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The Motor Omnibus World.

30th July 1908, Page 5
30th July 1908
Page 5
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Page 5, 30th July 1908 — The Motor Omnibus World.
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Flintshire Extensions.

The London and North Western Railway Company, on Monday last, put two of its Milnes-Daimler motorbuses into service between Mold and the Log ''

o-erheads, on the road to Ruthin, for the conveyance of tOurists who desire to make the ascent of Mod l Fammau. Other vehicles of the same make have for .a „long time maintained a successful service between Mold and Flint, and all these local services work in conjuncdon with the trains to and from Chester.

The Marathon Race.

Motor vehicles played a prominent part in the great Marathon Race, from Windsor to London. Two of the Great Western Railway Company's vehicles were officially employed, and one of these is illustrated on this page. Although it might be thought that the presence of so many motors and bicycles on the road must have added to the distress of the competitors, the fact that they travelled at an average speed of less than nine miles an hour prevented any raising of dust to an irritating extent.

Seeing Berlin.

At the present moment, hatches of sight-seers in Berlin are being driven about the city in three classes of vehicles : the ordinary horse-drawn charii-bancs; the self-propelled ditto with seats rising tierwise towards the back ; and the m.otorbus. The MotOromnibusGesellschaft, which supplies the vehicles of the third category, appears to be doing brisk business. On passing through the Tiergartcm any day, writes our Berlin correspondent, one meets a fleet of such buses, crowded inside and out with tourists, and bearing the curious legend, " Round city trips," obviously a German-English translation for " circular trips through the city." On calling at the Verkehrsbureau of the Gesellschaft for information as to the terms on which the vehicles are let for social trips, I learnt that the charge is one mark (one shilling) for every kilometre covered by the vehicle, with a minimum charge of 30 marks per omnibus, which is a double-decker carrying 16 persons inside and x8 outside. These -ffarges cover chauffeur's fee—of course, the. Gesellschaft provides one of its own trained chauffeurs for omnibuses hired in this way.

Writing of trained chauffeurs, I may add that Herr Engineer Otto and his staff exercise severe control over their drivers and vehicles. The main guiding rule laid down for the drivers is : " Don't trouble so much about speed as careful driving and nursing of the engine." Woe-betide the driver who lets his sporting instinct run away with

him ! Engineer Otto comes down upon him like the proverbial ton of bricks. As a result of this rigid supervision and obedience, the Gesellschaft keeps repairing expenses within reasonable limits, and rarely receives an invitation from the Polizeiprasidium to explain that " cloud of blue smoke,"

or that " fearful grinding noise," in such-and-such a street on such-andsuch a day.

• Road Traction Engineers.

A visit to the works of Alfred Herbert, Limited, of Coventry, which the Society of Road Traction Engineers had hoped to pay on Monday last, was, owing to insufficiency of support, cancelled with many feelings of regret. It is expected that the contemplated visit will be paid towards the end of next month, but it was felt that a total but Little in excess of ten members was not a representative party.

Why Not Motorbuses ?

The Dundee Corporation Tramways Committee is proposing to adopt a system of road vehicles with overhead, automobile, trolley equipment. This, as our readers will be aware, necessitates the installation of two copper conducting-cables, no sufficient " earth " being provided -by the contact of the wheels with the road. The apparent intention is to adopt this system along routes where tramways have not been laid, but we think that motorbuses might, with greater advantage, yet be adopted for the same purpose.

The Enlarged London General.

Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday), at an extraordinary general meeting, the shareholders of the London General Omnibus Company met to approve the details of the scheme for the absorption of the Vanguard and the Road-Car Companies. An abstract of the terms was given in our issue of the 16th instant (page 471 ante). It is announced, in the circular letter which forms part of the notice re this Meeting, that the fees of the new board will aggregate ,,,6.5,000 a year, which is half the amount chargeable by the three companies at the date of amalgamation. Mr. J. Howard Moore, J.P., Col. C. F. Colville, and Mr. J. Greig will join the board on behalf of the Road Car Company, and Messrs. Samuel Wheeler and

A. M. Walroncl on.behalf of the.Vanguard Company. It is further .stated that the accounts for the.two half-yearly periods ended the 3oth June last will be submitted to the shareholders at a meeting to be held in August.

A Regrettable Accident.

We much regret to observe that a double-deck tnotorbus belonging to the Rawtenstall Town Council retently got out of control, when descending a steep hill an the Burnley Road, near Hapton, and that a number of its occupants, chiefly members of the Radcliffe and Whitefield Urban Councils, were more or less seriously injured.

L.C.C. Deputation.

A deputation from the London County Council will, on the re-assembling of Parliament, wait upon the Prime Minister, in order to advocate the establishing of a traffic board for London. If it Should be decided to constitute this board, in accordance with the re.cornmendations of the Royal Commission on London Traffic, and it prove both " impartial and independent," a real step forward will have been accomplished.

The Traffic Department.

The fusion of interests of the principal London motorbus companies is rapidly bearing fruit, and this is visibly demonstrated in the extensive list of current route alterations which we insert below. The redistribution, which is now taking place, will materially reduce the undue speed that has been the rule hitherto on hotly-contested " opposition " routes :

GENERAL.—The " Putney to Plaistow " and the " Bow Bridge to Acton " services have now been discontinued.

The " Plaistow and Shepherd's Bush " service is now extended to Ealing via Acton.

The East Ham and Oxford Circus route has been extended to Shepherd's Bush and runs, in agreement as to times, with the Union Jack route " C."

The " Seven Kings to Shepherd's Bush " service now runs, in conjunction with Vanguard.service " 8," via Holborn and Oxford Street, instead of, as formerly, via Strand, Charing Cross, and Regent Street. The fare for the complete journey is now reduced to eightpence.

VANGUARD.—No. " 3 "

Highbury Barn to Clapham Junction –•-was closed on Sunday, the 26th instant, and an entirely new route, between Oxford Circus and " the Swan and Sugar Loaf " at South Croydon,• was inaugurated on the same day. This service competes with the L.C.C. and the Croydon Corporation tramcars over the whole route, with the exception of an interval of a mile through Streatham. The " road " is nearly 12 miles long, and the through fare is eightpence.; the third-class single railway fare is eieyenpence.

The first and last journeys extend only as far south as Brixton.

No. " 8 " Service, which previously served TuIse Hill and Shepherd's Bush, now, in conjunction with the General service, runs between SevenKings and Shepherd's Bush.

UNION JACK..--" C " Service now . runs between East Ham and Shepherd's Bush, in agreement as to times with the General service in that direction. This service originally had Swiss Cottage as its western terminus. " J " Service—Wormwood Scrubs. to Liverpool Street—is discontinued.

" K " Service, which was formerly " Hammersmith to Brixton," has. nowbeen transferred to run between Tulse Hill and Oxford Circus, via Stockwell, Brixton, and Kennington. This district has hitherto been served by Vanguard Service "8."

" Q " Service—East Ham to Oxford Circus—has been discontinued. Except where otherwise mentioned, the above changes took effect from Monday, July 27th.

London Fusions.

The parties to the negotiations for the taking-over of the Road Car and the Vanguard companies by thc London General Omnibus Company, Limited, will be glad that the " deal " is now completed. The brunt of the work-has fallen upon Mr. W. Joynson-Hicks, M.P., Mr. J. Howard Moore, and Mr. Samuel Wheeler, whilst the Secretary Of the Vanguard Company, Mr. Vincent F. Boreham, has had an enormous amount of hard work as well, his shareholders' lists being very long.

An Italian Service Needed.

, In the annual report, just issued by the Foreign Office, of the consular district of Genoa, it is suggested that a paying line for motor omnibuses would be from Savona, via Albisola and Celle, to Verazze. It is added that, in consequence of the rapidly-increasing rents at Savona, a large number of workmen live at Albisola and Celle, and what prevents the majority from following their example is the difficulty of getting to and from their work. Communication is at present kept up by old-fashioned omnibuses drawn by horses.

L.C.C. and Speed.

The .Public Control Committee of the L.C.C. will, it is reported, apply to the Local Government Board for power to reduce the speed of motorbuses to

ten miles an hour in London, Any such limit will, however, have to apply to alJ classes of motor traffic, under Section 9 (t) of the 1903 Act, as no authority is given for differentiation between the several classes of motorcars. On the other hand, did the Local Government Board see fit to act in that manner, it might conceivably be able to make a separate speed regulation' for motorbuses, under Section 12 (2) Of the same Act, and to amend the Ileavy Motor ' Order of r9o4 :accordingly,

though we think this course a highly improbable one. We again ask—can L.C.C. tramcars be run at I6m.p.h., and motorbuses at only totn.p.h., along the same highways, if there is to be any regard for either fair play or the public needs?

'London's First "Tube."

The half-yearly meeting of the City and South London Railway Company was duly held, on Tuesday last, at 71, Finsbury Pavement, E.C., at 12 o'clock noon. The report shows that 10,891,535 passengers were carried for the half year ended. the 3oth compared. with 10,048,78o during the corresponding half year of 1907 : the ,gross receipts were 4.83,175, compared with .:77,520. Reference is .made to L.C.C. tramway competition.

Successful Indian Service.

The Darracq-Scrpollet steam omnibus, with special body for Indian service, which was exhibited at the last Olympia Show, and to which we Made references in our issue of the 2nd April, is reported to be doing well in the Chota-Nagpur service.. The unique type of body, built by .Liversidge. and Sons, Limited, is proving satisfactory in respect of the climatic conditions which are experienced in the neigh bourhood of Hazaribagh. —

Time Limits: "What is Sauce for the Goose," etc.

The Highways Committee of; the L.C.C. is desirous of securing the necessary powers front Parliamerit,'Ac enable it to impose a time limit, durirt$ which broken-down Motorbuses :May remain at the roadside, under repair. We are of ophtion that everything poSt sible should be done • by the runnial; staffs of the companiesconcerned, order to ensure the strict limitations oi the period during .which a motorbus with temporarily-deranged mechanisin should be allowed to form a possible Ob. struction. There is but little cause f-oi complaint in the majority of instances and the better organisation of thc cperating companies has very materi ally reduced the number of break downs on the road during the past 1: months; and this in spite of the fac that the road-fitter has, in most in stances, been abolished. In the case O only one large company is there reasot for assuming that the repair organi sation does not secure sufficiently raph assistance for " lame ducks."

Power is to be sought by the L.C.0 to compel the removal of a broken down machine after a fixed time limi has elapsed. We shall be interested t hear what arrangements the Counc' intends to make to secure the rapid rt moval of its owm.tramcars, when, a frequently haprieri#,' strings of ten or ; dozen cars are held up owing to con duit, sectkin-box or motor troubles.


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