LLOOSE LEAVES
Page 40
Page 41
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THE old days of barter might still seem to be with us when one relates an account of an amusing used-vehicle sale in Western Australia which was recently reported by a General Motors representative in Perth. In connection with the sale of a-Chevrolet lorry valued at £75 the following items were set down against the cost: —11.0 bushels of wheat at 4s. a bushel, £30; i30 fowls at 2s. each, £6; 14 chickens at 5s. each, 13 10s.; one prize drake, 10s.; four turkeys at 10s. each, £2; three turkeys at is. 6d. each, £1 2s. 6d.; two fireproof doors at 7s. 6d. each, 15s.; making a total of £43 17s. 6d. as the first payment towards the ownership of the vehicle.
A 'GLANCE through the annual report of the general manager of the Liverpool Corporation Tramways shows that a tremendous amount of care has been taken in the compilation of the booklet. A list is given of all the articles left in the trams and buses during the year under review, and herein the carelessness of the travelling public is strikingly revealed. Amongst the more unusual items catalogued are 11 sets of false teeth, several live birds, two typewriters, three sewing machines and two pairs of crutches. One wonders how the owners of the last-named articles made their way from the trams I 018 around the new Adderley Park works of Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., at Birmingham, with Mr. C. K. Edwards, the calripany's chief engineer, we were greatly impressed by the valuable space which is available there for extension in connection with the Morris-Commercial plans to enter the market for the heavier types of commercial vehicle. Mr. Edwards told us that all except four of the machines in the new works did net turn a wheel before being installed there, and this gives some idea of the up,to-date standard of the plant that is being brought to work on the new models that are now in quantity production.
ANYONE who has had a lot of experience of motor coach travel will agree that nothing is more annoying when on a long journey than a persistent squeak in the bodywork. 'At a slight extra cost M the manufacture coachbuilders could, by the use ef strips of thin felt or other suitable material, eliminate almost all such joint squeaks. The matter is not taken seriously enough by many body makers, although it certainly is so taken by passengers who may have to listen to a high-pitched squeak recurring as frequently as twice per second for many hours on end THOROUGHNESS has long been recognized as a prominent quality in Scottish business men; a recent example of it,, coupled with speed, is well worth quoting. After the closing of the' Halley works one evening, we finished a road test of one of these chassis. On our return to the office 36 hours later we found a complete set of graphs compiled from the performance figures obtained during our test ; something over 12 hours must have been occupied in the post and a similar period when the works were closed, so it is obvious that Mr. George MacDonald wasted no time! , ON certain of the hilly streets in Glasgow there are special tracks, close to the kerbs, for horsed vehicles. These have longitudinal paving stones for the wheels and laterally placed cobbles for the horses' hooves to grip. As a result the slow traffic keeps to the left instead of utilizing the tramlines in the endeavour to reduce rolling resistance. This idea cuts down traffic congestion and might he adopted more widely.
Haw vibrationless the modern coach is in its progress along the highways of England was demonstrated recently in the course of a long journey by coach. A lady passenger continued for more than four hours with a rather intricate piece of fine knitting. There was not a single bump or jerk throughout the journey that was sufficient to jolt her arm and cause her to drop a stitch, and she was able, all the while, to carry on conversation with her companion. Not many private motorcars would afford the same insulation from road shocks.
MOTOR vehicles figured in a recent burglary twhen, for the second time within two weeks, thieves raided premises in Princes Street, Hanover Square, London. On their first visit they got away with more than £2,000 worth of goods, but in the second instance it was only by making use of a saloon car, the engine of which was kept running, that they avoided capture. The flying squad were wirelessed, and a fast police motorvan in the vicinity set off in pursuit, but, unfortunately, without success, The concern, however, took prompt steps to counteract any possible further raids. and, in this connection, Berliner, Ltd., was able to render speedy assistance by employing one of its welding processes to make alterations to the heavy steel door which guarded the premises, thus changing the design and strengthening those parts which had proved vulnerable.