Passing Comments
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GOOD work on behalf of road transpct-t is being 1---1 carried out by the Coal Utilisation Council which, frcon time to time, issues speakers' notes containing useful information on such subjects as thedevelopment of the gas-propelled road vehicle with comparative costs of gas and petrol, the trolleyhus as a substitute for the tramcar, and the position of the steam wagon. ONE of the most fair-minded ef the Traffic Commissioners and a man who has the courage of his convictions is Mr. J, H. Stirk, Chairman of the East Midland Area. He has no hesitation in cancelling objections if he considers these to he unwarranted, and he believes that the value of road transport is so great that it should continue to hold its due share of goods and passenger traffic. THE rapid incursion made by the motorbus and trolleybus into the field of municipal passenger transport is well reflected in the fact that there are, today, no fewer. than 42 distinct authorities relying solely upon such vehicles for meeting local transport needs. In many cases the machines have ousted tramcars and the more fluid arrangements made possible have materially benefited the local inhabitants.
MUCH has been said for and against cheap lubri"leafing oils. Some, from reputable suppliers, we have found to be excellent ; 'others, the reverse. As an example of the latter, we recently tried an unbranded oil, which, during a long run, caused the pressure gauge to drop almost to zero, and the radiator almost to empty itself. A refill with a previously tested oil, although this was also of Moderate price, effected a cure of each trouble.
ONE of the interesting features of the Thornycroft works at Basingstoke is the museum that is maintained by the company, and the family of veteran
• vehicles that is housed has just received an addition to its ranks in the form of an early type two-cylinder chain-driven lorry that has been in use for over 22 years by the Winchester Brewery Co., Ltd., which has presented it to the maker. During its working life the vehicle covered over 118,000 miles and carried about 31,600 tons.
AVALUABLE series of large books illustrating and annotating the mechanism of the modem motorcar, motorcycle and aeroplane has for some time been distributed free on request by the publicity department of Shell-Mex and B.P., Ltd., Victoria Embankment, London, W.C.2. -The fourth book, which
as just been added, is entitled "The Modern Commercial Vehicle," and it is, perhaps, the most comprehensive and instructive of the series, dealing, as it does, with petrol and compression-ignition engines and medium and heavy goods chassis. The workings and positions of the parts are illustrated by ingenious taps showing cross-sections of them.
QT112 Paris correspondent draws our attention to the fact that .a road-rail vehicle was operating in Paris at the time of the 1867 Exhibition. The type was the precursor of the old Versailles steam tram. It was horse-drawn, and the lines stopped at the southern end of the site upon which the Grand Palais, where the Paris motor shows are held, was subsequently built. At this point the car, with its passengers,_ was lifted by jacks, road wheels were fitted, and the vehicle became a bus, a third horse being employed because of the extra rolling resistance, and the journey was continued to the terminus at the' Palais. Royale. Now, the tram lines behind the Louvre and Versailles are being uprooted, new Renault buses being used.