THE GOOD FEATURES OF GLASGOW'S BUSES.
Page 68
Page 69
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The Unusually Wide Staircase, Clever Emergency Exit and Other Characteristics are Widely Appreciated.
ATISFACTION is expressed amingst the travelling and business public of the great Clydeside city of Glasgow with the latest A.E.C. Regent double-saloon buses which the corporation put into service recently on important city routes. P. D. Cowieson and Co., of Glasgow, built the bodies, and they are painted externally in the unusual and striking cream, green and orange colour scheme standardized in Glasgow, cellulose being the finish employed.
• But the bright colours and handsome appearance of the vehicles are not the sum total of their attractions, for several quite uncommon and particularly sound features have been incorporated in the design of the bodies. For example, the staircase is sufficiently wide in the centre to allow two persons to pass each other. Needless to say, it affords extremely easy, ascent and descent, a feature which is not to be found in all double-deck vehicles, even in these modern days. The staircase is fully enclosed and the rear panelling includes an emergency exit in the form of a large metal-framed window.
More ingenious is the front exit for use in case of emergency, this being of a design patented by F. D. Cowieson and Co. It takes the form of half the front bulkhead, this being made to swing outwards, and it is controlled by mechanism which can be operated either by passengers inside the vehicles or by any person in the street. A good point about this exit is that it is placed in a position where, even in the event of a head-on collision, it is, with this particular type of body, likely to receive but little damage.
A wide emergency exit is also provided in the lower saloon just behind the driver, and this, again, can be easily opened either from the interior or by anybody outside.
The upper saloon has three drop windows on each .side, the lower saloon having two. Stainless steel has been chosen for the bright metal fittings, this being extremely serviceable and doing much to enhance the already smart appearance of the vehicles. Stepping on to one of these buses one notices how generous the bodybuilder has been in providing -grab-handles and rails on the conductor's platform, the object being to reduce to a minimum the danger of slipping and falling. These vehicles have excellent acceleration and braking, as everyone knows, and in crowded town thoroughfares jerks due 'to traffic exigencies cannot altogether be eliminated.
Seats in the upper saloon are .upholstered in real leather and those on the lower deck in a combination of moquette and leather. The whole effect of the new buses is pleasing to the travelling public.