This vehicle is one of 153 M.A.N. SL200s built by Denning at Acacia Ridge between 1982 and 1986 for the Brisbane City Council. In fact, this vehicle is part of the last batch of 40 built by Denning and one of only 20 from that order supplied to Council’s ‘Cityxpress’ specification. This saw the vehicle painted white with blue and orange diagonal stripes and fitted with Henderson coach passenger seating. Additionally, Bus 958 was one of only 30 Council M.A.N. buses fitted with a 4 speed Voith gearbox, with the remaining vehicles supplied with 3 speed Voith or Renk transmissions.
The Council assigned particular buses such as 958 to operate limited stop, express services in Brisbane from the suburbs into the City, known as “Cityxpress”. The first Cityxpress service started on Friday, 26 February 1982 from Mt Gravatt/Garden City (route 509), followed by services from Carindale (route 505), The Gap (route 506), Stafford Heights (route 504), Carseldine (route 502) and Centenary (route 508). The innovative Cityxpress network earned Brisbane City Council the 1984 Australia Transport Industry Award.
Bus 958 was completed by Denning in May 1985 and entered service with the Council in August of that year at Carina depot. In later years, the vehicle was transferred to Toowong depot where it was dedicated to the Great Circle Line. After this time, the vehicle was re-painted into the Council’s standard yellow and white colour scheme. The vehicle was later withdrawn from service at Toowong depot in March 2008 and was sold to Red and White Coaches at Sandgate. At this time, the vehicle was not operational and was brought back to life following an in-chassis engine rebuild.
The vehicle entered service with Red and White in January 2009 and operated school and charter services in Brisbane’s northern suburbs for 3 years. In July 2012, the vehicle was sold privately for preservation. In May 2019, the vehicle was acquired by Damian Milne of Sydney and restored to running order once again. The vehicle then passed to QOCS in January 2021 for continued preservation.
Between May and July 2025, Bus 958 was restored to its original ‘Cityxpress’ condition under a sponsorship arrangement with Indra, a key supplier to Brisbane City Council’s Brisbane Metro project.
Vehicle Specifications
| Year | 1985 |
| Chassis | M.A.N. SL200 |
| Engine | 11.4 litre, 6-cylinder M.A.N. D2566MUH diesel engine, 177kW at 2200rpm |
| Transmission | Voith D854 four-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 | White with blue and yellowfire orange diagonal stripes |
| Seating | 69 passengers (45 seated, 24 standing) |
| In Service | August 1985 to July 2012 |
