The Care of Motor Omnibuses.
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By an Employee of a Company using them in London.
The appearance of the motor omnibus on our streets naturally raises the question of their proper management and treatment, for on this very largely depends their commercial success or failure. In the last few months it has been no uncommon sight to see an omnibus stranded, broken down, which, on closer investigation, proved to be due to such causes as empty batteries, lack of lubrication, worn-out leads, or other removable cause, all of which might easily have been avoided. To ensure proper working it is absolutely essential that cars should be regularly and systematically examined and cleaned, as are locomotives. Realising this, one of the largest companies using motor omnibuses has adopted a regular system which promises to work well. One spare car is kept in every seven, which enables each vehicle to have one shed day in each week, when the working parts are thoroughly examined and cleaned. Each driver coming off duty has a form to fill in, making any remarks upon the running of the bus which he thinks necessary, and also calling attention to any repairs that are required. These repairs are done by the staff. Every three months or to,000 miles the car is dismantled, when all necessary work such as renewal of brasses and other worn parts is effected. Such a system will certainly go far to ensure the regular and reliable working of the company's omnibuses. In actual running the cars travel about 110-13o miles per day, worked in two shifts. At present they travel from 51-7 miles for each gallon of petrol consumed, but this should be materially improved upon in time where a throttle control is used, and by increasing the efficiency of the vehicles.
The principal troubles on the road seem to be due to ignition, although tyres stripping has caused a certain amount too. Careless changing of speed or trying to start front rest on the top speed also accounts for more serious mishaps. With regard to drivers, it has been found most suitable to train horse drivers, they being more used to the roads, most willing to learn, and most ready to obey, all of which facilitate the regular running of the buses. It is also considered advisable to give the driver only limited control over the engines ; this narrows the driver's duties, and prevents any sudden stoppages of the engine in traffic. Though this course is probably wise at present, yet ultimately it will be necessary to give the drivers control of the fuel, and doubtless to pay them a bonus on fuel saved, as is done in the
matter of coal with locomotive drivers on some railways. It will also become necessary to fit-double ignition to Qach car ; high-tension battery and a magneto will probably become general in a short time. Wooden, wheels are in some cases being replaced by steel wheels, it being easier to fix solid -rubber tyres to the latter; . With low-tension magneto ignition. the igniters cause a lot of trouble in that the tappets wear so very quickly and necessitate frequent adjusting. Where cars are outside chain driven, the renewal of chains is a very heavy expense, and might be considerably reduced by more thorough oiling. The usual practice of running an, oil-can over the rollers of a chain does not really lubricate it or remove the sand and water that gets right into it. A much better method is to drop the entire chain into a bath of oil every night, or, at least, frequently : this thoroughly lubricates it, and practically doubles the life of the chain. Undoubtedly, if outside chains are to be retained as the method of driving heavy vehicles which are exposed to all kinds of weather, it will be absolutely essential to case them in and run them in an oil bath, as is now done on one well known make of pleasure vehicle. Honeycomb radiators. must also be much improved or entirely superseded ; at present, almost without exception, they leak badly after very little running. The necessity of carefully supervising, the work of daily examination and the execution of repairs cannot be too strongly impressed on owners of motor omnibuses, and it is very necessary to keep competent men at the garage who thoroughly understand their work. This alone will greatly aid the vehicles to pay their own way, and add very materially to their commercial success. Although the chief work to ensure regular and reliable running of a motor omnibus rests with the staff at the garage, still a stupid or careless driver can undo all this. Just as a horse driver ruins good horses by hard and thoughtless driving, a motorcar driver can ruin a good car in the same way. Again, it is necessary for a driver to get to know the car he is driving. A good locomotive driver, who. takes a real interest in his engine, will generally be in therunning shed some little time before it is necessary to start in order to satisfy himself that all is ready as he would have it for his journey. A motor omnibus driver should do the sonic, and, in a short time, he will find it pays him. When a driver arrives at the garage in the morning, he should go. over his car systematically and see that it is in order for
starting. He is bound to leave most things to the mechanics and cleaners, but there are a few things that he undoubtedly should look to before starting, and these are :—To examine the brakes and see that they are set to his satisfaction ; to see that his steering is free ; that the gears change easily ; that the machinery has been well oiled; and that he has plenty of petrol, oil, and water with him. Having attended to these important matters, there are others which might well be verified. There may not be time to check over all the details that are enumerated at the end of this article, and it will, of course, be necessary to examine most frequently the weak spot of the particular car being dealt with. Lubrication is one of the most important details, any lack of care in this particular surely coming back on the driver whether he be really to blame or not, and, strangely enough, this is neglected by many of them. A driver will, therefore, be wise if he can find time to go over the car himself and see that all important parts have been properly attended to.
On the road a good engine will be very quickly spoiled by too hard driving. It is a mistake to try to start too quickly ; some drivers jerk the clutch in and out and jam the brakes on hard without the slightest necessity, thereby needlessly jolting the passengers and unduly straining the mechanism of the car. There is plenty of time as a rule to effect both of these gradually. Sometimes also men try to start a car from rest on the top speed in order to save themselves trouble; it should be remembered that this may easily result in a bent or broken shaft or stripped gear wheels. Others, in a mistaken effort to make up the total of their trips, alloy gears to grind, shafts to bind, or unusual noises to grow worse in preference to turning the bus into the garage during the journey to see what really is the matter. Serious harm may easily be done in this way. It is often difficult to know when to stop at once or when to try and get to the end of the journey before looking into the cause of some loss of power, squeaking, or other unusual circumstance. If the driver has control of the supply of fuel to the engine he should take care to regulate his engine by this and save as much fuel as possible. With most engines it will be found that when running fast on the level the supply of fuel may be somewhat reduced without affecting the speed of the car. This should invariably be done where possible, as it not only saves fuel but helps to keep the engine cool and goes a long way to maintain sweet running. It rests largely with the drivers of these first motor omnibuses whether the machines are to become generally popular or whether they are to become secondary to tube railways and electric trams. The public does not enquire why the vehicle broke down; it merely sees it has done so and treats it accordingly. Engine.—Before starting from garage ascertain the corn
pression in all cylinders by turning the starting handle. Lack of compression is occasionally due to piston rings sticking or more often to the exhaust valves requiring grinding in. If the engine begins to run hard and to " knock " when on the road, this should be reported at the end of the day ; it is probably due to a worn gudgeon pin or bearing. Sometimes the engines unaccountably stop on the road; this is usually due to no petrol in tank or a choked carburetter, Loss of power is often due to too rich a mixture, when more air should be given.
Carburetter.—The carburetter should be well flooded, in the garage, before starting, to see that there is a good jet of petrol; a poor supply means that the nozzle is partly choked up, and it should be properly cleaned out. Difficulty is sometimes experienced in starting an engine when it is cold ; this may sometimes be remedied by temporarily closing the air inlet to the carburetter, or by squirting a little petrol into each cylinder.
Ignition.—If battery ignition is used, the accumulators should be regularly tested with a voltmeter ; this should be done while the engine is still running after the day's work. A run-down accumulator sometimes recovers itself slightly. Two accumulators giving less than 4 volts should not be used. Even freshly charged accumulators sometimes run down in a few hours. Sparking plugs need examination from time to time, and when badly carbonised should be cleaned with emery cloth. If this examination is effected every few days it will keep the plugs from rusting in, which they are otherwise liable to do. In replacing sparking mugs there is no need to ring them home unduly hard. Misfiring on the road May be due to badly worn igniters, a dirty or worn commutator, or a dirty sparking plug. These are all remedied either by resetting or cleaning. A loose contact or a broken wire also causes misfiring. Loss of power, with explosions in the silencer, is usually caused by a run-down battery; if both batteries are weak, it is usually possible to get home, or at any rate some distance, by connecting the two batteries together in series (unlike terminals coupled together), or where sparking plugs are used by gently pressing the platinum points a little closer together.
Lubrication.—The engine, gear-box, differential (if accessible), road wheels, igniter pins (if fitted), brakes, steering, and all running parts such as the pump, magneto and fan, etc., .should all be daily oiled. If the engine appears to be getting unduly hot when running, or to be labouring hard to overcome some friction that is not due to the road, it should be remedied immediately. The symptoms may be due to lack of water in the tank, or an insufficiency in the supply of oil to the cylinders or the cranks. It is important that sight-feed glasses should be kept clean inside_