AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Late-season Coaching Holidays a Success

22nd October 1948
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 30, 22nd October 1948 — Late-season Coaching Holidays a Success
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Keywords : Forest Of Dean, Lydney

REFERENCE was made by "The Commercial Motor" early this year to the Wye Valley weekly tours which were then being organized by South Midland Motor Services. Ltd.. in conjunction with John Watts Hotels, Ltd., Lydney. These have proved a great SIMMS.

They have been practically fully booked for the whole of the ordinary coaching season, and, somewhat to the surprise of the promoters, the demand has been so great that bookings have run into November. As a result, the hotels concerned, unlike many others affected by the petrol stringency, have done excellent business.

Travel Association Interested This extension of the normal coaching season caught the attention of the Travel Association, the chairman and founder of which is Lord Hacking, P.C., who expressed a desire to visit the hotels with a small party and see the beauty spots which, naturally, form the main attraction. The Editor of "The Commercial Motor' was one of the guests.

The coaches being engaged on their normal duties, the party proceeded by car, leaving London on the morning of October 14, lunching at the Thirlestaine Hall Hotel, Cheltenham, and arriving at the Beaufort Hotel, Tintern, in time for tea.

Next day visits were paid to Monmouth and Symond's Yat, with luncheon at the Merton Hotel, Ross-onWye, and on through Newnham-onSevern to "Rocklands," the home of Mr. John Watts, at Lydney. Here the party was joined by Viscount Bledisloe, P.C., president, Forest of Dean Development Association. The party then returned to Tintern.

Government Helpful Speaking at dinner there, Lord Hacking referred to the great assistance afforded to the Association by the Government, which was justified by the help given in bringing hard currency into the country through the encouragement of visitors from abroad. He gave remarkable figures in this connection.

Last year the sum spent by such visitors to Britain was over £30,000,000, and this vied with the receipts from the export of textiles. Of this huge sum. American visitors accounted for over £9,000,000. which represented more than the sale of textiles to hard-currency countries, and if consideration were given to the imported raw materials for these textiles, they accounted for only 0,000,000. It was now hoped to raise the target sum received from visitors to between £40,000,000 and £50,000,000.

He pointed out that those engaged in transport and the running of hotels were making a great contribution to this trade. The John Watts hotels were good and their value to home and overseas visitors was extraordinary, despite limits on repairs and materials.

A28 . Mr. A. H. C. Sykes, organizing secretary, Wyedean Tourist Board, said that the Board had decided t,o support the Travel Association to the best of its ability. Mr. John Watts had set a marvellous example to the rest of the area by improving his hotels.

Mr. G. Nowell, director and general manager of South Midland Motor Services, Ltd., mentioned that, to the end of this month, 1,337 people had booked for the Wye Valley tours out of a possible 1,450 if all hotel accommodation had been used. The inclusive charge for a week's tour in the normal season was £13 13s., but this had been reduced to £8 8s. as from September 25.

Several of the tourists were asked why they took such late holidays, and their replies were interesting. One was a harvest worker and could not leave earlier; another, an employee in a Food Office, had to wait until the rationing period was over; a third described the trip as a "stolen holiday" to accompany a friend—stolen, because she had already hat her normal vacation. LORD SEMPILL RFSIGNS AFTER DISPUTE WITH [MI.

ORD SEMPILL, who has been .1--$ president of the Institute of the Motor Industry since July, 1946, has resigned his office as from October 7, because of a dispute with the governors. In a statement issued to the Press on October 13 he said that "he no longer feels that the attitude of the governing body towards the policy of the Institute is in the best interests of the organization or those of the future progress and development of either the Institute or the motor industry."

According to a statement by Mr. Stanley S. Dawes, chairman of the Institute, one of the conditions ef Lord Semphill's remaining in office for the third successive year was the continuity in the office of the general secretary, so that the president might be assured of a minimum call on his time. Mr. G. Hall, general secretary, has, however, vacated his post by agreement with the council.

' Mr. Dawes added that the council was a democratic body of 50 members, representing the full membership of the Institute, and its policy was pursitz.d. in the best interests of members, irrespective of a minority view. SIR CYRIL HURCOMB TO 'ADDRESS!. OF T.

TWO important events figure in the calendar of the Institute of Transport for November. The Institute's anniversary luncheon will be held on November 2 at the Connaught Rooms, London, W.C.2. Sir Eustace Missenden, 0.B.E., M.Inst.T., chairman of the Railway Executive, will be the principal speaker. •

Sir Cyril Hureomb, G.C.B., K.B.E., M.Inst.T., chairman of the British Transport Commission, will speak on "Progress Towards the Integration of Transport" on November 15. The meeting will be held at Jarvis Hall, Royal Institute of British Architects, 66, Portland Place, London, WI, at 5.30 p.m.

The Institute has approved the formation of a Middlesbrough and district graduate and student society.

RIVAL UNIONS IN DISPUTE

ADISPUTE involving a number of Salford Corporation busmen broke out as a result of a proposal to extend from 10.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. last departures on certain services as from last Monday.

Members of the Transport and General Workers' Union, representing about a seventh of the traffic staff, worked the services affected by the new schedules, but members of the National Union of Public Vehicle Drivers and Operators (the new break-away union) refrained from doing so. Dislocation of peak-hour traffic was caused. A number of vehicles manned by T.G.W.U. crews ran the new late services.

CHILDREN'S BUSES WANTED

TENDERS for the conveyance of children, for the year 1949, to and from many schools throughout the county are required, by October 30, by Cambridge County Council. Full particulars are obtainabJe ,from the chief education officer, Shire Hall,Cambridge.

BACK AFTER 10 YEARS

AT noon on November 15, Mr. Aneurin Bevan, Minister of Health, will open the Public Health and Municipal Engineering Congress and Exhibition at Olympia, London. The exhibition has not been held for 10 years. There will be 21 sessions of the Congress.

HAYS WHARF TO FACE 12 OPPONENTS THERE will be 12 respondents to 1 three appeals by Hays Wharf Cartage Co., Ltd., against decisions of the South Eastern Deputy Licensing Authority, which are to be heard by the Appeal Tribunal at Halifax House. Strand, London, W.C.2, from October 26-28.

Appeals by Mainells, Ltd., G. H. Stammers and Sons, Ltd., and M. W. Beastall against decisions of the South Eastern Deputy Licensing Authority will also be heard during that period. Hays Wharf Cartage Co., Ltd., will appear as respondent.

The Railway Executive and G. V. Prescott will be appellants against decisions of the West Midland Deputy Licensing Authority at Halifax House, from November 2-3.

HIGH-PRESSURE TYRES WILL DISAPPEAR

EVENTUALLY, the high-pressure tyre would go out of use and all would be of the type that the operator to-day regarded as low pressure, forecast Mr. H. Mountford, of the India Tyre and Rubber Co., Ltd., in addressing the Manchester centre of the Institute of Traffic Administration, last week.

Stating that bus passengers in Scotland during the hot weather of 1947had complained of electric shocks, the speaker said that the cause had been traced to static charging through the tyres and went on to explain that designs had been introduced to combat this factor. Each size of tyre was designed to carry a specific load under a specific inflation piessure, covers running under correct conditions haying a 14-per-cent. deflection. Underinflation caused greater deflection .and consequently greater wear; 65 per cent.

of proper inflatio brought down tyre life to half.

Over-inflation, on the other hand, was no cure for overloading. Excessive loading led to tread shuffle and quick wear. Records of one large bus fleet showed that, by careful maintenance, involuntary halts caused by tyres were kept down to an average of one in 34,000 miles.

Dealing with the question of overheating, Mr. Mountford said he had measured temperatures of over 100 degrees C. when testing tyre treads.

The B.U.T. two-axle trolleybus rearsuspension system, illustrated in "The Commercial Motor" dated October 8, is controlled by a patented A.E.C. stabilizer which incorporates a lostmotion linkage. INTER-STATE COACH TOURS MADE EASIER

FURTHER progress has been made towards freedom for road transport in Europe. The United Nation, Economic Commission for Europe's working party on short-term road transport problems has recently concluded a two-day session, during which Austria. Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands. Switzerland, and the Western Allies' zones of Germany agreed to extend through 1949 the arrangement negotiated by E.C.E. to facilitate tourist traffic by coach between those countries.

Hungary has joined in another E.C.E. agreement to facilitate the transport of goods by road. This arrangement has also been extended through next year by the countries which have prolonged' the agreement for coach touring.

WHOLOSALERS WANT FISH BY ROAD

D ECOMMENDING fish wholesalers

to try to get supplies by road, Mr. C. Stewart, who presided at the annual meeting of Liverpool Wholesale Fish, Game and Poultry Merchants' Association, last week, said all members were glad of the resumption of the road transport services from Aberdeen, because they reduced cartage costs.

He considered that there was no reason why the herring and kipper traffic during the next Fraserburgh season should not be by road. There had already been supplies of wet fish coming by road from the Banff district. Members ought to ask senders to dispatch herrings and kippers by road.

HALF-FARE AGE MAINTAINED 'THE Northern Licensing Authority 1 has announced that it would not be possible to extend from 14 years to. 15 years, the age at which children were allowed to travel at half fare on buses. ROAD TRANSPORT COSTS Is. 6d. IN £ OF NATIONAL EARNINGS

(NUT of every £1 earned in Great %--/ Britain, Is. 6d. is spent op running cars, lorries and buses, says Mr. Christopher T. Brunner, Minst.T., in 'The Road Way to Recovery," which has been published by the British Road Federation. The book has been produced to demonstrate clearly the need for bringing Britain's road system up to date. "To-day our roads are already inadequate for their burden of motor traffic. To-morrow they may be overwhelmed," says Mr. Brunner.

The book presents statistics in a lively form by the use of ingenious coloured charts. It is pointed out that a TO-year average, struck before the war, yielded £59,200,000 as the gross annual expenditure on roads. This was equal to 1.5 per cent, of the total prewar national income. If that proportion of the present greatly increased national income were spent, the corn' parable figures would be £110,000,000.

It is estimated that if the roads were modernized, point-to-point average speeds could be increased by .15 per cent. Fuel and tyres would be saved, as well as wear and tear on machines. Mr. Brunner goes so far as to say that, with a modernized road system, a saving of £60,000,000, made up of the following amounts, could be produced each year in vehicle-operating costs:—Time £26,000,000, fuel £12,000,000, tyres £3,000,000, repairs £9,000,000, accidents (insurance) £10,000,000.

GOOD RIDDANCE!

GRANTING an application by Newcastle-on-Tyne City Council to operate four new bus services to replace trams, Mr. S. W. Nelson, Northern Licensing Authority, said that the sooner the trams were out of the way, the better is would be for everyone.

• Simms Motor Units, Ltd., has opened much larger premises in Manchester at 709. Chester Road, Stretford.


comments powered by Disqus