PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
Page 65
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
MANCHESTER'S LATEST BUS PURCHASE.
A Large-capacity Covered-top Double-decker on a Six-wheeled Chassis for Municipal Service.
FOR some considerable time past a number of six-wheeled vehicles of various types, principally motorbuses, has been constructed in the works of Earlier Motors, Ltd., Karrier" Works, Huddersfield, which, as our readers will know, has played a big part in connection with the development of this class of vehicle. One of the most'recent deliveries of this description to be made by this company is shown in an illustration appearing on this page. It consists of a double-deck six-wheeled bus which has just been supplied to the tramways department of the Manchester Corporation. It ig a 66-seater with a vestibule entrance, and the bodywork was constructed by Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., of Ipswich.
The vehicle has seating accommoda eon foe 30 passengers in the lower saloon and 36 in the upper saloon, and generous headroom is given in both decks; in fact, passengers can pass along the gangways without the need for stooping. As will be seen from our illustration, the subject of ventilation has been well considered, and, apart from sliding windows in the upper deck, several half-drop windows are employed in the loweil saloon, in addition to the usual side ventilators.
The chassis which serves as the basis
• of this vehicle is the TVL6 2-type Harrier, which incorporates in its design a six-cylinder engine capable of deveroping 61 h.p. at 1,250 r.p.na., a conetype clutch, a four-speed-and-reverse gearbox, and final worm drive. The drive from the gearbox to the trans.-mission brake is by a solid driving shaft, fitted at each end with fabric discs, and thence to the forward axle of the rear bogie by a tubular shaft, which is fitted with two star-type roller-bearing universal joints and a splined plunger joint protected by a sliding muff.
An important point in respect of double-deck bilges is that of Stability, and it is significant to note, in connection with the vehicle under review, that with the top deck carrying its full complement of passengers and the lower deck empty, the safe angle of tip is only reduced by one per cent, from that when the bus is fully loaded.
The vehicle is handsomely finished in ivory and red with black and gold linings. The driver is housed in an enclosed compartment alongside the engine on the off side, and an illuminated destination indicator is carried above the canopy. A . 12-volt constant-voltage dynamo supplies lighting current.