Sydney Bus Museum raising money to buy rare double decker Dion's bus restored to immaculate condition

The double decker bus previously owned by Dion’s Bus Service has been restored by retired Wauchope mechanic Brian Mantle. (Supplied: Steven Mantle)

For nearly 40 years, retired Wauchope mechanic Brian Mantle has been working on his opus — a 1948 Leyland OPD2 double decker bus that had to be completely stripped back to its frame and rebuilt.

He bought the bus off Dion’s Bus Service in Wollongong in 1983 after it had finished its life transporting hundreds of migrants to the Port Kembla steelworks each day, as well working on a popular suburban route.

“Everybody who knows buses seems to know this bus and a lot of people are glad to see it preserved as it should have been,” Mr Mantle said.

“I’d heard about the bus and when I was working with the NRMA, I was in Wollongong and had a look at it and I thought, ‘My goodness, that thing has to be preserved’.”

And so began the laborious process of sourcing parts and materials from around the world to rebuild the double decker bus to a roadworthy, immaculate condition.

“I had to completely strip it down to a bare frame — it was virtually worn out and rusted so it was a complete repair of the frame, new panels, a lot of chrome work and everything refabricated,” Mr Mantle said.

He even took a night course in motor vehicle upholstery so he could repair the seats himself.

Sydney Bus Museum wants to fill gap in collection

The Sydney Bus Museum has begun a fundraising drive to raise money to purchase the 1948 Leyland OPD2.

Museum manager Bob Gioia said there had been 21 double decker buses of this model built for private companies, but this one was the only survivor.

“It’s a gap in our collection because we don’t have a private double decker,” he said.

“We also don’t have a bus from the Wollongong Illawara region and we see it as an important part of the history of buses in New South Wales.

“That bus would have carried hundreds of workers every day to the steelworks, and it was an important part of the social and cultural history of Wollongong during those years.

“A lot of migrants came into the area and relied on buses like this to get them to and from work.”

Mr Gioia said the restoration job was immaculate.

“It’s taken 40 years to finish restoring it, but it’s museum quality and it’s so good I have doubts we would want to drive it on the road because I’d be scared someone might damage it,” he said.

Dion family ‘over the moon’

The Dion name is synonymous with public transport in Wollongong.

The family were Chinese migrants who started their bus company in 1923 and last year celebrated 100 years of operation.

The Dions bought the 1948 Leyland OPD2 and ran it from 1948-1962.

“Back in those days, you had a lot more people travelling on public transport, so we needed buses with capacity,” Dion’s Bus Service owner Les Dion said.

“There was a move to go to double decker because you can fit a lot more people on there.

“I knew Brian [Mantle] was working on it, but my God he has done an absolutely fantastic job.

“The fact he has brought it back to original condition and sourced parts to make sure it’s [identical to the] original takes a lot of dedication — myself and every member of my family is over the moon about this one.”