THE STEAM WAGON DEMONSTRATION.
Page 57
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Details of the Latest Proposal as to Route, Daily Distances and Stopping Places.
MITE decision of the Steam Vehicle Committee of the 1 Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders was in favour of extending the period occupied by the proposed Steam Wagon Demonstration so that the whole of the original route through the chief industrial centres of Lancashire and Yorkshire should be traversed and in addition that the Potteries and Midlands should be embraced in the course of the southward rim. It was felt that the original schemes (which were based upon the expenditure of no more than one week upon the whole affair-from the time the wagons leave the works until their return) would necessarily involve a lengthy run on each day and hurrying throughout, and when they were asked to decide between hurrying on the one hand so as to get the road portion of the demonstration over in 3 days, and on the other hand giving more time to it, there was no hesitation in adopting the better course of covering reasonable daily distances and giving longer times for the inspection of the wagons.
To this end it has been provisionally decided to -assemble the vehicles in Liverpool on Tuesday, November 8th, to parade in a central place on the morning of Wednesday, November 9th, and to occupy seven days in reaching London, travelling via Wigan and Preston to Blackburn on the Wednesday (49 miles) ; to Burnley, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield on the Thursday (55 miles) ; to Barnsley, Sheffield and Huddersfield on the Friday (49; miles) ; and to Oldham and Manchester by about midday on the Saturday (25 miles). A long stop at Manchester would occupy the available useful time on Saturday, and then another 26 miles would be traversed to Warrington, not because that would be a
better place for the week-end, but to shorten the journey during the next three days.
Thus, restarting on the Monday, the Potteries towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent would be traversed and Stafford (54i miles) reached that evening; on the Tuesday Wolverhampton and Birmingham would be visited and the day's run concluded Lt Coventry (48i miles). As there are no important industrial centres between Coventry and London, an early start on the Wednesday morning would bring the vehicles to London that evening in time for them to be cleaned up ready for the final parade at Olympia on the Thursday immediately after the official opening of the Commercial Motor Show.
The entries of vehicles so far promised are from Atkinson-Walker Wagons, Ltd., Clayton Wagons, Ltd., Fodens, Ltd., Richard Garrett and Sons, Ltd., Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd., Sentinel Waggon Works, Ltd., and the Yorkshire Steam Wagon Co. The matter is being considered by Wm. Allchin, Ltd. and John Fowler and Co. (Leeds), Ltd. About a dozen vehicles are expected to take part.
The address of all correspondence is The Organizer, Steam Wagon Demonstration, 5-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.1.