TWENTY YEARS OF PASSENGER BODY DESIGN.

22nd November 1927, Page 123

22nd November 1927

Page 123

Page 124

Page 125

Page 123, 22nd November 1927 — TWENTY YEARS OF PASSENGER BODY DESIGN.

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A Review of the Progress Made in the Detail Construction of Motorbuses and Motor Coaches.

TNITIIING the past two decades, the passenger_LI carrying body has developed from •the strictly utilitarian pattern to one in which comfort and ease of access are the predominating features. The average bus body of 1907, however, was by no means crude or badly designed. It must be remembered that the construction of this class of vehicle had been a highly specialized industry for many years—concentrated mostly in the northern part of London. It was also found that existing horse-drawn patterns required little modification when making a design for mounting on a chassis. This was owing to the fact that a more or less rectangular outline and a simple seating arrangement were recognized as fundamental principles of public-service-vehicle design, and, although the bus body has been modified in many details, these essential features still remain. The typical bus of these early days was a London double-decker, the use of the single-decker only just beginning to make headway in the provinces.

' Rear Entrance Body of 1907.

The rear entrance was in favour for the singledecker of twenty years ago, because not only was the double-decker so designed, but all private buses were similarly fitted. The public service vehicle had, in addition, a rear platform. This was more .convenient for the entry of a constant stream of passengers and, moreover, had the advantage that the vehicle was accessible from the side of the road or pavement. This hind platform was an open one, protected with a fender or other Means to. the waist line and overhead by means . of a projecting canopy. The seating was longitudinal; often there was an unwieldy overhang, and the body was mounted as high as the contemporary lorry, say, some three feet off the ground. Ventilation was usually confined to small hinged windows above the main ones, whilst the mudguards were fiat and " without inside-Shields, and a windscreen was Quite a rarity.

New ideas were not lick ing, but they did not always receive sufficient encouragement to give scope for their immediate development.

The bodybuilder is now

welcoming the forward-control type of chassis, because it gives the utmost space for mounting the body. But, .in 1907, a similar economy was possible, because the overtype variety of chassis was then available, such as the Scott-Stirling. This type of control made it possible to design a symmetrically shaped front, which is not so simple a inatter now, when the steering column is on the off side of the bonnet.

With regard to the general outline, a desire was shown here and there to break away from the severely rectangular shape. Perhaps the top line of the windows was gently curved from side to side, and rounded back corners were sometimes adopted. Instead of painting the body, some of the single-deckers were finished in varnish in the natural colour of the wood, giving the body an attractive appearance and having the advantage that it did not readily, show the dust. Nowadays, it Is necessary to copy the colour and graining of the wood on a metal panel if a similar effect be required.

The usual condition of the roads twenty years ago and the greater speed of the new traffic now using the highways more intensively directed attention to the dust problem. This, in turn, led the bus Wider to consider the claims of the front-entrance body, which could be made with an enclosed back. The front entrance, may also have been suggested by contemporary patterns of private cars, which had a similar means of access, to provide an entrance to the back seat of a body mounted on a chassis of relatively small wheelbase. As a role, the general equipment was similar to that of the existing rear-entrance pattern. A few vehicles had windscreens, some, even, had enclosed driving compartments, but the most important change which took place was the introduction of the crosswise seat for the single-deck bus.

Bodywork in 1920-21.

When bus bodybuilding was again revived, in 1920, there was an increased demand for the single-decker with crosswise seats. There was evidenced as yet no marked preference for the front-entrance body, which was to become evident later. A few bodies were asked for, having both front and rear entrances; the central partition made its appearance for the larger body; the open hind platform was then being properly vestibuled, instead of being left open; rounded hind corners were more often specified, and more attention was paid to the shaping of the roof and main panels, so as to the make the body more attractive. Steel and plywood were then being used for panelling instead of solid mahogany.

One of the first examples of the all-weather coach was a Bartle body having a roof which folded in sections, with large drop windows at the sides, which was shown at Olympia in October, 1920.

Another Show was held at Kensington in October, 1921. During the twelve months' interval the drop window had not only become a more common feature of the single-decker, but it was mechanically operated or balanced as well. Messrs. Strachao and Brown, pioneers in this direction, made their own window fittings. The all-weather coach problem had not been allowed to lie dormant, for at this show the Dodson charabus appeared. This body, it will be remembered, had a fixed narrow central roof portion, which connected the driver's and rear saloon compartments. The cant rail on each side, with the flexible cover intervening, could be pushed against the central roof member, whilst metal side pillars folded on to the top of the body side, and the windows were removable.

The coach with a removable saloon top was also shown at this exhibition. The luxury type of singledecker, designed for other than strictly service requirements, was now becoming a distinct feature of the trade.

During the next two years the front-entrance type of body increased in popularity. It had an enclosed front, and, very soon, the mechanically operated door E30 was being adopted by most builders. Single-deckers without drop windows were rare; the luxuriously finished body was more in evidence and, at the 1923 Olympia Show, the chassis with forward steering had made its appearance, and the motor m,anufacturer was also providing for the requirements of the bodybuilder and the safety of the riding public by building the chassis with a low loading-line. In brief, the chassis specially designed for passenger work was the order of the day and henceforth was no longer to be a modified and lengthened lorry type. The design of the all-weather coach had continued to receive much attention on the part of inventors, for both the Q.P. all-weather coach of London Lorries, Ltd., and the Strachan and Brown roll-top roof were on view at Olympia in 1923, many coaches of both patterns having already been supplied to owners in various parts of the country. The Dodson charabus was now fitted with drop windows. There were aL.4o the sliding-roof coach built by the Northern Counties Motor Engineering Co., Ltd., and the special roll-up roof cover shown by the Hickman Body Building Co., Ltd.

The Revolutionary Changes of 1925.

From 1923 to 1925 was a period of considerable activity, both on the part of the bodybuilder and the motor manufacturer, which culminated in the Show of two years ago. The low-loading chassis had been universally adopted, seating was more luxurious, and the general interior equipment differing but little in some instances from private ear display. Karriers showed the first six-wheeled bus at this Show.

The bodywork of the passenger vehicle was not only mounted lower and a better harmony existed between It and the chassis, but for some time past it had been built lighter and more scientifically. The traditional heavy forged ironwork had been discarded and its place taken by sheet-steel reinforcements.

Since 1925 the developments which have taken place in single-deck fins design have been mostly confined to matters of detail. Interest has been revived in metal construction, and it is thought that the work which has been done in this direction by Messrs. Short Bros. and the L.G.O.C. will have a far-reaching influence. There are also signs that the fabric-panelled body will be utilized for certain classes of work and more attention be paid to the flexible mounting of the body.

The Development of the Double-decker.

From 1907 to 1920 there was little development in the general design of the double-deck bus body. It was not used much in the provinces. The overtype pattern of chassis was available in the earlier years as for the single-decker, and the easy adaptation of the old style of horse-drawn bodywork to mechanical traction was illustrated by the fact that a few existing bodies were converted and transferred to chassis. The protection of the top-deck passengers usually took the form of knee aprons, a device which is still used to-day, although they are now mounted to facilitate their use and to prevent them from being thrown on the floor.

The fixed canopy was used so far back as 1901 on a Thornycroft steamer, and a similar kind of protection was fairly common twenty years ago for the motorbuses of Paris. A canopy to a De Dion doubledecker was exhibited at the Motor Show of 1905, but the saloon top did not appear until some five or six years later, when the Widnes Corporation had some in use mounted on Commer chassis.

One of the most important changes which has influenced present design was the introduction of crosswise seats for the lower saloon. This type of seating was adopted in both a Straker-Squire with a Dodson body and on a Tilling-Stevens bus at the 1913 Show, but did not become really popular until 1919-20. The introduction of the crosswise seat for the inside passengers of the double-decker was the direct result of the experience obtained with the single-decker.

' The L.G.O.C. was quick to recognize the increased attractiveness of the same kind of seating both inside and out, and the introduction of the K-type bus was the beginning of the end of a type of interior-seating arrangement which has persisted since the days of Shillibeer, nearly a century ago.

The K-type bus was, however, something more than a bus with crosswise seats in the lower saloon, for it heralded not only a remarkable reduction in body weight, but also the establishment of the chassis with forward control in both public and official favour. The provincial proprietor was also asking for drop windows in the lower saloon. In due course, he got them, and, strange to relate, the top deck did not crash through into the lower saloon as had been suggested in some quarters! The full protection of the top deck was now made a practical proposition by the lowering of the chassis. The double-decker now has adjustable main windows in both saloons; the top saloon, with its cushioned seats, has proved a boon during an unusually wet summer; the seating capacity has been increased by the adoption of the six-wheeled chassis, and it is probable that further safety and protection will be afforded to the passenger by the enclosure of the staircase.

The Development of the Coach Body.

Early patterns of tile coach body had a roof canopy supported on stanchions without any side doors or windscreen. The value of the vehicle for sight-seeing purposes was ensured by the use of a floor sloping upwards towards the rear, or raised by means of series of steps, apart from the general height of the chassis. The back and skies of the rear seats were often panelled and glazed, so forming a good dust screen. Side panels and windows were sometimes added, so that the seating arrangement of the front entrance omnibus was foreshadowed. But the influence of contemporary private styles of bodywork soon made itself felt and by 1913 the typical coach had a scuttle dash and flush-sided panels with a door to each row of seats. The elbows of these seats were upholstered with a• roll-over which often was continued along the tops of the doors. The floor was of sufficient height to necessitate the use of two long "platform steps, and over all was mounted a hood which had to be extended stick by stick until it could be fastened on the windscreen. The Dennis sliding hood, however, was by then available. This was an important innovation, since subsequent events have proved that a large hood must slide if it is to be easily-manipulated.

In 1913 the coach, or char-itbanes as it was then called, was in far more active demand than any type of bus body. The _coach of 1920 was similar to the latest 1914 pattern, but more attention was being paid to the manipulation of the hood. The Bartle hood was by then on the market, and consisted of a separate hood to each seat.

During the next 12 months the central-gangway type of body was coming to the fore, the number of side doors being reduced, the ugly roll-over elbow was being dispensed with and more luxury and comfort were introduced. The Bartle hood was now modified by making the hood cover in one piece, but retaining the separate folding hoopsticks in an improved form. Other new hoods then to be seen were the Karrier sidefolding pattern and the variety which was supported on longitudinal metal runners. Attention was also being paid to the question of luggage accommodation, and rear lockers, often underslung, were becoming more frequently a standard fitting. During the next two years the chief development was the increasing use of the central-gangway type of coach, whilst at the same

time the rival claims of the all-weather coach with its adjustable glass windows, such as has already been described, was having its due effect by reducing the demand for the coach with only a hood and side curtains to protect the passengers in bad weather. The hood curtains, however, were brought up to date by making them rigid and arranging them to open with the doors.

The coach of the present day is mounted on a lowloading chassis and has a smart and inviting appearance, because of the care taken to make it resemble, so far as possible, a large and handsome private touring car. It is highly probable that all coaches of the future will be of the all-weather pattern; that is, the use of adjustable glass windows in conjunction with a sliding hood will be universal.

TWENTY YEARS OF PASSENGER BODY DESIGN.

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