(first posted 10/12/2017) From 1965 to 1982 this splendid three-tone bus roamed the roads of the northeastern Netherlands. The complete bus body was built by Smit (from) Appingedam, not to be confused with Smit (from) Joure, using a rolling DAF TB160 bus & coach chassis.
A hybrid between a public transport bus and a coach, that’s the best way to describe it. Too inviting for a pure public transport bus, yet not quite fancy and luxurious enough to serve as a long distance motorcoach.
And indeed, a hybrid it was. The 11.00 m (36’1”) long bus was also for hire as a coach, a touringcar, for the more pleasure-related trips.
DAF built the rolling chassis, so the bus is registered as a DAF. The full factory designation of the chassis is TB160DD530. DD for the 120 hp (SAE gross) 5.75 liter inline-six diesel engine, 530 for the 530 cm (17’5”) wheelbase.
Big old school exterior sunvisor.
The owner’s logo; DAM stands for N.V. Damster Auto-Maatschappij. From Appingedam, just like the bus manufacturer.
There’s room for 68 passengers. Unfortunately, 20 of them don’t have a seat. Plus 440 kg of goods, no matter the passengers’ weight…
The rather old-fashioned name for this type of bus is a tram bus (or streetcar bus, in US English). It means that the driver’s compartment -and usually also the entrance- is ahead of the steering axle.
Is that wood trim, or what? A classic genuine public transport bus never had this, just bare metal. Obviously, DAF’s TB160 chassis has a front engine.
A close-up of the driver’s workstation, on the right the shift pattern. And the driver likes Venco drop.
As you can see there are two sliding roof hatches.
On the record, these are emergency exits. Off the record, they were also sunroofs on hot days.
In 1958 DAF started to build their own drive axles, this is one of them. Its maximum axle load is 8,600 kg. Add that to the 5,400 kg of the steering axle and you get a maximum GVM of 14,000 kg (30,865 lbs).
Another emergency exit, Geen ingang means Not an entrance.
Nice meeting you, DAM 154! And may your retirement last for many years to come.
just gorgeous… so much light! thanks for sharing.
Reminds me so much of similar buses in Austria back then. The yellow Post buses in the 50s had bench type seats, but gradually moved to coach seating like this one. Love that shape.
Very nice bus Johannes – the stance and wheelbase to overall length reminds me of some the the Blue Bird models in the US, that also use a basic truck chassis.
Kudos to the museum for keeping it in good shape – looks like they are keeping it clean but original.
Throughout the post-war decades DAF built many front-engine, mid-engine and rear-engine bus and coach chassis. Below the front-engine B1100/B1300 chassis as another example. Lighter than DAF’s truck chassis, and obviously with a much longer front (in case of the trambuses) and rear overhang.
Buses and especially coaches were mostly built in small numbers by the many independent bus and coach manufacturers we once had. This article’s Smit Appingedam body was only used by the DAM, so custom built for that company. The variety in bodies was sheer endless in those years, mostly built on ready-to-roll DAF hardware.
Very interesting – thanks for the additional information.
I absolutely love that dash-panel!
Happy Motoring, Mark
Beautiful coach.
The inside shots are especially interesting (and well-executed, but this is Johannes, so of course they are) on this DAF. The cabin’s so airy thanks to the panoramic windows. Really not something you feel on modern coaches.
Thanks. Stepping into an old bus or coach -I just love it when the door is open- is an easy way of time travelling.
After coming back to this article a few times I realized that although this is a front engine unit, it doesn’t look like one. The body color mesh behind the chrome grille makes it look like the grille is a fake for decoration.
Not a good or bad thing, just a trick of the eye.
Oh, wow; what a honey of a bus!
Thanks for the essay on this fabulous bus. It looks to be a comfortable ride, too. However, I also give plaudits to the body manufacturer for being ahead of their time. Looking ta the bus head on, does one not see Luigi?
Reminds me of the blue bird school buses I rode as a kid in the 90s. Those had the same exact setup with the driver, front door and engine all sitting ahead of the front axle. No classy wooden dashboard though, they were noisy crude beasts with no sound insulation under that doghouse. And I think most of them ran that dang cummins diesel found in dodge pickups, aka the loudest ass diesel ever. Kind of glad the school bus didnt have those curving roof windows, you would have broiled on those 100 degree August days when school first started up