The 30 articulated Mercedez-Benz O305G's replaced the last of the Leyland Atlantean Double-Deckers from the Northern Beaches of Sydney in the mid 1980's. The prototype 2550 originally had 3 doors and was without a turbo which made it severly underpowered for tackling the Warringah area's hilly terrain. The 29 production models from 2551-2579 were delivered with turbo's and an unusual door layout where there are no doors in the trailer - both doors are on the 'tractor' - the only such vehicles in the world known to be built like this. 2550 later had its 3 door layout reduced to the standard 2 and had a turbo retrofitted. They have given sterling service on the Northern Beaches over the last 23 years. Quite a number have now been withdrawn since the delivery of the Volvo artics and sold to private operators, however a few still remain in service - a few have been redeployed to Port Botany depot. This is the first time since they were delivered that they have operated from a non Northern Beaches depot.
