Opinions from Others.
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The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use Of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only, and type-written by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibihty fir views expressed is aecepted. In the case of exberiences, names of towns or localities may be withheld.
Electric Vehicles.
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1284] Sir,—In reference to the report in your issue of the 4th December on the opening of the new premises of Edison Accumulators, Ltd., you mention that the Electrical Engineer for St. Maryle.bone was strongly of opinion that the adoption of electric automobiles on a large scale would benefit public health, but that he neglected to point out exactly how petrol vehicles specifically endangered it. I would refer you to an article in an issue of " The Lancet" for July or August. last (I have not a copy by me), in which a serious warning was given that a grave menace to public health is presented by the haze of partially-burnt petrol and lubricating oil. "The Lancet" describes it. as a growing danger. I referred to this in my speech.—Yours faithfully, A. Hueli Saanuocui, General Manager, Borough of St. Marylebone Electric Supply. York Place, Baker Street., W.
[We strongly recommend advocates of electric vehicles not to rely upon destructive eriticism of petrol vehicles, but upon their own good points. :Points such as the above are merely estimate or matters of opinion.—ED.] An Exceptional Bus Ride.
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MoToa.
[1285] Sir,I have read with great interest the letter, in your issue of the 4th inst., signed " Queen's Gate." I willingly acknowledge the good humour with which your correspondent expresses himself, but I venture to think that the sub-title which you have given his letter, viz., " A Record of and a Protest Against a Case of Reckless Driving," does some injustice to him, and more to the driver of the bus to which he refers.
" Queen's Gate " does not allege that the driver was reckless ; on the contrary, his letter appears to me to be a tribute to the skill with which the driver handled his omnibus in trying positions_ He, of course, took advantage of all openings in the traffic, and carried his passengers to their de.stination with all speed, consistent with safety and a due observance of the law. That is what. all National bus drivers do Queen's Gate " says that it was a most interesting trip, that he thoroughly enjoyed it, that the driver was really skilful, the springing of the bus delightful, the smooth running and power of acceleration very marked. If he. got all these good things and delightful sensations by riding on a National Steam Car ii the extremely moderate fare charged, what is he grumbling at ?—Yours faithfully, For THE NATIONAL STEAM CAR CO., LTD., F. GALE, Secretary. 16. St Helen's Place, E.C.
8th December, 1913.
[Wo afforded "Queen's Gate" the opportunity to peruse this letter. His further letter follows, over his own name.—ED.1 The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1286] Sir,--The letter of the. 8th inst., from the secretary of the National Steam Car Co., is surely the most-amazing document which you have ever received for publication. I had described how one of their drivers systematically halted in a badly-obstructed road, in such a manner as to create the maximum of obstruction to following traffic ; how he systematically pulled up at stopping places so as to overlap the bus in front and thereby caused obstruction; how, when a bus in front of him pulled out, to pass another, he deliberately pulleclaout further still at high speed to overtake his rival, and very nay rewly escaped running into a traffic refuge ; how he darted past. such a well-recognized stopping-place as St. George's Hospital, and how, when compelled to halt to let a passenger alight., he ent across two other buses, both of which had some difficulty in averting a collision ; and, finally, I had hinted gently that his speed throughout was excessive, my impression being that we exceeded not only the 1'2-wile but also the 20-mile limit along Baker Street.
I had expected to be ignored or contradicted, but it fairly took my breath away to learn that—in the secretary's opinion—this does not constitute reckless driving, but is merely what all National bus diivers do !" Really, his directors ought promptly to prosecute him for libel! After that2 it did not surprise me to learn that my letter was intended " as a tribute to the skill with which the driver handled his omnibus in trying positions." The positions certainly were trying, but they were all of his own creation. The submission, that as the driver was skilful he therefore could not be reckless, might be good enough for a court of laws but is a trifle too thin to try on the readers of a technical journal.
Finally, he asks what I have to complain about. Personally, nothing ; for I was on the bus, and had the comfortable feeling that whatever happened I should get the best af it.; hut I could not help remembering that there were some six million poor Londoners who did not share my state of security, and so I wrote to you. If, however, I had had any idea that—as their secretary implies—the entire performance was in accord with the desires and instructions of the company, I should have noted the number of the bus and addressed my letter not to Rosebery Avenue but to Scotland Yard.
The lion and the lamb seem to get along together all right on those routes where they are accustomed to one another, as the Strand-Piccadilly route, or the Bayswater Road-Hank run ; but, when a new line is first established, it feels that it has to attract custom by outdoing its rivals. Also, on most of the routes, there are many different lines competing, whereas on this particular run the steamers and No. 65 vehicles have only each other to think of.
The secretary's reply to my remarks is inadequate enough, but it is still more remarkable that he ignores your leaderette altogether. It would be interesting to know how many steam inspectors there are between Orchard Street and Stoke Newington ?—
Yours faithfully, WALTER H. THOMPSON. 48, Queen's Gate, S.W. all December, 1913.
Are Tractors Too Powerful ?
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1287] Sir,'-Allow me to reply to Mr. Aveling's letter [No. 1282]. I have already stated that my interest in this question is from a designer's point of view, so is it unreasonable that I should defend the steam. tractor? The answer to " Verax's" query, which gave its name to this correspondence, cannot be definitely given, unless the particular size and power referred to are stated, as I have requestad " Yerax " to do.
Mr. A veling has previously stated that they are riot too powerful, but lack sufficient adhesion, which defect can be remedied by inclining the drawbar.
There are three ways in which the adhesion between two surfaces can be improved : (1) increaaing the pressure between the surfaces ;.(2) altering the mature of the surfaces ; (3) increasing the area in contact. Mr. Aveling uses method (1); I suggest
Opinions from Others—con.
using method (2). The third is governed by the diameter and width of the driving wheels. Mr. Aveling is quite wrong in his supposition that only a small increase in adhesive weight will prevent the slipping of the driving wheels. Placing ashes, sacking, or even paper under the wheels alters the coefficient of friction between the two surfaces— which is entirely different to increasing the adhesive weight—and therefore greatly increases the adhesion ; the exact extent can only be determined by experiment. For instance, rubber tires give about 75 per cent. better adhesion than plain iron tires, under some conditions ; also, in locomotive practice, sanding the rails increases the adhesion 25 to 66 per cent. The drawbar pull of about 3883 lb. is the maximum obtainable under any conditions, and therefore illustrates the greatest benefit obtainable by inclining the drawbar. When pulling on the level, it would be considerably lower. We are both agreed that the proper place to pull from is round the driving-axle. The length of the drawbar will depend upon where it is fixed to the trailer ; the length of 3 ft. is about the minimum distance between tractor and trailer wheelcentres. I cannot see how an angle of 45 degrees could be obtained, but, supposing 1 in 6 possible, 3883 then the increase in adhesive weight is only -= 647 lb. or 5.8 per cent., which is the maximum obtainable under any conditions.
Mr. Aveling's query, as to how far a tractor coulkl travel, using sacking, up an incline of 1 in 4 with 12 tons load, is quite irrelevant, for 1 never stated that this gradient could be negotiated; 1 in 10 would be about the maximum gradient with this load. It should be quite clear, from my previous letter, that the greatest haulage capacity is 8 tons up 1 in 6. With regard to the distance, if the man walks by the side of the driving-wheel, repeatedly throwing one end of the sacking under the wheel, keeping bold of the other end, the problem resolves itself into how far the man can walk. But 1 never suggested this method as a universal cure, for I stated that wheels with suitable treads are used for continuous work on wet and greasy surfaces.
Mr. Wedgewood's suggestion of a very slow third speed would only aggravate the alleged defect, for, it is equivalent to increasing the power of the engine:
In conclusion, I should like to state, as my opinion, that a tractor of the following dimensions is quite suitable for dealing with gross loads of 8 tons on ordinary English roads with a maximum gradient o4 1 in 6 :—maximum. b.h.p. 33; driving wheels 5 ft. ir diameter and 12 ins. wide ; weight on driving wheels 5 tons. That they could be considerably improved in other respects and made more efficient I am quite willing to admit, but, unfortunately, manufacturers of this class of vehicle are very conservative, and too much addicted to rule of thumb.—Yours faithfully, The Call of Lancashire. HEM/EST-US, The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1288] Sir,—It was with pleasure T read your article on " The Call of Lancashire " in your issue of the 11th December. This article is a very fair resume of the progress Lancashire has made in motor transport, and the part taken by you in the early stages is worthy of all credit. It is to be hoped that you are now reaping the fruits of early seeds sown, by receiving the whole-hearted support of all shades of the industry in your endeavours to bring mechanical transport to merited acceptance by all interests.
Although Lancashire has always been ready to encourage mechanical progress, support has never been forthcoming until the machine or the idea has been thoroughly tested. As this was the case with the spinning jenny and various other textile inventions and ideas in connection with the cotton trade, so it Jas been with motor transport, which, even to-day, c16 is only beginning to receive the just recognition due to it front leaders of the staple industry of the county.
The whole movement has been one struggle against prejudice on all sides. The authorities, with very few exceptions, have viewed with anything but a favourable eye the introduction of steam wagons and petrol lorries in place of the slow and cumbersome, but now time-honoured horse vehicles. This prejudice also, to a very great extent, upset the usual common sense of local governing bodies, who viewed mechanical transport in the light-of a burden on the rates, as, in their idea., we owners contributed very little to the county coffers in return for the supposed damage to the roads which was very freely laid to our charge. Prejudice, however, is being met, fought and conquered in the only way in which it can be, that is, by demonstrating that mechanical transport is of real worth and an absolute necessity. You, Sir, by your early efforts, set the machinery of mechanical transport in motion, and right loyally from that time have the carriers of Lancashire carried forwavd your original work : they, to-day, are well on their way to the achievement of their aim— the retention of public confidence, and the securing of sound fmancial support. We are not quite on safe ground ; we are progressing cautiously, but, nevertheless, surely. When we look back, we have no regrets. Mistakes have been made, but workers have to mount upwards on the steps of past failures, and we all feel proud that, although we have never had an easy time but have ever had labour, expense and worry as companions, our work has not been in vain. As regards the financial side, we have all had a lesson of the truth that no object of any worth is attained without sacrifice. In Lancashire motor transport, an enormous amount sof money has been sunk and lost, particularly by the pioneers. Later companies and firms have felt the pinch, but they have in the majority of cases had the good sense to move slowly, and to take to heart the lessons and experiences of early concerns. The facts that it was a new industry 12 years ago, and that ill-success of the pioneers has had a retarding effect upon the financial support due to motor transport from the investing Lancashire man, have to be remembered. So Jong as a Lancashire manufacturer can get his safe tour to six per cent. in cotten-mill shares, he does not, as yet, show any haste to invest in motor-carrying.
We have also been held back by another fact. We have received spasmodic visits from the unprincipled company promoter. He knows nothing about the industry and conditions, but simply gathers a few figures, floats (or tries to float) a large company, and then very soon the bubble bursts. This has caused a lack of confidence, and only naturally so. It is making the task of the hard-working carrier heavier. There are now several concerns in Lancashire which have been developed by dogged perseverance to a state bordering on perfection; they have further traffic at their command, and prospects generally are of the brightest. They have won theiraiway to this stage by honest, straightforward work, but here they are compelled to call a halt unless further capital is forthcoming. They have expended their own resources in the development of their businesses, and they are now coming to a standstill. The present is the opportune time for the honest investor to make inquiries for himself, and he will find that the present Lancashire carrier is able to produce solid, practical facts, and clear-cut inferences, to back up Eis arguments for further capital. Lancashire has no room for the company speculator. What is wanted is the sound business man who respects hard labour and grit. Let these come in with their capital, and leave the control to the carriers, and we will guarantee that investors will not be disappointed : they will find that, whereas carriers with their own capital and small scope have been able to build up only small if substantial concerns, with greater capital the field is more profitable than ever.—Yours faithfully,