John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd.
Page 33
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Exhibit :—Two Vans ; one Char-a-banes ; one Single-deck Bus.
Motor users, bath actual and prospective, now have an opportunity of examining the new 3o-cwt. van chassis which has been introduced by John I. Thornycroft and Company, Limited, of Chiswick and Basingstoke. The first vehicle of this new type was illustrated and described by us in our issue of the 20th February last, after it had been examined and tested by a member of the staff of "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR." This handy little chassis is equally suitable for commercial or publicservice vehicles. It js fitted with a two-cylinder engine capable of developing 16-ISh.p., and the chassis can deal with a gross load of two tons, including the weight of the body. Our sectional illustration shows the details of the clutch, of the friction-disc type, as fitted to this machine.
Another smart vehicle shown by this company is a 3oh.p., four-cylinder, seated bus, one of two which have been built for the L. and S.W. Railway Company, for service between Exeter and Chagford. That railway company already has a number of Thornycroft vehicles in its service, and these are evidently giving satisfaction.
This maker was most successful with its two vehicles in the recent RAC. trials, and obtained both a gold and a silver medal, in addition to the special War Office diploma for the successful use of ordinary paraffin as fuel. Interested visitors to the show now have a chance to examine the simple and ingenious device by which such remarkable results were obtained. One of this company's exhibits is a 24h.p., four-ton tilt van which has been built to the order of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, for use in Southern Nigeria, and is fitted with a paraffin vaporiser.
The vaporiser which is fitted to the engine of the tilt van now exhibited is of the company's U tube type, without any float control, and consists of a chamber through which the whole, or a part, of the exhaust gases are allowed to pass, and the otherwise waste heat is utilised to vaporise the paraffin
as it passes through a U-shaped tube that projects within the chamber. The construction is remarkably simple ; its proportions are so carefully calculated, and the temperature is so easily regulated, as a result of the company's long experience and experiments, that the device is at the same time reliable and
efficient. With its 3o-cwt. load, and a body and tools, bringing the weight up to two tons, the company's paraffinfired vehicle in the trials averaged 9.3 miles to the gallon, and the vehicle did. not have a single involuntary stop throughout the whole tour. The fuel used was the Anglo-American Company's Gladiator oil, the specific gravity of which is .720.
The other exhibit on this stand consists of a 3oh.p., 29-seated char-abanes, the chassis of which is similar to the tilt van above men ioned. This chassis is adapted for public-service buses, or for lorries to deal with loads up to four. tons including the weight of the body, and such vehicles are running satisfactorily in many parts of Great Britain and the Colonies ; fitted with bus or char-A-banes bodies, they are maintaining regular, scheduled services for important users. Thornycroft's Lon don showrooms are at 2, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, W., from which address fuller particulars of this company's vehicles may be obtained.