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WHEELS of INDUSTRY "The wheels of wealth will be slowed

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.

Institute of Transport Opening Meeting.

The first ordinary meeting of the 1930-1931 session of the Institute of Transport will take place in the lecture theatre of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Victoria Embankment, London, W.C.2, on. October 13th, commencing at 5.30 p.m., when the Hon. Sir Arthur Stanley, G.B.E., C.B., M.V.O., will be inducted as president by Sir Josiah C. Stamp, G.B.E., the retiring president, and will deliver his inaugural address.

Premiums in respect of the 1929-1930 session have recently been awarded by the council of the Institute. So far as the road-transport (general) gold medal is concernel, it has been awarded to Prof. R. 0.-E. Clements for his paper on "Road Engineering in Relation to Road Transport." The donor of this medal is the Commercial Motor Users Association.

Progress by the B.S.A.T.A.

At the most recent meeting of the Ballast, Sand and Allied Trades Association, of 124, Tottenham Court Road, London, W.1, it was announced that the members totalled 100, there being 83 full members and 17 associates. The Association's delivery-ticket system and the use of load lines have made considerable progress towards checking a long-standing evil:.--the uncertainty of accurate measure in loose materials. Practical co-operation with members of the )3.S.A.T.A. has been recommended to their respective members by the councils of the London Master Builders' Assobiation and of the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors. Negotiations regarding deputations, etc., have been opened with various oth Pr bodies likely to be interested.

At the Meeting in question a new rule was passed which is of importance to many of our readers. Haulage eon

tractors operating not more than three lorries may now be accepted as junior members at half the entrance fee and half the subscription payable by full members. They may become full members upon terms to be decided from time to time; junior members have no vote at general meetings. It is hoped that this provision will enable many of the smaller operators to aid the association in its valuable work.

Avon-Seiberling Position.

Last week we published a note to the effect that the Avon India Rubber Co., Ltd., of Melksham, Wilts, had made arrangements with the Seiberling Rubber Co., of Akron, U.S.A., for the exclusive right of manufacture and 5ale of Seiberling tyres (under the brand "Avon-Seiberling ") in the United Kingdom and the Irish Free State. In case of misunderstanding, we would add to this that the arrangement involves no change in the wholly British capital and control of the Avon concern or its works, which remain unaltered under the direction of the board of directors.

Results of MunicipalEssay Competition.

_The Municipal Tramways and Transport Association held a competition this year in which prizes were offered for essays on five different subjects. The results are as follow :— ESSAY 1.—What is the best basis for the comparison of works costs of a transport undertaking—whether vehiclemile, seat-mile or other basis? First prize, £15 and silver medal, Miss Phyllis L. Blakemere, Wolverhampton; second prize, £10 and silver medal, A. E. Kitchen, Leicester.

ESSAY 2.—The case for a controlled monopoly of passenger transport within a stated area. First prize, £15 and silver medal, W. J. Bracken, Liverpool ; second prize, £10 and silver medal, J. M. Powell, Pontypridd.

ESSAY the present system of ticket-checking justifiable and are statistics of different classes of ticket sold daily and weekly of sufficient value to the manager, having regard to the cost of compilation? Prize, £10 and silver medal, E. tr. Mason, Manchester.

ESSAY 4.—Give an organization for 50 to 100 buses. Prize, 110 and silver medal, J. Jeffrey, Glasgow.

ESSAY 5.—The value of welfare work. Prize, £10 and silver medal, J. C. Stewart, Glasgow.

ESSAY 6.—Layout and equipment of a garage for 100 buses. Prize, £10 and silversver medal, H. Heath, Sheffield.

Austin Dividends.

The board of directors of the Austin Motor Co., Ltd., is recommending the payment of the following dividends, the amounts which will be absorbed being given in parentheses :-60 per cent. actual on the ordinary shares of the 'company for the seven months ended July 31,st last, less tax (€90,000); 20 per cent. per annum on the preferred ordinary shares for the seven months to July 31st, less tax (f87,500) ; 7 per cent. per annum on the 7 per cent. preference shares for one month to July Slat, less tax (£1,458) ; 6 per cent, per annum on the " B " preference shares for one month to July 31st, free of tax (£6,452) Election of Officers of M.T. and T.A. Last Wednesday, at the annual general meeting of the Municipal Tramways and Transport Association, held during the Conference at Harrogate, Mr. R. Stuart Pilcher, of Manchester, was elected president of the Association for the ensuing year, with Alderman A. G. Ellaway, .1.P., of Birmingham, as vicepresident.

Information for Motorists.

Temple Press Ltd., the proprietor of The Commercial Motor, The Motor and other motoring journals, has just published a new edition of an interesting booklet giving the latest information for motorists. The road particulars which it contains have been revised and brought up to date. It deals with such matters as motor-vehicle licensing and taxation, safety hints, signals for road users and gives other information.

Personal Pars.

Mr. M. Logette, the managing director of G.B. (Motor Tours), Ltd., 72, Great Portland Street, London, W.1, informs us that he has resigned the chairmanship of the management committee of the Motor Hirers and Coach Services Association.

As from to-morrow, October 1st, Mr. H. Voyee, who for the past five years has occupied the position of A.E.C. sales and serVice area manager for Yorkshire, will act as sales representative in that county for Oswald Tillotson (1929), Ltd., the new A.E.C. northern distributor.

Mr. Voyee, whose portrait appears on this page, has a wide experience and knowledge of transport work in Yorkshire. His association with the motor industry dates back to 1902, when he commenced duties with the Panhard Co. in London. He later joined His Majesty's Forces, and served for four years in a workshop section of the R.A.S.C., M.T.

Mr. G. Martin Gamble, A.M.I.Mech.E., whose portrait appears on this page, has recently been appointed sales manager to Karrier Motors, Ltd. He was formerly associated with the Karrier concern from 1910 to 1919, acting as its first Midland agent in Birmingham, and later joining the headquarters staff on the sales side. He was subsequently appointed sales and advertising manager. He has had a long association with the commercial-vehicle industry and has been connected with several important manufacturers. In 1919 and until quite recently he was a director of Harris and Hase11, Ltd., the concern making the B.A.T. chassis.

Dennis Two-tonne; Prices.

In our issue dated September 23rd we described two new Dennis models, the 2-ton forward-control type and the 6-ton forward-control machine. Since the publication of that issue Dennis Bros., Ltd., Guildford, has made an alteration in the price of the forwardcontrol two-tonner. It is now £427,. whilst the normal-control machine -is priced at £420. The wheelbase may he either 10 ft. or 12 ft., giving body spaces of 11 ft. 1 in. and 13 ft. 4 ins. respectively. The price is the same for both sizes.

Building-up a Guy Fleet.

During the past 12 months• interesting progress has been made by White Lion Motors, of Wotton. Mr. Scadding, who is the proprietor of the bus service run under this name, bought, about a year ago, a second-hand Guy 14-seater coach with the object of carrying. on a hire service. About this time a shopping week was organized in the town, and as the volume of traffic was unduly heavy Mr. Scadding was requested by the local council to assist in meeting the requirements.

He was somewhat surprised at the patronage accorded the vehicle, and decided to aband'on the private-hire side of the business and to concentrate on the bus service. Within the next three months the Guy 14-seater was sometimes called upon to carry as many as 30 passengers, and as it was realized that the vehicle could not reasonably be expected to carry such excessive loads, Mr. &adding decided to purchase two Guy OND-type 20-seater buses. In nine months each of these vehicles had covered approximately 25,000 miles, and testimony to their satisfactory running is forthcoming from the owner, who says that be has "not been called upon to spend one penny piece on replacements." He has recently ordered a further two Guy 20-seater one-manoperated buses, so that his fleet is now five strong, with every possibility of subsequent augmentation by Guy buses.

Pneumatic Tyres for Vehicles Hauling Trailers.

In a recently issued data sheet (number 165AY of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, an interesting

recommendation is made regarding the size of tyres on the rear wheels of a vehicle hauling a trailer. In the case of pneumatics it is suggested that the size be determined on the basis that, in addition to the full rear-axle load of the hauling vehicle, 30 per cent, of the gross load of any trailer is imposed. The effect of this recommendation is usually that tyres one sectional size larger than the normal equipment are installed.

I.A.E. President's Address.

The winter session of the Institution of Automobile Engineers will open on October 7th, at the Royal Society of Arts, John Street, London, -W.C.2, when Sir Herbert Austin, K.B.E., the new president, will deliver his presidential address entitled " The Future Trend of Automobile Design." Later the address will be delivered at the Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Leeds and Manchester centres of the Institution.

Glasgow's New Municipal Bus Garage.

At a recent meeting of the transport committee of Glasgow Corporation it was agreed to recommend the purchase of ground at Anniesland, on which to erect a bus garage capable of accommodating 200 double-saloon buses. According to the proposals the new garage will in many ways be unique. Its design and architecture will he based upon ideas obtained by the deputation which during the early part of this year visited Berlin. The cost of the first section will be between £35,000 and £45,000, but when completed the building will cost between £80,000 and £90,000.

Coaching to Blackpool's Illuminations.

Motor-coach owners in the Manchester district who each year secure extensive business in connection with the autumnal illuminations held at Blackpool have this year taken a determined stand to secure uniformity of fares, and to this end a meeting was summoned just prior to the °pealing of the illumination month. It was decided to 'fix a special rate of 4s. for half-day tours. These commence from Manchester in the afternoon or early evening. Closeof-the-season week-day tours were fixed at 5s, per passenger, but on Saturdays the fare is 6s. On the opening day *of the illuminations it is estimated that 1,500 coaches ran to the town.

Extended T.T.A. Works.

In our issue for last week we published an account of the new system of converting Chevrolet 30-cwt. chassis into rigid six-wheelers of the trailing-axle variety, as produced by the Truck and Tractor Appliance Co. (Manchester), Ltd., of Ashburton Road, Trafford Park, Manchester. This company has acquired new premises at Trafford Park with an additional 3,000 sq. yds. of covered space, where machines have been installed to deal with every operation in connection with the manufacture of components for the company's products.

An interesting feature is that, for the work entailed in converting chassis, compressed air is employed in almost every phase, including the cutting away of parts to be dismantled and the riveting of new parts. The new conversion set is, therefore, in all respects a British product.

Tendering for Buses.

The bus committee of Merthyr Corporation has considered tenders for the supply of four buses. Bristol vehicles are offered at £1,288 each; Leylands at £1,279 each ; Dennis buses at £1,218 each ; and A.E.C. vehicles at £1,260 each. For a six-cylindered A.E.C. £1,394 is the figure quoted. A special meeting is to be convened to consider the tenders, and in the meantime the four makers are to be asked to give demonstrations of their vehicles. Bus Results at Derby.

During the year ended March 31st last the traffic receipts of the bus section of the passenger-transport undertaking of Derby Corporation were £41,472, this being an increase of £16,665 over the figure for the previous year. This is in contrast with the receipts from the operation of the tramcars, which showed a falling off.

The revenue account for buses shows a gross profit of £4,985, and after meeting interest, income tax and sinkingfluid charges the net profit amounts to £352, this sum being carried to the appropriation account, which now stands at £41,710.

During the year the buses covered an aggregate mileage of 616,421 and carried 6,199,388 passengers. The buses operate over a route mileage of 121 and for the past year the average traffic revenue per bus-mile amounted to 16.147d.

At the end of March last the corporation was operating a fleet of 29

buses, comprising 15 , 8 A.E.C.s and 6 of Guy make.

Inter-available Rail and Bus Tickets.

In the early part of last week the Great Western Railway Co. put into operation in the districts of Glamorgan covering the Bridg,end and Ogmore, Llynfi and Garw Valleys, a system of inter-available rail and bus tickets. Railway tickets issued at these places have return halves that may be used on the buses of the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., in which undertaking the railway company has a substantial interest.

Papers by Well-known Authorities.

At a joint -meeting of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, the Institute of Transport and the Commercial Motor Users Association, to be held at 7 pan. on Monday, November 10th, at the Institution of Electrical Engineers, Victoria Embankment, London, W.C.2, two important papers, of more than usual interest to our readers, will be read. One is entitled "Passenger-carrying Vehicles," by Mr. G. J. Shave, chief engineer and operating manager of the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., and the other " Colximercial-motor Goods Vehicles," by Mr. C. le M. Gosselin, of H. Vine3and Co., Ltd.

Private Company and Municipality Co-operate.

The Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd., in which the Great Western Railway Co. and South Wales Commercial Motors, Ltd., are the major partners, has commenced to run buses between Caerphilly and .Newport, and Caerphilly and Trethomas. These services are instances of co-operative arrangeraent between a bus company and a bus-owning local authority.

Caerphilly Council's buses will cease to ply for hire on the Caerphilly-Trethomas route, it being worked solely by the Western Welsh Omnibus Co., Ltd. Profits will he shared between the company and the municipality.

A New Exide Depot.

The Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd., has opened new and well-equipped premises at 16-18, Broadmead, Bristol, and the company is now in a position to provide increased facilities for battery distribution and servicing throughout the West of England. "

The new Exide depot provides a large frontage on the important thoroughfare connecting the centre and east of Bristol. It comprises a showroom and sales department, a large stores, dispatch department and repair section, together with the accounts department, managerial offices and a canteen.

A particularly interesting, arrangement is the system of trickle charging, which is adopted in order to keep the charged stock of batteries in first-class condition and for maintaining the fully charged groups of plates ready for use tinder the company's two-hour batteryrepair-service scheme. There are 600 Exide service stations in the British Isles, each employing skilled men trained at the Exide works.

Books on Sales Methods.

"If advertising is dropped it will be found that sales drop, too," is the opinion which Mr. Harold Eley, advertising manager of the Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., expresses in his book "Selling by Post," just issued by Messra. Pitmans. In this and in a companion book entitled "Hire Purchase," by Mr. Eley and Mr. Harold Withey, these two growing sales methods are interestingly described. Mr. Eley emphasizes the importance of linking up advertisements with window displays.

Duple Bodies on Gifford Chassis.

In our isine for last week we published an illustration of the first Gil.. ford A.S.6 20-seater chassis to be fitted with a saloon coach body. Duple Bodies and Motors, Ltd., The Hyde, London, N.W.9, informs us that it is building eight bodies of this type on Gilford chassis for the Gifford Motor Co., Ltd. The machine which we illustrated had been supplied to Messrs. Lewis, of Potters Bar. . New Municipal Bus Powers.

Mr. Herbert Morrison, the Minister of Transport, speaking at the dinner held in connection with the annual conference of the Municipal Tramways and Transport Association, at Harrogate, on Wednesday of last week, said • that Part V of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, embodies all the essentials of the Omnibuses Bill, and it can be regarded as a significant victory for the elemental rights of local self-government. Under the new order of things it will be possible for all local authorities operating transport undertakings to apply for licences to operate buses in the same Way as private operators.

Mr. Morrisou pointed out that there is a provision in Part V for healthy cooperation between various municipal transport undertakings and, indeed, between them and private undertakings, wherever it is in the public interest. He added that, if municipalities are to take their proper place in the provision of transport services, they must come together or they will he swamped by large-scale private enterprise.

Dealing with the question of road space occupied by vehicles, he said that new arterial roads with a 30-ft. carriageway often cost about 160,000 per mile. A motor coach will occupy onethird of the width of such a road, and when in motion it may in length occupy, say, 44 yds. of carriageway. This represents £500 of public capital, apart from capitalized cost of maintenance, lighting, police control, etc. He added that in the City of London, where £120 per sq. ft. has been expended on widening a street, the bare space occupied by a stationary motor coach, say, 30 ft. by 10 ft., might be worth £36,000.

Dealing with motor coaches in London, Mr. Morrison said that larger numbers of such vehicles are now coming into the very centre of the congested area, and until the Road Traffic Act is in operation there will be oo power to deal with the situation. He made it clear that he does not intend tamely to submit to this practice being continued.

Tyre Service in Manchester.

Messrs. Leo Swain and Sons, the wellknown tyre specialists, announce that their offices are now situated at their works and fitting depot at Mill Street, Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, where a full range of tyres is in stock and every facility is available for rapid fitting, including a powerful press for the fitting of solid tyres. If necessary, tyres can be fitted "after hours" and at week-ends. The area of the company's new depot is 2,300 sq. yds.

Baieo's New Premises.

Laic° Patents, Ltd., has lately removed into new premises at Baieo Place, High Road, Chiswick, London, WA, where the company has improved facilities for carrying out conversions to various types of chassis. The premises cover nearly an acre, and the space available in the shops is over 7,000 sq. ft.

Refuse Collection Cheaper by Motor. Blyth Corporation has received a statement as to the cost of scavenging since the acquisition of motor vehicles. For six months, when only horsed vehicles were engaged on the work, the cost was £4,432, but for a later six months, when there were employed four motors and nine horsed wagons, the cost decreased to £3,908. This, too, is in spite of an increase in the number of houses to be dealt with.

Trowbridge Tyre Developments.

The Trowbridge Tyre and Rubber Co. (1929), Ltd., 54, Victoria Street, London, S.W.1, advises us that Mr. Donald G. Cameron has been appointed sales manager of the company. Before joining the company in May last he occupied the position of London sales manager for the Seiberling concern. Mr. W. A. Starley will continue to act as southern regional sales manager.

The company's service department has been much extended, and the position of manager of this section has been entrusted to Mr. T. Holden, who for many years has acted as assistant sales manager of the company.

Municipal Tramways and Transport Conference.

In this issue we publish digests of two papers read at the 29th Annual Conference of the Municipal Tramways and Transport Association, which was held at Harrogate last week. In our next issue we shall deal with the discussions which took place after the reading of the papers. Bus Mergers at Stoke.

Several mergers of bus businesses are taking place in the Stoke-on-Trent area. We understand that Messrs. Buckley and Cookson are disposing of their organization to the Milton Bus Service, Ltd., whilst Mr. Thomas Beckett is purchasing the bus business of Messrs. Evans and Pinney. Mr. P. Macdonald and Mr. A. J. Dunn are merging their firms into the Associated Bus Companies, Ltd.

Exide's Annual Selling Scheme.

All service agents and motor and wireless dealers are eligible to participate in the sixth annual selling scheme to be held by the Chloride Electrical Storage Co., Ltd. Clifton Junction,

near Manchester, Ltd., October 6th to 18th. Two competitions, one for thepublic and the other for the trade, are being organized in an endeavour to secure record-breaking sales -for Exide stockists. The former will be in the ,nature of a ballot to decide what are the most popular features of Exide batteries, the 'first prize being £250 and the second prize £100, whilst the latter will be a window-dressing competition, in which cash prizes to the value of over £250 will be awarded to the successful entrants. A Novel Bus Indicator.,

A new type of dual-utility indicator has recently been patented in Ireland. It has been the practice in that country for the names of the towns through which a bus passes to be pasted on the side windows. The new invention is a device by means of which a number of indicator plates or cards is carried in a frame fixed to each of the side windows of a bus. If the vehicle be transferred from one route to another the plates for the new service can in a few minutes be placed in position.

In its simplest form the device consists of a rod to which is soldered a number of slidable members adapted to carry the indicator plates. These may

be moved continuously in one direction, around the members, from one legto the other of a "U." The device can be attached to the window sashes by means of brackets and then slung so that the plates show through the glass. Advertisement announcements on the reverse sides of the plates may be read by the Passengers.

Orders for the new device have been received from seven bus undertakings. About 150 buses are to be fitted up and a company is being formed in Dublin with the object of establishing a factory for the manufacture of the indicators.

A Trader for Work on Peat Bogs.

With reference to the article which we published in our issue dated September 16th, relative to the Roadlessequipped Fordson tractor for work on peat bogs, we understand that this novel machine was supplied by R.. Pratt, Ltd., Fordson distributor, nigh Street, Sutton, Surrey. In addition to supplying the machine, the concern undertook the demonstration work and arranged for the construction of the special swamp shoes by means Of which the tractor was able to traverse surfaces including moisture up to so much as 96 per cent.

Testing Chevrolets in Baghdad.

With the object of demonstrating the economy and reliability of the Chevrolet six-cylinder chassis, Messrs. K. and E. M. Lawee, the Chevrolet dealers for Iraq, recently carried out an interesting fuel-consumption trial. This was conducted by Mr. C. N. Brooker, the representative of General Motors Corporation in the Near Etist, and it was observed by the Iraq Automobile Association.

Two standard Chevrolet vehicles took part, one being a lorry and the other a B24

car. Each vehicle was provided with exactly one gallon of petrol, and it was run at about 25 m.p.h. until the fuel was exhausted, the route being through Ijinaidi to the desert for a distance of 30.1tms. and then back in the direction of Baghdad. The lorry, which, was loaded with seven barrels of-oil, weighing 1,554 kilograms, and a crew of three men, covered 18.3 miles. The trial created much interest and was witnessed by a number of Baghdad residents.

A Birmingham Contractor's London Depot.

A. J. Gupwell, Ltd., the well-known road-transport contracting concern, of Birmingham, advises us that its London depot has been removed to Branham Street, Tooley Street, S.E.1. Building operations are still in progress and, apart from warehouse accommodation, loading decks, lock-up garages, etc., a 10,000-gallon petrol storage system has been installed.

A New A.A. Sectional Map.

The Automobile Association has just produced an entirely new quarter-inch series of maps covering the whole of Great Britain and designed especially to meet modern conditions. It is printed' in full colours with gradation for altitude.

The roads are classified under (1) recommended thoroughfares ; (2) good motoring roads ; (3) other serviceable roads, whilst certain roads not in general use, private roads and footpaths are also indicated. The maps are printed and published by John Bartholomew and Son, Ltd., and issued in three types—folded paper, mounted on cloth and folded, and mounted on cloth and dissected ; each set is supplied in a strong case. Members of the A.A. can purchase copies at reduced prices at. any A.A. office.

Testimony to Albion.s.

"Why We Bought More Albions " is the title of a series of leaflets being issued by the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd., Scotstoun, Glasgow. No. 1 deals with the well-known biscuit concern of William Crawford and Sons, Ltd., whichAlas been using Albions for delivery work over a period of 25 years, still having some 32 h.p. pre-war chassis which are doing good work. The company has standardized on this make, and continues to buy Anions as required. Up to date it has purchased a total of 111 Albion vehicles.

Sandbach Looks Ahead.

At ameeting of the Sandbach Town Council, at which it was decided to look for an aerodrome site, the council resolved also to procure an adjacent site for a bus station, the view being held that in the future passenger travel would be largely by bases and aeroplanes.