THE VOGUE OF THE LONG-DISTANCE BUS.
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The Inauguration of Another Long-distance Route—London to Gloucester— by a High-class Type of Vehicle.
Vel.IRING recent months we have Vel.IRING recent months we have
J_J been provided with a number of opportunities for inspecting in the shops of some of the most -prominent coachbnilders different types and sizes of passenger-carrying vehicle constructed for use on routes which link up important centres 100 miles or more distant from one another.
This particular phase is, perhaps, remarkable in itself, but what is of greater interest is the type of vehicle which is being generally purchased for this cities of service. One • is UCC11Sthmed to the employment of high-grade vehicles on specialized work, such as touring, and has been more or less satisfied for regular, everydaY service with the class of bus which is convenient to use, but not necessarily comfortable to travel in. Great strides have admittedly been made of late in the general appointment of the service bus operating on comparatively short routes,. but, so far as the vehicle intended for long-distance work is concerned, the aim of designers, and
more particularly coachbuilders (Who are mainly reeponsible for the good, bad or indifferent appearance of the finished product), seems to be to aPProximilte, as closely as' possible, saloon touring car practice..
This indicated ttend in design is certainly borne out bythe constructional details of. a striking saloon bus which, so far as the bodywork is concerned, has recently been completed in the works of Messrs. Strachan. and Brown, Wales Parra Road, North Acton, London, W.3, to the order of the Rural England Motor Co., Ltd. The latter concern is to maintain a daily service between London and Gloucester, and it has acted wisely in selecting a well-appointed type of vehicle the equipment of which appears
to have been so well chosen that pasSengers are assured 'the maximum comfort and convenience.
• The chassis of the vehicle, which we intend briefly to describe, is the Studebaker, with a 15-ft. 4-in: wheelbase. This lends itself admiraby to the accommodation of a high-.class body, and the combination certainly results, as the accompanying illustrations clearly show, in a well-proportioned passengercarrying model which is most attractive. The colour scheme adopted contributes towards this pleasing effect, and consists of imitation grained walnut panelling below' the waistline, chrome uppers and a black roof, the mouldings throughout being picked out in gold. The bonnet is' also finished to resemble grained walnut, and the
graining has been so cleverly carried out that one hesitates to say that carefully selected woad has not been used.
The body is designed to seat 20 people, but the total complement can be increased by four by bringing into use two foldiiis occasional seats and two gangway seats. The seats are all arranged transversely, there being two pairs, each for two. passengers, in the centre of the body, fore and aft of which is a seat for three people. It is at the inner ends of the latter, each of which faces an
entrance on the near side, that the tipup seats are disposed. Then there is a seat for two alongside the driver's seat, but not connected to it, and a seat which extends across the full width of the body at the rear. The driver's seat is adjustable and slides in channels fixed to the floor.
The seats, which are` trimmed in
brown furniture hide, are of the special Strachan and Brown spring-back type. Double-spring cases are used, and the backs are raked 1 in. more than standard. The seat cushions are 1 ft. 7 ins. wide, and the distance between the seat backs is not less than 2 ft. 9 ins. in any instance. The hacks are covered with brown plush to tone with the upholstery,
and net Pouches for small parcels, newspapers, etc., are fitted to them.
The interior finish is devoid of anything which creates a harsh mite. Graceful curves are employed whenever possible, and the roof, which has only a
small camber, is decorated on the inside with lincrusta, the ornamental pert of which is picked out in gold. The garnish rail and all interior finishers are of inlaid mahogany. The side pillars are of a greater section than is usual on bodies of this type, being actually 4 ins. wide, but they were used so that vanitymirrors could be inserted in them. The interior panels are all lined with brown plush, and a leather-edged pile carpet is used above lino for the floor covering; it is secured to the floor by clips.
A special heating device let into the floorboards can be used on cold days for maintaining the temperature of the interior, the exhaust gases from the engine being by-passed for the purpose.
There are four drop windows on each side of the body, and their operation is controlled by Rawling's mechanism. The doors (two on the near side for passengers' use and One On the off-side for the driver) are each equipped with a sliding glass which gives access to the opening lever on the inside, and each is fitted with a Yale lock. Three Airvac devices of the combined type for Ventilation and lighting are fitted in addition to ornamental lights.
A portion of the roof at the rear is railed in so that luggage can be safely carried and it is protected by a waterproof covering. To reach this part of the roof a centrally hinged ladder is brought into use and fitted into sockets above the large rectangular light (it is 5 ft. wide and 1 ft. 3 ins, deep) in the
rear panel. Normally this ladder is housed between two channels fixed to the chassis frame at the rear.
The destination box at the front is neatly built into the canopy, on each side of which is a bull's eye—red on the near side and green on the off side. A hinged smoked-glass sun visor is fitted below the indicator. Two bell-mouthed ventilators mere arranged in the scuttle. The overall length of the bus is 23 ft. 01 in., its width being 7 ft. 2 ins, and the headroom inside is 5 ft. 1i ins.