The Motor Drivers News. ,
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Dignity and Impudence.
" A.B." (Swanmore) sends this communication on the 1st instant :—" Some time ago two of us were sent to fetch an old 34h.p. Benz car to the shop to be overhauled. After a couple ot hours' struggling we managed to start the engine, and started on our nve-mile return journey at the by no means excessive speed of three miles per hour. The car had been laid up and neglected for a long time, and it was, consequently, very dirty. Our work on the car had made us resemble IL, inasmuch as we were in a deplorable state from the old oil and dirt with which it was covered, About half way on our journey we came across a magnificent car standing by the roadside, with the bonnet off and the chauffeur adjusting the engine. Seated in the tonneau were two fashionably-dressed ladies and a gentleman. As we passed my mate, with the true freemasonry of the road, shouted out, ' Shall we take you in tow?' The ladies failed to see the humour and looked indignant, but the gentleman laughed heartily."
Use Care when Filling Petrol Tanks.
" J.K." (Gateshead) writes On Saturday night last, after my mate and myself had got into the garage with our two parcel delivery vans, my mate commenced to Jill up the tank with petrol; the tank is underneath the driver's seat, and he accidentally upset some petrol on the footboard, and it ran through on to the exhaust pipe, which is immediately below it. I was attending to my own van, when I heard a report of an explosion, so I at once looked round, and, to my astonishment, I saw the tank enveloped in flames. My mate at once ran and got the fire extinguisher, which was close at hand, and I struck the concussion knob to set the apparatus in operation. The extinguisher is a six-gallon size, and it did the necessary work of putting out the flames before it was half empty, and before any damage was done to the woodwork. If the extinguisher had not been handy at the time a serious fire might have been the result. I may say that my friend and myself do not intend to fill up with petrol again until we have been in the garage at least 1(1 minutes, and I should advise all drivers of petrol vans and cars, when the tanks are situated in the same place as ours, to do the same. One cannot be too careful when replenishing the petrol tank on a vehicle, and serious fires have been known to occur from the fact that the operator, when emptying the can, was smoking a cigarette."
Are London Drivers Slovenly in Appearance?
" W.S.C." (Wolverhampton) sends this letter :—" I am a motorbus driver and mechanic, and I think one of the hest to be such. I started in private service, and I am now driving motor omnibuses in a small, but not unimportant, provincial town. It has not been my luck to have had the opportunity of visiting London for a year, but my chance came, however, a short time ago, for a run up to town for a week. Needless to say, I found a great change in the appearance of the streets and the types of vehicles plying on them. There is a very noticeable increase in the number of motor vehicles; drays, lorries, buses, and private cars_
" The object of this letter is, however, to let you know my impressions, and to offer a suggestion. Perhaps, out of force of habit, while in London, I took particular notice of the motorbus drivers, their driving, their general appearance, and the condition (clean or otherwise) of the front of their buses. I am sorry to say that, with only a few exceptions,
I found neither the driver, nor his bus, as smart as I should have liked. I know it is not an easy matter for a bus driver to keep himself smart without some care, but it can be done, and we have to do it where I work. The look of the motorbus drivers made me ask myself the question : " Are we motor drivers allowing ourselves, as a class of men, to become a degenerated and slovenly lot ? ' It struck me most forcibly that this is really what it amounts to. Do you not think that if the drivers kept themselves, or were kept,. smarter, and cleaner, the public would not be so down on us? As is well-known, appearance goes a long way nowadays in nearly everything. It would not be a very big item in the expense were the motorbus companies to provide some sort of suitable overall, smock, or uniform for their drivers, and to insist upon their being worn. I do not think any driver would object to this rule being made, as, considering what it would save him in clothes, it would make it worth his while to wear his company's cloth, and not only that, in addition, his employers would have the satisfaction of having men an their vehicles that looked as though they belonged to a good service."
Some Ideas for a Motor Drivers' Society.
" T.D." (Keighley) sends us this letter :—" I noticed, a month or two ago, a few letters relating to an intimation that a motor drivers' association was being founded to aid motor drivers in their occupa tion. I am constantly asked by many drivers if any association was being founded to aid motor drivers in their occupation. I ant also often asked by many drivers if any move is being made in this matter. I, along with many more drivers, in the North Country, are anxious to become members, at the earliest opportunity, as a great amount of regrettable ill-feeling is making itself felt between the employers and their drivers in some of the northern districts. The hours are very long, and the pay is small. I know of two large firms in one town who have combined to reduce their motor drivers' wages, and this, to my mind, is a selfish commercial scandal. Another instance of unfair dealings: an employer, whose driver had got an offer of a better, easier, and cleaner job with an increase of wages of 7s. per week more than he had with this firm, demanded his return, under the threat that no business would be given to the new firm if they persisted in keeping this driver in their employment. :Consequently, the man lost his occupation, and his old firm offered to take him back, and to raise his wages to the same amount that he was then getting. The driver accepted these terms, but when pay day came. no rise was forthcoming, and after a complaint was made he was told he would have to be cOntent with what he had; being a married man, with a family, he had to submit or be out of work, Is it not time something was done to cornpet better wages and working conditions? I am quite convinced that the only way to get these alterations is to unite and join hands, inasmuch as employers unite to hold their own, and I have no doubt that we as motor drivers will be successful. J should like to offer the promoters of this society a few hints for its successful working : (1) that all intending members send in their names to the promoters. at once; (2) that such intending members be asked to contribute a small donation towards expenses, such as correspondence, printing, postage, and incidental expenses, which, no doubt would meet with a good response; (3) that no, driver be admitted with less than two months' driving experience. Other rules to be formed in a trade union spirit, and our motto might be Defence not defiance.' No doubt other subscriptions would be given by trades unions by making an appeal, and any MONT in the matter made by our Londori drivers will receive the appreciation of North Country motor men. I wish the promoters every success, and I hope to see in 'THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR,' before long, that this society is floated and that facilities are offered to intending members for joining."
Careful Driving. " \V. H." (London) asks us to insert this letter :—" With reference to the number of accidents that have occurred recently, by the steering gear of commercial vehicles giving way, I should like to make a few remarks on the subject. Some of these accidents have never been accounted .for, and, on exanlination of the particular part of the vehicle, experts have found no flaw in the materials which have been used. It has often occurred to me, after going into the details of this matter, that a great number of the accidents are caused by the negligence of the driver in releasing his hold of the steering wheel, a practice which I and others have noticed daily. I was riding myself behind a wagon the other day, and saw the driver deliberately take his hands off the steering wheel, and strike a match to light a cigarette with, leaving his front wheels free to conic in contact with any obstacle, or uneven part of the road, which at any time might cause a serious disaster. Apart from this, there are, and will be, cases where a driver might be taken with a sudden illness, fit, or sunstroke, and becoming unconscious at his post. Now, coming to the point concerning this practice : we have not had one of our motor engineers who ever went into this subject and invented something that would stop the wagon in case of a sudden accident of this kind. I should like to say that I have an invention, which consists of an electrical appliance (cheap to construct), and this ready to be placed upon the market ; it can be affixed to any steering wheel, and in the event of any driver taking his hands from the wheel, the engine would stop by cutting out the electrical current, thereby causing the engine itself to act as a brake. At the same time, an electric gong will ring near the conductor, who would be on the alert to render assistance or, if in the case of the latest Ryknield omnibus, he would have sole control from his position by applying his emergency brake."
Attention to Brakes.
" (Glasgow) sent the followingon the 29th
ultimo :—" I do not think that, taking them as a whole, drivers of motor vehicles give enough care to the proper adjustment of the brakes belonging to their vehicles. Steam wagon drivers are the worst offenders in this respect, the reason being, I suppose, that they rely upon the reverse to pull them up when they pre in a tight corner. The brake blocks are often allowed to wear down so thin that the necessary adjustment ca'nnot be made, with the consequence that, although the brake handle can be turned until the maximum movement of the nut has been made on the screw, the blocks are not brought hard up against the tires. 1.\'hy is this sort of thing allowed to go on? It is all very well to rely upon the reverse, but, surely, it would be better to keep the proper brakes in working order. Personally, I take the greatest care with my own wagon, and always fix hard wood slabs upon the blocks when they have worn down half an inch or so. This plan is a very simple one, and it can be done in a few minutes by any ordinary man. In some steam wagons the cross-bar, to which the blocks are attached, is a bar of wood, and this frequently becomes bent inwards at the
centre after some months of use. It is really better to
replace the wooden bar by a light steel channel, which will be found to stand the strain better, and to be less clumsy. Sometimes the " hangers " are not placed far enough buds, which results in the blocks always rubbing against the tk-es, as the wheels revolve, with the consequent useless wearing away of the blocks. Other points, which do not receive the attention they should, are the screws and nuts by which the. several parts are adjusted. These should always be kept clean and in a well-oiled state, because if they are allowed to rust up it is a difficult matter to move them, as, in some cases, the thread of the screw on the cross-bar actually rusts away, the result being that the screw becomes useless,. and a new one has to be fitted in its place."
A Literary Effort!
" A.I3. " (Fulham) writes :—" As a motorbus driver who. daily encounters cabmen, I enclose this obituary notice. I think it would be appreciated by motorbus men—
Cain after cursing was a cabman made,
And that curse for ever has rested with his trade ;
Bullying and beer has marked its course, May it now cease for fare and horse : Eden our streets without you, pestering prowler ; Now dawns your doom, you Hansom Growler.
[From the above it will be seen that the life of a motorbus driver is not always full of care, but that he may, at times, give way to his poetic ( I ) feelings.— ED..'
How to "Time" an Engine.
" W.B." (Plymouth) writes us :—" Some time ago one of the readers of the Drivers News asked for instructions as. to the best way of timing a four-cylinder engine, fitted with magneto ignition. I, therefore, send the following plan,. which I have found to be successful :—First of all make a pointer—see illustration—from a piece of tin, and fix this vertically over the centre of the fly-wheel. Then get a piece of stiff wire, about 18 inches long, and pass it down the compression cock of No. i cylinder. After doing this pull the engine round until the compression stroke is arrived at— note that both valves are shut. To find the top of the piston stroke make a mark on the wire a little above what you think is the top of the stroke, turn the engine round until this mark is level with the top of the compression cock, then make a chalk mark opposite the pointer on the flywheel : turn the engine back, which will have the effect of raising the wire, and keep turning the engine until the wireagain sinks to the same mark. Make a second chalk mark upon the fly-wheel beneath the pointer ; when this has been done find the centre between the two chalk marks, and form a permanent datum point with a chisel, and afterwards mark the point C ' : this is the dead centre, or top of • piston stroke. Turn the engine until the datum mark is opposite the pointer, and drop the wire down on to the piston's head again ; mark this height on the wire, and also. make a second one about 7-16ths inch above the first one. Again put the wire against the piston and turn the engine backwards until the upper mark on the wire is level with the top of the compression cock : this is the position of the piston when the explosion commences. A good mark should now be made on the fly-wheel, and it should have 7-16 ist punched beside it for future reference. The next operation is to set the magneto and the plug. The revolving armature
should be inch from the point where it leaves the filed shoesnote that the armature is travelling from the point. The plug should be just starting to pull off' (the fly-wheel and armature being still in the same position), and be careful to see that the outside tappet is just clear of the trip rod. This operation completes the timing of' No. i ' cylinder, and No. 2 r can be taken in hand. It will be found that the first mark on the fly-wheel will be correct for No. 3 cylinder, and that the' No. a 'mark will be suitable for cylinder ' No. 4.' The datum points on the fly-wheel can always be used for future reference."