London Buses Back from America
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AT a ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, last week, the Minister of Transport, Mr. A. T. Lennox-Boyd, M.P., and the chairman of the London Transport Executive, Lord Latham, welcomed back the one Leyland and two A.E.C. double-deckers from their fivemonth tour of the United States and Canada, which was organized by the British Travel and Holidays Association.
Lord Latham paid particular tribute to the makers of the chassis and the Park Royal and M.C.W. bodies. Although 10,000 miles had been covered in the United States and 2,000 miles in Canada, there was no mechanical trouble of any kind. The fuel consumption rate for the whole trip averaged II m.p.g. On one long run I5'rh.p.g. was returned.
The • vehicles are to be fitted with plaques to commemorate their tour. Two of theni had been fitted out as information bureaux, but one was kept in its standard service form. Shortly after the ceremony this buy went into operation on the No. 11 route. The buses were accompanied ,in North America by a Leyland Comet and a Thames 10-cwt. van.
£112m. VEHICLE OUTPUT BY 120 MAKERS
I N 1948, the gross output of 120 of the larger makers of commercial vehicles was valued at £171,889,000, of 293 bodybuilders £54,650,000 and of 349 accessory manufacturers £92:629,000.
These figures are given in the "Final Report on the Census 'of Production for 1948, Volume 3, Trade 1, Motor Vehicles and Cycles (Manufacturing)," obtainable from the Stationery Office at 4s. 6d. ' • ' The labour force in the motor and cycle industries totalled 316,150 in 1948, and the net output per employee was valued at £565. Makers of Commercial vehicles employed 84,617 people, whose net output per head was worth £600. .
The bigger companies spent £940,000 on maintenance of buildings and £1,136,000 on insurances. Their rates totalled £412,000.
A companion volume, price 2s., deals with the motor-vehicle and cycle repairing trade. It covers 1,304 establishments employing 71,766 persons, the gross output of which was valued at £51,872,000. The output of companies repairing their own vehicles was valued at 09,304,000 and that of other repairers, £12,568,000.
SHEFFIELD'S NEW GARAGE
ANEW garage to accommodate 150 buses has been constructed by Sheffield Transport Department as part of its tram-conversion programme, and the building will be opened by Sir Gilmour Jenkins, permanent secretary to the Ministry of Transport, on September 26. The transport committee is looking for a site in the Handsworth district for a garage of similar size.