News and Comment.
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This journal is admitted to possess the influence, the men, the standing and the leading circulation. It is exclusively read by the heads of many wealthy commercial houses throughout the Empire.
Wallasey U.D.C. will soon have a steam wagon for coke haulage.
A remarkable production from the Straker-Squire works is illustrated on page 224.
Several members of the C.M.U.A. will be at Tunbridge Wells, on Saturday, for the R.A.C. meetings.
We hear excellent reports, from various quarters, of the behaviour of the Wood-Milne steel-rubber tires.
The latest elections to membership of the Institution of Automobile Engineers include Mr. C. Y. Knight, of Coventry.
There is a renewed outcry for prompt action on the part of the L.C.C. in the matter of the establishment of a street-ambulance service for London.
The Roads Improvement Association wants to establish more local centres. Its secretary, at Caxton House, S.W., will give more information on application.
H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, KG., has consented to become president of the R.A.C., the Duke of Sutherland, KG., having resigned the position through illhealth.
Tarred Roads.
Lancashire C.C. is following the lead of Kent and other southern counties, in respect of tar-spraying. The Liverpool-Preston and the Preston-Blackpool roads are being treated just now.
Wolseley Control.
Mr. Arthur McCormack, who for some years has held the position of technical manager to the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Co., Ltd., has been appointed a managing director of the company, Mr. Henry Sturiney criticizes the American truck and the methods of its producers—page 212. He does not, obviously, include the systems whose designs are based upon English practice.
The Leeds-Harrogate motor-mail service has resulted in the placing of an order by the Bridge Garage, Ltd., of Leeds, for another—the third—Lotis vehicle. This company has used Lotis vans on the LeedsBradford service for two years.
Earl's Court Fixed.
The great parade is to be at Earl's Court. That location is central and convenient, but it will be a tight fit to get everybody in. Fortunately, however, there are adjoining storage facilities at the disposal of the C.M.U.A., whilst all the necessary arrangements for re-admissions of judges and competitors have 1..sen made. Full information about the programme for the day will be published in our next issue.
From nine complete teams of six machines a year ago, to no fewer than 36 teams this year, in competition for THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR Challenge Cup is, indeed, a splen
did increase of support in one section of the parade. The names of the entrants will be found on the next page.
Drivers and Self-Protection.
An interesting development is reported from Lancashire, concerning the self-defence of drivers of heavy motors, a well-attended meeting having been held in Manchester. The Ions et origo of the meeting was to unite drivers of all kinds of motor vehicles, and a resolution was passed forming "the Motor Drivers' United Protection Association, for the purpose of protecting drivers against persecution by the police for petty offences or alleged offences, by providing the services of a solicitor to defend them, and looking after their interests in other respects." It is not a trades union.
Property Owners' Plaint.
"It is not fair to owners or residents in the neighbourhood—the vibration and dust created." . . "It is not fair for the motor drivers to proceed at such a speed along these roads with such heavy traffic.' . . . In these prejudiced words —and it would be interesting to know if there is any clear and tangible proof of them—the borough prosecutor of Bolton spoke to the magistrates on Thursday, the 11th inst., while outlining a charge against Chas, Clarke, of Feniscowles, for driving a heavily-laden motor at the rate of almost si m.p.h. along Bury Road. The case may have been quite truly stated, as regards the facts, but is it fair that extraneous generalizations should be introduced ? Perhaps the new society of heavy-motor drivers will look into this, A fine of 10s. 6d. and costs was imposed.
The second list of grants by the Bead Board has been issued, dated the 20th ult. The highway authorities of Shropshire, Rutlandshire, Pembrokeshire, Cheshire, Norfolk, West Sussex, Isle of Ely, Essex, East Suffolk, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire (Kestvon) and Linlieigow receive im_ ort ant grants.
Storage for Harrods.
Representations have been made to Chelsea Borough Council on behalf of local residents protesting against a reported decision of Harrods Stores, Ltd., to build a large motor garage in Marlborough Road at the corner of Albert Place, where a number of motor delivery vans, stated to be probably 100, and which are to be obtained owing to the development of the company's country business, are to be housed.
Representative Parade Entries for the Challenge Cup.
Further to the short paragraph on the preceding page, it will probably interest many of our readers to have the names of the entrants, with the number of teams following in parentheses, for competition in the team section of the forthcoming parade, in respect of the handsome silver challenge cup which was preserffed to the Commercial Motor Users Association last year by the proprietors of this journal. The names are : Allen and Hanburys, Ltd. (one) ; Carter, Paterson and Co., Ltd. (one); Cannon and Gaze, Ltd. (one); Commercial Car Hirers, Ltd. (one); Messrs. Davis and Sons (one); Eastern Motor Wagon Co., Ltd. (four) ; Gas Light and Coke Co., Ltd. (one) ; Mark Mayhew, Ltd. (one); Maple and Co., Ltd. (two) ;
McNamara and Co., Ltd_ (one); _Milnes-Daimler, Ltd. (two); James Nelson and Sons, Ltd. (one); Peek, Freon and Co., Ltd. (one); Pickfords, Ltd. (four); Joseph Rank, Ltd. (one); E. W. Rudd, Ltd. (two); Selfridge and Co., Ltd. (one); Sun Flour Mills Co., Ltd. (one); South Metropolitan Gas Co. (two); Spiers and Pond, Ltd. (one) ; Thos. Tilling, Ltd. (one) ; Waring and Gillow, Ltd. (one); Westminster City Council (two) ; Yorke, Stoneham and Jones, Ltd. (two). This list aggregates 36 teams and 216 ye hicles—a considerable percentage of the whole machines that will parade on the 5th prox.
Gazette.
Winding-up orders have been made in the cases of (1) The Ex. press Motor Cab Co., Ltd., 9, Rochester Road, Camdea Road, Camden Town, NW., and (2) The Victoria Motor Tyre Manufacturing Co., Ltd., 1, Gough Street, Poplar, E.
Recent Registrations.
Patent Gear and Motor Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of £500 in El shares, by Ware, Hellyer and Co., 7, Unity Street, College Green, Bristol. First directors : H. M. Delano-Osborne, H. C. Griffin, F. H. Ware and R. E. Ware.
Siddle's Coach and Motor Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of £500 in El shares, by Jordan and Sons, Ltd., to take over the business of coach and cab proprietors, etc., carried on by T. Siddle and W. Siddle at the Crown Hotel, Penrith, Cumberland.
Worland Dual Rim Co., Ltd.. with an authorized capital of £25,000 in £1 shares, by Waterlow Bros. and Layton, Ltd., to acquire any invention relating to the mann facture of wheels or rims for motors or other vehicles, also to acquire the business carried on by Warne, Wright and Rowland, Ltd., and F. W. Baker, at Stourbridge, as the Worland Dual Rim Co., also to adopt agreements (1) with the said company and F. W. Baker and (2) with the vendors, A. C. Wright, J. D. Rowland, and J. A. C. Wright. First directors : G. E. Wright, J.P., A. C. Wright, and J. A. C. Wright.
Hitchen's Motor Exchange Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of £3,000 in El shares, and with its office at Euston Road, Morecambe, Lancs., to take over the business of a motor and cycle exchange and retail dealer and motor and cycle outfitter, etc., carried on by C. H. Ilitchen at Euston Road, Morecambe, Lanes., and elsewhere. First directors : C. H. Hitchen, Mrs. H. Hitchen, and J. Bates (all permanent, subject to holding 25 shares each).
Aron Taximeter, Ltd., with an authorized capital of £5,000 in El shares, and with its office at 80a, Salisbury Road, Kilburn, N.W., to carry on the business of manufacturers and contractors for the sale, erection and maintenance of taximeters, etc. First directors : M. Aron and Dr. J. Juttke.
Ivor Motors, Ltd., with an authorized capital of £2,000 in El shares, and with its offices at 13, Sackville Street, W., to carry on the business of manufacturers of and dealers in motorcabs, etc. First directors : L. Fawkner and I. H. Miller (both permanent managing directors).
Llandudno Automobile Touring Co., Ltd., with an authorized capital of 27,000 in 21 shares, by Jordan and Sons, Ltd., to carry on the business indicated by the title. First directors : J. Dicken, W. J. Brooker and S. Homer. Thornycroft Repairs in Yorkshire.
John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., of Caxton House, Westminster, S.W., Basingstoke and Southampton, recently established a repair depot in Leeds. It is entirely under the control of the company's staff, and is equipped with all the necessary tools, labour, etc., for the running and economical overhaul and repair of Thornycroft vehicles. Spare parts and stores are stocked, and the depot is situated at 35, Kirkstall Road, Leeds— a most-central position. The abbreviated telegraphic address is " Thornycroft, Leeds," and the telephone number "2485 Leeds."
Renault's Latest.
An interesting double-purpose vehicle for service on country estates or small farms has just been produced at the Renault factory. The first of this series, shown in the illustrations, has been sent to M. Louis Renault's country estate near Rouen, to be used for general farm work. As will be seen, it carries either a stake body, fitted with quickly-detachable longitudinal seats, or an all-metal tip body for carrying earth, manure, refuse, etc. The vehicle has been designed with a view to quick and easy changes of the two bodies ; thus, it will be seen that the longitudinal members of the body carrying the front seats are permanently attached to the frame members, and are fitted with sockets to receive the stanchions—three on each side—of the passenger-carrying body. As the seats are quickly dismountable, this body can also be conveniently employed for transporting light farm produce. To dismount the body, it is only necessary to lift it out of its sockets, then to lift the metal " dump " body into position. This latter is pivoted at the rear by two stout bolts passing through suitable bearings on the underside of each frame member, and is held down at the front by hooks and clips. A rack and pinion allows the body to be tilted to any convenient angle, There are only a few distinctive features in the chassis. The rear axle is specially strengthened for the rough service it is intended to withstand, while gearbox and clutch are of practically standard design. Semi-elliptic springs are employed at both front and rear, and, whilst the front wheels are shod with pneumatic tires of 820 mm. by 120 mm. ; the rear ones have solid-rubber tires. The motor is a two-cylinder vertical of 80 mm. by 120 mm., differing from the wellknown taxicab type by the fitting of a governor limiting the engine speed to 1,300 r.p.m. The carburetter is similar in general design to that used on the 1911 touring cars, with a certain amount of simplification. It is entirely accessible, the float chamber being above the top of the frame member, the additional air valve being still higher. Ignition is by high-tension Bosch magneto, with fixed firing point, engine control being by accelerator pedal only. The motor is fitted with the circulating-oil system applied to all the 1911 cars. This abolishes the dashboard tank and sight feeds, the only external indication of an oiling system being found in the needle of a float projecting through the right-hand side of the crankcase.
Tractor Registration.
The Editor has sent a letter, under date the 1st inst., to the individuals and firms who supported him, last fall, in his protest against the inadequacy of the WarOffice registration scheme. The terms of that letter are :—" Adverting to the conference, at 112, Piccadilly, on the 31st October last, and to my subsequent references to this matter in THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR and elsewhere, I beg to advise you that it has been kept steadily before me. I have refrained from calling a further meeting, in order to study the convenience of the gentlemen concerned, and particularly of those whose businesses are located at a distance from London. The Mechanical Transport Committee, whilst unable at the moment to issue the terms of the new subsidy scheme for tractors, has adopted such a scheme, and this will include, as I have several times foreshadowed, a materially-increased annual registration fee, and other improved terms, whilst, on the other hand, requiring certain additional undertakings from owners who register. In all the circumstances, I feel justified in strongly urging you not to re-register upon the old terms."
Messrs. Thomas Harry and Co., Removal Contractors, of Hackney Downs, N.E., have given the following excellent testimonial to Fodens Ltd., of Sandbach, in respect of their first vehicle : "We trust you will be able to let us have delivery of the engine the first week
in March, as we have booked sonic country removals for the engine early in March. We hope the ma
chine will be turned out as well finished as the first, and will give US as much satisfaction. We are glad to tell you we cannot speak too highly of the steam wagon, and we assure everybody that your wagons are the best on the market."
Rubber Tires Wanted.
Stoke Newington and other Metropolitan Borough Councils recently asked the London County Council to make by-laws requiring that the wheels of heavy motor vehicles should be shod with rubber or other noiseless material. The local authorities have now been informed that the County Council has no power to make by-laws of the kind suggested.
Thornycroft Sales.
A two-cyllnder, 16 h.p., 35-cwt. lorry has been supplied by John I. Thornycroft, and Co., Ltd., to Morland and to., Ltd., brewers, of Abingdon, being a second repeat order from this purchaser, and due to the satisfactory running of the earlier Thornycroft machines. A 2i-ton Thornycroft lorry has been supplied to the Walsall and District Co-operative Society, Ltd., adding one more to the Thornycroft record with this class of user.
Of the Thorny-croft vehicles on order for the London and NorthWestern Railway, the second 30
h.p. 2i-ton lorry, for service at Dewsbury, has been delivered. This railway company placed orders for five Thornycroft lorries.
Roads Improvement Association.
At the council meeting of the Roads Improvement Association, following the annual general meeting, on the 27th ult., the following officers were appointed for the ensuing year : Chairman, Mr. Robert Todd ; Vice-chairman, Colonel R. E. Crompton; Hon. Treasurer, Mr. E. Shrapnell Smith ; Secretary, Mr. Wallace E. Riche. The Hon. Arthur Stanley, M.P., Mr. W. Joynson-Hicks, M.P., and Mr. Edward Manville were re-elected Vicepresidents.
Heavy Motors and a Rat Hunt: Extraordinary Simile.
The most daring and ingenious argument yet devised by a solicitor, in defence of a heavy-motor driver charged with overloading his vehicle, was surely introduced by Mr. Broadbent, of Darwen, when ha was defending Robt. Eccles, driver, of Preston, and his employer, Mr. Geo. Hy. Richards (68, St. Alban's Street, Da,rwen), who were summoned to Bolton Police Court. The police incidentally mentioned that while the motor was being taken to a weighing machine to ascertain the avoirdupois, water was running out from a tap in the tank. Mr. Broadbent's remarkable reply—his appeal in extenuation—ran thus :— " I have been trying to think of a simile to this case. The nearest approach to it, I think, is a rat hunt. The police, or Detective Smith, is the ratter or rat-catcher ; my client is the rat ; and your worships are the terriers. But I think this case lacks a great essential to the rat hunt, in that the rat does have a chance to get away occasionally ; and, if anyone of a sporting spirit is hunting it, it does have a run for its money. The present case is more like Detective Smith holding the rat with a bit of string to give the terrier a bit of practice, but the rat no chance to get-out."
The Court enjoyed the laughter, but Mr. Richards had to pay two guineas and costs, the driver's case being dismissed on payment of the costs.