Double-Decker Buses Still Working Worldwide

Double-Decker Buses Still Working Worldwide Home Front Bus in England (www.whichmuseum.co.uk) has a classic double-decker outfitted for a traveling WWII wartime experience. Inside are displays, artifacts, sights and sounds of buses used during the war. The bus is accompanied by personnel dressed in period costumes to provide an engaging educational experience. The Beaulieu Estate in England houses a National Motor Museum of several hundred vehicles and uses double-decker busses to shuttle visitors around its scenic grounds. Two ongoing bus renovations prove that restoring old double-deckers is a tedious and expensive undertaking. A 1950s model Citroen U55 Cityrama is the world’s rarest and most unusual double-decker. People call it a cross between a submarine and a Jetson’s family car. For years, it toured the streets of Paris, then, facing mechanical difficulties, it was parked. Now, it’s being restored by Tim Dunn, who hopes to bring it back to service in Paris, although now it’s in more than 100 pieces. Dunn says that dismantling, repairing and renovating the vehicle built on a Citroen 55 truck chassis will be a three to four-year project. Lorie Norton fundraises for charity in Australia by serving coffee from his traveling café in a restored Leyland double-decker bus. Since 2019, Norton has clocked more than 30,000 miles in the bus driving along Australia’s coastline. He spotted the relic abandoned in an old quarry while working on powerlines in 2004 and bought it for $950. Norton says when he slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key, it fired up in a cloud of smoke, then settled down and ran smoothly. Over the next three years, Norton stripped the bus to its bones, then rebuilt the upper inside cavity with discarded lumber that he found in Melbourne. The lower quarters have an efficiency kitchen and barista bar that serves as his traveling café. It’s also home to a gallery for his artwork. He sells coffee and art and donates funds to various charities. In three years, he’s raised more than $70,000. Norton’s double-decker once served riders in a dedicated route from Sydney to Abbotsford. These days, Norton says he often doesn’t know where he’s going or where he’ll end up, but his travels are all for the good of charity. Showbus in England (www.showbus.com) operates restored vintage buses for various events. The Omnibus Society (www.omnibus-society.org) is an online forum for double-decker enthusiasts. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Beaulieu National Motor Museum, New Forest, Hampshire, UK S042 7ZN (www.beaulieu.co.uk).

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