EXPERIENCE TELLS IN BUS-BODYBUILDING.
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Meeting a Great Variety of Demands, a Well-known Midland Coach is able to Build to Provided Designs and to Give Sound Advice.
TBE name of the Brush Electrical Engineering Co., Ltd., of Falcon Works, Loughborough, has been 'prominent in connection with coachwork and bodybuilding since the early days of the motor movement. The company had been manufacturing all classes of rolling stock for something like half a, century and had gained an enormous amount of valuable experience in the construction of steam and electric tramcars, so that when motorbuses were first put on the road this experience, coupled with full facilities for manufacture, was of considerable help to the motorbus industry. Since the beginning of the motorbus movement the company's works have been turning out buses as well as tramcars for the' leading motorbus companies and tramways undertakings of the country; alsJ, by the way, for many transport undertakings overseas. Designs have, of course, undergone considerable modification as developments in ideas and methods of manufacture 'have advanced, and to-day it is claimed that at Loughborough the most modern facilities for rapid and efficient manufacture of bus bodies are employed hi the company's extensive workshops. The saw
mills, bodybuilding shops, paint shops, etc., are all laid, out in accordance with the best of modern practices. They are fully equipped with up-to-date machinery and appliances and, what is highly important nowadays, they hold large stocks of timber of all kinds, carefully selected by expert buyers, so that well-seasoned wood is available for all the requirements of the company. The modern-day bus operator knows full well what designs are best suited to his requirements, so that often he is in a position to produce his own designs. On the other hand, he occasionally finds it expedient to take advantage of the advice which is freely given by the technical department of the Brush Co. in connection with many points in which experience can be of assistance, and this advice is, of course, very largely called upon by bus purchasers who are new to public-service operation. Both classes of buyer are fully catered for at Loughborough, but the examples we are able to illustrate are all of vehicles which have been made to the registered designs of the British Electrical Federation, Ltd., for its federated companies.
Of the two buses for the South Wales Transport Co., Ltd. of Swansea, the siugle-deck vehicle has. its entrance at the rear end of the near side. It has a seating capacity of 32 passengers, the Seats being arranged transversely, upholstered in moquette, with the legs and back supports Of a special pressed-steel construction. Five windows on each side are arranged to drop, being provided with the L.E.F. patent windowoperating gear, the windows being of plate-glass and carried in light channelsteel frames. The Mouldings and lining on the bodywork serve to lighten up the appearance of the vehicle and to reduce the length that might be noticeable with a perfectly plain side. The interior finish is of fumed oak, the ceiling being enamelled white and the floor being covered with cork lino.
A Double-deck Bus of Minimum ' Overalt Height.
The double-deck, covered-top bus illustrated is one of the 12 which have recently been completed. The chassis is the A,E.C. 507 type arranged for forward contioL Twenty-six passengers can be seated in the lower saloon and 20 on the upper deck, making a total of 46. The seats in the lower saloon are arranged transversely, with the exception of two longitudinal seats over the wheel arches, but on the upper deck the seats are of a special bucket type, in which the passenger sits facing partly forward and partly to the side of the voltele or, roughly, at an angle of 45 degrees, because the flooring between the upper and lower saloons is formed clerestory fashion, so that the maximum amount of headroom is given to the centre gangway of the lower saloon and along the sides of the upper deck; this enables the overall height of the bus to be considerably reduced. The seats on both decks are upholstered in moquette, and all the windows in both saloons are of polished plate-glass, four on each side of the lower saloon being arranged to drop, whilst all the side windows on the upper deck can be lowered. For the Thames Valley Traction Co., Ltd., of Reading, five single-deck, rearentrance bodies have been supplied, each to seat 32 passengers, the chassis being a Tilling-Stevens B.0.-type arranged for forward control, the driver's cab beside the engine being quite enclosed. All the spas are upholstered in real leather. The five plate-glass windows on each side are of the frameless pattern operated by a strap.
Bringing the Entrance Forward.
The 30-seater bus illustrated, bearing the name of the Barnsley and District Traction Co., Ltd., is one_of, 16 similar vehicles recently supplied, each being mounted on a chassis of the Leyland Lion type. The entrance is specially erranged in the side of the body towards
the front, being provided with a special design of folding door. Special semibucket seats are provided, upholstered in antique brown leather. The five drop windows on each side are, again, of the B.11.F. steel-framed pattern glazed with. plate-glass.
'Yet another of the registered designs of the British Electrical Federation is shown in the bus built for the Diminghens and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. Sixty-five of these have recently been built, and they have followed the lines of the well-known S.O.S. bits (200 bodies of which were built by the Brush Co.), with this difference however: that the driver is seated in an enclosed cab beside the engine, and the seating capacity is increased from 31 to 34 passengers. The bodies are of a sPecial lightweight construction, having frameless plate-glass drop windows operated by strap along each side. It will be remembered that in an article by Mr. Wyndham Shire we described the ideal type of bus which the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., is aiming for.
We have merely picked out five types of vehicle made for one particular group of bus operators, and these will give some idea of the activities of the Brush Co. in regard to some of the larger purchasersof motorbus bodies, but many other types are made for both purchasers who Operate either large or small fleets of vehicles, and the owner of even the smallest bus undertaking will find that his requirements can be met by the Brush CO. just AS well as can those of the larger concerns.