Loose Leaves.
Page 2
Page 3
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
VNE hear good reports on all hands of the World Motor Transport Congress at Rome, the attendance being satisfactory, the papers of some importance and the discussions of much interest, all of which is not only a matter of credit to Mr. Wyatt but serves to remove the Congress from the category of those which we consider to be so useless. The acid test which we would apply to every Congress and prolonged conference is that some concrete result should accrue from it within a year, otherwise it should not be perpetuated or repeated. The potential usefulness of many a Congress is spoiled by the kindly but misplaced hospitality lavished upon the delegates.
THE use of the six-wheeler for single-deck bus services seems something akin to extravagance and, as the London General Omnibus Co. studiously avoids wastefulness, the reason for its employment Is often questioned. The fact is that on certain routes, where there are unusually steep gradients or bridges with inadequate clearance, double-deckers are not suitable and single-deck buses must be used. The six 3313 wheeler provides accommodation for a more economic load and at the same time has a better turning circle than a four-wheeler of the same capacity would have.
Speaking of low bridges, it is quite time that an alteration was made in the bridge which carries the Southern RailwAy over the Portsmouth Road on Esher . Common. The old section of the bridge, a brick arch, is too low to permit the passage of a double-deck bus ; the more modern steel section, however, giving the necessary clearance.
WE are creditably assured that the average loss
of revenue from petrol pumps equals the value of three gallons per pump per day, much of it through carelessness on the part of the salesman in recording sales—and there are 90,000 pumps in the country, so that the loss is substantial. Mr. G. W. *Watson's recently invented sales recorder and check for fitting to a petrol pump is claimed to overcome all the trouble.
SPEAKING to his wife (who, by the way, in
commercial motor and civic circles is as popular as himself) just before starting from home for the show banquet of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mr. F. G. Bristow, secretary of the Commercial Motor Users Association, said "I wonder if I shall be seated next to the Editor of. The Comm-ercial Motor!" There was no reason for saying it: just a thought that flashed through his mind, for at no previous show banquet had.they sat together. Yet the extraordinary thing was that as they took their allotted seats they found that actually they had been placed next to each' other. Was it intuition on Bristow's part—some element of prescience, or what?
DIFFERENCES in language, national character istics and expressive gestures are apt to cause awkward situations to arise when travelling or 'working overseas. For instance, Mr. Roy Dennis, who was recently in the Argentine on behalf of Dennis Bros., Ltd., was superintending some small adjustment on a Dennis vehicle in a maintenance shop, the mechanics being Argentinos. He needed a hammer and asked a somewhat ancient mechanic to get one for him. As the mechanic came dawdling back Mr. Roy Dennis endeavoured to hasten him by making the familiar Army gesture which means "at the double."
Unfortunately, in the Argentine the same gesture appears to signify one of the worst forms of studied insult; consequently, the mechanic came at him with the hammer instead of handing it over, whilst the rest of the mechanics crowded around in a threatening manner. Happily the tension was broken when the innocent offender burst into a laugh and explained by other signs what he really meant. Having once seen the humorous side, the Argentinos became almost embarrassingly friendly.