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WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.

"The wheels of wealth will be slowed kir all difficulties of transport at whatever OaineS arising, as a carriage is by the rotteotess of the roads over which it runs."--John Beattie Crozier.

To New Readers.

This issue of The Commercial Motor will come into the hands of many new readers. We would invite them to follow up their first acquaintanceship with the journal by becoming regular readers, and would suggest that they should place an order with their newsagents for its supply for the next three months.

We urge this course because the journal has its regular readers, who naturally absorb practically the whole of the circulation, and therefore it does not do to rely solely upon chance in its purchase. At the end of the three months we are confident that the subscription will be renewed for a year. A large amount of space will, of course, be taken up in this issue by reports of the two exhibitions—the Commercial Vehicle Show now running at Olympia, London, and the Public Works, Roads and Transport Congress and Exhibition which concluded on

$aturday last. The pressure on our ppace has necessarily entailed the temporary cessation of some of the regular features, and, of course, space has not been available for the full meed of artiOes which serves largely to constitute the make-up of the journal.

The regular features and the special articles aim at the development of the transport of gods and passengers by road and at the use and employment Of power-driven appliances in municipal service.An important branch of the function of The Commercial Motor is to assist its readers in the solution of the problems which, in the course of 'their business, so. often confront them, and, in particular, to help them in the matter of their operating costs, in the charges which the haulier should make for transport service and the rates which owners of vehicles should reasonably charge agoingt the goods carried by their own vehicles. The fact that the circulation of The Commercial Motor has reached such a high figure as 30,000 (which number will be exceeded in the ease of the current issue), and is more than three times greater than that of any similar journal, shawl; that it is highly valued in the transport industry for the service which it renders to its readers.

Bus Results at Middlesbrough.

A gross loss of £824 is shown in the annual accounts of the Middlesbrough Corporation Omnibus Department for the year ended March 31st, 1927, and the, total charge upon the borough funds, after making allowance for interest and redemption charges, is 13,407. For the preceding year, there was a gross profit of £1,490, and the charge upon the borough fund was £2,335. In the past few months the corporation has discontinued a number of services to surrounding districts which were found to be unremunerative, and is concentrating upon in-town facilities. In addition, -a number of up-todate machines has been bought which will be worked at lower eosts than elder, and heavier types formerly inoommissi on.

For the past year total receipts were v22

114,227, or 10.87d. per bus-mite, and working costs worked out at 115,051, or 11.50d. per mile. During the year the buses carried 1,516,147 passengens and covered a mileage of 313,843, compared with 1,236,082 passengers and a mileage of 236,782 in 1925-26.

Gratis at Olympia.

There will be issued free to inquirers at the stand of The Vomme-scial Motor at the Commercial Vehicle Show at Olympia the following publications:—(1) A reprint of the terms of the draft Road Traffic Bill which vitally concern operators of publicservice vehicles ; (2) The Commercial Motor Tables of Operating Costs; and (3) Prices of 1928 Commercial Vehicle Chassis. Visitors should ask at the stand-for copies of these.

Headlamp Dippers for Commercial Motors.

The Barker headlamp dipper, which is the product of Barker and Co. (Coachhuilders), Ltd., South Audley Street, London, W.1, has many merits, not the least important of which is that it alleviates to a marked extent the danger of dazzle, and this, without les-, seniug the lighting capacity of the lamps. The popularity of the device can be gauged from the fact that there are now 52,000 of these dippers in use. The dipper is to be found on certain chassis at the Commercial Vehicle Show. The fitment is a sound mechanical job with a positive control of the lamp's rays which, with a very slight • adjustment of the brackets., can he made to dip to any required angle. The device is particularly suitable for commercial vehicles. The Benevolent Fund.

The 22nd annual banquet of the Motor and Cycle Trades Benevolent Fund was held in London last week, with Sir Charles C. Wakefield in the chair, supported by the Lord Mayor of. London and many distinguished guests, including a number of people concerned in the transport and commercial

vehicle industries. The banquet was notable for the fact that the founder, Mr. A J. Wilson, in his reply to the special toast in his honour, announced his impending departure to join his daughter and son-in-law in Australia, he himself describing his speech as his "swan-song." The Motor and Cycle Trades Benevolent Fund will be a lasting memorial to Mr. Wilson, who has acted as its general honorary secretary and treasurer from its foundation, and whose influence and wonderful personality have built it up from small beginnings to its present position of one of the notable benevolent funds of the country.

A Merthyr User's Appeal.

Messrs. W. J. Davies and Son, Wheatsheaf Garage, Merthyr, have appealed to the Ministry of Transport to hold an inquiry into the refusal of the Aberdare Urban District Council to grant them licences for a bus service between Merthyr and Aberdare. The basis of the appeal is that the Aberdare authority, having refused the licences, has since granted an application for licences over the same route received from the Dare Valley Motor Co. The Merthyr Council has withheld its assent to the Dare company's service until the Ministry has adjudicated on Messrs. Davies' appeal.

Bus Service and Road Adaptation.

Durham County Roads Committee advises that it has received a report from the county surveyor upon the question of the adaptation of the section of the Sunderland-South Shiekls main road, over which the South Shields Corporation proposes to run a service of motorbuses. The corporation intimates that it cannot agree that any adaptation work is necessary upon the road. The county council has, therefore, forwarded the correspondence to the Ministry of Transport so that it may decide whether it is necessary to adapt the road to provide for the running of the buses and, if so, what sum of money per mile of road to be adapted shall be payable by the corporation to the county authority -by way of contribution to the work.

The Brockway Concessionnaire Removes.

A. E. Tapper and Co., the sole concessionnaire in this country 'for the Brockway commercial vehicle, has removed to more commodious premises at 100, Palmerston Road, London, N.W.6 A Davidson Body on View.

During the period of the Show Davidson (Trafford Park), Ltd., Trafford Park, Manchester, is exhibiting a super-bas body of its manufacture on a Bristol chassis at 1, Hammersmith Road, London, W.

Albion Six-wheeler Subsidized.

We are informed by the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., Scotstoun, Glasgow, that after the most searching tests at Aldershot by the War Department, the Albion "medium" rigid six-wheeler, which we recently described in details has been accepted as eligible for the W.D. subsidy.

Traffic on Residential Roads.

A conference of local authorities held at Hampton to consider the question of heavy traffic on residential roads, urged the needs for the following :—(1) Such revision of Section 7 (4) of the Roads Act, 1920, or of clause 44 of the draft Road Traffic Bill, as will secure greater powers in regard to the restriction of roads which are unsuitable for heavy traffic; (2) greater measure of financial assistance from State funds for the formation and upkeep of roads usedby heavy traffic ; (3) a wider classification to enable district roads subject to heavy

traffic to be placed in, say, a class 3 category, and (4) the amendment of the draft Road Traffic Bill so as to secure therein the imposition of stricter speed limits on heavy vehicles equipped with solid tyres.

Charges for Use of Trailer Firepump.

Hull Watch Committee has adopted the following scale of charges for services of its trailer pump outside the city boundary and for other purposes than attendances at fir :—For turning out, £1 1s.; for run out and back, 5s. per mile ; for standing by, 10s. ed. per hour or part thereof ; for pumping, Li is. per hour or part thereof.

A New Patent Oil Tap.

Saneway, Ltd., Swithlaed Lane, Rothley, Leicester, has just been formed for the manufacture and distribution of the Sa.neway oil tap, of which it is the patentee. The device is the result of many years' experimenting in the search for an oil tap that will pass a big volume of oil at a quick rate of flow, and at the same time overcome the tendency, of the ordinary tap to leak and drip.

In the Saueway tap, a specially treated leather washer takes the place of the usual ground brass valve. When the tap is turned into the " off " position, the leather washer comes into contact with the base of a socket, thus exerting end-pressure upon the face of the washer, which consequently has a tendency to swell out and, therefore, creates a seal between the base of the socket and the tap itself. The tap has a rotary action and cannot be accidentally turned on. The spout is bellmouthed to ensure an even Row of oil. The tap can be applied to any type of oil container.

Palmer Tyre Report.

The report of the Palmer Tyre, Ltd., for the year ended August 31st last shows "a profit of £8,380, to which has to be added a sum of £3,851 brought forward from the previous year. Out of the total of £12,231, a dividend at the rate of /0 per cent, per annum, free of income tax, is to be paid, and this will absorb £8,000. After this disbursement has been made and the sum of £2,000 added to the reserve, a balance of £4,231 remains to be carried forward.

An Agency Relinquished.

We have been advised by the Curtis Automobile Co., Ltd., and the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co., Ltd. that the former concern has relinquished the sole agency for Bristol vehicles in the South East of England and for Bristol motor coaches in the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State.

Electro-chemical Deposition of Metals.

A most interesting publication has been issued by Fescol, Ltd., 101, Grosvenor Road, London, S.W.1, which gives the latest information on the subject of electro-chemicial deposition of metals, nickel and chromium in particular being referred to. Full details of the Feecol process are given and its application to a variety of work in connection with commercial motor vehicles is referred to. The publication contains a host of interesting illustrations

On November 12th, President Coolidge in Washington turned a golden key that by electricity unfurled two flags—one at the New York City and the other at the Jersey City end of the New Hudson River vehicular tunnel. This tunnel has been designed for motor vehicles only, and has two tubes —one for incoming, the other for outgoing traffic. The length of the tunnel is 9,250 ft., and it has cost 48 million dollars. A feature is that by a novel ventilation system, the air in the tubes is completely changed over 40 times per hour. Charges for passage through the tunnel range. from 25 cents to 2 dollars.

Trams and Road Maintenance.

At a meeting of the tramways committee ef the Rotherham Corporation the tramways manager reported that under the Tramways Act of 1870 the onus was placed upon all tramway

authorities to maintain the roadwaylying between the rails and 18 ins. outside the edge of the outside rail in good repair, and that if the tramways were taken up the roadway was to be reinstated to the satisfaction of the road authority. The committee decided to ask the parliamentary committee to promote a Bill to relieve the tramways department of the cost of maintaining the surface of the road and that, in the event of abandonment of tramways the responsibility of the tramways department be limited to the actual cost of ree moving the rails.

Dunlop's Edinburgh Extensions.

A new and larger depot has been opened in Edinburgh by the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd. It is situated in Canning Street at the west end of Princes Street and special facilities have been provided for converting vehicles fitted with solid tyres to pneumatics. The storage space is much greater than that of the old depot, and a service garage has been built where wheel alignments and pressures can be tested. The new premises are under the charge of Mr. Paterson.

Rail Buses to Replace Trains.

It is reported from Galway that the Great Southern Railways (Ireland) Company is giving serious consideration to the replacement of the trains on the Galway-to-Clifden line. The line is a single one of sixty miles and, owing to bus competition during the past few years, has been , maintained at a loss. Already the Great Southern Railways Co. supplements its services with buses, but it is proposed that the buses to be used on the Galway line should be adapted for running on the rail. It would not be possible, on the present public highways from Galway to Offden, to provide a reed motor service which would adequately take the place of the railway.

Available for a Road Transport Position.

We know a man, aged 38, who has had sound business and technical training and ample experience and who desires a position either on the sales side of a depot or as a traffic or transport manager. We shall be pleased to pass on letters from anybody wishing to get into touch with him, and communications should be addressed to " V.A.," care of The Editor of The Commercial Motor.

Saving Money by Using Ticketissuing Machines.

At a meeting of the tramways committee of the Rotherham Corporation, the tramways manager reported that a new device is on the market, which the conductor carries and whioh prints and issues bus and tram_ tickets. He advocated the purchase of one of these machines for trial purposes, with the idea of adopting it on all motorbuses and tramcars. The price is 115 and, if adopted throughout the system, it is said that a saving of 1400 a year would be effected. The committee has authorized the purchase of a machine as an experiment.

Merryweather Plant in Use in New York.

A novel method of watering the famous Belmont racecourse has just been adopted by the Westchester Racing Association of New York. A large tank, holding some 1,400 gallons

of water, mounted on a four-wheeled trailer is towed along the course by a motor tractor. The act of propulsion drives a powerful pump mounted on the tratler and this throws water from the tank over a very Wide area—approximately 50 ft. Within certain limits, the faster the tractor travels, the greater the volume of water the pump throws, so that the task of watering can be rapidly effected. The designer and manufacturer of this unique apparatus is Merryweather and Sons, Ltd., the well-known fire engineer, of London, which has reason to feel proud that a British appliance has been adopted in spite of high American tariffs.

An Indian Visitor.

Amongst the visitors to England just now is Mr. G. Rajam, one of the directors of the Garage (Calcutta), Ltd., and the Garage, Ltd., of Madras, concerns which hold the contract for the road transport of the mails in two of the largest centres of India. The purpose of Mr. Rajam's visit to this country is to study road-transport conditions in Great Britain, as well as the construction of roads to meet modern traffic conditions.

New Magneto-drive Coupling.

A novel coupling for the magnetodrive has recently been placed on the market by Messrs. Walters and Dobson, 57, Bailey Street, Sheffield. The main components of this device are a metal plate, which is fitted to the magneto spindle, a centre transmission-piece made of rubber and protected by an ex tenor brass ring and an end-plate secured to the driving-shaft.

Both end-plates, which are of aluminium, incorporate 12 cones, which fit into holes provided in the rubber centrepiece. It will be realized that witli this arrangement easy adjustment of the magneto timing can be made by advancing or retarding the end-plates to whatever number of holes may be found necessary. For final adjustment, however, the plate, which is secured to the magneto spindle, incorporates an inner ring, which, when two screws on the face of the plate have been loosened, enables the drive to be advanced or retarded exactly to the desired point without disturbing the magneto.

When assembled, the W. and D. coupling has a neat and compact appearance and it is stated by the makers that it has proved to operate satisfactorily in every way under severe tests.

The Discussion on a Paper Before the I.A.E.

A special meeting of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, announced for November 23rd, has been cancelled, and Mr. H. L. Horning, instead of reading a paper, will contribute to the discussion on Capt. Kuline's paper on November 22nd some interesting detaiis of the, great progress that is being made in America in regard to six-wheeled vehicles.

A Bus Licence Request.

At a meeting of the Hull Watch Committee, a letter was considered from the town clerk of Beverley asking the commlittee to insert •a condition in the licences for buses owned by the East Yorkshire Motor Services that they should not pick up passengers for Beverley except with vehicles which are running through to York or Bridlington. The committee, however, cannot see its way to accede to the request. Licensing Authority Upheld. It will be remeMbered that a Ministry of: Transport inquiry was recently held at Preston, following an appeal by Mr. F. J. Wood (Claremont Motors, Ltd., Burnley), against the decision of the Preston Corporation to refuse to license this company's buses. The Minister of Transport has declined to make any Order on the licensing authority, "seeing that the omnibuses in question have a side overhang of 7-I ins., which is regarded as excessive in the case of vehicles plying for hire in urban areas, and a width between the rear springs, from outside to outside, of less than 50 per cent, of the overall width of the vehicle."

Dallas Services De Luxe Motors, Viking Motors (Preston), Ltd., J. W. Cooke (Cooke's lielotor Services), W. Parkinson, Yarrow Motor Co., and H. Rowley also appealed to the Ministry against the attachment to the licences Issued by the Preston Corporation of conditions as to stands and routes. The effect of the decision in this case is that the conditions as to stands and routes imposed by the corporation will have to be observed.

Brush Bus Bodies.

A pamphlet entitled "A Bus Body," which is descriptive of a body built by the Brush Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd., Falcon Works, Loughborough, has just been issued. The vehicle which is described is actually being exhibited on the stand of Guy Motors, Ltd., at the Commercial Motor, Exhibition, and the pamphlet, therefore, appears at 'a most opportune moment. Brief constructional details are given and full dimensions.

Another publication of the company is entitled "Bus Bodies," and this serves to illustrate the various types which the company is in a position to construct. Many of the vehicles Maastrated, in which Brush bodies are used, are in the service of prominent peasenger-vehicle operators in different parts of the country.

New Hartlepool Road.

A new toad at West Hartlepool, which has been constructed at a cost of £70,000 specially to cope with the large volume of heavy through motor traffic between Sunderland and the north, and Teesside, has recently been opened by the Mayor of West Hartlepool.

'Motor Trade Mayors.

Mr. Leslie IT. Ellis Shell-Max representative in West Wales, has been elected Mayor of Haverfordwest for the ensuing year.

Mr. Arthur P. Thomas, who for 16 years carried on business as acoachs builder at Merthyr, and subsequently, for 14 years, has been a motor trader and coachbuilder at Newport (Mon.), has been elected Mayor of Abergavenny.

Demanding a Tariff on Imported Bodies.

Headed by a brass band, a parade of buses with Irish-made kodies was recently held in Dublin. The display was organized by the National Union of Vehicle Builders, the members of which marched in the procession, and as they proceeded through the principal streets of the Free State capital, handbills were distributed calling attention to the demand for a restrictive tariff on imported bus bodies of English and foreign manufacture.

Subsequently, a meeting was addressed by members of the Free State Chamber of Deputies, one of whom stated that if a tariff were imposed on imparted bodies work would be provided for 2,000 men who were now unemployed.

Traffic on Durham Roads.

Reporting on traffic in the county, Mr. Wm. J. Merrett, the Durham County Engineer, has prepared statemerits showing the summary of the traffic statistics taken on the Great North Road, between Durham and Gateshead, and on the SunderlandDurham main read, in the month of

August. The records taken on the Great North Road show an increase in tonnage for the past 12 months of 30 per cent. ; the average tonnage of the Teams Colliery point and the Frainwellgate Moor point, amounting to 10,802 per day, as compared with 8,318• per day last year. Motorbuses show an increase of about 1,000 tans per day. and heavy motors and tractors show a similar increase over last year. It is interesting to note that the _percentage of each class of traffic remains practically the same as last year, there being only slight increases in the motorbus and heavy motor section percent ages. "All other traffic," .which ineludes horse-drawn vehicles and ordinary cycles, continues to drop gradually, and is now only 1.4 per cent, in weight of the total traffic using the road.

With regard to the returns from the Durham-Sunderland main road, the increase over the 1926 figures in tons per day equals 16 per cent. The greatest increase in weight on this road is from motorbuses. The extent of "all other traffic " on this roadis stated to be 3 per cent.

Buses in Berlin.

We learn that the General Berlin Omnibus. Co. is arranging to place 100 additional covered -top doubledeck motorhnses in service in the German capital at the begitusingeof 1928. This foreign operator is a progressive concern, and it says much for this type that this development is to take place.