CHEAP LOW-TAX VEHICLES FOR TRADESMEN.
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The Start of the Commercial Sidecar Demonstration at Liverpool Blessed by Fine Weather..'
ALTHOUGH the start of the third annual commercial sidecar demonstration was, so far as the public was concerned, scheduled for Monday morning, the previous Sunday saw the arrival and weighing-in of the various machines and their loads. 'Messrs. J. Blake and Co.'s Garage 'at Brownlow Hill was the official depot. Here the various riders arrived between the stated hours and were met by the officials, the machines being weighed, filled up and stored away for the night.
Long before the' appointed hour. Mr. Butcher arrived on the now famous A.-C.U. stock Rudge outfit, with the unfortunate official observer curled up on a pile of cushions in the milk float chassis. This outfit, as a passenger-carrying vehicle, has already done some thousands of miles under A.-C.U. observation, including the " century " 'Climbs of the notorious Bwlch-y-Groes. It is, in fact, the actual machine chosen from Atock by A.-C.U. officials for the Six Days' Standard Stock Motorcycle Trial. The touring body has been removed and a milk float substituted. In addition, a milk float trailer has been attached and, in all, a .load of 5 cwt. 0 ars. 14 Ib. is now being bandied, the total .weight of the motorcycle, sidecar, trailer and load being over 12 cwt. It is under official observation throughout the demonstration in an attempt to add to its former successes.
The second arrival was the extremely, smart and serviceable Enfield dairyman's outfit, with its polished wood and shining milk cans. Next came the Seal, with a towering heap of packing cases in the open truck. This . was followed by the twci B.S.A.s. Then a' regular procession of the remaining Rudges and the Raleigh came into sight.
Three competitors failed to put in an appearance before the' officials left, but they all clocked in later in the evening. All the riders were ready for the start on Monday morning.
. The following list of the loads carried and the total weights of the outfits as driven throughout the week is very informative:— The majority carried ballast in the milk cans, box bodies or trucks, but the Watsonian outfit, driven by Mr. A. Milner, struck a novel note, having a solo Levis motorcycle in its delitery sidecar. The Arid l carried a complete outfit of spare parts in specially constructed trays.
On Monday morning the convoy formed up outside the garage and, piloted by Mr. S. W. Philpott; proceeded to St. George's Plateau. There it remained on view for nearly an hour.-,:.,hefore .starting on the tour of tho northern towns. Spectators showed a very genuine interest in, this cheap and efficient type of parcel carrier, but the crowd was not as big as was eipetted. This was probably owing. to the early hour.
From Liverpool the convoy moved on to Ormskirk, where little enthusiasm was shown, but thereafter the general public took a decided and intelligent interest in the demonstration. A splendid parking site had been arranged at Preston, and here large crowds 'gathered while the outfits were on show. At Lancaster there were, perhaps, not so many people, but the local agents seemed well satisfied with the visit. The numberof potential buyers at earnforth was small, but was not so unsatisfactory when compared with the size of the town. Kendal was paraded after a stop for demonstration purposes. Then followed short stops at Windermere. and Ambleside and so to the night stop at Keswick, where a large crowd greeted the cOnvoy.
So far nobody had been in trouble, although the long pull-up out of A.mbleside temporarily seized-up two of the engines. After a brief halt, however, they were able to start away again easily.
Piloted out of Keswick by Mr. Edmondson, the well-known T.T. rider, the convoy set out on Tuesday's run in glorious weather and headed for Penrith. A large crowd of spectators greeted the machines, which, owing to a mistake at a forked road, arrived in two sections.
At the arranged time a move was made to Alston. The long pull-up, between Penrith and Alston, showed, in the majority of cases, the sturdy and dependable build of the British motorcycle, only one or two heavily loaded outfits having any trouble. After Alston the riders were faced with some really hilly going and for the first time since the start of the demonstration low gear was the order of the day.
Lunch, at St. John's Chapel, made a welcome break, for, as the weather had become very unsettled, showers and mist being prevalent, the morning's run was not at all pleasant. After lunch the convoy proceeded on its way to Stanhope. Then, after a brief halt, it moved on to Crook, where a large crowd gathered in the High Street to see the procession.
Up to date this is probably, one of the most successful attempts on the part of all concerned to interest local tradesmen in the sound economy of this particular type of vehicle.
From Crook the party proceeded to Durham, parading through the narrow streets of the old cathedral city to the parking place arranged in Old Elvet—the wide, open street opposite the Town Hall.
And so to Sunderland, to be met at the city boundary by the chairman of the A.-C.U. (Mr. Quintin A. Nicol), representatives of the Press and sidecar pilots from local agents.
The procession wended its way c28
through the principal streets, creating a vast amount of interest among the onlookers, and then halted for half an hour in West Park before the machines were driven to the showrooms of various agents and the riders went to a well-earned meal and their rest.
Wednesday's route from the overnight stop at Sunderland took the machines back through Durham and then on to Darlington, but an extra stop was arranged for at Ferryhill. Unfortunately, Wednesday was a tradesmen's holiday, so that the number of spectators was small, but a live agent in Mr. Jones visualized business accruing from the visit. At Darlington Messrs. White Bros. had secured considerable publicity and the Market Square was well filled, certain Arm orders being placed.
In our next issue we propose to complete our report of the demonstration run and to deal with our conclusions drawn from the incidents and experiences of the run.