PARCEL-CARRIERS AT THE MOTOR CYCLE SHOW.
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Although Not Numerous there were smile-. Commercial
Exhibits of Considerable Interest.
IN VIEW of the tremendous progress which is being made in this country in the development of the motorcycle and iidecar combination, it is not surprising that a large number of the exhibitors at the recent Motor Cycle Show at Olympia should draw attention to models for commercial work.
The light parcel-carrier is a speedy and reliable unit, which proves of considera,ble service to the tradesman whose business does not justify the use of vehicles of large load-carrying capacity. It can even be employed with success by large concerns for the expeditious delivery of small quantities of goods.
The majority of the parcel-carriers shown consisted of a standard sidecar chassis carrying a rectangular box, this sometimes having a cloth cover, but in the majority of cases being provided with a curved lid lifting up to expose the whole of the interior. Sometimes the last-named is provided with trays, so that the goods can be carried in two layers, and one very neat box of this type, shown by Thomas Hughes and Sons, was completely panelled in aluminium.
An improvement on the ordinary box-carrier is what is known by some makers as the post-office type, and by others as the aerial mail type. In these machines a much wider body than metal is employed, and it is stepped, being high at the back and low at the frcnt, in order to avoid the handlebars. Usually the front step has a lid, and double doors are provided at the rear. A good example of this type is the 8 hp. Royal. Enfield, which ilosts £90.
The smaller combinations to which we have afready referred were shown by the New Scale Motor and Engineering Co., Ltd., and the makers cf the Levis machine, t e 14-cwt. delivery outfit of the latter company costing only 53 guineas. Bayliss, Thomas and Co. showed a 4 h.p. Excelsior tradesman's combination, priced at £73 10s. The air-mail-type Matchless was priced at £101 8i.
Although hardly entering the sphere of this article, we cannot refrain from mentioning the sidecar taxis. We could only find two of these in the Show, that made by the Watsoman Folding Sidecar Co., Ltd., with its five-point attachment to an Excelsior machine, and costing £60 for the Sidecar alone, and the sidecar made by Mills Eulford, Ltd. This sidecar is a considerable improvement upon the standard model. It was built to a special order, and is well upholstered in grey Bedford cord, has frameless sliding windows, a double windscreen and an aluminium step-mat. An interesting sidelight on the activities of the Automo bile Association was shown by the special night-service com. bination, which was provided with a large electrically lighted sign and very complete equipment, including a Pyrene fireextinguisher, tool kit, petrol, grease, water, spare jets for well-known carburetters and—perhaps of more importance than anything else—a spare set of emergency oil lamps. These lamps have already proved of the utmost value to road users who are stranded through defects in the lighting systems of their vehicles, and the scheme of providing these sets in one which Might well be extended. These outfits are driven by special men, who take their turns of duty half an hour after sunset, when the day men are absent.
One of the most enterprising of the companies producing commercial models is Danford and Elliott, Ltd., whose most interesting exhibit was a completely equipped ice-cream and soda fountain, carrying a large freezer and a small but efficient soda fountain, made by Soclascnie, Birmingham. The machine also has lockers for biscuits, a washing bowl and, of course, cylinders for gas.
When chat up, the outfit closely resembles the post-office type of sidecar to which we have already alluded, but when open the lid forms a back and canopy, whilst the front of the locker containing the fountain folds down to form a tray for glasses, etc. The price of the complete machine, including a Dunelt two-stroke motorcycle, is 160.
-krother attractive and useful exhibit was the Du.nelt machine equipped as an emergency fire-engine. This has a 25-gallon chemical extinguisher taking the form of a large cylinder fulerume.d at its centre; and so arranged that generation of gas commences only when the cylinder is turned upside down, after which it will throw a jet 50 ft. long for 20 minutes. This part of the apparatus must he recharged after use.
In addition, there are three medium-sized extinguishers, one of the ordinary C.,% type and the others containing Sprafoam for fighting petrol. fires.
Carried on the tubular framework at the back of the machine is a small C.T.C. fire-extinguisher known as the "petrol-electric." It holds a quart of chemical fluid, and is handy for extinguishing outbreaks involving highly inflam. limbic material. The fluid will not injure delicate fabric or apparatus, and, being a non-conductor, can be used on live electric wires. The complete machine is priced at 2160, this figure including a 12-ft. escape ladder and an eledrically operated gong. We were rather surprised at the absence Of three-wheeled parcel-carriers, considering that several were shown last year. On this occasion we could find only one, this being the Melen Express. It is a tricycle-type machine with a carrier to hold 2-3 cwt. of goods mounted at the front.
• This machine has a frame btilt of angle-steel. The steering is somewhat unusual, as it is on the Ackerman principle, and operated by handlebars of the ordinary type. Several improvements have been made in the latest model. For instance, in the frame any of the angle-steel members can be replaced in half an hour; the controls have also been simplified. In view of its sturdy construction, the Trice is very moderate, being only £70. It has a Villiers 3 h.p. engine The makers are : F. and H. Meier', Ltd, Express Works, Cheapside, Birmingham.