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Bird's Eye

19th May 1967, Page 48
19th May 1967
Page 48
Page 48, 19th May 1967 — Bird's Eye
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ViewBY THE HAWK

Private enterprise

E of the developments in transport in recent years which,

it sometimes seems to me, has not had quite the recognition it deserves, is the way that relatively small p.s.v. operators have launched out into Continental coach tours.

I'm reminded of this at this particular moment because I've just been looking through some brochures sent me by Kirby's Coaches, of Rayleigh, Essex. One of CM's staff men was born there, so he has a filial interest, or something, in the town.

The tours licence which Kirby's hold is for places as far apart as Holland, the Black Forest and Bavaria, Italy and Yugoslavia, while Eddie Kirby has a coach in Switzerland on a lakes tour at the moment. I gather the Black Forest/Bavaria and Yugoslavian tours have proved especially popular.

Active Retirement

SOME retired people seem to get through more work than the regularly employed. Raymond Birch, looking very fit when I saw him recently, tells me that his retirement from the upper echelon of BET is not going to mean idleness. Apart from continuing as chairman of Birch Bros. and the associated companies (he joined the family business in 1923), he is still a member of the executive committee of BOC public relations committee, is chairman of both the board of governors of the North-Western Polytechnic and the national committee on road transport education, and is a member of the court of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.

With a host of other voluntary activities he is, I think, not going to find time hanging heavily.

Sanctions-beater

AMERE memory ago, Scotch was 9d. a tot (large) in Rhodesia; now it's four times the price—if one can get it. That's sanctions for you. But go-it-alone Rhodesians think they'll soon distil an ersatz Scotch themselves. Certainly they've been beating

sanctions in other fields. .

Take diesel engines: H. Hodenius, a Bulawayo engineer, has evolved an improved fuel injection system. Described as an attachment, it is said to boost power by 10/15 per cent and also— more important to Rhodesians—cut fuel consumption. Mr. Hodenius has also developed a welding technique for restoring the valve seats of diesel engine cylinder heads, import price of which is/was about £240.

Up the Albion!

AHAULIER has just bought a replacement fleet of 12 lorries— and has had them painted in the colours of Albion Rovers. He is 54-year-old Thomas Timpson, of Old Monkland Road, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire.

Mr. Timpson, you see, has been a life-long supporter of the football club. In fact, he's one of its directors. "The livery? Just one of those things," he tells me. "I wanted something different."

Doubtless his drivers will enjoy the cheers of the Albion fans. But what about the boos of their opponents?

Reason for Joining

T HEAR that the TRTA one-day conference on braking and I plating on June 29 has proved such a draw that people have joined the Association in order to qualify for a ticket!

The conference is virtually a sell-out already, with 500 solid bookings and a reserve list being started.

I can't resist this opportunity for a plug: let the above be a warning to anyone delaying his booking for COMMERCIAL MOTOR'S Fleet Management Conference on September 21. The seats for this are going well—so get a reservation in early.

Small Operator's View?

AT do small operators think of the streamlined set-up of the RHA? One man who calls himself a small haulier— though he operates over 100 vehicles—believes he speaks for many in holding that the organization has now been captured and will in future be run in the interests of the large groups, who are not exclusively representative of State haulage. If a 100-vehicle man feels this way it would be understandable if his sentiments were shared by the 5-vehicle operator. The executive board will need much political dexterity to retain the allegiance of their diversified membership.

New Conditions

riE revised RHA conditions of carriage have put some members in a considerably tizzy, I hear. One well known goods-in-transit insurance firm has put its rates up by 25 per cent; a metropolitan group of hauliers reported uplifts of from 15 to 80 per cent.

In present circumstances hauliers are reluctant to ask customers to meet increased insurance costs, but given the choice of two operators whose rates were the same, senders would reasonably choose the haulier operating under the 1967 conditions of carriage.

Complications could also arise with sub-contracted traffic so long as the two sets of conditions are in force.

Getting a Move On

LOADING timber at the quayside tends to be a much less protracted operation now that packaging and fair-ending are in vogue. During a 10-day period in April, more than 25,500 tons were moved from two ships at a special timber berth at Liverpool. On several days more than 200 vehicles were sent away fully loaded. Between April 12 and 17 the Sofia discharged 13,200 tons; and the Mary Stove discharged 12,300 tons on April 18-21.


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