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Stainless Steel for Trim and Bodies
ENCHIRIDION, the journal published by FirthVickers Stainless Steel, Ltd., contains much of interest to users of Staybrite, the field for which is constantly increasing, in fact, at present although production capacity has been raised, the call for stainless steel has been even greater.
The difficulty of obtaining sufficient supplies of nickel is one reason for the shortage and this is being partly overcome by a new steel with a lower nickel content.
Of main interest to our industry, however, is the fact that stainless steel is being used to an increasing extent on motor vehicles, and there are interesting possibilities of its employment for special commercial vehicle bodies, such as one which has been constructed for the transport of fish. As supplies overtake the demand, there seems little doubt that more will be done in this direction.
Not for Bolton
MUNICIPAL undertakings toying with the idea of "1 " circular " bus services in their respective towns should take warning from Bolton's recent experience of this type of operation.
After running for only two Sundays, a town-centre circular service has been withdrawn because there was reported to be "considerable resentment" among the passengers who formerly had through services. By the second Sunday, passengers were found to prefer walking to using the service. There A26 was difficulty in collecting fares; and a considerable loss on working outweighed the small saving in mileage.
The withdrawal of the service without attempting to improve it came in for strong criticism at a meeting of Bolton Town Council on April 3. Among suggestions for improving the service put forward by one "city father" was the introduction of a ld. fare, and the use of single-deck buses instead of doubledeckers, because passengers refused to travel upstairs for the short distances involved.
Engine Harmonics and Shimmy
EVEN in these days, wheel " shimmy " or " flap "
is occasionally experienced. At one time, and particularly With the earlier designs of front-wheel brake and, later, of independent suspension for front wheels, it was experienced quite frequently. In some instances it was found to be due to wrong setting of the pivot pins, in others the cause proved to be lack of balance in tyre, wheel or both.
In one of the worst cases where both front wheels flapped at quite a moderate road speed and continued with growing violence until the vehicle was brought to a standstill, the cause was found to be the insertion of a large patch in one of the covers.
More recently, quite severe shaking, which seemed to affect the tyre more than the wheel itself, was found to be due to certain harmonic vibrations ift the oil engine of the vehicle concerned—a cause for which few people would search.
Beware of "Smoke"
DRIVERS are warned to beware of "smoke
screens" on the road, following the experience of a Chorley . lorry driver early in February. The driver, who was fined £5 by Wigan magistrates for driving without due care and attention, drove his vehicle into the back of a stationary coach, the radiator of which was steaming.
A witness who was travelling in the cab of the lorry said that he and the defendant saw what appeared to be a cloud of smoke in the road ahead. Immediately they entered the " smoke " the lorry hit the rear of the coach.
The defendant said he did not expect to find a coach in what he thought was merely smoke.
U.S.S.R. Widens Production Control
IN a forthcoming report by Mi. N. S. Krushchov to the next session of the Supreme Soviet, he is to outline new measures for reorganizing the management of industry and construction in the U.S.S.R.
Instead of complete control being vested in departmental ministries and administrations, it will be split up between territorial bodies which are to be set up in economic districts, thus shifting management centres to localities.. There are now more than 200,000 state industrial enterprises and over 100,000 Construction sites. These and the rapidly increasing growth in production appear to have overwhelmed the existing form of control, and unduly limited the scope of local initiative.
The new scheme provides for the organization of local "Councils of the National Economy," who will manage directly the enterprises subordinated to them. Under these councils will be Technical Economic Councils to include specialists, inventors, leading workers and other organizations.
The objectives are to cut out unnecessary links in management, deal more ably with the supply of materials and encourage better use of technical knowledge. As a result of the change the State Economic Commission will be abolished.
B.o.T. Please Take Note
REFERRING to a leading article " Free Hire" purchase •of Coaches," published on April 5, Mr. G. R. White, managing director of Duple Motor Bodies, Ltd., says that this summed up the position exactly. He added that he can only hope that Sir David Eccles, President of the Board of Trade, is numbered among the readers of The Commercial Motor, and that the Board will, before long, set the error of their ways.