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WHEELS of INDUSTRY

30th December 1930
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Page 34, 30th December 1930 — WHEELS of INDUSTRY
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

"The wheels of wealth will be shAved by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier.

C.W.S. as an A.E.C. Agent.

An important arrangement has recently been put into operation whereby the Associated Equipment Co.' Ltd., has appointed the Co-operative Wholesale Society as its agent for the sale of passenger and goods vehicles throughout the co-operative movement. The society has headquarters at Manchester and branches in London, Bristol and Newcastle-on-Tyne so that co-operative operators in different parts of the country will be able quickly to obtain any information relating to A.E.C. products.

Ths Green Line Coach Station.

In view of the conflicting rumours that are in circulation in connection with the proposed banned area to motor coaches in London, readers are informed that the coach station of Green Line Coaches, Ltd., in Broad Street, Poland Street, London, W.1, was not particularly referred to in the draft regulation just issued (of which details are given on page 693), and arrange-. ments have not yet been made as to' whether the station, which is nearly ready for service, can be used, and, if so, in what manner.

Hesselma,n Oil Engine Progress.

The Hesselman Motor Corporation is the title of a company recently formed to exploit the patents for the Hesselman oil engine. It is a British public company with a capital of £275,000, and the board consists of Sir H. A. Wernher, K.C.V.O., Mr. T. Cervin, Mr. J. B. E. Dahlerus' Mr. J. H. Gannon, Mr. K. J. E. IlesseIman, Mr. H. J. Mitchell and Mr. 0. Rydbeck.

A Mobile Showroom for Demonstrating to Hotel Proprietors.

A T.S. chassis carrying a single-deck bus body, the interior of which is fitted up as a showroom, has lately been acquired by Modern -Electric Homes, Ltd., and dispatched on a tour of the principal watering places in this country. The body is divided into two ; the front portion measures 15 ft. 8 ins. by 6 ft. 8 ins. and is equipped as an attractive sun-parlour with a range of Sunray Tricity radiators.

The principal duty of the caravan is to. demonstrate the merits of the appliances to hotel proprietors. The rear compartment is fitted up as a kitchenette, with a Tricity cooker "and hot cupboard.

Railway's Application for Bus Licences.

The assistant general manager of the Southern Railway Co. recently stated to Bournemouth Corporation that the main-line railway companies, instead of operating passenger road services in competition, with the existing motorvehicle operators, have decided, where possible, to acquire substantial interests in the principal road companies and to enter into working agreements with those concerns for the purpose of co

1320 ordinatiug rail and road passenger traffic.

The company asks, therefore, that licences he granted to the Devon General Omnibus and Touring Co., Ltd., for a Bournemouth-Exeter-Torquay service, and to Greyhound Motors, Ltd., for a Bournemouth-London service. The council is willing for the twelve liceuces already agreed to be issued to the Southern Railway to be allocated to the bus companies.

Bonus Awards for A.E.C. Employees.

In a speech at Southall one day lastweek to the hourly paid employees of the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., Lord Ashfield, chairman of the company, personally thanked all the men for the way they had worked during the past year in connection with the production of the range of new A.E.C. vehicles. He informed the hourly rated works employees who joined the company prior to July 1st of this year that they would be paid as a bonus, additional to their wages, one week's pay for a 47-hour week at the basic hourly rate, phis 10s. war bonus. As the factory is w.orking at full capacity, this means that approximately £43,000 in wages and bonuses was paid out before Christmas. During 1930 the number of A.E.C. employees has increased by 25 per cent.

U.S. Low Bus-running Costs.

Bus-operation costs in the 'United States have now reached the low average of id. per passenger-mile, according to a report latelyissued by the American National Association of Motor Bus Operators, the statement being based on a comprehensive study of operating costs of local and long-distance services throughout the United States in 1929. The report shows that it cost only 0.595d. per mile per seat to operate an average 20-seater bus, and 0.46d. for the average 30-passenger vehicle, making an average of approximately id. per seat per mile.

Royal Commission's Final Report.

A few days ago the Royal Commission on Transport, of which Sir Arthur Griffith-Boscawen is chairman, signed its final report. The Commission held its first meeting in October, 1928, and two reports have already been preRented. Vulcan's Trading.

The accounts of the Vulcan Motor and Engineering Co. (1906), Ltd., for theyear ended August 71st last show a loss of £1,447, so that the debit balance is now £597,388. For the previous 17i months the loss totalled £23,041. Since the end of the company's year important orders have been received, and the outlook has much improved and, for that reason, it has been thought desirable to postpone for a further period the question of financial reconstruction.

McNamara's Reconstruction Scheme. , The directors of McNamara and Co. (1921), Ltd., the well-known transportcontracting concern, have issued plans of the company's proposed reconstruction scheme. It is stated that there are three chief reasons for the reduction of capital, these being the position with regard to long-distance haulage and its probable future, the fact that the value of commercial property in the Finsbury district of London has changed since 1921, and the elimination from the balance-sheet of preliminary expenses and other items which are not represented by tangible assets.

The proposals submitted will result in the reduction of the issued capital to 249,970 shares of 10s. each, leaving unissued 270,030 shares of 1.0s. each, out of a total nominal capital of 520,000 shares of that value.

Urging Reforms in Fire Brigades.

Mr. Alfred Short, M.P., Parliamentary Under-secretary of State, recently received, on behalf of the Home Secretary, a deputation from the Professional Fire Brigades Association on the subject of fire-service organization.

The deputation was introduced . by Mr. Jack Jones, M.P., and it was urged that the work of -fire protection was of national importance. The present arrangements were said to -be most unsatisfactory, as it was not incumbent on local authorities to maintain an efficient brigade and, although there were many sound organizations, there were areas which were practically entirely without means for fire protection, whilst

in others it was quite inadeqeate.

The deputation urged that the -fire services of the country should be recognized and supervised by the State and should be subject to inspection, as well as -being aided by a Government grant. It was further suggested that the fire

• services should be wholly dissociated from police organizations.

Plant Depreciation and Replacement.

A paper entitled "Automobile Plant Depreciation and Replacement Problems" Will be read by Mr. F. G. Woollard, of Morris Motors; Ltd., before the London centre of the Institution of Autbmobile Engineers. on January 6th at 'the Royal Society of Arts, John Street, W.C.2. Mr. Woollard will also read his paper at the Queen's

Birmingham, on January 12th,.and at the King's Head Hotel. Coventry; on January 13th:

Death of Mr. G. M. Gamble.

It was with very deep regret that we learned from Karrier Motors, Ltd., that Mr. George , Martin Gamble, A.M.I.Mech.E., who 'so recently as October let was appointed sales manager to that company, died suddenly on December 18th.

Mr. Gamble Was popular with all with whom he came into contact, in addition, he was highly efficient as a business man. We ourselves had known him for many years, particularly during the time that he was associated with Harris and Easell as a director of that Concern.

The sympathy of all will be extended to Mrs. Gamble and family, whilst the staff at the Karrier works has lost a valued colleague.

Cork to Abandon Trams.

It is understood that Cork is soon to follow the example of other cities which have replaced their tramways services with buses. The Irish Omnibus Co., Ltd., is already operating buses in the Cork streets, and it is anticipatCd that the services will be considerably augmented when the trams are abandoned. A special type of small bus suitable for use in Cork's narrow streets has recently been in service.

A Ford Demonstration Convoy. Ford dealers in Kent recently organized a convoy of Forel, vehicles, representing the manufaeinrees complete range. It made a comprehensive tour of the principal towns in the south-east and excited lunch interest. Special demonstrations were given of a Ford 30-cwt. lorry climbing steep and slippery gradients, as well as fording streams well over axle depth.

Hull's Refuse-collection Problem.

The chief constable of Hull recently complained to the director of public cleansing of the stream of wagons which is frequently drawn up in the city for the purpose of collecting refuse and which, in congested areas, causes a certain amount of obstruction to traffic. The chief constable also asked if some other means for transport ccoid not be found which wou'id minimize congestion. It is understood that under Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, it will be permissible for only one laden trailer to be used with a motor tractor. This means that Hull's entire refuse-collection system will have to be materially altered. In this connection the director of public cleansing has been actively engaged on finding a method which will adequately replace the present threetrailer system and, at the same time, do the work as efficiently and us economically as before.

He has submitted ideas to a firm specializing in the design of trailers, and they are willing, under certain conditions, to produce a trailer to his speci fication. This trailer, which will be capable of collecting the same cubic capacity of refuse as is at present done by the three trailers, will be of the dustless loading pattern.

More Vehicles in the Free State.

During October last 75 commercial vehicles valued at £22,131 were imported into the Irish Free State, bringing up the total for the first 10 months of 1930 to 1,108 vehicles (£179,978), as contrasted with 911 and £166,724 respectively in the corresponding period of the preceding year. Gilford's Trading.

The report of the Gifford Motor Co., Ltd., for the period ended September 30th last shows a profit of £28,428, the total being increased to £33,138 by the sum brought into the accounts. An interim dividend of 7i per cent. absorbed £7,500, so that £25,638 is available for distribution. A final dividend of 71 per cent, is to be paid, £10,000 is to be transferred to the general reserve, 13,000 to the contingencies reserve and £2,180 is to be used for writing off expenses incurred in connection with the conversion to a public company. These allocations represent a total of £22,680, so that the balance to be carried forward is £2,958.

The fourth annual general meeting of the company was held a few days ago, when Mr. J. Jeffery Baker, chairman, presided. After reviewing the accounts, he went on to deal with present and future prospects and said that it was early to try to predict the state of trade during the forthcoming year, although, so far as the company was concerned, there had bout a decided change for the better since the summer and the orders received to date had been quite satisfactory. He mentioned that the company is now prodinjug a large 32-seater chassis, in addition to a 20seater and a 50-cwt. chassis.

Further Joint Municipal Services.

Following conferences between local authorities, Pontypridd and Caerphilly Urban District Councils are to further the movement in South Wales for jointly run municipal services by establishing a co-operative 40-minute service between Pontypridd and Caerphilly, via Nantgarw. The circular Pontypridd-Caerphilly route, via Nelson and Llanbradach, will come later, the covering of this northern route not yet being practicable. The southern service, via Nantgarw, will be instituted immediately.

Stiffer German Import Duties?

The German Society of Motor Manufacturers decided, at its 29th annual meeting, that protection of the motor market in Germany is essential, owing to the fact that the production of private cars is down by 16 per cent., commercial vehicles by 41 per cent. and motorcycles by 43 per cent. The Society has also called for a conference between the railway and road-transport governing bodies, with a view to eliminating the wasteful competition which exists between the two forms of transport.

Mechanical-scavenging Costs in Wales.

Caerphilly Urban District Council has received a report from the snrveyor on the cost of scavenging by motor and by horse, in the year ended March 31st, 1930.

The cost of removing by direct horse haulage 10,847 tons of refuse was £24 per ton ; the cost of removing 1,470 tons by horse haulage (contract) was £.26 per ton, whilst the cost of removing 5.242 tons of refuse by S. D. Freighter (direct labour) was only £.12 per ton, or just 50 per cent, of the direct-labour horse-haulage cost.

The report states that it would be , necessary to get three new lorries to 'carry out all the work by motor vehicles, but the council has decided to defer for the present the proposed replacement of the, remaining horsed wagons.

New Fire-extinguisher Tested.

The new Rolls Fire Extineteur was recently tested at the works of Siemens Brothers and Co., Ltd., Woolwich, London, SE. The fire-extinguisher is of a new kind and contain& a solution that is stable only at its normal vaporizing pressure, but is enabled to generate a higher pressure when coming into contact with the atmosphere. The machine is constructed entirely of metal and, as there are only metal joints, risks of leakage and evaporation are reduced. It can be operated with one hand, for no pumping has to be done, and the other hand is left free to deal with contingencies such as sparks falling on the clothing. It is capable of throwing a continuous jet to a distance of 30 ft. and a good point is that it may be shut off after a short period of use and, even if then left on its bracket for several years, will be available again for immediate use. It can be refilled in a few seconds. It is claimed to be capable of dealing with an electrical fire of up to 60,000 volts.

In the demonstration referred to above, petrol was poured on to the engine and chassis of a car and ignited, and the fire was extinguished immediately. This was also per

formed with the bonnet closed,extinguisher being operated through the radiator and bonnet louvres. A hilt 7 ft. high by 3 ft. by 3 ft. was saturated with tar and petrol and, after being ignited, was extinguished within one minute, and the jet was played upon a live electric wire with the object of demonstrating that the jet itself is non-conductive. Information regarding the appliance may be obtained from W. Watmoughs, Ltd., Idle, Bradford.

A Useful New Annual.

The first edition of The Motor World Annual has just made its appearance; it is edited by Mr. George H. Cutbush and is published by the Motor World Publishing Co., Ltd., 73, Dunlop Street, Glasgow, at a price of is. 6d. Among those of its contents of interest to commercial-motor men are a buyer's guide, statistics regarding vehicle use and technical matters, and an article on the design of the industrial vehicle. Motor laws are sum

B22

rnarized and Scottish licensing authorities are catalogued. A useful item is the list of sources of spare-part supply for obsolete models, and there is a directory of the Scottish motor trade.

Another Under-river Tunnel.

A contract is about to be placed for the,construction of a tunnel under the River Scheldt, between Antwerp and Hoboken, on the lines of that at present being built under the River Mersey in this country. The tunnel is to be large enough to allow motorbuses to travel through it.

Chassis Specification Tables.

In connection with the chassis specification tables published in our Special Outlook Number, dated December 16th, will readers please make the following

amendments, details of which have reached Us since going to press :—Page 640, Ramp trailers: Pay-load, 5-6 tons ; track, 6 ft.; brakes on front wheels ; platform height, 3 ft.; ground loading; price with solid tyres, £195; price with pneumatic tyres, £225. Page 631, Reo, model PET; frame height, 2 ft 3-I5-6 ins. Page 631, Saurer, model 5ADD ; prices, £1,150 (solid tyres), £1,250 (pneumatics) ; model 5ADD/ AP2, £1,160 (solid tyres), 11,260 (pneumatics) ; model 6BLD weighs 5 tons 2 cwt. in chassis form when the wheelbase is 16 ft. 4 ins., or 5 tons in the case of the 14-ft. 9-in. model: More Motors in Middlesex.

A census has been taken of all vehicles registered with Middlesex County Council and for which licences were in force at any time during the quarter ended September 30th. The figures show that 98,440 vehicles were registered, as compared with 72,938 in the corresponding period of the previous year.

German Postal Road Services.

From the recently issued report of the German Post Office, for the financial year ended March last, we learn that no fewer than 2,266 motor mail and passenger-carrying services are now being run throughout Germany by that Department, the number of buses and coaches used in the work having increased from 3,298 to 3,736 during the twelve months.

The total length of the various routes is now 27,384 miles. The aggregate distance covered during the year was 46,687,000 miles, as against 37,125,000 miles in 1928-29, making an increase or 25.8 per cent. The number of passengers carried during the year advanced from about 68,800,000 to approximately 85,600,000.

Reduced Taxes on Electrics?

In order to encourage the use of electric vehicles in France a Bill has lately been introduced in the French Parliament, under which it is proposed to reduce the annual taxes on such vehicles to 50 per cent. of the standard rates, in view of the reduction in the dependability on imported liquid fuel that the. extended use of electrics would bring about.

A Metal-testing Machine.

Hitherto metal-testing appliances have been cumbrous pieces of mechanism, suitable only for permanent installation in a laboratory. There are, however, manyoccasions on which a convenient portable machine would be of great value to engineers. To meet this need, the Honnsfield Tensometer has been evolved and placed upon the market by the Tensemeter Co., Ltd., 73, Southampton Row, London, W.C.1. Mr. L. H. Hounsfield, from whom the device takes its name, is a past-president of the Institution of Automobile Engineers.

The machine costs 136 complete, and with its carrying case weighs only 20 lb. It will test any metal up to 109 tons per sq. in.; the results show the yield point, ultimate tenzile strength, breaking strain, percentam elongation, percentage reduction in area and the Brinell numeral. These figures maybe read off the instrument without the need for measurements or calculations. Small test pieces are used; these can be prepared by any turner experienced in small, accurate work, or they will be supplied by the instrument maker from users' material, by arrangement

Transport Manager Wanted in Belfast.

A person who must, in addition to having technical qualifications and a knowledge of tramway and bus management and engineering, possess high administrative ability and have wide experience of control of a combined tramway and bus undertaking, Is required by Belfast Corporation, in place of Mr. W. Chamberlain, who, as was -reported in our issue dated December 16th, has been appointed as a chairman of TrafficCOmmissioners under the Road Traffic Act. Carlisle's Trams to Go?

It has been reported to Carlisle City General Purposes Committee that a provisional agreement has beep reached for the acquisition by the Ribble Motor Services, Ltd., of the Carlisle mid District Transport Co., Ltd.—which works the local tramways service—and of shares held by the undertaking in the motor-coach business of Percival, Ltd., of Carlisle. The intention of the Ribble concern is, it is stated, to replace the trams by bus services.

The Modernized CelIon Works.

Considerable reorganization ' has recently been in progress at the new Kingston-on-Thames works of Cellon, Ltd., the well-known " dope " concern, which nowadays makes much of the cellulose finish, in different colours, that is used for motor coaches, buses, etc., as well as for private cars. The underground storage tanks for the solvents have now an aggregate capacity of 12,000 gallons.

Pipes from these tanks run to 60-gallon conical measures in the mixing rooms, whence the liquids pass into 500-gallon mixers. Smaller ,mixers are employed when the pigments are added.

. Amongst the labour-saving devices at the works may be mentioned the overhead rifnways, made by Herbert Morris, Ltd., Loughborough, which are used throughout the factory ; they deal with 5-cwt. lotals—just a convenient weight for man-handling with gear of this kind.

Glass-lined Tanks for Road Vehicles.

Wass-lined steel tanks for all classes of transport vehicle are the speciality of the Glass Lined Steel Tank Co., 10, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London, W.(1.2. The company has made vessels of this kind for a number of years, and they are used for the storage, transport and treatment of such commodities as milk, beer, vinegar, fruit pulps, wines, syrups, chemicals, oils, lacquers, patent foods, etc. The tanks are made of Siemens-Martin boiler-quality steel plate, which receives special surface treatment before enamelling. Two coats of enamel are applied to the interior, after which the vessels are subjected to a very high temperature in large furnaces. After fusing the top coat presents a hard and glossy finish.

The company has just issued a catalogue dealing with the classes of tank used in different industries, and a section covers the application of the vessels to road and rail vehicles, dimensions and capacities being" clearly set out.

Date of the Berlin Show.

The Berlin Motor Show has now definitely been fixed for the early part of next year, the dates being from February 19th to March 1st. The exhibition is expected to be of unusual interest, as it is open not only to private ears but also to commercial vehicles.


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