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As from March 1st next Lt.-Col. A. W. C. Richardson, D.S.O., will become operating manager of the London General Omnibus Co„ Ltd. For some years past Mr. G. J. Shave has occupied the dual post of chief engineer and operating manager to the company, but he has asked to be relieved of some of his responsibilities. He will, however, continue to act as chief engineer. Lt.Col. Richardson is at present a member of the Mechanical Warfare Board.
The Minister of Transport, recently addressing the Association of Midland Local Authorities, announced that the two local government traffic commissioners for the West Midlands were Mr. C. C. Brinton, nominated by Worcester County Council for the county councils, and Mr. H. H. James, of Birmingham Corporation for the boroughs and district councils.
Mr. C. E. Holden, whose portrait is reproduced on this page, is in charge of the sales organization for the North of England in connection with the oilengined vehicles of British Mercedes Benz, Ltd.
A native of Oldham, Lancashire, he was educated at the Greenhill Academy in that town and was trained for the cotton industry. His inclinations were, however, towards engineering, and after further study he qualified as an engineer, specializing in steam practice. He took Out and marketed several patents in connection with textile machinery, and in 1911 joined Richard Garrett and Sons, Ltd., as Lancashire agent.
It was then that Mr. Holden entered the heavy transport industry. His territory was extended to 14 counties and he was personally responsible for important sales. He resigned in 1925 to exploit the Holden pneumatic-suspension patent, and after a further short period in the steam-vehicle industry with Fodens, Ltd., he decided to turn his attention to the oil engine and joined British Mercedes Benz, Ltd.
We are informed that Mr. H. R. de Wilde, the managing .director of Renault, Ltd., has resigned and that Mr. H. M. Emery, who has been appointed general manager, is now in charge of the London branch of the company.
We learn that Halifax Town Council has appointed Mr. F. Burrows, of the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., to be general works manager for motorbuses. Mr. Burrows served his apprenticeship with the Thornycroft concern, after which he went to Canada, where he obtained experience in the railways' maintenance shops.
Mr. C. R. Tattam has been appointed tramways manager of Bradford Corporation.
Mr. R. Melhuish, A.M.T.A.E., has been reappointed for the ensuing year to examine public-service vehicles submitted for licensing to Bradford Corporation.
Road-rail Co-operation in the South. At certain of its offices Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., now accepts parcels for conveyance by the Southern Railway At the same time, intending travellers will be able to purchase, at
these offices, Southern Railway tickets. The offices in question are at Eastbourne, Brighton (13001 Valley), Worthing, Bognor' Chichester, Portsmouth, Arundel, Hailsham, Havant, Horsham, Lewes, Midhurst and Littlehampton. Passenger tickets for the Southern Railway will also be issued at the office at Steine Street, Brighton.
A Road and Rail Motor Coach.
Within a few weeks the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co. will be giving a public demonstration, adjacent to London, of the operation of high
speed motor coaches over railway tracks. The idea is an elaboration of a scheme which The Commercial Motor put forward in February, 1925, when we suggested that a vehicle which was capable of running with equal facility on troad or rail could be employed for exploiting and expanding partially developed districts connected with the railway only by road. We understand that the typo of vehicle to be tried out has been built by Karrier Motors, Ltd., of Huddersfield.
Premier Bus Developments.
The Premier Omnibus Co. is to run a coach service from Windsor and Slough to Maidenhead Bridge ; it will cater for the Cippenham district and the Slough Trading Estate. When the company made an application to the Maidenhead authorities for sanction to operate a coach service from London into the town, the application was refused on the ground of congestion, and we understand that the company is appealing against this decision.
Appeal Against Trailer Regulations.
Under German regulations issued in July last the weight permitted to be carried on trailers, the wheels of which are not shod with pneumatic tyres, is limited as follows :—Two-wheeled trailers, 4 tons; four-wheeled trailers, 71 tons ; and six-wheelers, 10i tons. The Berlin Chamber of Commerce and "Industry has lately appealed to the German Government to increase these limits to 6 tons, 10 tons and 15 tons respectively, and, in the case of trailers shod with pneumatic tyres, to allow 7 tons to be carried on two-wheelers, 12 tons on four-wheeled machines and 18 tons on six-wheeled trailers.
Another Oil-engined Lorry.
The M.A.N. Co., of Augsburg, Germany, which has for some years been building oil engines for stationary and marine purposes, has lately brought out a 10-ton lorry equipped with a sixcylindered oil engine having a bore and stroke of 120 ram. and 180 mm. respectively; the unit is stated to develop from 90 b.h.p. to 100 b.h.p. at 1,2501,400 r.p.m.
It is claimed that the new M.A.N. vehicle uses gas oil at the rate of a gallon per six-seven miles and that a journey of 100 miles can be covered at fttel cost of 8s. 81d. One of the new M.A.N. oil engines has, we learn, been fitted in an N.A.G. bus chassis and is now being experimentally run by the Berlin Traffic Co.
Cheltenham's New Coach Station.
Black and White Motorways, Ltd., Paris House, Promenade, Cheltenham, is having a large house at St. Margaret's, Cheltenham, converted into a motor-coach station. The building will accommodate offices, restaurant, booking office, waiting rooms, cloak rooms, etc., and the adjacent ground is being made into an open park for coaches. The scheme is reminiscent of that successfully carried out by Bournemouth Motor Stations, Ltd., at Lansdowne, Bournemouth, and described in our issue dated March 11th, 1930.
New British Home of the Stewart.
Morgan Hastings, Ltd., of 17 Berkeley Street, London, W.1, which handles the sale in this country of Stewart commercial chassis, announces the opening of large new premises at 212, New King's Road, Fulham, London, S.W.6, for the sale and service of Stewart products.
The premises have a frontage of 70 ft., and extend back some 130 ft., and there are three floors. The ground floor accommodates a separate workshop (fully equipped), machine shop, store, battery-service shop, garage (with high-pressure washing apparatus), showrooms and a petrol filling station. Vehicles are stored on the first floor and the second floor is devoted to body servicing and cellulose spray-painting departments. The whole building is centrally heated and supplied throughout with hot and cold water. It is open day and night.
Oldham's Protest.
The finance committee of Oldham Corporation has, having regard to the present industrial trade depression and to the urgent need for the exercise of rigid economy in both national and local expenditure, most strongly ,,.protested against the action of the Ministry of Transport in appointing to the *ell-paid positions of traffic commissioners nnder the Road Traffic Act, 1930, certain public officials who are entitled to retire from the Government service on superannuation.
Diesel Users' Meeting.
We are advised that the Diesel Engine Users' Association will meet on January 29th to consider the report of the committee on the costs of working heavy-oil engines. This meeting was previously announced as taking place on January 23rd. Copies of the report will be available after the meeting, priced at 10s. ad. each.
An I.M.T. Meeting.
Last Tuesday we were present at a meeting of the Institute of the Motor Trade, when Mr. C. F. Lawrence King, M.I.A.E., assistant general manager of Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., spoke on the topic of "Commercial Vehicle 13usiness and the Average Motor Trader."
Mr. King pointed out that in five years there had been an increase of 100,000 in the total number of commercial vehicles in operation. Of course, this does not allow for a large number put into service as replacements. In 1928, the number of new vehicles sold was 48,000, and in 1929 this rose to 64,000, of which 45,000 were sold direct by the manufacturers, but, Mr. King added, no manufacturer can hope to succeed in future with a direct-tocustomer policy, which has certainly had a retarding influence upon the progress of the British commercial vehicle.
Until recently, motor dealers have not been able to offer satisfactory after-sales service, but the average motor trader is now displaying a keen interest in the commercial vehicle, and the local trader should be the keynote of the sales fabric. Actually, a dealer constitutes the necessary liaison between the buyer and the factory.
He considered that we had not yet touched the fringe of the commercialvehicle business and that there were remarkable possibilities of future development. The used-vehicle problem was nothing like so acute as in the private-car trade, as vehicles are not changed so often, and when dispensed with are usually practically worn out.
The speaker mentioned agricultural shows as being one of the best forms of publicity for local dealers, whilst local rallies with prizes for best-kept vehicles, etc., prove extremely useful.
The lecture was accompanied by a large number of interesting lantern slides showing statistics and typical traders' premises devoted to the interests of commercial vehicles.
He also mentioned that every MorrisCommercial machine was sold through trade circles, with the exception of certain types for the War Department.
During the discussion Commander Thornycroft rather blamed the retail trade for taking too great an interest in private cars and not building up. good
service for commercial vehicles. His company—John I. Thornyeroft and Co., Ltd.—has about a dozen closed districts in the whole country, and he stated that if traders set out after commercialvehicle business the manufacturers would do all they could to safeguard them. Jowett's Loss.
We learn with regret of the death of Mr. Edward Shotton, who was sales manager of Jowett Cars, Ltd., of Idle, Bradford. Mr. Shottou had been with the company for 15 years, for the greater part of which he acted as sales manager. He was well liked and respected throughout the trade and was especially esteemed by .Towett agents, who recently made him a presentation.
Removal of Service Specialist..
We are advised that Reid Watt, Ltd.,. has moved to 254, Corporation Street, Birmingham. At this address the concern will have larger premises for servicing pistons, piston rings, gudgeon pins, valves and guides, bushes and components for all engines. A stock also is kept of replacement spares for different makes of commercial vehicle.
Sunderland Bus Co.'s Profits.
A profit of £34,964 is shown in the annual report of the Sunderland District Omnibus Co. Ltd., for the year ended October 31st last, compared with one of £21,607 in the previous year. It is stated that more than the necessary 75 per cent. of shareholders have now signified their approval of the sharepurchase offer made in December by another leading motorbus company.
Plant Depreciation.
Mr. F. G. Woollard, general manager of the engines branch of Morris Motors, Ltd., recently read an interesting paper on plant depreciation and replacement problems before the Institution of Automobile Engineers. The author is of the opinion that failure to appreciate the importance of plant depreciation as a factor in production cost has been at the back of many troubles which beset automobile and other engineering core corns in this country.
It is suggested that current balancesheet methods of estimating the value of plant suffer from the following three evils :—(a) too rapid depreciation in early life, (b) too slow depreciation in later life, and (c) an unduly high anticipated value when the time comes to
dispose 0e -the asset. Mr. Woollard suggests that the up-to-date manufacturer must buy new stock at much shorter intervals than formerly.
L.M.S. to Buy Municipal Undertaking?
It is understood that negotiations have been opened by the London Midland and Scottish Railway Co. with a view to purchasing an interest in, or securing the entire control of, the Lytham St. Armes municipal-transport system, which comprises both tramways and bus services. For some years the undertaking has incurred losses, last year the sum amounting to over 19,000. The corporation owns 12 buses and about 50 tramcars.
A private conference has also been held at Blackpool between corporation officials and the railway company, on the general subject of transport facilities to
Blackpool from inland towns. Some little time ago allegations were made that the railway companies were steadily securing a monopoly of coach and bus traffic into the town, and objections -were raised to the council's granting further licences to certain undertakings which appeared likely to become associated with the railways.