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Protecting Steamer Interests
Page 1
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By
V. R. GARRETT
Chairman of the Steam Vehicle Committee of the S.114.M.and T.
The Steam Vehicle Committee of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has Performed Meritorious Service in Connection with the Road Traffic Act
THE purpose of the Steam Vehicle Committee of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is to co-ordinate, under the auspices of the Society, the activities of the steam-wagon manufacturers in questions of policy, legislation and general issues affecting the welfare of their trade.
Since the Commercial Motor Exhibition of 1929 the most important issue which has exercised the minds of the members of the committee has been the Road Traffic Act.
Certain clauses of this Act, as originally drafted, placed the steam vehicle in a most disadvantageous position. Insufficient consideration appeared to have been given to the advantages to the community as a whole of the use of this type of vehicle, which• burns exclusively British fuel and provides economical carriage for certain classes of load in a manner, unapproachable by any other class of transport.
• Under normal conditions the steam wagons in the British Isles have been capable of consuming 1,400,000 tons of British coal. (principally Welsh) per annum. It can, therefore, be realized that legislation aimed at the restriction of these potential consumers has struck a heavy blow at an industry already sorely oppressed.
The activities of the committee in its endeavours to protect its industry from the effects of this shortsighted legislation culminated in a meeting with the Minister of Transport and his advisers, at which the committee was generously supported both by the Mining Association and the The outcome of this united deliberation was a concession by way of easement in certain clauses, and In the case of four-wheelers a gross axle weight of 14 tons, up to January let, 1932, and thereafter 13 tons, was permitted._ Solid Tyres and the Act.
An extension was also granted to the date terminating the manufacture of vehicles equipped with solid tyres, and the use of the pneumatic tyre was not made compulsory in the case of vehicles working over rough or uneven ground. In spite of these efforts and of the concessions granted, there is no doubt that the steam vehicle, the pioneer of heavy road transport, has suffered severely from recent legislation.
Amongst other matters that have recently engaged the attention of the manufacturers comprising the committee has been the range of visibility.
The modern steam wagon probably provides a better range of visibility to the driver than does the average saloon car, but confusion appears to arise in the minds of the authorities between these designs and the prototypes which were modelled on traction-engine lines. In order to demonstrate the marked improvement, in this respect, which has been attained by modern design, a representative parade of steam vehicles was arranged under the auspices of the Society for inspection by experts from Scotland Yard.
Consideration has been given by the committee to the policy of exhibiting at agricultural shows, and the usual routine arrangements for the Commercial Motor Biennial Exhibition at Olympia have been transacted. So far as the former is concerned, there is a manifest inclination to limit this form of exhibitioli as of doubtful benefit as a selling force, and particularly in view of other heavy selling charges incurred by the prevalent method of numerous and expensive demonstrations.
The Olympia Exhibition retains all its historic inspiration as a potential creator of sales, and the manufacturers of steam vehicles have provided their usual imposing display. However, in view of present tendencies, in which legislation has played no small part, a feature of the Exhibition is the number of steam-wagon manufacturers exhibiting compression-ignition engines as an alternative to steam.
The benevolent theory of recent legislation has probably been to preserve the traffic for the railways and the amenities of the roads for the " joy-riders " ; the uncompromising result will be to add to the volume of imported fuel and thereby to the adverse trade balance.