1949 Leyland Tiger OPS4/1 (Metro 81)
Leyland Tiger OPS4/1 — Metro 81
The vehicle
| Year | 1949 |
|---|---|
| Make / model | Leyland Tiger OPS4/1 |
| Fleet number(s) | Metro 81 |
| Manufacturer | Leyland Motor Company, Leyland, Lancashire, UK |
| Model | Tiger OPS4/1 Chassis No. 490897 |
| Type | Cab alongside engine (half cab) |
| Engine | Vertical front mounted Leyland O.600 6 cyl 9.8 litre diesel |
| Transmission | 4 speed constant mesh gearbox with synchromesh on 2nd, 3rd, & 4th, ratios. Worm Drive differential |
| Brakes | Drum type, vacuum operated triple servo |
| Suspension | Leaf springs |
| Body: Manufacturer | Boltons Pty Ltd, West Perth |
| Body: Construction | All Metal, Steel Frame, zincanneal steel and some aluminium panelling |
| Body: Seating | 40 adults (B40F configuration) |
| Length | 33ft 2in (approx 10.11m) |
| Width | 8ft 0in (2.44m approx) |
| Wheelbase | 21ft 6in (6.55m approx) |
| Height | 9ft 2in (approx 2.8m) |
| Unladen Weight | 7 tons 7 cwt approx |
| Status | Not recorded in the crawled source — confirm operational/restorable/spares status with BPSWA before publishing. |
The story
This Leyland bus was new to the Metropolitan Omnibus Company Ltd in October 1949, being one of a small batch of similar buses purchased as part of its post World War 2 expansion, and to replace older units which had seen heavy service during the war years. It was initially used on the busy Perth Fremantle - Rockingham services.
In 1958 the State Government formed the Perth Metropolitan Transport Trust to take over the operation of Perth buses from the Tramways and the private companies, as many of the smaller companies were unable to satisfactorily maintain and upgrade their fleets. Metro Omnibus Co., was one of the first companies to be taken over on 31 August, 1958, and the MTT fleet adopted the Metro livery and designs. No 81 was allocated to the Armadale depot until withdrawn from service in May, 1972.
Shortly afterwards it was donated by the MTT to the predecessor of the present owners, the WA Electric Traction Society, for preservation. Some minor bodywork repairs and full external repaint were carried out in connection with the February 1995 public unveiling of Metrobus as a new trading name for the MTT (later to become Transperth).
Photos
Captions above are auto-derived from the source filenames as a starting point — a volunteer should confirm/replace them with real what/where/year/photographer credits per the Design System's imagery rules.