Ready for the Snow S TEPS which have been taken to
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pre" vent serious dislocation to road traffic as a result of snow and ice, were described in the House of Commons, last week, by Me. Callaghan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport.
"The whole organization for snow clearance has been reviewed since last winter," he said. "Grants are being made to highway authorities to buy additional snow-clearing equipment, andsteel for enough ploughs has been made available, There will also be more snow-clearing equipment for trunk roads. Public service vehicles fitted with snow ploughs will help, if needed, and light snow ploughs suitable for tractors are being issued to fa rmcrs. "
Service Departments are to co-operate and advance snow warnings will he given in broadcast weather reports.
The Road Research Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research has prepared a revised edition of a war-time note describing how and when snow and ice should be removed by the use of chemicals. It is called " Road Note No. 2—Chemical Treatment for Icy Roads," and coo be obtained from the Stationery Office at 3d.
Salt should normally be used in the southern half of England, it is stated, but calcium chloride may be required in some northern districts. The Note corn ments that in America, where chemicals are more commonly used than in this country, little complaint is heard at damage to vehicle brake mechanisms, etc., caused by salty slush, To facilitate snow clearance, drivers who have to abandon their vehicles in snowdrifts should report this fact to the nearest police station, says a letter circulated to Yorkshire operators by the Leeds offices of the Road Haulage Assaciation. the Passenger Vehicle Operators' Association, and the Traders' Road Transport Association, According to the Chief Constable of the West Riding, the use of mechanical snow-shifters has, in the past, been hampered by fear of damaging vehicles which might he buried in drifts. M.LR.A., TOPS MINIMUM INCOME FOR GRANT
THE annual report of the Motor Industry Research Association for 1946-47 shows that the Association has now exceeded the minimum income of £40,000 that entitles M.I.R.A, to a grant from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. The, total grantearning income was 143,917, although this figure was not received until almost nine months of the year had passed and planning of research was obstructed.
: Further details of the progress made so far and the Association's future plans will be published next week.
.SPEECHES BY LANDLINE
QPEECHES ruade at the first post-war
" get-together " of the Bedford Drivers' Club, . in Edinburgh, were relayed by landlines to similar gatherings in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Durnfries and Carlisle. About 1,400 people were 'thus able to hear Mr. C. Ca mbage, generalManager, S.M.T. Sales and Service; Mr. W. J. Seymour, public relations manager, Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., and others.
IRON CURTAIN OVER THE TILL
RUSSIA, Yugoslavia and Poland were the countries that had not yet fully paid their subscriptions to the European Central Inland Transport Organization, said Mr. Callaghan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, in reply to a question in the House of Commons.
As reported in "The Commercial Motor" last week, the E.C.I.T.O. owes money to members of the staff.
HOW TO MAKE TYRES LAST
STEN ERIG a middle course between over elaboration and excessive simplification, "The Care of Tyres," issued by the Avon India Rubber Co., Ltd., Melksham, Wilts, is a valuable publication for commercial-vehicle users. It deals, among other matters, with the effects of under-inflation, overloading and unecwal loading, mechanical irregularities, common causes of damage and hints to operators
• OBITUARY
WE always looked upon the HON. SIR ARTHUR STANLEY, G.C.V.O., C.B„ who died at Eastbourne on November 4 at the age of 77, as being one of the pluckiest of the personalities connected with our industry For many years he suffered a crippling disability, necessitating his walking with sticks, and was finally confined to a wheeled chair. He was chairman of the Lancashire United Transport and Power Co., Ltd., and the South Lancashire Transport Co., Ltd., also a director of a number of other companies. He was a younger brother of the present Earl of Derby. For many years he took a most active part in road transport matters and was chairman of the R.A.C.
Another pioneer of the motor industry, SIR ALI3ERT R ATKEY, LP., died on November 9 at the age of 80. Head of a successful motor business, he became Lord Mayor of Nottingham in 1929 and was a Conservative M.P. from /918 to 1922.
-s28 M. H. GILLESPIE, who, until health compelled him to retire in 1942, was assistant hame sales manager of the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., died on November 6. He originally joined A.E.C. in 1912. He was 55 years old.
DECISION ON THE SHOWS
'THE recommendation to the Council L of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that the Commercial Vehicle and Motor Shows should be held in 1948 will be considered and decided upon at a Council meeting to be held on November 27.
SERVICE MADE EASY
AQUICK REFERENCE service manual, which deais with the Crossley double-deckechassis, is now obtainable front Crossley Motors, Ltd., Errwood Park, Stockport.
Brief illustrated descriptions of items required by engineers in drawing up maintenance schedules are given. Methods of assembly and dismantling are shown. The manual is sectioned to deal with each unit of the chassis. Independent sections are concerned with chassis lubrication and driving instruc tions. Individual tasks' are clearly explained and numbered to assist the fitter in carrying out the job as a routine.
EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES
A CONCERN in Penang requires .1-1 details from manufacturers of taximeters of the ordinary type, except that the fares are to be in dollars and cents. Letters should be marked "Taximeter," care of the Editor,
In October nearly G,000 Ford vehicles, valued at' about £1,500,000 were exported. These figures set up a new record for the company. PLEA FOR STUDY OF . ORGANIZATION
BEFORE the Institute of Transport last Monday, Mr. E A. Pope, CIE., Minst.T., a vice-prisident of the L.M.S. Railway Co., delivered an address with the topical subject of " Principles of Organization for Large Undertakings."
Large size, he said, should be no deterrent to evolution of a good organization. After describing the objects of such an organization as being to satisfy users and staff, remunerate capital and command universal respect, he enumerated principles for success and reviewed these in detail.
A clear diagram of the layout of a large organization was accompanied by detailed description, and the respective merits of centralization and regionalization were considered. The note which he desired to strike, he said, was a plea for study of organization.
A more comprehensive summary of the paper will appear in next week's issue of "The Commercial Motor."
NEW OUTLET FOR INVENTORS
TO provide a link between industry and inventors, a new organization, known as the Amalgamated Research and Development Co., Ltd., has been formed. The Articles of Association provide for ',he division of profits between the financial backers and the scientists and inventors who may be
essociated with the enterprise. .
At the outset, the new company is being guaranteed by Associated British Engineering, Ltd., Dawnay, Day .and Co., and General Mining Industries, Ltd., of South Africa. Directors are Mr. R. P. Fraser, The Hon. A. C. Geddes, Mr. C. L. Hill and Mr. J. M. Hopkinson. Registered offices are at Duke's Court, 32, Duke Street, London, S.W.1.
At present, the engineering and chemical engineeringresearch units are housed at the works recently acquired from Lagonda, Ltd., Staines, by an affiliated company.