The Motor Omnibus World.
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A Romford Experiment.
The offer which was made through our columns, in respect of a subscriber who had a motorbus available for service, has resulted in the placing of the vehicle in question, a large Clarkson steamer, in service from Romford to Squirrel's heath, Emerson Park, Hornchurch, and back to Romford. By an amusing slip, " The Romford Recorder " states that " It is a heavy vehicle, weighing some 17 tons." A correspondent from the Romford district writes to assure us that Romford " will welcome motorbuses as heartily as it rejected electric trams some time ago, as the streets are rather narrow."
An Extraordinary Riot.
Near Mile End Gate, on Saturday afternoon last, yet another instance was provided of the manner in which a crowd may be carried away by an erroneous idea. A motorbus driver had the misfortune to run over and kill a little girl, whereupon the spectators, evidently losing their balance at the sight of the mutilated remains, set upon the driver and conductor of the vehicle, and subsequently attacked other motorbuses. The crowd rapidly swelled in numbers, and a considerable force of police was on duty for some hours before the disturbance calmed down. A number of buses had their windows smashed, but all evidence of trouble had disappeared by Monday.
A Question of Obstruction.
An interesting point was raised at the Acton Police Court, on the 20th May, when a motor omnibus driver, Thos. Samuel Gagecole, was summoned for allowing his vehicle to stand in High Street, Acton, so as to cause an obstruetion, contrary to the Motor Cars (Use and Construction) Order, 1904. The chain became detached front the bus, and a fitter, whose services were requisitioned by the driver, had remedied the defect half-an-hour after the conveyance had been stopped, but a police constable thought that the obstruction would have been more quickly removed had his advice been followed, and a lorry been obtained from the garage sonic Goo yards away for the removal of the bus. The magistrates, however, dismissed the summons, without calling upon the defence, holding that Gag-ecole had done his best to remove the obstruction quickly.
A Steam-propelled De 'Dion.
Mr. Frank Searle, the chief engineer of the L.G.O. Company, is well known to be a staunch and able advocate of the merits of steam-propelled vehicles for public service, and it is principally owing La his firm action in the matter of the retention of the Clarkson steamers in his company's service that he has been able conclusively to prove that, when well handled, the running results of this type can be shown to compare more than favourably with petrol-driven vehicles. Mr. Searle has further demonstrated his faith in steam, and has designed a new type, which is
now under construction and will be delivered about the end of the present month. He has succeeded in combining the recognised lightness and strength of the De Dion-type chassis with the simplicity and reliability of the Lune Valley boiler and Clarkson engine : the whole chassis and body will come out at about one ton lighter than any existing petrol type excluding the De Dion, the outward appearance of which the new chassis will very closely resemble. The adaptation is being carried out at Chelmsford, under the direction of Mr. Thomas Clarkson.
" K.T." and " Reilioc " Tests.
A most interesting demonstration of the non-slipping qualities of certain forms of rubber tires was given, on Friday last, at the Albany Street depot of the Vanguard Company, before the representative of the police, the engineers and directors of the Vanguard and General Companies, and a number of gentlemen interested. The result of the tests amply proved that a highly. efficient deterrent against slip and skid can he provided in the tire itself, and that without the aid of any mechanical additions or contrivances whatever: Fortunately, the forms of tires employed are comparatively cheap in construction and maintenance, corn
paring not unfavourably in these respects with the familiar continuousband type ; they do not add anything in the matter of noise, or detract from tie comfort of travellers in the vehicles to which they are fitted.
Two types of tires were on this occasion tested, viz., the " K.T.," which is now becoming fairly well known to those interested in mechanical trans
port, and the " Reilloc." It may at once be said that the garage floor had been prepared in the best manner • calculated to entertain those who derive amusement from the gyrations of vehicles on grease. The bus fitted with the " K.T." tires was first tried, and was found more than equal to the artificial stimulus and momentum imparted to the vehicle they shod; under the very worst conditions, it slid only a foot or so, nor could all the efforts of various drivers, encouraged by the fact that the tire company guaranteed the bus, garage, etc., against damage, cause it to move in any way that might have been considered dangerous.
• The " Reilloe " tires could not be so effectively tried, as the front wheels of the bus were fitted with plain tires-, and these slipped about •so badly as to prevent the drivers from getting any speed out of the bus; but the general effect was such as to afford sufficient indication of their non-slipping qualities.
To finish off, a courageous person drove a bus fitted with ordinary tires once round, but, as the tire people in this case absolutely refused responsibility, it was thought best, after a few figures of eight had been cut, to terminate this portion.
If the police will only regard the initial efforts of manufacturers of the particular type of tires mentioned with a little sympathy and encouragement, we venture to predict that not a few of the serious accidents caused at present through skidding must cease, whilst at the same time the operating companies will be allowed to avail themselves of tires that will be found very reliable and durable in running.
The illustrations on the preceding page show the component parts of an electric vehicle motor which is supplied object of obtaining a high torque per ampere. Two such motors form the equipment for a 34-seated accumulatordriven bus, and the weight of each is 3S511). The compact appearance of such
Lowering the Water Pipes.
At the meeting of the Metropolitan Water, _Board on Friday last, it was reported, in connection with the laying of mains in the Western district, that it had been found necessary to provide a greaterdepth of concrete consequent on _motorbus traffic. As a result of this, and the construction of tramways necessitating considerable alterations and extra cost in reinstating wood pavement, an additional amount of -/;8,15o would be required to complete the work beyond the sum already voted of L27,987.
A Yorkshire Production.
Messrs. A. Blackburn and Company, of Toft's Mills, Cleckheaton, has, for some time past, been engaged in the production of chassis for light vans, chars-A-bancs, buses, and dog-carts. These chassis are fitted with either two-. cylinder inh.p. or four-cylinder 2oh.p., motors. The cylinders are four inches in diameter, and the piston-stroke is four and a half inches. We illustrate, on this page a 2oh.p. " dog-cart " which was built by these makers. We are informed by a user of one of these vehicles that he has run it for the last 17 months, carrying passengers to and from a market town in Carmarthenshire, and that, during the time, it has covered 15,000 miles without giving any trouble, so far as the engine or transmission gear is concerned. The Motorbus Committee of the Eastbourne Corporation has deferred the matter of purchasing an additional four Motorbuses.
The Trial at Haslingden.
The Haslingclen Council estimates that it will require to vote 4250, which is equivalent to a penny rate, to subsidise its motorbus service for the current year, but that a much greater loss would have been experienced had electric traction been adopted.
Manchester Licenses.
We still await word as to the decision in regard to the licensing of motorbuses on the application of Mr. W. Stanway, the Manchester agent of the Ryknield Motor Company. An interesting correspondence has been proceeding in the local papers, and the general feeling is that a reasonable trial should be allowed. " The Manchester Courier," in quoting our statement of the i4th ultimo that motorbuses " need not be horrible, and generally are not," expresses regret that Manchester has not yet had the pleasure and advantage of seeing more of a satisfactory kind, Alleged Damage to Property.
A Shepherd's Bush correspondent has written to "The Daily Mail" and stated that, as a consequence of motorbus traffic down his road, the walls of his kitchen "show large gaps." We have no knowledge of where this house is situated, but we can only conclude that it is of the jerry-built variety and we would venture to enquire whether the walls are of that nature which, when new, allow a lighted match to be seen through them? Is it not going a little too far to suggest that the faults of the speculative builder should be laid at the door of the motorbus'? Too often are the real causes, both fundamental and contributory, overlooked when a motorbus is available for ready blame, and we protest against such unfair accusations.
The Traffic Department.
VANGUARD.----" No. 4 " service, on the 3oth ultimo, was extended to Wormwood Scrubs, Wood Lane having been re-opened for traffic. The route previously terminated at Shepherd's Bush, and extended from Herne Hill to Uxbridge Road, via Brixton, Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney and Hammersmith.
A Misunderstanding.
The Motor Union recently issued a circular to the effect that it intended to oppose the proposals of the Burnley Corporation for the erection of tramcar waiting-rooms. This action, apparently, was taken in the erroneous belief that such waiting-rooms were to encroach upon the high road. Had the Burnley Bill been more carefully scrutinised, it would have been observed that power was taken to purchase land for the specific purpose of erecting these waiting-rooms, and it is satisfactory, from whatever standpoint the matter is viewed, to know that the general manager of the Burnley Corporation Tramways, Mr. Henry Mozley, has no intention to allow obstructions to be placed on the highway in this connection.
Cutting Fares.
We hope the announcement of reduced fares, which we reported in our last issue, does not portend a relapse into the old ways of strife and rancour. Co-operation is better than cut-throat competition, as has been proved time and again in shipping circles, If one company is frozen out, the survivors are impoverished, and new organisations come along in all the freshness which attaches to those who can follow a struggle without old plant or depleted reserves. We refuse to believe that anything more than a reasonable adjustment is contemplated,and,of course, the repeated and self-laudatory announcements of the Electrobus Company can be regarded as so much advertisement for itself, to which nobody can object.
Mexican Services.
Our American contemporary " The Commercial Vehicle," in the current number, states : " April to was the date set for the starting of a service in, Mexico City by the Mexico City Motor Cab and Omnibus Company organised under American laws, but whose stockholders are all representative business. men of the Mexican capital. The service is to consist of ten English buses, of the latest Straker-Squire pattern,. 35 horse-power, seating thirty passengers, and lighting made by acetylene gas, and twenty-five landaulet cabs fitted with taximeters. The first of the buses arrived in March, with four others on the water, and five more to. be shipped as soon as possible. The first line of buses runs on a regular schedule, between Zocalo and Catania. Roma, passing through Colonia Juarez.
Traffic at Hendon.
Hendon District Council is very anxious to secure extended omnibus. travelling facilities. It has made overtures to the Underground Electric Railways Company and the Midland Railway Company, with regard to. omnibus services to and from central Hendon. The Midland Railway Corn-pany has declined to run omnibuses be-tween its station and central Hendon, nor is it prepared to subsidise any other such undertaking. in regard to desired omnibus accommodation between Hendon and the Hampstead Tube station, the Tube Company has informed the Council that, although it would bewilling to provide ample facilities for the convenience of residents in Hendon, not more than an average of 30 per cent, of the seats on the omnibuses now running between "The Bell " and
Golder's Green are occupied. The company, which has announced that the matter will be carefully watched, has now received further suggestions from the Council. It is advised, in some quarters, that the District Council should itself run a " " of buses.