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C.M.U.A. TRIBUTE TO MAJOR R. A. B, SMITH, M.C., M.Inst.T.

ASATISFACTORY excess of income over expenditure is shown in the annual accounts of the C.M.U.A., which were presented at the adjourned a.g.m„ held at the R.A.C. on August 25.

At this meeting, a resolution was unanimously passed in which the members placed on record their warmest appreciation of the services rendered to the road-transport industry in general, and to the Association in particular, by Major R. A. B. Smith, MC., M.Inst.T., during his further occupancy

of the presidential chair the year 1942-43. Whilst taking a leading part in guiding the Association, Major Smith had been called upon to devote considerable time to the work of the Road Transport Organization joint conference, of which he is deputy-chairman, FURTHER USE OF NON-RETREADABLE TYRES

ANEW practice in connection with the .treatment of tyres sent for retreading has been decided upon by Tyre Control. It is well known that certain tyres sent for retreading have been found to be unfit for this purpose, yet they may still possess potential mileage, which is wasted if the tyres be sent for immediate salvage. "

The intention, therefore, is to brand such tyres " HO." (run out) and send them back to the same A.T.D. for re-issue to the original user. No doubt it will be permissible to use such tyres even if the fabric be showing, and, if questioned, it will be necessary only to call the attention of the police to the fact that they are branded.

SAVING TYRES-BY IMPRESSING DRIVERS

L./ OME 8,000 appeals by four different posters are being made to lorrY drivers to impress them with the need for taking care of their tyres. They are being sent out by the M.O.I. on behalf of the Tyre Manufacturers' Conference (representing all Britain's tyre makers) to roadside caMs and, transport yards.

One of these shows a tyre as " the Indispensable link " between factory and fighting front; another runs: " Carelessness with tyres can well lose us the war," with-. a background of a swastika • shadow upon a green England. Not so green!—ED.] We illustrate a third, and a fourth reads: " Drivers! -War-grade tyres aren't so good as those of pre-war days, so treat them with care."

HOW TO FUSION-WELD WROUGHT ALUMINIUM ALLOYS

THE latest booklet, Information Bulletin No. 5, published by the Wrought Light Alloys Development Association, Union Chambers, 63, Temple Row, Birmingham, 2, deals with the fusion welding of wrought aluminium alloys. '

One purpose of this produe,tion is to bring to the notice of operators the not, as yet, widely known fact that aluminium can now be regarded as a readily weldable metal, • also that although heat-treated alloys may be fusion welded they are then, of course, reduced in strength.

-The booklet, priced at ls, net, contains 52 pages. It deals first with -the underlying reasons for the difficulties encounteted by operators inexperienced in welding aluminium. Then it describes how the characteristics of the metal affect the welding procedure required for each process. A table summarizes processes recommended for each aluminium, alloy. In addition to a full description of the oxy-acetylene and oxy-gas methods, details are given of the metallic-arc • process, and of several others not ,hitherto described in similar publications.

, Flux compositions are summarized and methods of finishing detailed. Finally, there are seven tables of basic data, and a short section op the inspection of welds. Many photographs and diagrams complete a most useful publication.

COUNCIL PROTESTS AGAINST LOWER WAGES FOR EMPLOYEES

WITII regret, Hemsworth (Yorkshire) Rural District Council has.. accepted a National Arbitration Tribunal decision that the wages of motor drivers and scavengers in the council's sanitary department be reduced.

The issue arose when the district auditor ruled that the reduction should be made because the men were being paid in excess of the Provincial Joint Industrial Council scale for such workers. The council protested against this ruling, and the employees submitted to the Arbitration Tribunal a claim against a reduction. The rejection of their claim means that their wages are reduced from £4 14s. to £4 es. for wagon drivers, from E5 4s. to £4 Os. for drivers of cesspool-emptiers, and from £4 4s. to £4 Os. 3d. for scavengers.

IMPROVED HEAD LAMPS AND MASKS FOR LONDON BUSES

ANimproved type of combined head lamp and mask is to be fitted to all London Transport buses, lorries,

v^ans and ambulances. It is anticipated that all service buses will be equipped 'before the end of October and that the

whole of the change will be substantially completed soon after that date. The masks at present in use were first fitted early in 1940. • Endeavours

were continually being made by the Board to improve the illumination from the masked lamps, within the limitations imposed by the Lighting (Restrictions) Order, and •certain minor, though beneficial modifications, had been made. The unit to be fitted is generally similar to that employed on vehicles in W.D. service, slight modifications only being necessary to adapt it to t h e Board's requirements.

• The intensity of illumination p 'r o vided by the new head lamp will not be appreciably different from that given by the existing masked lamps and is within the permitted maximum of 2.5 ft. candles at 10 ft. distance. The improvement consists in the wider spread and more penetrating character of the beam. In view of the fact that the combined head lamp and mask

is beingproduced in large quantities, it was found more economical to adopt this unit than to fit existing head lamps with a new design of mask.

PERSONAL PARS

MR. ALFRED INESON, of Fred Senior, Ltd., the haulage concern of Gomersal, has been elected to succeed the late Mr. Harry Pickard as ,chairman of the Heavy Woollen District Transport Association. He was previously a vicepresident. He was one of the founders of this West Riding road-transport operators' organization.

Ma. C. B. 1VIircALFE DALE, has been appointed chief engineer of the engine division of the Brush Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd.,. and subsidiaries, of Loughborough, on the resignation of MR. H. V. SENIOR, who becomes consultant

to the company. Mr.. Dale joined Petters, Ltd., Yeovil, as drawing-office manager in 1994. He became chief designer in 1938 and was transferred to the Brush Co. when it acquired the Petters concern in January. '1939. He was previously on the designing' staff of Ruston and Hornsby, Ltd., of Lincoln COMMITTEE OF HIRED-VEHICLE OPERATORS FOR YORKSHIRE

THE proposal to call a meeting a all Yorkshire operators with vehicles on hire under the Government Haulage Scheme, as recently recommended by the Federation of Yorkshire Road Transport Employers, with a view to establishing a committee of road transport employers, has been deferred, in view of steps by the Yorkshire Area Standing. Joint Committee to establish a Yorkshire committee of hired-vehicle .operators.

In accordance with the national S.J.C. 's scheme for representation of such operators, each organization affiliated to the Yorkshire S.J.C. has been invited to nominate two hiredvehicle representatives to serve on a preliminary committee to decide the constitution of a permanent committee in the area One member of the Yorkshire committee will be elected to serve on the hired-vehicle undertakings' central panel of the national S.J.C.

PRODUCER GAS NOT BARRED FROM MERSEY DOCK -ESTATE

WE are advised that Liverpool Cart, and Motor Owners' Association has received an assurance from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board that the use of producer-gas vehicles on the Mersey Dock Estate does not conflict with any

of the Board's Orders. As is well known, there are strict precautions against fire risks on the line of docks.

AIMING AT TRANSPORT ECONOMY IN THE CORN TRADE

A NEW concern, to be known as the Corn and Agricultural Merchants (War-time) Co., Ltd., was registered on August 21 last as a . 'company without share capital . but limited by guarantee. The original number of members is 5,000, each of whom is liable for the sum of £5 in the event of the undertaking being wound up.

The main purposes of the company are to effect economies in man power and in the transport section of the corn trade if thought fit; to prepare a voluntary scheme for providing compensation for members adversely affected by the complete lack or restriction of business; to enter into agreements with the Board of Inland Revenue, Board of 'Trade and other Government Departments which may be concerned.

Management is vested in a 'central board and there are to be divisional committees covering England and Wales and. Scotland. .

ACCEPTORS OF CONTROLLED TRAFFIC IN LIVERPOOL AREA A CCORDING to the arrangements for the handling of traffic under the Government Haulage Scheme,. the Liverpool Area Road Haulage Officer is the acceptor of all controlled traffic arising from ship, quay, or warehouse within the Liverpool and Birkenhead dock area. In the case of controlled traffic arising from other sources in the area, the appropriate unit controller is the acceptor.

OPERATOR'S DEFENCE PERMIT REVOKED

AN example of the power of the R.T.C.s is afforded by the news that the R.T.C., South Western Region, has revoked the defence permits of a Somerset operator with four A and two B vehicles.

The user in question was recently fined £80 and costs far offences under the Control of Motor Fuel Order, 1942, and the General Defence Regulations. He had also been convicted for permitting the use of a vehicle with inefficient brakes, and prohibition notices had been issued in respect of two of his vehicles. The defendant admitted overloading a vehicle beyond its tyre capacity: the canvas was actually showing on one tyre. His vehicle records also showed that drivers had worked excessive hours and that journeys had been run at speeds in excess of 30 m.p.h. The operator did not accept the Commissioner's offer of a public inquiry.

TRANSPORT MAN REQUIRES POSITION

L'OR the past eight years a -certain I..,man, who requires a suitable position, has been managing a fleet of 22 vehicles (oil and petrol) making 1,000 deliveries per week. He is also fully acquainted with the removal of heavy machinery; previous to this he managed various transport and dispatch departments.

Letters should be addressed " Transport," care of the Editor, PRIORITY OF TRAVEL IN P.S. VEHICLES

‘ikLETTER concerning a proposed amendment of the " Conduct " Regulations, with a view to facilitating the enforcement of schemes for priority of travel in buses, has been sent to appropriate associations of p.s.v. operators at the direction of the Minister of War Transport.

The need has arisen owing to It having come to the notice of' the Department concerned that a charge against a passenger for having broken a queue failed on the ground that the bus inspector had called out " Workers First." The woman passenger in question, although she had no priority pass of any kind, could be described as a worker. It is suggested, therefore, that operatorsshould instruct their conductors, inspectors and queue marshals to use the formula, ",Priority Passengers First" when carrying out their duties in connection with a priority scheme authorized by an R.T.C.

The particular paragraph upon which the associations are asked to make comment would, when amended, read as follows:—" Regulation 9. When a public-service vehicle is carrying passengers or waiting to pick up passengers, a passenger or intending

passenger shall not • (iv) enter or remain in or on the vehicle when requested not to do so by an authorized person on the ground that the vehicle is Carrying its full complement of passengers; or that the operator is debarred from picking up passengers at the place in question by reason ofthe

conditions attached to his road Service licence or any permit authorized by or in pursuance of statute in lieu of such licence, or that the operator is required or authorized by such conditions to give preference to passengers of any specified description."

NEW DATE FOR A.R.O. MEETING

THE meeting of the Ipswich Sub-area Committee of Associated Road Operators, which was to have been held yesterday, has been postponed until Thursday, September 16

In a "One Hears" in our issue dated August 20, we referred to Mr. F. A. Walker as being of A.R.O. He is, of course, on the executive of C .M.U. A. IMPORTANCE OF RADIATOR RECONDITIONING

LARGE numbers of radiator top and bottom tanks made of aluminiuna or similar alloys are being needlessly scrapped when they become porous or perforated due to corrosion.

The M.O.W.T. wishes to emphasize that these parts can usually be reconditioned by welding, and having regard to the urgent needs for light alloys in all branches of the Services, they should not be scrapped unless every effort to recondition them has failed.

Information, advice or demonstrations on recovery methods can be obtained from the Directorate of Vehicle Maintenance, M.O.W.T., 2, Fitzmanrice Place, London, W.I. BUSMEN'S BIG DEMAND FOR ALARM CLOCKS

AANY hundreds of Glasgow bus and 1111 tram workers have sent applications for alarm clocks to the head office of the Transport and General Workers' Union in Glasgow. The Union officials fear that the number to which they will he able to give priority vouchers will be grossly inadequate, because the allocation of alarm docks for the area, out of the 60,000 which have arrived in Great Britain from America, will not meet the demand.

The bead office of the Union in Glasgow is expecting to receive the vouchers shortly, and these will be distributed to the branches, the officials of which will have *the task of allocating them.

RATES FLUCTUATIONS BETWEEN . TWO WARS

ROAD-TRANSPORT rates have fluctuated considerably between the 1914-18 war and the present con

' filet. According to an old LiverpoolManchester rates list of 1921-22, traffic between the two cities was then carried by road vehicles at 22s. 6d. to 25s. per ton.; in pre-1939, the figure was 6s. to 7s. 6d, per ton, whilst to-day, it is around 12s. 6d, per ton.

A.R.O. APPOINTMENTS

THE following appointments are announced by Associate tt Road Operators for the year 1943-44:— Chairman: Mr. D. Richardson; vicechairmen: Messrs. A. W. Darby, A. E. Masheder, W. Showier ; bon.. treasurer: Mr. R. Hindley, F.S.A.A., F.C.I.S., F.R.Econ.S., A.M.Inst.T.

Mr. Eindley has also been appointed a vice-president of the Association.

The President, Major H. E. Crawford, A.F.C., the vice-presidents Messrs. D. Richardson, R. Hindley, A. Todd and W. W. Walton, and the vicechairmen, are members, ex officio, of the National Council and of all committees.

LIVERPOOL SUPPORT FOR NEW HAULAGE ASSOCIATION

THERE have been negotiations to secure a line-up of local transport bodies (affiliated to the National Road Transport Employers' Federation) in the proposed new road-transport organization. The bulletin of the Liverpool Cart and Motor Owners' Association reports that details of the arrangements by which the Association would become attached to the proposed Road Haulage Association have received the provisional approval of the management committee.

THIS YEAR AND NEXT AT GLASGOW

GLASGOW Transport Committee has decided to contribute £50,000 to the Common Good Fund out of the £80,294 surplus revenue on the year's working. In respect of next year the Finance Committee estimated for a surplus of £144,225 on the transport undertaking.