News of the Week
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R.H.O. FOREIGN SERVICE UNITS RETURN
AS a result of a reduction in military commitments concerning civilian relief supplies on the Continent, the two foreign-service units of the R.11.0. have returned to this country, and will resume their normal work.
Incidentally, an excellent comment upon the value of the services rendered has been received by the M.O.W.T. from the Netherlands Minister of Transport and Power. On behalf of the Netherlands Government, he thanks the pritish authorities concerned for the gesture made at the time of a desperate need for organized transport. He states tnat the work done by the units has been of immense value to the improvement of the supply of 'food and other badly needed commodities to the civilian population in the Netherlands, in the crucial period during and after the liberation. He wishes these thanks to be conveyed to all concerned.
MR. G. W. LUCAS SPEAKS ON , TAXATION
A CCORDING to Mr. G. W. Lucas, Z–Vpresident of the M.A.A., a " pay'as-you-use " tax would .men no increased burden for goods vehicles and buses, except, perhaps, on those which run abnormal mileages, which, at present, are really being subsidized by those running more normal distances. At the same time, he states that he is an unrepentant believer that transport is such a vital part of the life of this country that it should not be taxed.
Saying this to the Institute of Traffic Administration at Portsmouth last week, he added the stern warning that the retention of any mechanical factor in the formula -of motor-vehicle taxation, whether it be by tax on hp. or cubic capacity in respect of cars, or on weight, as in the case of goodscarrying vehicle, would result in " tax-dodging " design taking first place.
What would be said, he asked, if the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to raise taxation revenue, should place a tax upon coal-mining machinery, which dictated its design and made it less efficient FUEL FOR PRIVATE-HIRE CARS
AS a result of representations made by the P.V.O.A. to the Ministry of Fuel and Power, the Minister has stated that it has been found possible ta. issue instructions to Regional Petroleum Officers which considerably relax previous restrictions. They permit a private-hire-car allowance being made without reference to the essential transport requirements of the locality concerned:—(a) to any person who was at any tithe in receipt of a petrol allowance as a hire-car proprietor, and who gave up that business but now wishes to resume it in the same district; (b) to those who, because their drivers were called up or for any other reason, are now operating smaller numbers of hire cars than at the commencement of rationing.
The association is continuing to press for some priority in respect of permits to purchase new vehicles, It has not • yet, however, been able to obtain any promise of increased petrol allowances.
HAULIERS' MASS MEETING IN LONDON
THE chairman of II.M.F., Mr. E. B. Howes, tells us that the Federa
• tion, in conjunction with the Council of Retail Distributors and the National Conference of Road Transport Associations, is organizing a mass meeting of A, B and C licensees. This will probably be held at the Caxton Hall, Westminster, S.W.1, about November 21-22, and will last two days. Many important matters will be discussed, particularly nationalization as it may affect the road transport industry. Prominent Members of Parliament, Right and Left, will be invited, RELAXATIONS UNDER EXPORT CONTROL
UNDER the Export of Goods (Controt) No. 7, 1945, as from September 24, export licences will no longer be required for a large number of items. The principal changes are as follow:— Machinery removed entirely except for threshing machines and combined harvesters and mobile cranes; ball bearings removed; manufactures in metal mostly removed except for a few specified hand tools and other goods in short supply; semi manufactures of some non-ferrous metals such as copper and zinc have been deleted; all vehicles and vehicle parts have been removed except vans, lorries, trucks, elc., chassis and oil engines for these; certain tractors a,,nd tyres and tubes 'are still controlled. Lirences will still be required' for lead acid accumnlators.
Exporters should, however, consult the Order, which may be obtained through any bookseller or from H.M. Stationery Office, at 4d.
DIRECTORS OF ARTCO HAVE A BUSY DAY
THE first meeting of the directors of Associated Road Transport Contractors, Ltd., was held on September 12. Applications. for the allotment of shares were considered with every regard to the facilities and services which applicants could provide, and to their geographical position; the allotments made numbered 33.
Mr. M. W. Harris was elected chairman of the board for the ensuing year, with Mr. L. V. Ward as vice-chairman. The services of Mr. H. N. Inch, formerly a unit controller, have been secured as manager of the company.
A wide field was eovered during the meeting, which lasted from 11 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Amongst the proposals discussed were group insurance, a badge and booklet for drivers, also a book of services and facilities for distribution to members. There was also a talk on the political situation, and an opti mistic ,note as to the future of the industry was expressed. WAGES IN PUBLI REPAIR WORKSHOPS TT has been agreed by the National 1 Joint Industrial Council for the Motor Vehicle Retail and Repairing Trade that the 'minimum rates of pay per hour (applicable on and from the first pay day after August 20) to adult male workers covered by the agreement 'applying to workers in. public repair workshops in the industry shall be, in the London Area and Provinces respectively:—skilled, 2s. 20., 2s. lid.; semi-skilled, 2s. Old., Is. Md.; other workers, is. 10d., la. 9d,
The increase does not apply to the No. 2 Men Agreement-of June 26, 1944, or the women's agreements. It must. be mentioned that a large number of operators is guided by agreements in other industries, such as engineering, and to' which, of course, the figures given above do not apply.
CLEARING HOUSE CONFERENCE . IN NEWCASTLE • THE first a.g.m. of the National Con ference of Road Transport Clearing Houses was held at Newcastle on September 21, when the Northern Area unanimously agreed that Regulation 73 B (restricting the operation of uncontrolled goods vehicles to a radius of 60 miles) should be discontinued, The chairman, Mr. H, L. Walker, stated that the new section, which included hauliers, had won a great measure of success.
As regards the misgivings expressed about nationalization, he was persuaded that whatever happened in this country would only be what was desired by the great majority of the people.
Sir John Maxwell, C.M.G., R.T.C., Northern Area, said that the road transport industry had been made a great success, and in view of the initiative of its members, he did not think . that they need be afraid that their businesses would be acquired by the, Government without fair and reasonable compensation. The industry, as a ,whole, should endeavour to' reach. a higher standard of education, and he suggested that it should provide a chair at some school of commerce in the Northern Area for tlie benefit of the younger members on the administrative side. As regards the care of drivers, he thought there were many mansions. and. large houses that could be turned into convalescent homes and holiday camps.
A significant remark was Made by Mr. A. Edwards, Socialist M.P. for Middlesbrough. This was to the effect that there never had been, and never would be, any proposal to nationalize anything that was efficient. • Lieut.-Colonel C. M. Headlain. D.S.O., Conservative M.P. for New. castle (North) replied that if nationalization were going to be used only for efficiency, well and good, but, as for the coal mines, he did not know that anywhere else in the world had it made coal cheaper.
The following officers of the Northern 'Area were elected:—Messrs. IL L. Walker, chairman; W. R. Tulip, • vicechairman. R. Dryden, honorary secretary. SPECIALISTS DISCUSS USED TYRES AND DUMPS
A T the a.g.m. of the National Asso
ciation of Tyre Specialists held on September 12, the chairman, Mr. E. W. Orchard, spoke frankly about the need for increasing the strength of that body. Unless the comniittee and members did something in this direction the Association would, he said, represent only an insignificant part of the tyre. distributing trades, it is estimated that there are some 1,300 tyre distributors and specialists in the country, but the desired minimum of 500 in the Association has not yet been reached.
An important move is that the Association has been affiliated to the National Chamber of Trade.
He addressed himself seriously to all engaged as selecting firms on tyre dumps. They should be careful to select only tyres which will stand tfp to .reasonable service in use and give adequate safety. Reports from America indicate that something serious is happening there in connection with tyres taken indiscriminately from national scrap piles and sold by unscrupulous dealers.
Giant tyres are far better and more important to the members than are those for cars, but any freeing of these may depend upon how members have dealt with the smaller sizes.
NEW TAXIS FOR LONDON
WE understand that some 3,000 taxiIN cabs of Austin and Beardmore makes are being produced for use in London. Some will be of a greatly improved type, closely resembling private cars.
RETURN OF STAFF TO PASSENGER TRANSPORT
A CCORDING to the P.V-.0.A. Bulle11 tin, a scheme has been approved under which forrnerArivers, conductors and maintenance workers in civil employment who are named by the R.T.C.s as willing to return to their previou,7 employers may be permitted to do so. The undertakings concerned submit to their R.T.C.s the names and present addresses of such employees who are known to be willing to return to their pre-war work. At the discretion of the R.T.C.s particulars will then be forwarded to the Ministry of Labour, and those for whose release the Commissioners apply will be allowed to return, apart from any exceptional circumstances which make their immediate withdrawal impracticable. BRADFORD'S BUSES MAKE PROFIT OF £35,565 THaccounts for the year ended ISElarch 31 last, of Bradford Corporation Passenger Transport Department, show a gross profit of £91,078, and a net loss of £6,610. Income was £986,361, an• increase of £19,033 on 1944.
Due to wages and other Costs, working expenses increased by £50,623 to £895,283. The department's buses made a profit of £35,565, but on the trolleybuses the figure fell by £11,724 to £14,594.
T.R.T.A. STATEMENT OF POLICY
FROM the T.R.T.A. comes a Statement of Policy in the form of a brochure, giving particulars of this body and of the benefits of membership. It points out that the fundamental policy is to protect the right of C-licence holders to operate their vehicles without unnecessary or irksome restrictions, and to maintain the right of trade and industry to freedom of choice in the use of the various available forms of transport, The Association is also pledged to support the principle of private enterprise for the roadtransport industry. Further comments will be given in our next issue.
MORE OIL WELLS SUNK IN NOTTINGHAM
ALTHOUGH the output of oil from the Eakring oilfields in" Nottingham, which provided millions of gallons of oil during the war; has considerably' decreased, prospecting by the D'Arcy Exploration Co., a, subsidiary of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co., is continuing in other areas.
Enough boreholes have been drilled to extract oil economically at Eakring, and no further boring is taking place.
The company, however, is actively engaged in boring operations at Duke's Wood, which is an extension. of the Ealcring oilfield, and at Caunton and Kamm Hills.
LONDON TRANSPORT ANNOUNCES WINTER SERVICES
THE road services of the L.P.T.E. will continue to operate throughout the winter on the basis of the improved schedules which have been worked during the summer months. Contemplated improvements are the further augmentation of central and conntry bus services, the reinstatement of Sunday morning operations in country bus areas, and the extension of certain country bus operations on weekday evenings from about 9 p.m. until 10 p.m.
. DRIVE FOR R.H.A. MEMBERSHIP IN SCOTLAND
LAST, week, the -Road Haulage Association held meetings at Tain. Wick and Elgin with a view to increasing its membership in Scotland. Mr. Isaac Barrie, chairman of the R.H.A. Scottish Area and vicechairman of the Association, referred to the memorandum concerning postwar licensing, in which the Association recommended that, broadly speaking, licence holders should be entitled to a grant of tonnage equivalent to that
specified (m.e their, licences on September 1, 1939.
Mr. G. W. Quick Smith, referring to nationalizs.:ion, said that it was not inevitable, but would become a real danger if the industry did not discharge the functions of a public service.
TWO I.MECH.E. LECTURES
AT an extra general meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Storey's Gate, London, S.W.1, at 5.30 p.m., on October 5, Air Commodore Frank Whittle, C.B.E., M.A., Hon.M.I.Mech.E., will give the first James Clayton lecture on " The
Early History of the Whittle Jet-propulsion Gas Turbine." Another in
terestina informal meeting will be held at 5.305 p.m., on October 12, when Mr. W. G. A. Perring will give a lantern lecture on " The Mechanism of the German Rocket Bomb (V2)."
OBITUARY We regret to announce the death, on September 18, at the age of ninety-two, of Me. C. G. TEGETMEIER. He was well known as a pioneer of transport, and was, at one time, chairman of the South Metropolitan Electric Tramways and Power Company, A well-known personality on the manufacturing side of the industry, MAJOR H. L. BRODIE, sales manager of Stinbeam Commercial Vehicles, Ltd.. died' on September 24. For four years he commanded the D Company of the .23rd (Wolverhampton) Battalion, Staffordshire Home Guard. He was the eon of the late Mr". J. B. Brodie, the English Soccer International. In Canada, at the. beginning of the war of 1914-18, he joined the Toronto Scottish Regiment, served in France, and then settled in 'England. He will be missed by a wide circle of friends.
We much regret to learn of the death, which occurred suddenly, on September 23, of MR. PERCY J. PETERS, founder of our contemporary, " Motor Commerce," in 1919, and of its associated journal, "Automobile Electricity," in 1925, and the Editor of these journals since their inception. Aged 69, he had been in indifferent health for some years, and latterly was forbidden the busy life to which he had been accustomed. He started his journalistic career on theProvincial Press, later becoming. editor of " Cycling
" The rycle Trader," and the " Motor Trader "
One of the best-known men in the field of transport in Scotland has been lost by the death of MR, J. W. LOUDON, M.Inst.T., who died in Edinburgh on September 24 at the age of 58. He was well known as ao authority on transport problems and the laws concerning vehicle licensing. Until the recent reorganization of the associations, he was general secretary of the Scottish C.M.U.A., and then became secretary of the Scottish Division of the T.R.T,A. Legal adviser of the Scottish Division of the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Great Britain, he was also Scottish legal adviser to the A.A. FIRST POST-WAR ORDERS FOR A.E.C. VEHICLES
WE are informed by the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., Southall, that it has many substantial orders for the supply of both passenger and goods vehicles, all, of course, a gai n s t M.O.W.T. licences.
Heading the list is Newcastle Corporation with a contract for 14 Regent double-deckers and 10 Regal singledeckers. The L.P.T.B. is due to receive 20 Regent double-deckers and both Liverpool and Leicester Corporations have each placed orders for 16 Regent double-deckers.
Two Regal single-deckers will soon be added to the fleet operated by Gellygaer U.D.C., and the companyowned undertakings—Mansfield District Traction Co. and the City of Oxford Motor Services, Ltd.—have placed orders for 10 and four Regent double-deckers respectively.
In addition to the foregoing, numerous undertakings have Regal single-deckers on order.
On the goods vehicle side, both Monarch and Matador chassis are being produced to meet orders in hand.
PRODUCTS OF LOW TEMPERATURE CARBONIZATION
IN his recent review of the work of Low Temperature Carbonization, Ltd., the chairman, Colonel W. A. Bristow, mentioned that the oil fuel and petrol produced for essential transport in the Midlands have been sufficient for over 100,000,000 miles of heavyrunning.. The company had made a solvent for synthetic rubber, than which no better material had been found; this was known as " Lotemsol." Another material, called " Reclamol," has been used in the rubber-reclaiming rocesses. For road surfacing, a syn-thetic bitumen called " Lotembit." has been produced by a process invented by :the company.
TILLING-STEVENS AND VULCAN DEVELOPMENTS
A T the 26th a.g.m. of Tilling.1-1. Stevens, Ltd., the chairman, Mr. V. C. Ponsonby, said the company had received permission to build, a limited number of coach prototypes, as well as heavier, types. of commercial vehicle. Work was proceeding well, and the order book for coaches, both for the home and export market next year, was healthy.
The subsidiary 'company. Vulcan Motors, Ltd., which was restricted to producing the 6 V F 6-ton lorry, is building these in large quantities with both petrol and oil engines. It has also received permission to market a tipping vehicle and an articulated six-wheeler with a .cariying capacity of 9 tons. A large 'number of export orders has been booked for early shipment.
The company has authorized considerable expenditure on new plant and tools, some already installed..
WE have been asked by Walter Gammons, Ltd., to announce that this well-known transport concern's new address is 53, Coleman Street London, E.C.2.