"Little Progress in Body Design"
Page 15
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THAT much had been done to I improve bus chassis, but little progress had been made in body design, were views recently expressed by Mr. N. A. Scurrah, A.M.Inst.T., rollingstock engineer to the passenger transport department of Bradford Corporation.
In his paper, "In Pursuit of Perfection," which he read to the Yorkshire Transport Society, Mr. Scurrah, in referring to improvements in power units, mentioned, amongst other
features, monobloc cylinder. and . crankcase castings, hardened liners and rings, cylinder heads whichwere less prone to promote cracking round the valve seats, the use of gears in timing trains (as against chains) and new means for suspending the engine,
The modern chassis, he said, was fitted with a number of components and items of equipment designed to reduce maintenance, but inspection must be carried out at frequent and regular intervals.
With regard to body design, little had been done beyond agreeing on certain main dimensions, which might form the basis for a standard. double
deck body. There was, ' said Mr.
Scurrah, a clear demand on the part of operators for avehicle having "box" dimensions of 8 ft. by 30 ft., but so far the Ministry of Transport had refused to agree.
.Chassis, he said, should be able to accommodate bodies of any make. Standard main dimensions would include body length between bulkheads, which would imply a standard width for windows. His undertaking, he added, stocked 575 different sizes of glass for buses alone. In his &including remarks, Mr. Scurrah said that worm gears might have had their day, and that the use of bevel gears of hypoicl form would probably become more prominent.
The mounting of the engine amidships under the floor, was, said Mr. Scurrah, gaining in popularity and offered many advantages to the bodybuilder. It gave the driver more room, and better ventilation, and he was also subjected to less noise.