From Our U.S.A. Correspondent.
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Among the Lorries at Madison Square Garden.
The tunnel-like basement at Madison Square is not an ideal place to exhibit anything, and, among an overwhelming collection of motor-bicycles, which are staged at the Caine level of the building, it cannot be said that the lorries exhibited by the licensed manufacturers are seen to advantage. Truth to tell, the apace allotted is good enough for the class of vehicles exhibited. Some dah they will be historical, and will command respect.; at present, they strike one as being more representative of the practice of the 19th than of the second decade of the 20th century. Why it is with such excellent models before them as earl he found to-day in Enrope„ that the American builders seem to be groping after the experience which has been almost forgotten in the Eastern hemisphere, I cannot say ; hut it is evident, from a most casual inspection, that the majority of the vans shown has been pot upon the market without passing through the preliminary stage of experiment, and a more thorough examination confirms the opinion that the unhappy user will have to foot some askmishing sums in the way of repair bills. I am sorry to be obliged to pass so unfavourable a criticism, but the kindest thing I can say is that not one of the VallS I have examined could command a sale in England.
The sizes range from a van to carry 1,000 lb., suitable for department stores, to five-ton lorries for brewers. As a rule, a want of proportion is shown between the various units of the chassis; an axle 3 in. by 2 in. is made to support a steering gear of which the compommt parts are about as thick as one's finger. Generally, the chassis are built too light, and the tires are invariably nut of proportion; it is usual to fit two 3 in. solid tires on the rear wheels, with a 5 in. flat tire on the front, of a lour-ton lorry. It is not surprising, under these conditions, that high mileage on tires are unknown in the States. To this fault of excessive lightness, there is one notable exception in the show, the " Sampson " fmles), in which the quantity of metal exceeds all bounds : this four-ton lorry—and be it remembered they are 2,000 lb. tons only—is fitted with front springs haring 16 leaves each 5-16 in.
thick; it is comprehensible that its designer has found it necessary to hang the radiator on quite a pretty system of spiral springs! My sympathy involtin
tarily went out to the driver, perched on a seat just 7 ft. 6 in. above the ground level, with a horizontal steering wheel upon a spindle to the bottom ci which
is attached a spur pinion engaging with a rack, which in turn moves a link running crosswise and jointed direct to one of the steering levers. How this piece of machinery is controlled, with this
single-reduction steering. and with, moreover. an extremely-short wheel base, I am unable to say. The unladen weight of this car I was notable to ascertain, as the attendant. who somewhat resented some of my questions appeared reticent on this !mint, butthe fire-ton Hewitt truck, which was staged near to it and was generally a more-fragile construction, weighed. I was told, just 9,000 lb.
The Knox Co, show a char-a-banes to seat 20 passengers : the price of this is $3.200, or about £640. The price, it will be seen, is about the same as for an English car of the same size,
The Franklin has a tubular front axle, with housings for the pivot axles riveted on ; the steering gear is excessively light, and an unusual feature seems to he the full elliptic front springs. All four sprincs are reinforced by a spiral spring phieed on a bracket between the leaf spring and the tvheel : the car, to carry 1,500 lb., is fitted with 6 in. pneumatic tires on all wheels,
The Autocar Co. show a well-appointed ambulance for the Boston Corporation, this make of car having a. two-cylinder enuine with a crankshaft running in two ball bearings, and being fitted with full
chliotie run the Tear axle.
The Thomas Co.„ of Buffalo, show their iww-model taxicab, and this merits a more detailed description. It has EZ pressed frame, with three-quarter elliptic springs to the rear, and semi-elliptic to the front axle. Tn meet the requirements of American traffic, the steering wheel is on the left side of the car. The four-cu linder monehlec-type engine is exceedingly simple, with thermn-syphon pooling, and the radiator is placed behind the engine, the bonnet having the wellknown Renault form. Magneto ignition is fitted, with fixed spark, end the general control is well arranged. A single
pedal, operated by the driver's left foot, actuates both the clutch and the foot brake ; there is, also, a hand brake at the driver's right hand, and a foot throttle worked by the right foot. Following the general American practice, a single brake drum on each rear wheel carries both brakes, the foot and the hand brakes operating on the internal and external surfaces of the same drums. The selection change-speed lever, on the driver's right, is, of course, immediately over the gearbox, and a very simple arrangement of change-speed gear is in consequence possible. The central portion of the rear axle is of cast steel, in one piece, with a front and a hack cover bolted to it; this is fitted with ends of drawn-steel tube, on which the rear wheels are mounted. A torque rod is entirely dispensed with, the rear springs taking the entire strain of the drive. There is an entire absence of any finish about the chassis, which certainly has the appearance of having been cheaply produced.
Of tires, there are legions. A favourite is the inserted-block pattern, which has never proved very successful in Europe ; Messrs. Phineas Jones and Co., who are the most-important wheel builders in the States, show some good specimens of
their work—among them, a Saurer winter wheel, of the pattern exhibited by J. and E. Hall, Ltd., at Olympia, in 1908. Incidentally, 1 may say that the Jones firm builds the wheels for all the Saurer lorries delivered in the States, and these are a considerable number. It may interest some of your readers to barn that Albert Otto, of Broadway, New York City, the American agent for Adolph Saurisr, of Cirbon, has contracted with the latter firria for the supply of no fewer than six three-ton lorries per -week. commencing from July next.
I need not say that this vehicle is a popular one here, and it is imported with a 45 per cent, duty, which says much for the enterprise of the selling department of the Sewer firm. It is a pity that this excellent chassis could not be exhibited at this year's show, which is strictly confined to American manufacturers. It was, of course, shown at the Palace Show, a week earlier, among the other foreign makes.
New York, this week, has been visited by one of the worst blizzards it has suffcred for some time, and the traffic to-day (Friday, the 14th January) was a remarkable study in the usefulness of the motor when snow is on the ground, the like of which is never known in London. Neither private motors nor taxis, and motorbuses appeared much inconvenienced, although, to-day, the snow in the city was 18 in. deep, and the wind and sleet rendered it impossible to see halfway across the street. Fifth Avenue is well served with De Dion buses, as well as sonic petrol-electrics, but the former are kept in a poor state of repair. The familiar De Dion scream, such as one may hear in, say, Whitehall, about midnight, when one of those vehicles is ambling heme to Brixton, at SO/Ile (peer Sir Edward Henry} 15 m.p.h., is a dulcet murmur compared to the unearthly noise emitted by these New York vehicles ! The puhlte appears to like it. and it adds to the bustle of the city. Where the plieemen cease from troubling; and the public are—well, if not at rest, at least in a state of acquiescence—who could complain of a De Dion gearbox, especially after an up-bringing under the shadow of the elevated railway?
H.K.T.