978/934 - Leyland Worldmaster 

978 was the last Worldmaster to roll off the production line at Freighter, Seaton, being bodied in May 1959, with the chassis being dated to 1958!

978 was part of the order to replace the Municipal Tramways Trust’s trams, and operated a fulfilling life in regular route service. The Worldmasters including 978 were also found operating alongside the trolleybus routes.

978 saw it’s retirement in 1972, whereby the bus was stored at the ETSA yard on Grand Junction Road, where other Worldmasters which weren’t sold, were kept in storage as a reserve.

In 1974, due to the MTT Private bus takeover, 978 was reactivated with a new identity, 934. With new Batteries and an update in decals, the remaining Worldmasters were alive and kicking in service again, ready for their new life.

After MTT service, the bus was sold to Rennie’s in Victoria, numbered 35. Rennie’s had some of their Worldmasters rebodied, and some were simply cut back to 2.5m in width, luckily, 35 is the latter of those.

Rennie’s kept their buses well looked after, and this bus is a testament to that, having survived through the years, still running to this day, also in thankful to the current and most recent previous owners for teeing up work where needed to keep the bus complete and operational.

Now that 978 has been rescued, it’ll endure a gradual mechanical and body restoration, thankful that the full interior including seats and poles etc still remains.