Motor Coaches for Theatrical Tours.
Page 8
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By a Touring Manager.
The showman has for many years availed himself of the traction engine for the conveyance of his plant from town to town, but the attention of theatrical managers has not yet, I think, been called to the advantages to be gained by the employment of the commercial motor vehicle for the transport of their companies, scenery, and properties. Road trains, comprising several trucks, laden with machinery and the heavy timber and ironwork used in the construction 01 the portable roundabout, are drawn long distances, and at small expense, by traction engines, which are, generally, the property of the proprietors of the shows themselves. To London managers who make, each year, only a short tour through the country, and who visit only the larger towns, situated, for the most part, at great distances from each other, the use of the motor vehicle would not compare favourably in point of speed with the railway. To those touring managers, however, whose tours are long in duration, and whose week-end journeys do not average, as a rule, more than too miles, the motor would be a decided boon, and more particularly to those who visit the smaller "
lit-up" towns, where a number of comparatively short journeys have to be made at frequent intervals, say, every two or three days. To this class, the advantage of being able to arrange the journeys at a convenient hour, and independently of the railway time-table, must be obvious. Many bitter experiences arc gone through, under present circumstances, by managers who have to deal with railway officials, who cannot (if they would) arrange suitable connections. Cases often occur in which the companies, through difficulties in the railway travelling, have barely succeeded in reaching their destination in time for the ringing-up of the curtain on the performance advertised. To yet another class of theatrical company the commercial vehicle should certainly appeal; it is the one that travels " light "— i.e., carrying little else than the hampers of the members of the company, with, possibly, a few flats of scenery, and some odd properties unlikely to be found among the theatre stock. These companies, consisting of from 12 to zo members, could be luxuriously accommodated inside a modern canopied char-A-banc, whilst the baskets would be paced in the large boot under the floorboards, or with the light scenery on the roof. Even a London type of omnibus should be exceedingly useful at times. The maximum load that can be. carried successfully on a vehicle of this class is three tons. Deducting ti ton, which is the weight of zo passengers, there remains a margin of
ton for baggage, etc. The cost of running this load would vary considerably according to the mileage travelled. Roughly speaking, the greater the distance travelled, the less would be the cost per mile. On a basis of an average of not less than too miles per week, the cost (including driver, stores, up-keep, and depreciation) should work out at about is. 3d. per mile, and this represents a sum equal to the railway fares for zo passengers for the same distance. The cost of running the motor bus would, however, be greatly reduced if it were driven by a member of the staff : in this case, int. per mile should be sufficient to cover all expenditure for I00 miles a week, whilst this should be brought down still further if bigger aggregates were possible. Any comparison between the two systems of transport must take into account—over and above railway fares— the cost of transporting the scenery and baggage from the theatre to the railway, and vice versa : this is at least los. to 125, per town, and sometimes rises to over La per week. There i also the extra expense and wear incurred in handling the material four times at each place. What this constant transference of the lightly-built scenery from stage to lorry, from lorry to railway truck, from truck to lorry again in the next town, and from thence to the stage, means to the duration of its life and usefulness, only those who have to pay the bills for repairs and re-painting can realise. If a motor omnibus or char-à-banc were purchased, the material would be taken direct from stage door to stage door; once loaded and once unloaded all the above-mentioned expenses would be saved. The bus could also be used very extensively for advertising purposes in each town ; a wide area could be covered by it daily, thus making known the attraction at the theatre to those living on the outskirts of the town, or even further afield.
The motor bus cannot, of course, equal the speed of the " Flying Scotsman " over the long and costly journeys often taken by managers who, somewhat recklessly, book their dates without regard to distance and expense. It is, nevertheless, sure though relatively slow. Motor omnibus construction has reached such a pitch that a run of iso miles a day can be accomplished, if necessary, at an average speed of ii or 12 miles an hour. Though the time occupied in actual running is admittedly greater, it must not be forgotten that the journey would be accomplished without the compulsory stops, to which one has to submit, at large junctions on the railways. Al Crewe, York, Darlington, and other towns, many weary hours of waiting have to be gone through by members of dramatic and — musical companies, where the train connections are unsuitable. These waits, which are a source of great discomfort and annoyance to the artistes, would, with the motor bus, be absorbed into the one straightforward journey, and it is an open question whether, in many cases, the road motor would not get to its destination quite as soon as, or sooner than, the coach and truck in which the manager and his company have to spend hours on the line, and in the siding ! Cross-country journeys are certainly all in favour of the motor omnibus, and, already, enterprising managers are on the alert to avail themselves of the new vehicles. Several members of the theatrical and musichall professions make a practice of travelling to and from the various theatres at which they are engaged by pleasure car, and find this mode of pro1 gression one which offers great com
fort and, at the same time, effects an immense saving in the time spent on the necessary journeys. The use of the commercial motor in this connection would, in my opialon, give an even, more satisfactory result.