First A.E.C. Bus for Bagdad
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
50 More Vehicles to Follow. Fe.ltures of a Big Contract Under Construction for the Bagdad Metropolitan Transport Board. First and Third-class Passengers Separately
Catered For
THE first of the 51 Regal direct 1 injection, oil-engined buses which the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., is supplying to the Bagdad Metropolitan Transport Board has now been completed. The contract for these vehicles was one of the most important obtained by the company during the present year. It was secured only after protracted negotiations and was strenuously competed for by foreign manufacturers.
• Among the features common to all chassis embraced in Bagdad's new fleet are a 9.7-litre engine with toroidal-type head, hydraulic servo brakes, the A.E.C. patented electrical-control unit, left-hand steering, and a fully floating rear axle.
The vehicle now ready for shipment is intended primarily for the instruction of native drivers, but, with one exception, this does not imply any difference in the design of the body, which is the same as that agreed upon for all other units in the fleet. The exception is that in the instructional vehicle a half cab has been submitted for the normal full-fronted type.. The bodybuilder is Park Royal Coachworks, Ltd.
Park Royal patented metal construction, in which the majority of frame joints is electrically welded, has been • used, and this includes such features as a patented floor-bearer, a truss plate running the full length of the body and bolted with 50-60-ton tensile bolts, and a waist rail of special-section hightensile steel 5 ins. wide. All framework has been treated with two coats of Anodite. Deal boards, steeped in Cuprind, have been used for the floor, and 20-gauge steel is employed for both side and roof panels.
In view of the Iraq climate, particular attention has had to be given to insulation, and in this case Isoflex has been inserted between the inner and outer panels of the body and roof.
-The body comprises a first-class and a third-class saloon, each of which has a separate entrance on the right-hand side. Both doors are of the jack-knife type, that to the first-class saloon being operated by the driver, and that to the third-class by the passengers. An emergency door of the full coach type is included on the left-hand side of the body, just behind the wheel-arch. The two passenger saloons are divided by a partition panelled in metal from floor to roof and provided with a central sliding door. Seats in the first-class saloon are upholstered in hide, whilst those in the third-class
section are covered with rattan. In both cases chromium-plated grab handles are fitted to all seat backs. Both ceilings are cellulosed white and the lining panels are covered in scratch. proof Rexine. A black Doverite guard rail is fitted to the front bulkhead and partition windows, and in the thirdclass saloon thereare two roof hand poles, with six grips to each.
Five windows on the left and four on the right side are of the half-drop type, and these assist in the ventilation of the interior, which is, normally, by two ventilators in the roof of the first-class division and six in the roof of the thirdclass saloon. The two first-mentioned have electric fans, and there is also a baffle ventilator in the front bulkhead. All the windows are provided with spring roller blinds of double-faced Rexine.
For lighting, there are 12 lamps, of which half in the first-class saloon are of the enclosed pattern and half in the thitd-class compartment of the openreflector type. The exterior livery of this and the following vehicles is red, with a waistband of cream. As can beseen from the picture above, the general effect is businesslike and pleasing.
This new Regal fleet will be representative of the most modern standards of British practice. Some time will necessarily elapse before all the vehicles are completed, shipped and ready for service overseas. In the meantime this instructional unit will give both Bagdad Metropolitan Transport Board employees and the public a foretaste of the type of vehicle which is destined to revolutionize passenger transport in the city of the Caliphs.