TESTING THE GIANT PNEUMATIC.
Page 8
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
TEE GOODYEAR TYRE and Rubber Co. (Great Britain), Ltd., conducted some interesting, testa the ether day on a threeton A.E.C. lorry shod with Goodyear giant pneumatic tyres. The vehicle carried aloact of three-tons, and the body and chassis together -weighed 4 tons 4 cwt., .givitig a total weight. of 7 tons 4 cwt. The original irtention of the company was to run this vehicle from their offices in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.C., to Maidenhead, checking the petrol consumptien,• to carry out some test,s with the machine on unmade roads and soft ground, and then to replace the pneumatic-tyred wheels by others. fitted with ordinary. solids-, and, after testing theseunder eamilar conditions, to return from Maidenhead, again checking the petrel consumption with the solid tyres fitted. Unfortunately, owing to the extreme softness of the ground over which the vehicle was tried alter it had arrived at 1114idenhead, and the limited time at the disposal of the, Press representatives
c14
assembled for the teats, it was found impossible to carry out that part of the programme connected with the -testing of the solid tyres, and the teats could not, therefore, be comparative.
A start, was made from Shaftesbury Avenue at 10.50 tam., and for the first 11 miles 15 pateseeg,ers were carried, in addition to the three ton dead load. Throughout the journey -the roads were in a greasy condition, being covered with a thin film of .greasy mud, but in spite of the fact that speeds up to 35 m.p.h. were attained, no signs of akidding were observed, even though the vehicle sometimes swung round curves which, in the case of solid tyres, would inevitably have caused serious skids. The riding comfort also proved exceptionally good, and even pasSing over a level crossing at speed did not prove, uncomfortable.
For a part of the distance we were accompanied by a pnettmatic-t,yred charit-bancs, and when this was in front of the van it was interesting to note the way in which the rear wheels kept to
the ground with the 'vehicle -travelling
at a high speed. • Measured by the speedometer, the distance to Maidenhead :proved to be 29 miles, and the coosuroptien of petrol was exactly four gallons, giving amileage
capacity per gallen of 734. This' gave figures of 56 ton miles p-sr gallon gross,' or 254 ton miles per gallon .net, useful -load. The time taken for the 29 miles was n hours.
Some tests were carried out with a 40 in. by 8 in. tyre on the rear of the char-a-banes to find out the time taken to deflate and inflate this, and the distance which the wheel dropped during the first process. With the valve plunger completely out, it took 41 minutes to deflate the tyre, the -drop from full inflation to . the. flat tyre amounted to 5 ins. exactly, and the time taken to inflate the tyre to a pressure of 120 lb. per square inch, using the engine-driven pump, was 10 minutes. It would have been loSs than this, but for a bad connection.
PASSENGER TRAFFIC.
Midland Authorities in Favour of Development of Bus System.
RECENT utterances of ntembera ofseveral local governing authorities have afforded significant evidence of a growing volume of public opinion in Midland districtes in favour of motorbuses as affording flexible Means of communication in contrast to rigid line& of tramway traffic. The matter has again arisen in the Nottingham area in connection with the Corporation's project for the eatenaim of its tramway system to 'the ettburban territory of Beeeton, the majority of whose council representatives, when originally invited, declined td countenance the municipal plan, upon the score that it was designed as a lever in support Of the city's ultimate annexation aims. That contingency having been removed, for a time, at any rate, from the possibility of realization, through the veto impoeed by the Government authorities upon the extension scheme, the N•ottinghaite-toBeeaton tramway proposal has been revived. It has led, however, to the suggestion that the Corporation might be well advised to consider the better alterdative facilities :afforded by motorbus traction.
Mr. W. Thomas, chairrnaesof the Beesten Urban District Council, has given prominence to his view that having regard to the cost of establishing' tram routes, the provision of a bus system maY be preferable, and, in favour of this, there is the consideration that many parts of the extra municipal area might thereby be much more effectively served. Rut in the present attitude of the Nottingham TramwaysCommittee, which hae hitherto looked somewhat askance at bus projects, there seems no immediate prospect of the realization of the idea which has been advanced by the chairman of the neighbouring authority. The fact remains, however,, that the Corporation, in its pursuance generally of a policy antagonistic to bue traffic, is mathtesting its adherence to objections which are based upon fallacious economical grounds, certain inconclusive.notione having been accepted to the exclusion of obviously clear considerations. - Meanwhile, there is welcome evidenee forthcoming from other Midland areas of the fatuity of the Nottingham Gorporation policy which ie being perpetuated ,upon ,the assumption that buses represent an unremtmerative proposition. The colliery districts and others contiguous to the city are being exploited 'with success in the development of bus traction by undertakings, which derive no financial support from municipal resources, and the obvious illustration as to possibilities appears to have been-neglected by those who are responsible for the administration of the city's affairs
There are paying routes in abundance, as potential feeders ,of the tramway system, of which those -who are concerned in the control of arrangements appear to have taken little cognizance, albeit, under 'the pressure of opinion, exercised in the form of interrogatories at recent council meetings, there seerne to be less disposition than formerly entirely to ignore essential considerations.
Meanwhile, ender a heavy, handicap as to increased working expenses, the Trent Motor Co., which has been the pioneer of hes traffic in the Notts. and Derbyshire -districts, is pursuing its commendable enterprise' to which a stimulus has been afforded by public encouragement follow hag upon flagrantly inadequate railway facilities. It was the customary practice, at times not far remote front the present period, for local authorities•to apply to the Derby,1Nlarylebone, or King s Cross power, representing the Midland' Great Central, and Great Northern systems, by which the Notte. and Derbyshire areas are mainly served, for relief from obvious difficulties, but with a plentiful recurrence of stereotyped offisial replies of the usual discouraging order the task has been abandoned as hopeless, and, as far as purely local requirements are concerned, attention is being increas
ingly directed the development of bus •• .• sere Ices.
The tramway undertaking, which began its operations under the chairmanship of Lord Chilston, in areas radiating from Nottingham into Derbyshire, With Ripley. and Heanor as the Main objectives, has worked a complete revolution in arrangements affecting communication with a great network of colliery districts. Excellent asthis tramway service his proved, however, it leaves a considerable number of growing townships untouched.
MANCHESTER TRAFFIC.
Trams Responsible for Much of the Present-day Congestion.
MANCHESTER'S traffic problems are discussed in an interesting manner by the Manchester Guardian. Apparently the state of congestion in the city is not only bad but becoming worse, and
the increase in. the number of street accidents is viewed with alarm. The matter is being considered by a joint committee of road users and Corporation representatives. Many suggestions for the improvement in the state of affairs have been put forward, but opposition to ' all of them is met with in one form or another by the parties interested. It is pointed out that much of the danger exists owing to the varying speeds of
the different vehicles; by separating the m ec h aruica I ly -driven from the nursedrawn vehicles not only would the roads become safer but the whole traffic could be speeded up:
The teams are Maimed for muc.h of the.
congestion, and it has been suggested that all "request stops" should be abolished. In one quarter it was even suggested that trams should be excluded from all congealed areas between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Naturally such a drastic proposal did not meet with approval. -With a view to increasing the safety of the streete the City Council is anxious for Parliamentary powers to hold up all traffic whilst passengers are entering or alighting from tramcars. It is realized that this will make the streets safer, but at the same thne slow the traffic, and add considerably to the congestion.
Just before the:war a reportwas is
sued by the Chief 'Constable and Chairman Of the Watch Committee, in which the following suetestiOns were put farward :—The widening oketreets and creation of new ones ; tiler construction of foot bridges, subways, and rapid transit lines; the diversion of traffic and limitation of the use of certain streets; a speed limit; • and meansfor the rapid removal of broken-down vehicles. Stepsmay also be taken to prohibit the loading and unloadingof vehicles in busy thoroughfares; It eeems to be a most complicated state of affairs, and rendered worse by the fact that many of the regulations for the speeding up of traffic will not necessarily render the streets any safer and vice versa.
NEW TAXATION.
Middlesex Council and Work Involved by the New .Scheme. • AREPORT of the Middlesex CountyCouncil conveys an idea of the work involved in the adoption of the new taxation scheme. In Middlesex there are approximately 20,000 private oars in use. Trie actual number of trade Vehicles is not known and can only be estimated, but it is thought that there are at least 18,000 in use in the county. This will, therefore, moan that about 38,000 vehicles will have to be registered at the beginning of next year. Inasmuch as the tax on trade vehicles, road locomotives; and tractors is according to unlestient: weight, it will be necessary for a very large proportion of the 16,000 vehicles. coming under this category to be ultimutely weighed. A certain proportion will consist of vehicles of standard make, the weight of which can be vouched for by the manufacturers.
As regards private cars which are to be charged on horse-power, there will be 40 different ratings instead of eight as at present, and, owing to the:aline dividing line between the different ratings, it will be necessary in a large proportion of cases for the actual horsepower to be accurately determined.
It is, ;says the repot* hardly neeessary to point out that the labour involved iii giving effect to the new proposals will be very heavy. It is obvious that a considerable portion of the work must, be done locally. The best solution would be„ to divide the county into five distriote and motor users in those districts will be able to ascertain locally all the information required, and to make arrangements for the weighing of vehicles or the verification of horsepower or seating capacity. To centralize this work would be impossible. The issue of drivers' licences will continue as heretofore, and it is estimated that the number to be issued during the corning year will he about 35,000. Thereport draws attention to the fact that the effect of bringing trade motor vehicles under taxation and of altering the rates chargeable will be to increase the revenue collected by the County Council from between L50,000• and £60,000 per year to something like £400,000.
TRAFFIC REFORM.
Suggested Improvements by the County Surveyor of Kent.
MR. CHAPMAN, Kent county surveyor, nt ekes valuable . suggestions for traffic improvements. Everyone well acquainted with the roads, he says, will agree upon the urgent necessity of widening the carriageways which are too narrow far the traffic passing over them, and if an additional 6 ft. were added trethe 'existing width; which does not, generally speaking, exceed 18 ft., it would not only be of. great convenience to the travelling publicebut.aleo lessen the wear by allow
'' ine greater variation invehicle tracks. At present?. the centres of the. roads have to bear the wear of traffic in both directions, and the sides, which, generally speaking; are weaker and without adequate lateral support, also suffer unduly when vehicles keep to the sides, as they should: do, or in passing. In order to ensure safety or lessen danger to vehicular traffic, endeavours have been made to induce the persons responsible to cut down or lop hedges gni trees which obstruct the view at corners, junctions, and bends,