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Manchester exhibition boosts Britain's transport industry

25th May 1973, Page 37
25th May 1973
Page 37
Page 38
Page 37, 25th May 1973 — Manchester exhibition boosts Britain's transport industry
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by Tony O'Toole The first exhibition of its type to be held in the North, Transpo '73, which was officially opened last Friday at the Port of Manchester as part of the Manchester Festival, looks like being a great success and is already attracting much interest from both the industry and the public in general. In one shape or another every form of goods and passenger transport is displayed together with a wide range of allied services.

Appropriately, SELNEC PTA has an impressive display. Its theme is "Lifeline 2000" and it shows the PTA's plans for Manchester's transport system till the end of the century. As well as a Duple Dominant-bodied coach — one of the latest additions to the Selnec's Continental tours operation — there is also on show an information caravan which has been designed to represent the shape of future rail services, with streamlined bodywork in the SELNEC livery of sunglow and cream. These colours will be used on the Manchester's Picc-Vic underground net work when opened in 1978.

Manchester Fire Brigade has an ERF /HCB-Angus fire tender on display, carrying an 85ft Simon hydraulic platform; the vehicle has an Allison automatic gearbox.

British Leyland's impressive stand features a Leyland Buffalo tractive unit and a Leyland National coach, recently acquired by SELNEC.

Seddon-Atkinson's stand proclaims that from the amalgamated company's Oldham and Preston factories chassis are produced covering the range from 12 to 75 tons; currently Seddon diesel vehicles hold about 20 per cent of the heavy end of the market.

Small and Parkes Ltd, maker of Don brake and clutch linings, is celebrating its diamond jubilee of brake lining manufacture in Manchester with a stand showing the history of the firm. On the Crane Fruehauf stand is a 40ft Rentco platform-skeletal semi-trailer designed to carry ISO containers or general freight and incorporating a 2ft detachable headboard.

North Western British Road Services Ltd is telling visitors that European distribution is a vital part of the commercial planning of firms entering Europe and that North Western BRS can provide such a service through its links with Pickfords International. Pickfords International, too, is represented and is taking the opportunity to press home the fact that its European network has been extended into eight regions. In 1972 the firm opened branches in Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Rotterdam, and Cortrai and by the end of 1973 will have opened branches in France and Italy.

Atlas International's stand at Transpo 73 is designed to explain how regular inter-connecting trunk services are operated within its national network of distribution terminals and inter-working arrangements with other parcels carriers to provide a comprehensive collection and delivery service.

The Godfrey Davis Truck Rental stand points out that a wide range of vehicles are available for hire in the Manchester area; these vehicles range from 6cwt vans to 32-ton tractive units and the Godfrey Davis maintenance repair procedures ensure that these are kept in good condition.

On its stand, Freightliners Ltd features direct daily container services from the two major terminals in Manchester to Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow and other parts of Britain. The display indicates the versatility of Freightliner from the basic trunk hauling between terminals to the various demands of a comprehensive distribution system.

On show by Magirus-Deutz (Great Britain) is an example of the on /off highway dump-truck rated for 24 tons gvw. This heavy-duty tipper which has recently been acquired by C. W. French (Construction) Ltd, is powered by a V8 Deutz air-cooled engine developing 230 bhp which, it is claimed, is capable of hauling the fully laden truck up gradients of approximately 1 in 3. Standard equipment includes full power steering, and an exhaust brake.

Personnel carrier Featured on the Chrysler (United Kingdom) Ltd display is a Commer Walk-Thru personnel carrier which is operated by the National Coal Board. The vehicle is designed to seat 15 passengers and is ideal for works and hospital personnel.

As well as displaying trucks and vans in the main exhibition hall, Mercedes-Benz is demonstrating the versatility of the Unimog with a model fitted with hydraulically raised and lowered flanged railway wheels which turn it into a 300-ton-capacity shunting loco.

The exhibition, which closes on June 2, also includes veteran and vintage commercial vehicles and some mechanical handling equipment.