A PASSENGER-VEHICLE OPERATING COMPANY'S PASSENGER CHASSIS.
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Tlih BRISTOL TRAMWAYS and Carriage Co., Lo., Tramway Centre, Bristol, have had considerable experience of passenger-vehicle operation, and the 3-4 ton vehicle which
emanates from their works, when put on the market some 12 months ago, was designed primarily for passenger work, although it is eminently suitable as a 4 ton lorry.
For the forthcoming Show, three machines are to be exhibited, these being a 29-seater saloon bus, a 4 ton lorry with a drop-sided body, and a 4 ton stripped chassis, whilst a gearbox with electric motor drive, showing the method of gear changing, will be demonstrated.
The Bristol chassis is a very sound engineering job, and it combines strength with lightness of construction, whilst simplicity of design is an outstanding feature. The engine has four cylinders of 4 in. bore and 5g in. stroke. It develops 40 b.h.p. at 1,400 r.p.m. ; the cylinders are cast in pairs, and are of the L-headed type. Thermo-syphonic water circulation is employed, and the cooling effect is aided by a gilled tubular type radiator, which is spring-mounted on the frame. For lubrication a gear pump driven off the camshaft by means of a spiral gear is employed, which delivers oil to troughs under the connecting rods. The engine is three-point suspended, being slung from a stamped steel engine bearer at the front end.
A Ferodo-lined single-plate dry clutch is employed, and it conveys the drive to a four-speed-and-reverse gearbox, which is situated amidships, and supported at four points by brackets bolted into the channels of the side-members. A worm odometer drive is provided within the box.
The change-speed operating mechanism, which forms the subject of a patent, is of novel construction, necessitating the use of one external rod only. From the gearbox the drive is taken to the overhead worm-driven rear axle through the medium of a tubular propeller shaft provided with two leather disc universal joints. The back axle is a strong, pot-type steel casting, the worm and differential gears being held by the axle cover in the usual manner. The wheelbase of the chassis is 14 ft. 6 ins., the wheel track being 6 ft. 1 ins. The body of the Bristol bus is a wellfinished production, and is well worthy of inspection by .all those interested in passenger vehicle operation. The Bristol chassis provides ample evidence of a complete understanding of the arduous conditions under which buses and coaches operate.