred to Langley’s Coaches in Dubbo, still as TV5594 (livery in the top photo)
2007 Scania K470EB 6×2*4 TV5594 – Australia Wide Coaches livery
Since then, Volvo has joined Scania in offering a rear-steer coach chassis…. the popularity of the rear-steer is increasing in Australia due to the manoeuvrability in tight spaces. The British have had this set-up on their trucks for, well, ages and know the ease of manoeuvrability that a rear-steer offers…. Australian coach operators are now embracing this!
