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TRANSPORT ENGINEERS' ORGANIZING COMMITTEE MEETS
,THE first meeting of the Organizing 1 Committee of the proposed Institute of Road Transport Engineers took place on May 11. There were no absentees. The names of those serving on the committee have already been published.
The Editor of this journal, Mr. G. Mackenzie Junner, was formally elected chairman of the committee.
The question of the co-option of additional members was deferred until the next meeting. It is intended, however, that most of these shall be in the Provinces, probably on a corresponding basis, in order to save travel.
There was considerable discussion concerning the final name for the Institute. A few members wished to call it " The In-ititute of Transport Engineers," but the chairman pointed out that this might involve considerable difficulty and that the road-transport side might possibly find itself in an inferior position, the title finally agreed upon being that approved at the 'tun. cheon-conference be.," The Institute of Road Transport Engineers."
As regards membership, it was agreed that this should he split into honorary members, members, associate members, graduate members and affiliates, the fees to be as follow for Great Britain and Northern Ireland :—Honorary members, nil; members, £4 per annum, Ll entrance fee; associate members, £3 per annum, £1 entrance fee; graduate members, £2 per annum, 10s. entrance fee; affiliates, £10 per annum. For overseas members these amounts would le reduced by approximately one-third.
Useful progress was made in defining the aims of the proposed Institute, but the subject of qualification for member ship was held ever. •
Acrivines OF THE S.J.C.
THE Standing Joint Committee has been invited by the M.O.W.T. to review the Construction and Use Regu
lations. This is being done by its Vehicle Supply and Maintenance Committee, which is also examining the position regarding users' discounts.
The Rates Committee has disposed of the difficulties which had arisen regarding the implementation of the recent agreerner4' uith • the Mr Ministry. Details of work by this and Other committees have already been published.
B.E.T. REPORT SHOWS GOOD RESULTS
REVENUE of the British Electric Traction Co., Ltd.,' for the yearended March 31, 1944, amounted to £767,962, compared with £760,293 for the previous year. After deducting general expenses, etc., and debenture stock interest, and providing 2312,677 for income tax, there remains for appropriation the sum of £316,441, compared with £309,915 for the previous year.
The directors recommend the _payment of the following final dividends, subject to income tax:-5 per cent, on the participating preference stook, making 8 per cent, for the year; 4 per cent, on the preferred ordinary stock, Making, 8 per cent. for the year; 30 per cent, on the deferred ordinary stork, making 45 per cent, for the year. An amount of £56,961 is left to be., transferred to undivided profits account.
FORD TRADING IN 1943 PUBLICATION of the report of the 1 Ford Motor Co., Ltd., on Tuesday last, shows that for I943 the trading profit, less provision for E.P.T. based upon profits earned during the year, amounted to £2,329,857, compared with £2,303,891 in 1942. Deductions are made for depreciation and ohs°. lescence (£794,988), pension and benevolent fund (£223,496), boys' training school and interest on employees' savings (£18,111), and directors' tees (£7,403). Provision for income tax takes £752,064, and for contingencies £100,000, leaving a net balance of £433,795, as against £410,169 in the previous year. A dividend of 6 per cent., less tax, is to be paid, leaving £1,354,805 to he carrted toward, compared with £1,191,010 brought in.
In 1943 production reached a high level, and although export trade was small, it was larger than in the previoas year. S.M.M. AND T. BOLD PLANS ON MOTOR EXPORTS
SO soon as a man can be fourrd to represent the motor industry of Great Britain in Egypt, Palestine, 'Syria, Iraq, Iran, and the Middle East generally, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is to appoint one, with headquarters at Cairo, ' We look upon the Middle •East as one of the centres of world activity after the war," said Lt.-Col. D. C. McLagan, secretary of the Society', last week. "The new road across North Africa is only one of the factors which is going to increase the dftand for motor vehicles there."
The Society now has overseas offices in Cape Town, Bombay, Ottawa, Wellington and Sydney; its representative in 'the last-named, Mr. John S. Strong, has_recently arrived in England for consultation.
In addition, the Society proposes to open an office in South America, PEATH OF MIDLANDS TRADER
WE regret to learn of the death olf Mr. E. C. Paskell, proprietor of Colmore Depot, Birmingham which, for many years, has-been the distributing organization for Morris-Commercial vehicles and Morris cars in Birminghami and district. He was for a considerable period honorary treasurer of the Motor Trade Association and vice-president :of the Motor and Cycle Trades Benevolent Fund, whilst he was also a Fellow of the Institute of the Motor Trade.
R.H.A. ORGANIZING IN THE • LIVERPOOL AREA
VIRST steps have been taken in the
Liverpool district towards the creation of th e• North-Western (Western) Area of the Road Haulage Association by the holding of an inaugural conference attended by representatives of the following organizations:—A.R.O., C.M.U.A., National Road Transport Employers' Federation and the National Conference of Express Carriers. Mr. J. F. Supplies, as. the only member of the Shadow Council of the R.H.A. present, was elected chairman.
A delegation was selected to meet the representatives of the Eastern Division for the purpose of fixing the boundary between the two divisions.
Those who attended this conference did not comprise the first area committee for the district. This committee Will be elected later, after it has been decided how many seats should be created. They will then be allocated according to the membership strength of the various districts in the division.
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS IN POST-WAR VEHICLE DESIGN I F tan be safely assumed • that greater use will be made of light alloys in the constructionof post-war commercial-vehiele chassis. For this reason the specimens of drop forgings in high-strength aluminium, alloys now being shown at the premises of the Bristol Aeroplane Co., Ltd., 69, Piccadilly, London, W.1, are of topical interest.
They represent but a few of the large range for which High Duty Alloys Ltd., Slough, Bucks, is responsible. Apart from the light weight. and strength of these forgings, they are remarkably clean. Accompanying the individual specimens is an exhibition model of the Bristol Hercules acre engine in which many light-alkly forgings by High Duty Alloys, Ltd., are used. This unit is certainly a triumph of British engineering skill.
CAB OWNERS BOYCOTT
MANCHESTER RAIL STATIONS AS a result of the railway com
panies refusing to withdraw the charge of £7 16s. a year for each taxicab standing on the station ranks, Manchester taxi proprietors last week put into operation their threat to boycott the three main railway stations in the city—London Road, Victoria and Central. Although the boycott was incomplete, due to a small number of drivers carrying on as usual, considerable inconvenience was caused to railway travellers.
Replying to Mr. H. Thorneycroft, M.P., chairman of the Manchester Watch Committee, who raised the matter in the House of Commons, Mr. P. J. Noel-Baker, Parliamentary Secretary to the M.O.W.T., stated that the railway companies made a charge of 3s.' a week for every cab they authorized to. ply for hire on station
premises at Manchester. " I understd,'' said said the Minister, " they have offered to allow the taxicabs to use the stations' stands up to, the specified capacity of the station provided they receive the same total payment as they now receive by way of acknowledgement rentals. , I am now asking the Manchester and Salford Owner Driver's' Association if they are prepared to 'accept -this proposal."
Mr. E. Dunn, president of the Owner "Drivers' Association, later sent the following telegram to Mr. NoelBaker: " Offer of railway companies td allow free access to all taxicab drivers, provided the Owner Drivers' Association pay the railways £760 a, year, was made and rejected on January' -7, 1944."
Help the Second Front by giving your wastepaper to the salvage collectors. NEW TRADE MARK FOR TILLING BUS GROUP
i-rMS week has seen the introduction 11. to the travelling public of a new trade mark for the Tilling group of companies; it takes the form of a small .drawing of Crewe House, backed by a circle in black carrying the words "A Tilling Company.''
It is nearly a century , ago-1847-since Mr. Thomas Tilling started in business with a one-horse fly. To-day, Thomas Tilling, Ltd., is responsible lot the management of the undertakings known as the Tilling Group of Omnibus Companies, which is one of the largest road-transport concerns in the country, operating over 7,600 vehicles.
SMALL HAULIERS FIGHT AGAINST MONOPOLY
REPRESENTATIVES of the Council of Retail Distributors shared the platform with independent hauliers ata mass' meeting held in the Midlands recently under the atspices of the Hauliers' Mutual Federation. The chairman of the Federation, Mr. J. Arnold Kirby, left his listeners in no doubt as to what independent hauliers thought of the M.O.W.T. haulage scheme.
If the small trader was to avoid being swallowed up by monopolist undertakings, it was a case of "organize or perish," he said. "As for road trans port," said the chairman, "throughout the country the cry onhe small man, went up—the cry against injustice. Already discharged Servicemen were met with a refusal to let theni earn a living—no licence to operate a vehicle. Why? " asked the speaker. "Because
of the desire for monopoly." ' 36,000 SERVICES VEHICLE ACCIDENTS IN FOUR MONTHS
I AST week, in the House of .1-dCommons, Sir James Grigg, Secretary of State for War, stated that vehicles belonging to the three Services were involved in 36,000 accidents in the United Kingdom in the first four months of this year. This figure includes accidents involving Government vehicles a n d Government property only, and accidents which did not result in a claim for damages bein,g made.
FUEL ALLOWANCES AND THE NEW TRANSPORT ORDER
I N a memorandum circulated to all A and B licence operators in the Northeastern Region, the Regional Transport Commissioner, Major F. S. Eastwood, clarifies a point with reference to fuel allowances and the Road Transport of Goods Order, 1944, coming into force on May 22, which bans transport of general goods traffic by road for 60 miles or more except under M.O.W.T. authority. Notwithstanding the past approval of operators' fuel applications providing for journeys of 60 miles or more, the memorandum states that any fuel issued under such approval must not be used for any purpose contrary to the Order.
THORNYCROFT INTERIM DIVIDENDS ANNOUNCED
ON account of the financial year 14.-/ending July 81, 1944, John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., is to pay the following interim dividends, less income fax :---3 per cent, on the cumulative preference shares, 3f per cent. on the participating preferred ordinary shares, and 5 per cent, on the. ordinary shares.
ADDRESS ON COSTS TO GOODS TRANSPORT MANAGERS
RECENTLY, at the meeting, in Leicester, of the Road Transport (Goods)" Managers Association, an informative address was given by Mr, A. Gostelow, M.I.T.A., on roadtransport costs The speaker stressed how important it was that all roadtransport managers should make a close study of costs, which had been lacking in the past and had led to ratecutting and uneconomical running. He outlined the method of operating a cOsting 'system, laying particular emphasis, on the point that the system in operation should be part of the office routine.
The next meeting will take the form of a social evening at the Royal Hotel, Leicester, on June 5 B.S.A.T.A, CHANGE OF ADDRESS
THE fiational office of the Ballast Sand and Allied Trades Association has been removed to Commonwealth House, New Oxford Street, London, W.C.1. The finance and subscription department remains at 2, Wellesley Road, Twickenham, Middlesex.
COMMODITY INSURANCE—NO CHANGE
NO change has been made in the rate of premium payable under any policy under the Commodity Insurance' Scheme for the three months commencing June 3 and ending September 2. This is 5s. per cent., or is. 8c1. per cent. per month
HIGHER RECEIPTS FROM WEST HARTLEPOOL BUSES nURING the year ended March 31 L./last, traffic receipts from the operation of trolleybuses by West HartlePool Corporation amounted to £46,582, an increase of £4,122 on the previous year, whilst on the motorbuses, receipts were £65,995, an increase of £7,906. Passengers carried by the trolleybuses numbered 8,510,971 and by the motorbuses 9,996,584, both eubstantial increases on the previous year.
IT WAS AN OILER—NOT A PETROL MACHINE •
THE care with which articles in this journal are read, even months after publication, is emphasized by a query concerning a reference in the article,
Do You Know the Meaning of Tonmileage? "by S.T.R., published in our issue dated March 24.
Mention was made of a road test of a 15-ton Albion, followed by a note concerning the mileage which this vehicle was supposed to cover on petrol. The fault lay in the fact that the Albion was an oil-engined model, although the error did not affect the explanation of the point which was being made. The figure of gross-ton m.p.g., which was given, did, however, rather startle at leastone -maker of petrol vehicles.
DRIVERS THANKED FOR CAREFUL TYRE USAGE
A LETTER of congratulation, indica
tive of a close official watch on tyre usage and appreciation of efforts to save rubber, has been received from the North-eastern Regional Tyre Officer, Mr. R. P. Roche, by a large road-transport concern in the Federation of Yorkshire Road Transport Employers.
Noting that a considerable improvement in the, number. of returned covers found suitable for retreading is shown by details of the company's tyre purchases during the period from December, 1943, to February, 1944, the letter voices thanks to the drivers for the efforts which during that period raised tha retreading percentage to 55.5.
WHAT BAN ON RETURN BUS ' FARES HAS DONE CURTNER consideration has been
given by Ashington (Northumberland) Urban Council to the Minister of War Transport's refusal to withdraw the ban on return bus, fares costing over 10d. The council, whilst agreeing that nothing would be gained at present by further action, has decided to inform the Ministry that the ban on return fares has caused extreme dissatisfaction, has not reduced unnecessary travel, and has served only to increase the profits of the bus companies.
REPAIRING SYNTHETIC INNER . TUBES
WE are notified by Messrs. Antonio , five Parts and Accessorice, Bowes -House, Battle Road, Ilailsham, Sussex, that a synthetic inner tube can 1.e repaired by the Bowes Seal Fast process just as effectively as may one of Ordinary rubber, but the former, being more brittle, must be handled and used with greater care, this also applying to the. process of repair.
EXTENSION OF TROLLEYBUS ORDER FOR DARLINGTON
DARLINGTON CORPORATION h to apply to the Ministry of War Transport for a five years' extension of the Darlington Trolley Vehicles (Additional Routes) Order, 1936. The Order expires on July 14 this year.