SALOON BUSES OF SELECT DESIGN.
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Brief Details of Certain of the Popular Models Produced by a Prominent British Company.
TEE Vulcan Motor and Engineering Co. (1906), Ltd., whose works are at Crossens, near Southport, are experiencing a considerable demand for their motor vehicle productions at the present time, not ord.}, in the home market, but also from Australia and other Colonies. So far as this country is concerned, the company ake securing many orders for various types of municipal vehicle, whilst the 20 and the 26-seater omnibuses are also finding 'a ready sale, which is not surprising when one considers the attractive prices at which these popular models are marketed, i.e., £785 in the case of the former vehicle and £815 for the latter.
In bath chassis utilized for bus work a Sour-cylinder engine, pith a bore and stroke of 95 mm. by 130 mm., is employed, its rating being 22.4 h.p. The clutch used in these chassis is faced with Ferodo, the drive being taken to the gearbox through a flexible' disc joint. Four speeds are provided, the ratios varying from 7.75 to 1 on top gear to 31 to 1 on low gear. The final drive is by worm, the worm wheel and differential being carried on heavy-duty ball bearings. The axle is of the full-floating type. Semi-elliptic springs are employed all round, and steel wheels shod with superonshion tyres are fitted as standard. The foot brake acts on a drum behind the gearbox, while the hand brake controls internal-expanding shoes operating in 18-in, diameter drums on the rear wheels.
B22 The chassis of the 20 seater bus is similar in general design to that of the 26-seater, hut the wheelbase of the former is 12 ft., as against 13 ft. 4 ins. for the larger model. So far as coachwork details are concerned, the 26-seater is a gracefully proportioned single-deck saloon. The body is divided into two compartments, the front having seats of the semi-bucket type, which are arranged in pairs and face forward, while the seats at the rear are arranged round the sides of the interior. Between the front and rear compartments is a sliding door, winch runs
on rollers and is easily operated. The lighting of the interior has been well considered, four large windows being found on the near side and five an the off side. The lights are arranged to be lowered_ into the sides of the body, and can readily be raised and fixed m any desired position. Above these windows is a series of ventilating lights, which are made to open inwards.
The roof is of white Encrusts, and is divided into a number of panels by Oak mouldings. A • panelled-oak partition separates,the driving cab from the compartment for passengers, and suitable mechanisin is provided to enable, the driver to control the opening and closing of the door at the front on the near side. A double door is fitted on the near side which communicates direct to the rear compartment, while a third door is fitted at the front on the off side for the sole use of the driver. Domed wings and a roof of similar contour contribute to thehandsome appearance of the vehicle.
On the smaller one-man-operated bria a somewhat different type of body is fitted, a special feature of its design being the safety entrance door at the front, controlled by the driver by means of a suitable lever, which also raises the step at the same time as the .door is closed. Here, again, the semi-buckettype seats are arranged in pairs, and the rear seat, which accommodates four persons, extends across the full width of the body. Large windows are fitted on
each side, and the glass is made to slide in felt-lined channels. The lights can be • adjusted to any desired height. From the floorboards to the waist line this bus body. is lined with plywood, which is stained and varnished to match the remainder of the interior, which is carried out in oak. A panelled-oak partition, the upper panel of which is glazed, separates the driver from the main seating compartment, '
At the rear of this bus there is ari emergency door, with an easily operated quick-action release. On this model-also the driver is provided with an off-side door, which, like the other doors, is hung on best quality coach hinges_
A point of special interest on one of the buses which we recently inspected was the hot-water heating apparatus, which can be incorporated in the design of any of the. company's buses kit .a slightly increased cost. As will be seen from one of the illustrations on this .page, a pipe connects with the main circulation piping of the engine and is led to the rear under the seats on one side of the body; after which it passes under the floorboards in the rear compartment, is taken upwards again,' and, after passing along the other side of the body, joins up with the main circulating system. A cock is fitted in a position which enables the system to be regulated and controlled by the driver, while the necessary air vent is located at the back of the roof.
The company are in a position to give rapid delivery of the various types of bus which they manufacture.