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Bird's eye view by the Hawk

4th October 1968, Page 44
4th October 1968
Page 44
Page 44, 4th October 1968 — Bird's eye view by the Hawk
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

* Uphill task

A good passenger demand exists for the bus service that climbs the steep side of the Great Orme, the 670ft bastion that shelters the North Wales resort of Llandudno. Because of the severity of the ascent the Ministry has always insisted upon the provision of a sprag gear, so that special rolling stock has to be provided for the route. Since its institution in 1951 two Foden passenger chassis with luxury coach bodies have been employed but I learn from E. G. Woodyatt, manager of Llandudno UDC transport department, that these vehicles are going into honourable retirement. When I spoke to him a fortnight ago Mr. Woodyatt was just getting ready to try out one of the two specially fitted Dennis Pax buses, with service bodies, that will replace the veterans. By this time the new units should be in operation.

* Texas touch

Can yOu picture the police in a British port laying on a motorcycle escort for a party of visiting journalists and rushing them from point to point like a presidential parade? No, neither can I; but they do these things differently on the Continent.

The two coachloads of international transport journalists visiting Antwerp last week to see the port facilities were at first astonished, and then hilariously delighted, to find that they had an escort of police motorcyclists who, with sirens blaring and lights flashing, whipped the coaches all about the city and port at high speed and with absolute priority they over-rode red traffic lights, held up all other traffic left and right and waved unfortunate motorists into the side of the road to make a clear passage for the coaches.

Grinned one of the official guides: "This is what we call the Texas touch. Today, the police enjoy their work."

So did the visitors—but perhaps it's best not to inquire about the reactions of the locals!

* Two in one

A new newspaper for drivers has just dropped on to my desk. It is the first edition of Drivers' Mirror, a quarterly publication for members of the Commer /Karrier Drivers' Club and the Dodge Drivers' Club, and replaces the two separate journals which formerly catered for these clubs.

And the new paper gets a special word of praise from The Hawk for not being too parochial. It is a very sensible mix of domestic and personal news and features, and items designed to widen the driver's horizons. One feature which is likely to stimulate some controversial replies is a competition to assess the most desirable features of a lorry cab; and two of the items to be voted on are cab radio and a cigarette lighter.

On the face of it, a cab radio is a good thing, especially if the BBC's Night Ride and other programmes can help drivers with news of weather and traffic conditions. But I know some operators tried cab radios but abandoned them because of the temptation for drivers to sit in a layby listening to the afternoon sporting programmes—especially racing,

* Mails by bus

All this talk about firstand second-class mails reminds me of one area of service the Postmaster-General won't want to know about. Until the last war Huddersfield trams and some trolley buses used to carry letter boxes. This enabled a later despatch than the final GPO collections which were of course, much later than today's, anyway.

E. V. Dyson, head of Huddersfield Corporation Transport, who is retiring next February, can recall those days with ease— he started at Huddersfield in 1924. He has held appointments in Rangoon, South Shields, then Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield Board, Rotherham and Warrington—then returned to base.

* Tram lunches

In the tramway era neighbouring Bradford offered another service that has disappeared with the passing of the years. Those were days before factory canteens and, where men were working at mills near the tram route, their wives would pack a portion of the family dinner in a basin and put it on the front platform of a particular tram. Trayloads of basins would be collected by the mill's teaboy when the appropriate stop was reached.

The service cost 3d per person per week and I have been told that at one time it brought in a revenue of £400 a year.

*Barcelona `bunfighe

I hear that an export contract won by Highway Trailers (Great Britain) Ltd. led to an unexpected 34-hour paella banquet and flamenco dancing at the Barcelona factory of Technimecanica Norma, S.A., recently.

When a group of Highway employees who were planning a camping holiday in Spain heard of the export contract a few weeks before leaving by coach for Spain they asked their managing director, Mr. J. D. McGregor, if arrangements could be made for them to visit the Barcelona factory. Responding warmly, the Spaniards sent a coach and interpreter to a camp 40 miles away, and specially opened their factory, officially closed for holidays.

Ted Hillier, a driller at Highway Trailers, who led the party, presented his hosts with a letter of greeting from Alderman H. L. Davies, Mayor of Southampton, together with a plaque featuring the company's emblem and an album of the different trailers they manufacture.

* Strange bedfellows

Diversification on occasions makes strange bedfellows. All the same there is surely something appropriate in the latest news from Ronald Perham. For some time Mr. Perham has been seeking a suitable British Manufacturer for the Shark rotating refuse collection body and now I hear agreement has been reached with Cammell Laird, best known as Merseyside shipbuilders.

What my dictionary describes as the "voracious sea fish" are often pictured as following ships but this must be the first time that a mechanical Shark has penetrated into the shipyards. The work is to be carried out by Carmel] Laird (Anglesey) Ltd. at Beaumaris.


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