Correspondence.
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The Value of Competition.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—As a' regular passenger on one or other of the London General Company's buses between Barnes and Hammersmith Broadway, I warmly welcome the advent, as -competitors on this route, of the Darracq-Serpollet steam buses. The Metropolitan Steam Omnibus Company is making a determined attempt to capture this popular route, by extending its Piccadilly to Hammersmith service as far as the " Red Lion," at Barnes, and, as far as silence and smoothness of running are concerned, together with the general comfort of the passengers, these buses are greatly superior to the petrol buses. It is true that, during the early days of their running, the engines on these steamers caused some little annoyance to inside passengers, on account of the knocking in the cylinders, but that, I think, was entirely due to the presence of water in the cylinders. Now that the drivers have become more accustomed to handling these vehicles, and realise when and how often to open the cylinder drain-cocks, thus clearing the partly water-logged cylinders, the irritatingknocking is but rarely heard, and then only momentarily.
How different are these buses from those on which I have been accustomed to travel on this route I On every occasion I have even made the whole journey, from the " Red Lion" to Hammersmith Broadway, without a single change! After one has had such a long spell of riding on shrieking, grinding, Inerve-Shaking vehicles, which frequently come to a more or less sudden stop, invariably followed by the conductor's invitation to the passengers to " change;" it is quite pleasant to ride on one of these smart
steamers.—I am, yours truly, P. R. ROBERTSON. Barnes, 28th December, 1907.
The Unattainable Thousand.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I have been an interested observer of the extraordinary difficulty which appears to be experienced in respect of the reaching of a total of 1,000 motor omnibuses in -commission "throughout the Metropolitan area, which total promised to be attained something like twelve months ago. Are we ever going to reach this round figure, or are the forces of police restriction and competition, and the faults ,of embryonic types of chassis, going to bring about a reduction in the near future? I am sure that many of your readers will continue to study each fortnightly census with the greatest interest, because no similar guide to the situation in London is provided by anybody else, and this unique feature in your journal is, according to my judgment, a most valuable one. I believe that the slow rate of increase will prove to be a blessing in disguise, because it will mean less wasted money in the end, and proprietors might as well work out their salvation with one thousand vehicles as with three thousand, whilst 'the public is certainly less inconvenienced during the transition stages. In looking over the first number of your journal, dated the 16th March, 1905, when referring back to volume I the other day, I was particularly struck by the contents of the leading article entitled" The Motor Omnibus Boom." What a pity it is that more people did not pay heed to your advice that "omnibuses should be ordered by the score, instead of by the hundred," and that " an efficient organisation of personnel, is not conjured up at will, and it is a duty incumbent upon us to point out that drivers are not heavensent to meet occasion." I do not own any shares in a motor omnibus company, and I am, on the contrary, directly interested in tramways, but I believe, with you, that the motorbus has a bright future before it, and that the worst of the pioneering days are over.—Yours faithfully.; 3oth December, 1907; R. J. WILLIAMS.
The Manchester Show Dilemma.
The Editor, " Ti-E COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir have been an interested reader of your and your correspondents' references to the matter of the virtual exclusion of commercial vehicles, so far as bondsignerS are concerned, from the possibility of exhibition at Manchester this year. It is true that Manchester is a splendid centre for business in commercial motors, and that a temporary hardship has been inflicted upon certain makers, but the ques
• tion arises whether the obtaining circumstances were otherwise than inevitable. When the S.M.M.T. found two shows in existence, every possible step was taken to ascertain local _feeling, before a choice was made, and the fact that St. James's Hall was unsuitable for the display of heavy machines was not overlooked. I personally think, as a manufacturer, that the Society might have decided to allow its bondsigners to show commercial vehicles at the Belle -Vue Show, in order to avoid the situation which is so aptly summarised by your correspondent " Commercial " in your current issue, but he appears to overlook the necessity for the rigid carrying out of a policy. The policy of the Society is to maintain the principle of one show at Manchester, and I feel satisfied that, no matter what the loss and inconvenience may he this year, all of us will reap the benefit next
year.—Yours faithfully, " LONDINIENSIS.''
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Although the S.M.M. and T., Ltd., has, by its action, deprived its bond-signing members, who are manufacturers of commercial vehicles, from showing either at the Show at Belle Vile promoted by the association of which I am the secretary, or at the St. James's hail Show, I am pleased to say that my association has again received the liberal support of the makers of commercial motors.
The following have already booked large and suitable spaces with us : Messrs. Fodens, Ltd., Sandbach, Leyland Motors, Ltd. (late the Lancashire Stearn Motor Co., Ltd.), Leyland.
Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd., Leeds.
Yorkshire Steam Wagon Co., Ltd., Leeds.
Walker Bros. (Wigan), Ltd., Wigan.
Wm. Allchin, Ltd., Northampton.
„ Savage Bros., Ltd., Kings Lynn,
We have excellent space suitable for the exhibition of all forms of light and heavy commercial vehicles, and the fact that we had 55,000 visitors at the show last February proves its solid popularity with the trade and public of the north.— Faithfully yours,
Per pro THE MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT MOTOR AND CYCLE TRADES ASSOCIATION LTD., W. H. WIIRELRA, Secretary. Palatine Hotel, Manchester, 28th December, 1907.
"The Commercial Motor" Prize Scheme.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—The figures given in connection with the recent competition re the motor drivers' prize scheme, held on December 14th under the auspices of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, afford ample proof of the great capabilities of these vehicles. For instance, the Thornycroft motor wagon whose driver was bracketed first in the competition had covered a distance of 63,000 miles. The figures already published should interest those who are anxious to know how long a motor vehicle can run, but it should be remembered that the vehicles which have covered this great mileage are still in thorough running order.
The table given below gives a list of the makes of vehicles entered, together with the number of each make, the aggregate mileage, and the average mileage per vehicle. This table is interesting, as it supplements the table of competitors which has already appeared, and still further em
phasises the great mileage which has already been covered by commercial motor vehicles of well-known makes.—Yours faithfully, JonN I. THORNYCROFT AND CO., LIMITED,
H. J. S. MovsiEs, Manager.