Unintelligent Interference with Private-Hire Motorcars.
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The re-signed Petrol Control .Committee continues its unfortunate career. • Its latest attempt to act, intelligently both misses the mark and hits unnecessarily. The 'essential terms of its notice concerning special permits, as an exception to the general pro, hibition of the use of private-Eire cars (reported by as on the 17th May page 248 of our issue of that date), are now given on page 294. They go much too far, in our opinion, by way of restriction. They make no provision, for example, for the areas in which motor-jobmasters use their vehicles in part to await the arrival of trains at the local railway stations, and in part to convey passengers to them, or to do other essential; local hackney-carriage work. Under the i strict wording of the notice, t is impossible for a motor-jobmaster to accept an order over the telephone to send one of his hire cars out of the garage to a private house, even to convey a local business resident to a neighbouring railway station. This anomaly must be removed. Such a hiring would now only be legal, apparently, if the local resident were to walk a mile or two to the railway station, if the local jobmaster were then to send his car to the rank outside that station, and the fare were then to be conveyed to some other railway station. We hope that jobniasteis in furnishing the requisite particulars to the Secretary of the Petrol Control Committee, as regards the requirement for information concerning the "period for which the motorcar is to be let for hire,", will know what to answer, The " period" which is applicable to the hirings which -fall within the seven exceptions which are set forth must vary considerably. We would suggest that the answer might take this form:—" According to the requirements of the specified exceptions, and usually not in excess of 48 hours per hiring." We suggest the reference to 48 hours because that period is held by the, Excise officials to he the dividing line between hirings in the nature of taxicab service end hirings in the nature of, private use, • as regards the rebate on
petrol. It is obvious, of course, that contracts for the conveyance of daily newspapers may frequently run to months in duration.
The fixing of a 10-mile limit may be generally suitable, but we consider that exceptions will have to lie sanctioned in respect of it. For example, is .Clovelly, to take a particular case, which place is situated 11 miles from the nearest station (I3ideford), to be cut off from the world? There are no horses left, and everybody cannot walk. Clovelly is not the onlyease, but it is one within our knowledge in England. There are many such eases in the mirth of Scotland, in parts of Ross-shire and Sutherlandshire, 'It will be observed, from a question and answer in the }louse of Commons which we nrint on page 292, that a promise has been made by the Board of Trade to adjust the .consequenees of the oversights to which we have referred. We regret to state, however, that up to the time. of our going lo press with this issue no details of the-further excefitiens ale available to Us. "Hire cars" do not include goods-carrying vehicles. The Board of Trade distinguishes in its own way and words between motorcars of all classes and commercial motors for other than passengers.
The Agrimotor Position.
. Some valuable personal obsers.-aLionsupon " The agrirnotor position will be fonackthis week amongst our "Opinions from Others "from a, correspondent with local experience of the initial period of working of the Government's ploughing scheme. The inside Views of many county organizers will probably have to be withheld, by reason of their more-intimate conneqtion with the scheme and its organization, but. there may be not a few local "godfathers" who may feel less restraint, and be both able, and willing to communicate with us. If any of the county organizers are prepared to further the general good of the cause to additional food production by publishing their experiences and ventilating their views in our columns, we shall be pleased to provide the necessary space, and thus to put into circulation hints, records and warnings which cannot fail to be of assistance to a growing proportion of our readers.
General Petrol Provision a Only 44 Per Cent. for Goods Traffic.
We are glad to see that the petrol for ordinary goods-haulage requirements is not to be submitted to drastic control to the full extent that was anticipated. A reduction of one-third upon the rate of supply under the recent licences is to take effect generally. This reduction is serious enough, and it is one, we hope, that will help forward the use of coalgas in an increasing number of selected cases.
The foregoing reduction is the second percentage adjustment since petrol rationing was instituted as from the 1st August last year. We may recall that owners of commercial motors were generally allowed 60 per cent. of their declared requirements, for the first period -of rationing, carrying them to the end of November. An increase was then sanctioned, although a smaller one than had been at one time indicated: the 60 per cent, of the declared requirements of commercial-motor owners was increased by 10 per cent., i.e., to 66 per cent. of.the original applications. Licences which are current under this rate of•allotinent expire to-day (Thursday). it is of the utmost importance to users that they should apply for renewal by letter to 19, Berkeley Street, London, W. 1, to the Secretary, Petrol Control Committee. , We do rot hesitate to stalls that the ,gravest inconvenience has been caused by the aincertainty as to the 6xtent of continuing supplies, but the latest difficulties are due to fresh arrangements—both at the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Munitions— as regards the control of petrol. These must be held accountable. The general ration is to be 44 per cent., compared with declared requireirients on the first applications last year. If any general improvement is made. it will be sanctioned later than the eleventh hour. We hope against hope for it.
Motorbus Spring Suspensions.
There is one department of heavy-vehicle design which has not hitherto received, to the fullest extent, the attention which it deserves. We refer to the springing or the suspension of the chassis, which, regarded from all points of view except perhaps that of mere strength, is undeniably poor. Of strength, we think there is, in all except a few cases, sufficient. We say this notwithstanding the fact that it is common knowledge that there was a big mortality in springs, especially front ones, overseas, during the first year or so of war, until the task of strengthening those springs, on nearly all makes if chassis, was completed. For almost all of this spring trouble, 'however, the extraordinary condition of the roads accounted. The circumstances were abnormal, and the behaviour of the springs in those circumstances is no criterion of their reliability in. commercial use; it must not be taken as a basis for after-the-peace construction under commercial conditions.
The fact still remains, however, that springing systems as generally constructed fail efficiently to perform their office of absorbing road shocks and preventing their transmission to the vehicle and its load. This is observable in goods-carrying commercial 'motors ; it is naturally of even more importance in considering the design of chassis intended for publicservice work, for chars-a-bancs, or for motorbuses. It is well within the bounds of probability that, in the impending revision of London bus chassis design necessary in order to meet the requirements laid down recently by Sir Edward Henry, the item which will receive most attention will be the suspension of the chassis. We quote from his proposals. "In the past
. . . omnibuses . . caused much annoyance .
through noise, vibration, etc." The cause of the noise is surely the vibration, and vibration can be corrected in the main through the springing. It is more than likely that sufficient improvement could be effected in this department to render void the need for any considerable reduction in weight. This, of course, apart from the fact that the reduction of the weight per is is a desirable attainment. We suggest that this problem of springing should be attacked de novo, and that preconceived notions should, for a time at least, be boldly scrapped, in an endeavour to ascertain if some entirely new arrangement, differing perhaps altogether from the present suspension, with its seflai-elliptical springs assisted by rubber tires and buffer springs, would not better eerve the end in view. It is questionable whether the relative parts played by the springs and tires and the limitation of their spheres of operation have ever been fully discussed. It is not generally realized, we believe, that no provision exists in the springs for the resistance of shocks in horizontal directions, but only for the vertical components of the force due to the impact with any obstruction. The horizontal corn
ponent of any, shock is absorbed to a greater or less extent by the tires. The absorbent quality of pneumatic tires in this respect enables them much better to perform this function, and this particular difference as between solid and pneumatic tires accounts to a great extent for the considerable improvement in riding qualities effected by their use. The obstacle in the way of the employment of pneumatic •tires on buses is the increased running cost which will ensue, to say nothing of the inconveniences arising from probable punctures. Cushion tires offer a way out, but are not a complete solution they are not, and cannot be made to be, so highly efficient in shock-absorbing qualities as pneumatics. It is suggested that the attention of designers be directed towards provision of other means of absorbing shocks with the object of supplementing the limited quality which solid tires possess in this respect. It should be arranged that some springing device absorbs the major shocks, the small ones being left to the tires. The problem is admittedly not au easy one. On the front axle sonic improvement might be effected by suspending the axle from the wheel: We 'remember a car being exhibited at Olympia some years ago which embodied this feature. Apparently it went the way of many Olympian novelties ; we do not seem to have heard of it since. The rear axle can with some difficulty be treated in the same way. Such treatment, however, would probably confine us in respect of final drive to the chaindriven vehicle or the internal gear-driven one. • On, worm-drive or bevel-drive axles something of the nature of elastic radius and torque rods may prove to be the solution.
Whatever may be the immedia,te outcome of the impending changes in bus design, we have no hesitation in forecasting that the day is not far distant when this matter of vehicle springing will have to be tackled, and it will be decided, we are confident, in the manner we have outlined aboVe.
Demonstrations of Agrimotors.
There is always a tendency to apply the practices of an old and established industry to any allied and newer offsh.00t. This tendency is observable when any old-established general engineering coneern takes up the manufacture of some speciality which may differ in some essential characteristic from any of the work to which it has hitherto been accustomed. Particularly is this noticeable where such concerns have commenced to take an active part in the manufacture of motor vehicles. It is also observable to a lesser extent when the touring-ear manufacturer turns his attention to the heavier type of vehicle for commercial use. Such a tendency, unfortunately, although not invariably so, is generally to the detriment of the new departure.
Something of the same kind is also happening with respect to the agrimotor industry, which, having struggled so long against the adverse circumstances which have for some time affected the farming industry, and also.against the apathy of the farmers themselves, is now receiving a fillip which Will place it in an advanced position from which we do not expect it ever to recede. At the moment, we should like to particularize and confine ourselves to •one aspect of this peculiarity-demonstrations.
In every industry whieh involves the production of a new method of performing some interesting operations, there is some value in showing practical concrete examples of the capability of the machine.; demonstrations such as those usual in the motor industry, however, have their own special features. It is to be feared that, in applying them to the signmotor, their real significance may be overlooked—as well as their limitations. There isinvariably a tendency to attach to them much more importance than that to which they are entitled. With a touring car, one expects a demonstration, not nowadays as formerly, ef hill-climbing Capabilities and speed, but rather of the comfort and convenience of the bodywork, ease of springing, and facility of "control. To a lesser degree are the same qualities demanded in a cammercial. vehiCe for public-service work. For goods-carrying, unless there is some speCial and noVel feature about the chassis, or about the body equipment, to be shown, or unless the intending purchaser
• has some special characteristic in respect of his • method of making deliveries or the accommodation for • the vehicle, there appears to be hardly any more need for a demonstration than there is in regard to the sale of a watch.
The agrimotor is still sufficiently new to the majority of farmers to necessitate demonstrations in their simplest form. There are few makers Who could with facility put any iVending purchaser in touch with the • user of a similar machine in his own district ; in some cases, of course, this might be possible, but in the majority it would not be so, whilst at the same time it is yet a fact that there is a large number of farmers who are sceptical -of the capability of the agrimotor • to perform simple operations of ploughing, harrowing, etc.,for which it is designed. It cannel be too clearly or too often stated that such demonstrations, no matter whether of motor-bicycles, or 5-ton wagons,' of touring cars, or of agrimotors, can serve no further purpose than show the mere capability of the machine when new, and in most cases when circumstances are generally favourable to its efficient operation.A trained observer, expert in the use of the machine which is being shown, might derive useful knowledge from the test, but the casual buyer would not neces • sarily do so. In particular do these remarks •apply to tests of agrimotors, as in regard to these machines,
the behaviour of a tractor, for example, on any one class of soil forma so slight a guide as to how it would work on another. The influence of the weather, too, is important.
If information is desired of the actual eornmercial value of any agrimotor, it can only be obtained by reference to the recorded experiences of use of several of the same type over a prolonged period.
We must admit that the great majority of farmers, possible buyers of agrimotors, are in little need of this warning. They know enough to understand first of all that, however perfect may be a demonstration which is afforded them,it is generally on land to the peculiarities of which they are strange. It is usually arranged to take place in fine weather, or at least in circumstances that may be favourable in this regard; Secondly, he knows that reliability day in and day out, season after season,is" a quality the possession of which, in the highest degree, will -determine which is the best type and make of agrimotor. -This information is only available, at least as regards Wol-k in this country, in reSneat of some of the inakef tractors on the markst. -The intending purchaser of a machine shoulci•ondeavont to get into touch wherever passible with some user of a similar agrimotor. • We realize quite well that even when introduced to sueb an owner a customer is Sometimes diffident. His fear, a natural one at times, is that even the user to whom he is introduced may be prejudiced.
As an alternative, we suggest his perusal of the articles which appear from time to time in 'these columns relating to interviews which we have had with unbiassed users. Several of these have already appeared; there are others on pages 290 to 291 Of this issue. Further articles will appear at frequent intervals. Next week some 'details of the behaviour of three types of tractor, in daily use-will be described.