This vehicle is a one-of-a-kind Denning prototype body on M.A.N. SL200 chassis that operated in the Brisbane City Council’s fleet for 21 years. Although there were a total of 153 M.A.N. SL200s built by Denning at Acacia Ridge between 1982 and 1986, Bus 100 was the only vehicle supplied with a VOV German body style.
Bus 100 entered service with the Council in July 1983 at Light Street depot. It was one of the first buses painted into the Council’s updated orange and white ‘Citybus’ colour scheme, and was displayed by Denning at the 1983 Sydney Bus Show. The vehicle was transferred to Carina depot later that year, before being re-assigned to Toowong depot in 1984 where it would serve for the next two decades.
In January 1985, Bus 100 was one of two Council buses re-painted into a gold and white livery to commemorate 100 years since the first tram services commenced operation on 10 August 1885. This marked the start of public transport in Brisbane. Concurrently, the vehicle’s manual roller destination signs were replaced with an electronic Transdot ‘dot matrix’ destination board as part of a trial. Although it was the first Council bus to be fitted with electronic destination signage, the vehicle would ultimately revert back to manual roller signs.
After wearing the commemorative gold and white livery for several years, Bus 100 was painted a third and final time into the Council’s yellow and white livery. It would wear these colours until it was withdrawn from service at Toowong depot in June 2004. The vehicle was swiftly secured for preservation by Adam Sullivan, who then passed it onto Donald Behan, before it was donated to the club in December 2017.
Between July and August 2020, Bus 100 was refurbished by Coachworks back into the gold and white commemorative livery to coincide with the 135th anniversary of the start of public transport in Brisbane.
Vehicle Specifications
| Year | 1983 |
| Chassis | M.A.N. SL200 |
| Engine | 11.4 litre, 6-cylinder MAN D2566MUH diesel engine, 177kW at 2200rpm |
| Transmission | Renk Doromat 873A three-speed automatic with electric retarder |
| Brakes | Wabco Westinghouse air brakes and spring handbrake |
| Steering | ZF 8046 power steering |
| Body | A.B. Denning & Co Pty Ltd, Acacia Ridge, Queensland |
| Construction | Tubular steel frame with exterior aluminium panelling |
| Colour | Gold and white |
| Seating | 73 passengers (43 seated, 30 standing) |
| In Service | July 1983 to June 2004 |
Refurbishment of Bus 100
Between July and August 2020, Bus 100 was refurbished by Coachworks back into the gold and white commemorative livery to coincide with the 135th anniversary of the start of public transport in Brisbane.
