Bus 986 Broken Down At Tuggeranong

[Bus 400]

Here are some pictures of an injured Bus 986. I found out from the Depot Manager that that middle left wheel had fallen off. Trouble was first noticed at the bus stop of Launceston Street, Phillip (Phillip Swimming Pool), where a whole lot of smoke came from that wheel. From that stop to Woden Interchange, the bus started stinking of smoke. I left this bus for a while & spotted it just over an hour later at Platform 6 of Tuggeranong Interchange. A lot of liquid had spilt from the axle & the workmen were pulling it apart. Well here are some pics I took.

[Busnerd]

The wheel wouldn't have just fallen off, some reasons could be that the hub ran out of oil causing the smoke...or something similar.

[Snorzac]

I assume it was towed, am I correct?

[Bus 400]

It looked as if one of the smaller rings snapped. Trust me it didn't run out of oil, as there were puddles just before it broke down & when they were fiddling with the axle, lots more came out. But they were prepared with the sand.

It was driven back to depot.

[Snorzac]

I am actually surprised they pulled it apart there, I guess the depot is only down the road and they could have gotten any parts easily.

I would think that if it happened in the city or Woden it would have been a tow job

[Bus 400]

Well it was there for almost 2 hours & it was a tight turn for every bus. Most buses hit the witches hat except for a trainee. One ACT Bus board member missed the witches hat by millimeters.

[Busnerd]

As I said above, the gear in the axle would've been leaking or run out of oil hence causing all the issues as Mr Guru explained on ATDB.

[Bus 400]

I have found out that the axle actually broke. The driver could smell smoke going down Adelaide Avenue & he noticed the plume of smoke on Launceston Street. It held together until Tuggeranong Interchange. It was probably the big u-turn at the end of the platforms that did it.