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Touring 'a la Continentale'
Page 84
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Continued from page 79 The best vehicles, from the point of view of obtaining service, in Belgium. Holland and. perhaps. Austria. are AEC and Leyland (whose vehicles arc used to a great extent in Holland —particularly by the bus undertaking in the State Railways Group). These vehicles are also used to a great extent in I.uxembourg. This being so. it is reasonable to assume that in those countries, too. there must be facilities for service and repair. Although here I would add that while France is the country where they would be most unlikely to cater for English vehicles in trouble, I have known several instances where work has been carried out on such motors by small garage owners. The results have been first class and, more surprising still, the cost has been reasonable.
Regarding fuel, the general practice is to avoid filling up in France because of the tax. If possible, concentrate on Holland, then Belgium. Austria. Switzerland and Germany. Yugoslavia apart from price, used to be avoided by virtue of the poor quality of its fuel. This may not now be the case, as besides a general improvement in its products all round I understand that they now produce and refine their own fuel oils.
Speaking in general terms, it has always struck me that vehicles normally working in Great Britain and only occasionally abroad do profit in one small respect—driving on the npposite side of the road gives the tyres a change of wear without the bother of them being changed round. Unfortunately, that is the only advantage I can think of. Speeds on the Continent are much faster and will be kept up for long periods.
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There are many and arduous climbs which will tax the engine to the utmost. Conversely, the long descents require maximum use of the gearbox.
In addition, many roads, especially in Switzerland and Italy, are narrow, badly cambered, and entirely unsuited to coach traffic. On mountain passes—where the coach has the right of way down—this right is seldom, if ever, accorded. In the cities—and Italy easily tops the bill here for sheer inability to control its motorists—one needs to be an extremely good driver in every respect in order to keep the " no accident bonus" intact.
One of the best known guides in Florence—Professor Morelli (right), posing with the author prior to boarding the coach for a trip round the city. The vehicle is an AEC/Harrington Grenadier operated by Leroy Tours.