Karrier.
Page 22
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XTREM_E interest is being 4is 4 played in what we consider to be the most remarkable vehicle in the Show. This is a six-wheeled low loadline Karrier bus, which is not only unusual from the design point of view, but is • exceptionally well finished as regards bodywork.
Dealing first with the bodywork, there is a partition behind the driver, and on the near side one pair of seats slightly forward of this partition, whilst a. second pair backs against the screen of the entrance gangway, in front of which, at the off side, are two pairs of seats ; to the rear of the entrance are seats along the sides which curve round to the central gangway ; then come two pairs facing, and, lastly, a row each side curving from the gangway along the sides to the emergency door. The roof. is most tastefully finished in bird'seye maple with a centre OVal of walnut.
As the chassis was described in full in our issue of October 20th we will give only a precis of its leading features. The power unit is six-cylindered, of monobloc construction, and develops at least 70 .b.h.p.; cooling water is circulated by centrifugal pump and cooling is controlled by a thermostat ; an external cone clutch conveys the drive not, asis usual, direct to the gearbox, but through the medium of an enclosed silent chain th an off-side cardan shaft and thence to the four-speed gearbox, which is mounted at the off side of the frame. From this a shaft with universal joints of specially large size runs to the forward of the two driving axles forming a semi-bogie.
The frame construction is extremely unusual, two axles being carried in what are known as spectacles, each side member surrounding the axles. Internalexpanding brakes are fitted to the four wheels at the rear, these being operated by Westinghouse cylinders.. A special feature is the combined gate and selector box with *direct selection by a rocking lever.
It is important to point out that although this vehicle is showu as a single-decker, the chassis has been designed especially for double-deck bodies carrying up to 50 passengers. It is remarkably comfortable, as, of course, the six-wheel construction practically halves the road shocks at the rear end and, apart from this, the cushioning is exceptionally deep. The floor level is 2 ft. from the ground, and is only 1 in. above the frame. Single pneumatic tyres are, of course, fitted on all wheels, these tyres being 34-in. by 7-in. Titan cords of Macintosh make.
-Apart from the six-wheeler, the largest passenger model is the fc.L.type chassis carrying a 39-seater Stafford single-deck bus of the driver-byengine type. This has front entrance and an emergency door Operated from the inside by an upper lever, and from the outside by a pull-down handle situated behind a pane of glass which can easily be broken in an emergency. This vehicle is nicely finished in a pale mauve colour known as helio. It may be classified as a low load-line model and is a type which was brought out before the C.L. chassis, in which the frame is carried under the back axle. A small but striking point on this vehicle ix that the magneto projects out wards from the engine for the sake of accessibility and is accommodated in a housing formed in the bonnet.
Prominent in the centre of the stand Is a tine coach of what may be termed the ordinary type, equipped with a hood and all-weather side curtains opening with the doors ; this is attractively finished in ultramarine blue. It is a 14-seater mounted on the Z.X.-type chassis, which is a new model taking the place of the old 30-cwt. C. type and is capable of speeds up to 40 m.p.h.
Mounted on a Z-type chassis is a B.P. fuel oil tank equipped with a special Gwynne pump, the whole vehicle being finished in the familiar green and red colours of the purchasers.
Reverting to the six-wheeled bus, the frame construction of this,' apart from being unusual in respect of the spectacle-shaped side-members, is also of immense strength, and is thoroughly well braced by channel-steel crossmembers gusseted to the side-members. Accessibility has received considerable attention, and One notable point is that the cross-member immediately behind the gearbox is slotted so that when the front joint of the eardan shaft is disconnected the shaft can be slipped down and to one side in the slot, thus permitting the gearbox to be dropped dear of the frame and without interfering with the body.
The gearbox itself is three-point suspended by a trunnion at the front end and by a cast-steel bracket at the real' end, this bracket also forming the anchorage for the braking shoes of the transmission brake. So far as the semi-bogie is concerned', the springs are inverted semi-elliptics fulcrumed to frame brackets at their ends and pivoted to spring brackets on the two axles at their outer ends. Light but effective radius rods are provided between the two axles, these ,rods being ball-jointed and mounted above the
springs. . • Karrier Motors, Ltd., Huddersfield.