Earlier this evening, Scania L113CRL Orana 3841 was withdrawn. As the final remaining Orana bodied bus in route service in Sydney, 3841’s withdrawal draws 33 years of Orana operation in Sydney to a close. 3841’s final trip was the 17:17 492 from Rockdale Station arriving at Kinsgrove Depot at 17:37. More than two dozen local bus enthusiasts joined along for the final run to close out the Orana era.
463 Orana bodied buses were delivered to State Transit for use in Sydney and Newcastle. This included:
- 2 Mercedes O405Ns
- 30 MAN 11.220 HOCL/R-NMs (also known as the MAN Midis)
- 50 Scania L113TRBLs (also known as the 14.5s or Long Buses)
- 100 Scania L113CRB CNGs (also known as the Gas Scanias)
- 125 Volvo B10BLEs
- 156 Scania L113CRLs (also known as the Low Floor Scanias)
3411, a Scania L113TRBL, was the first Orana bodied bus to enter service on the 10th of March 1993. It was delivered new to State Transit Port Botany in a special handover ceremony on the 28th of January 1993 before driving training took place on this new model of bus ahead of its entry to service.
Built originally by Ansair, various corporate happenstance saw examples built by Austral Pacific, the Clifford Corporation and then later Phoenix Bus. The final example was delivered in 2000 by Phoenix Bus. The first few Oranas for Sydney were built at the Ansair facility near Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne, however the majority were built at a dedicated facility in Tamworth.
The Orana brought many firsts to Sydney’s roads. Full air conditioning, low entry, wheelchair access and electronic destination displays to name a few features to debut on the Orana. They were ahead of their time and that has allowed them to stay current on our roads for so long. With the condition of some newer buses, it was often hard to tell that the Oranas were quite as old as they actually were
All of the Oranas in Sydney were all originally delivered to State Transit. They operated out of at every single State Transit depot at one point or another. Some Oranas, such as many of the Volvo B10BLEs at Brookvale and Burwood, operated out of a single depot for their entire career. On the other hand, it was very common for the various types of L113s to be moved around frequently.
In more recent years, the Oranas have passed into private hands as State Transit was gradually broken up and franchsied. This saw Busways, Keolis Downer, Transdev John Holland and Transit Systems take on parts of the Orana fleet. Busways even took Oranas into uncharted territory, with 25 year old Volvo B10BLEs operating far from home out of Glendenning and Penrith depots.
Thanks to the slow rollout of electric buses, Oranas spent longer on the road than any other model of bus in Sydney history. Over 33 years separated the first delivery from the last withdrawal. Some individual Oranas, including 3693 and 3794, made it to 28 years and 10 months on the road before being withdrawn (far longer than the standard 26). Someone with a little more time than me can work out which of 3693 and 3794 spent longer on the road (my money is on 3794).
These buses were my favourite buses growing up and still are today. I have spent countless hours catching Oranas and chasing Oranas for photos. The best memories are days I spent with my Dad, forcing him to wait for a 14.5 Long Bus to show up on the 400 and heading to the Airport to watch planes. I caught low floor Scanias to school, swimming lessons, with friends, to concerts and football matches. I raced around excitedly with my friends getting photos when 30 odd Volvo B10s were transferred to Waverley unexpectedly towards the end of their lives. And more recently getting as many photos of the Oranas as I could before they were all gone.
I am very sad to see them go. RIP Oranas. 1993-2026.
