THE LATEST LOW-FRAMED RAILLESS.
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Details of the New Double-deck 52-seater Bus with Double-reduction Worm and Internal Gear Axle, Four-wheel Brakes, Aluminium-alloy Road Wheels and Covered Upper Saloon.
IN ACCORDANCE with the modern tendency towards the reduction of platform height there has just been produced by Railless, Ltd., Whitehall House, 29-30, Charing Cross, London, S.W.1, a new covered double-deck model mounted on a special type of chassis having a low frame constructed of channel-section pressings in 3 per cent. nickel steel with cross-members giving the maximum lateral support and arranged so that they directly support the load transmitted to the frame through the spring brackets.
To permit low-frame construction, the rear axle, which is a Kirkstall product, is of the double-reduction type having a first reduction by worm gearing and a final reduction by internal gearing, the rings being bolted direct to the road wheels. All the gearing is totally enclosed, the casing being grease-tight, water and dust-proof.
The axle casing is a drop-forged double-banjo in one per cent. nickel steel, whilst drop fergings in 3 per cent, nickel steel are employed for the road-wheel journals and axle cranks.
By removing the road wheels and driving shafts, the worm and differential gearing can be lifted from the axle casing and through a trap provided in the floor of the car.
The road wheels are of particular interest, as they are constructed of special aluminium alloy and have a semicruciform section. They are built for Dunlop solid tyres, 760 mm. for 850 ram. fitting at the front and 140 ram for 881 mm. fitting (twins) at the rear. The wheels run on Timken taper roller bearings, provision being made for minute adjustment.
Most careful attention has been paid to the brakes, there being two independent sets in the ease of the double-deck car, the service brake taking effect on all four wheels and being controlled by a pedal and a hand lever operated in conjunction or independently. The emergency brake acts on the rear wheels only and is applied by pedal. The brake shoes in all cases are faced with die-pressed Fermi° secured by aluminium rivets, and the pull rods and connections are so designed that any adjustment which may be necessary owing to wear may be made at any point of the mechanism.
The electrical equipment consists of two D.K. 99a electric motors of 35 h.p. at the usual rating, built by the English Electric Co., Ltd., these being arranged in tandem. The commutators are sparkless up to twice their full-load current and the field can be diverted to the extent of 50 per cent. without affecting the commutation. The motors are mounted directly on the chassis frame, which is so well sprung that independent springing of the motors has been found to be unnecessary. The other units are the band reverser, the foot-operated controller arranged for seriesparallel control, and starting and field-resistances fixed in two cases and equipped with waterproofed louvered covers. This new type of railless vehicle will be attded to the existing fleet of the Birmingham Corporation, and the actual vehicle which will be exhibited at Olympia is built to take 52 seats equally divided between the lower and upper saloons. The seating in the upper saloon is, however, all transverse, whilst that below is partly transverse, but the rear seats are arranged longitudinally. A feature in the upper saloon is the provision of oree windows at the sides, these being operated on the lazytongs principle.
The current-collecting gear consists of Railiess patent, vertical trolley standards equipped with two tapering booms approximately 19 ft. 6 ins, in length and mounted on channel supports.
The production of this new model undoubted :y marks a great step forward in the development of Railless productions, and has been evolved from the experience and research of many years.
The principal dimensions of the new vehicle are as follow :—Overall length, 24 ft. 6 ins.; overall width (over wings), 7 ft. 6 ins.; height, 14 ft. 6 ins.; height to step 1 ft. 1 in.; from step to platform, 10 ins. ; from platform to floor, 9i ins. (giving a total platform height from the ground of 2 ft. Si ins.). The headroom in the lower and upper saloons is 5 ft. 11 iins. and 5 ft. 61 ins. respectively. The wheelbase is 13 ft. 6 ins, and the turning circle 51 ft..