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COMMERCIAL MOTOR
Recognized in Business Circles as the Leading Journal.
The Authority on all forms of Mechanical Road Transport.
Largest Circulation.
Conducted by EDMUND DANGERFIELD.
IN his regular article addressed to the small haulier, S.T.R. this week considers the question of the profit to be earned, a matter which lately has been,the instigation of much correspondence between the editor
and his readers. . Page 7-0.*
MANY improvements have been incorporated in the 1928 model of a well-knowu light van. The load has been raised from 8 cwt. to 10 cwt., the body increased in capacity, whilst the price is even lower than
that of the former model. Page 78.
THE development of motorbus services in Ulster is proceeding apace, as is shown by our summary of the situation following upon the amalgamation of a number of business interests engaged in Belfast in provid
ing travelling facilities for the public. Page 81.
MLCH misapprehension occurs in connection with the preparation of returns for income tax,. many transport users having vague ideas as to what constitutes net profit and statutory income. An informative
article. in this issue deals with the whole matter.
* Page 72.
THERE are signs of resuscitation of interest in the light parcelcar. This has proved a most useful 'means for transport in many businesses, as is shown by the numbers of old models which are still on the road. We describe a new product of this type which appears to
possess much merit. Page 67.
WE continue our special article dealing with the present and future methods of spring suspension for heavy passenger and goods vehicles. The portion this week treats of the suitability or otherwise of various types of spring and, particularly, the suspension of
multi-Wheel bogies. Page 69. . , . READERS of the journal are this week discussing in the page devoted to "Opinions from Others" the question of the desirability of better brakes and brakeoperating mechanism for heavy vehicles. The subject is one of such importance that further contributions to
the discussion will be welcomed. Page 80.
• *
TRAFFIC control -along partly obstructed roads by means of signal dials electrically operated by a constable is now-„rentlered possible by the introduction by the Metropolitan Police of a new device described in our pages this week. The police desire that road users should quickly become familiar with the device and
with the meaning Of the signals. Page 79.
* . THE six-cylindered type of engine is at last beginning to make headway with the designer of commercial motor chassis--because, of course,of the powerful trend towards greater refinement and comfort which the six-wheeled type of chassis. has created. We describe two new chassis of a well-known make in which
the six-cylindered engine is employed. Page 74. Foreign Appreciation of British Rigid
frame Six-wheelers.
'VOW that the rigid-frame six-wheeled vehicle has obtained a firtri footing in commercial transport and is proving a remarkably efficient. proposition, not -only in cross-country work but also in classes of road transport _hitherto considered the essential prerogative of the fourwheeler,. it is interesting to survey what is really a remarkable achievement.
The advance of this class of transport medium has been extremely, rapid since the days when The Commercial Motor, in the face of much' opposition, conservatism and pessimism, launched its campaign in favour of a type of vehicle of which the majority of makers, and practically all. users, had hardly thought, • let alone considered, as practicable.
At the time other sections of the Press retaliated by pushing the merits for passenger transPort of the flexible or articulated machine, but after a few sporadic efforts designers decided that, whilst this type is quite satisfactory for permitting the carriage of heavy loads and affording excellent ton-mileage figures, it could not be considered as really satisfactory for passenger work. Opinions as to the merits of the rigid-frame sixwheeler have now, however, veered, round until criticism has been, in the majority of cases, turned into commendation.
Some interests had, and in one or two cases still have, doubts as to the commercial practicability of this type of machine owing to the fact that its growth in 'America, the land of its 'origin, has not been so rapid as was at first expected. This; We believe, has been mainly :due to h. tendency there to place vehicles on the Market without thoroughly trying out their capabilities, and their consequent failure in some instances ,led to the belief that the six-wheeler did not constitute an advance. On the Continent, and particularly in ,Germany, the consensus of opinion is in favour of the vehicle, but monetary considerations have prevented much research in this. direction.
We have recently received a letter from a wellknown motor manufacturer in the United States in which interesting' . comment' is made upon British design. We cannot do better than quote a • part of the letter. It is as follows " We are interested in the six-wheeled Vehicle for we feel that there are British trucks of this type manufactured which are quite a bit in advance of the engineering principles embodied in most of the American six-wheelers."
This is, in our View, a most important adtnissiou and explains why the progress in Britain of the six-wheeled type of vehicle has been much greater than in other countries. It is possible that with careful organization we may, be able to find a world market for our six-wheeled products. Already fairly large numbers have been sent overseas and are undoubtedly giving most satisfactory results ; but we should also like to see some of them running in America. We have had a great many vehicles of American manufacture brought into this country and there may here be an opportunity for some measure of reciprocity.
The Possibilities of the Low-pressure Pneumatic Tyre.
.TN almost every sphere of commercial transport the pneumatic tyre is already proving, its value by permitting the rapid carriage of passengers and goods With a great reduction in vibration and of damage to the vehicles. It might, be thought by many that we have almost reached finality in tyre equipment and that future progress will probably be more in connection with improvements in the construction of the casings to give a still longer life and freedom from failure, but there appears to be a much greater scope than this, and one most promising development is in the direction of the improvement of low-pressure pneumatic tyres : that is to say, tyres in which the normal pressure of the air will be between 40 lb. and 50 lb. per sq. in. Such a tyre will help greatly to absorb those minor vibrations which still tend to be passed on by a tyre in which the pressure may be 100 lb. or more.
It has also been proved that with a pressure still lower the tyre is given a remarkable increase in adhesion, and this is of the greatest importance where cross-country vehicles are concerned and particularly where a. vehicle may be employed both on and-off the road.
In tests of six-wheelers in soft sand some very curious and yet readily understandable effects have been observed. For instance, with a mediumload type with 36-in. by 6-in, twin tyres and no load the vehicle could hardly keep moving when the. tyres were at 60 lb. pressure; with the pressure reduced to between 15 lb. and 20 lb. the vehicle ran quite easily at 15 or 20 m.p.h., whilst with 40-in. by 8-in, single tyres at 15 lb. to 20 lb. pressure the results were even better than with 36-in. by 6-in, twin tyres at that pressure.
With a suitably constructed tyre it is possible to use a pressure of between 40 lb. and 50 lb. for road work and, temporarily, 'to lower the pressure to, say, 20 lb. when the vehicle is required to traverse soft surfaces.
The experiments made so far prove that there is here a profitable field for enterprise and experiment on the part of the tyre manufacturers, apart from the question of riding comfort: _Such tyres present the advantages that with the lower pressure there is far less likelihood of leakage and less difficulty in designing pumps, etc., to enable the lower pressure to be obtained.
B18
The Figures That Never Diminish.
A CCIDENTS on the highways of the Metropolis LL continueto increase despite the fact that greater attention is being paid to the need for such steps as will serve to prevent them. With the growth of traffic the tendency must, apparently, still be towards increase in numbers of accidents. The figures show this clearly. The accident deathrate has grown almost steadily. In 1.920 it was 638; last year it was 1,003; in the first six months of this year it was 475, with, however, four of the busiest months to run, which include the long period of the school vacation when children are. unfortunately, More liable to danger. The figures for the second quarter. of the year have just been published by the Commissioner of Police and show that 29,978 accidents occurred in the streets in that period involving 261 deaths—equal to about 3 per day. Private matorcars and motorcycles were concerned in 124, buses in 28, cabs in 8, and' trade and commercial vehicles in 80 of these casualties. The most prolific cause of fatalities among pedestrians, of whorn 317 have been killed in six months, was carelessness, classified as "passing between, behind or in front of stationary vehicles," 36; " hesitating," 50; and "playing," 24. • The moral is simple—greater care, thought and attention when on the highway—but how hard it is to secure its application and observance A Fuller Light on London Tramway Finances.
NiTHILST the impression is steadily growing V that the tramway systems of the country will steadily be displaced by. omnibus organizations, doubts are felt concerning the wisdom of destroying so extensive a system as that owned by the Landon County Council in which over seventeen millions sterling has been invested. Arguing from this standpoint many claims to relief or to concession in some form or other are urged in order that the L.C.C. system can be made more self-supporting or, if possible, profitable. The service, which last year carried 667,103,489 passengers and which enjoyed a revenue of 14,155,547, showed, according to the accounts presented by the Highways Committee, a "deficiency ". of 1275,159, and this " deficiency " is alleged partly to be due to such unfair charges as debt charges on street widenings, the cost of paving along the tramway routes and rates on the permanent way—similar charges not falling upon omnibus operating concerns. These charges for the year 1926-27 were -as follow :— Rates, £31,191; debt charges on street widenings, £30,428; cost of road maintenance, £233,500. The total of these is £295,119. It is urged that relief in respect of these items would enable the tramway undertaking to show a credit balance, whereas, at present, they constitute a drag on the undertaking. But, if we take the comparable item in the Costs of the London General Omnibus Co. we' find that the sum of no less than £475,000 has been paid in respect of licence duty on buses carrying 1,250,000 passengers per annum. When the cost of maintaining the roadway was first :imposed upon tramway undertakings the return made to them was a monopoly of the use of the rails. With such a privilege the tramways should have so developed their services that there was no room for a rival passenger-carrying system. In this they failed, but that is no justification for a relief from what are legitimate charges on the undertaking.
We would draw attention, too, to the fact that the accounts of London's tramway undertaking are prepared in a form prescribed by the Ministry of Health and not as they would be presented by the directors of -a company. Renewals, and repairs and the works of a -capital nature (totalling £250,743) should be spread over a period of years; the interest -actually paid on the amount. invested (or " debt charges,".as it is termed) being. £235,752 net, Should be regarded in the light, of a dividend and the amount paid in debt redemption, i241,257-, Is the same as a part return of capital. Separating these items from the revenue accounts we find that there is a surplus or profit on the year's working of £452,000, with which the cominittee (had it been a board of directors of a private company) has paid Interest on the capital invested and cancelled £241,257 of the capital. By charging all renewals to the accounts of the one year the "deficiency" 'mentioned. is Shown. That the undertaking is not doing at all badly is proved by the fact that of 'the total capital, outlay of L17,01.5,215 no'. less than £8,004,247 has been redeemed out of profits; the original_ debt being thus reduced by as .mucti as '47 per cent. No ground. therefore, would appear to exist for special -consideration.