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The Motor Omnibus World.

9th July 1908, Page 7
9th July 1908
Page 7
Page 8
Page 7, 9th July 1908 — The Motor Omnibus World.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Acceleration Tests.

The Royal Automobile Club hopes to be able to carry out the acceleration tests, at Brooklands, in August.

London Fusions.

The fact that Mr. Justice Swinfen Eady, on the ist instant, confirmed the alteration in the Memorandum and Articles of the London General Omnibus Company, Limited, under which the acquirement of similar undertakings is authorised, has caused general publicity to be given to the statement that the terms of amalgamation, as between the General, the Road Car and the Vanguard companies, are finally sanctioned and approved. This view, however, is not accurate, as the shareholders of the several companies have yet to approve the respective terms.

Polite and Bad Roads.

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has written to the Paddington Borough Council calling attention to the uneven character of the road surface in Bayswater Road, and stating that this is largely responsible for the complaints which he is receiving with regard to the noise caused by the motor-omnibus and other heavy traffic there. The Works Committee of the Council reported, on Monday, having replied to the Commissioner of Police declining to admit that the carriage-way is at fault, and attributing the noise to the weight, excessive speed, and the " rattle " of the machinery of the motorbuses.

Charge Against a Driver.

An interesting decision was given by a jury, after direction from Mr. Justice Ridley, on the 3oth ultimo, when a motorbus driver named Philip Parsons surrendered to his bail in respect of a charge of manslaughter. The evidence showed that, on a date in May last, Parsons was in charge of one of the London General Omnibus Company's vehicles in the Whitechapel Road, and he was driving it to the extreme right of the highway, at a distance of approximately 50 feet from the near-side kerb, owing to the congestion of the lines of traffic to his left-hand side, and to the fact that part of the roadway was under repair, and therefore railed off. It was proved that the defendant was driving at the rate of not more than five miles an hour, and Mr. Justice Ridley held that he could not be convicted on the charge of manslaughter. He added that in a civil action there would be no answer, as the defendant was on his wrong side and must take his own risk, but that, in a criminal case, the matter was different, and negligence had to be proved. His Lordship added, further, that the defendant ought not to have been allowed to go so far to the off side by those who had control of the traffic.

Mr. Justice Ridley's distinction between negligence qua a criminal charge, and negligence qua a civil action, is interesting, but we doubt if it will settle the law on the point, as it appears to us to be much too sweeping a ruling. A Liquidator Appointed.

Mr. Alfred Hine, of 15, Great Winchester Street, E.C., has been appointed liquidator of the London and Westminster Motor Omnibus Company, Limited.

Road Traction Engineers.

Mr. Percy Frost Smith, chairman, and two other members of council of the Society of Road Traction Engineers, expect to be able to attend the Hereford meeting of the R.A.C. on the rah instant. All M.R.T.E. may take part in this meet, and may attend Lord Biddulph's garden party the same afternoon.

Halley Station Buses.

Halley's Industrial Motors, Limited, of Yoker, Glasgow, and 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., reports a maintained demand for its 2oh.p. chars-13ancs and station buses. A second vehicle of the former type has recently been supplied to the Irish Motor Service Company, and we illustrate herewith a station btA for Mr. Mackenzie, of Garve. The body of this latter vehicle is so constructed that the seats in the back portion can fall down, in order to permit service as a delivery van.

Kent Motor Services.

The Kent Motor Services Company, Limited, which has been running services between Maidstone and Sutton Valence, Sitting-bourne and Faversham, has reluctantly had to discontinue the services until it can obtain the delivery of smaller vehicles. The services were started at the request of certain local residents, who assured the directors that there was ample traffic for regular services, but the result of the experiment has shown that, whilst there is a regular traffic, not more is available than can be easily undertaken by 12seated vehicles.; the larger 3o-seated vehicles were consequently run at a very considerable loss. The company did not feel justified in continuing to incur this loss, and, as it was unable to obtain immediate delivery of smaller chassis, it has had to suspend the services as stated. We understand that the vehicles have been sent to Worthing to augment the services of the Sussex Motor Road Car Company. The Traffic Department.

VANGUARD.—Service No. to which was recently inaugurated between " Elephant and Castle " and Leytonstone, has been extended tO Woodford for Sunday service only.

Uncontrolled Children.

" The Globe," in the course of a brief leading article, states : " Anyone who has driven through London streets, and had the pleasure of avoidin small children engaged in the pastime of last across the road,' or, bet you I stop in the way longer than you,' will thoroughly sympathise with the drivers of the heavy motorbuses."

"The Three Best."

On Wednesday of last week, the Great Eastern Railway Company inaugurated several new services of motorbuses in the district of Bury St. Edmunds. Mr. F. V. Russell, of the company's locomotive department, was amongst the officials who took part in the send-off ceremony, and he announced that the three omnibuses that he was locating at Bury were the three best the company possessed. These, we may add, have been constructed by the 'Maudslay Motor Company, Limited, of Coventry.

More First-class Motorbuses.

There will shortly be a total of six, Charron, single-deck, Pullman omnibuses on the Queen's Hall to Earl's Court service ; it will then be possible that a fairer criterion of the undertaking may be yielded to Mr. Davison Dalziel and his colleagues. It is hopeless, having regard to the fact that the essence of any public service of road vehicles is its frequency, to attempt to form any proper judgment on the working of the three vehicles that have been in use, and we seriously question if six vehicles will help the matter forward to a definite issue. At the same time, we have every reason to believe that a considerable increase in the number of vehicles is to be effected, though mention of 200 is both premature and inaccurate. Large orders for additional single-deckers have now been placed with the Charron Company. A Berlin Revival.

On the isth instant, the Berliner Omeibus-gesellsehaft will once more work "Line 8" with motorbuses, which vehicles have been replaced by horsed buses in .consequence of the burning down of the Victoria depOt last year. The line in question connects up Bulowstrasse with Strausbergerplatz.

News from Vienna.

Having regard to the somewhat extraordinary circumstances under which Lime Vienna General Omnibus Company was run, with its inadequate out-ofdate vehicles, and its technical exemption from control under the Austrian law, we are rather surprised to hear that the Municipal Council of Vienna is going to take over the assets of the company in question, • No Licences at Cheltenham.

Cheltenham Town Council has declined the application of TT_ E. Steel, Limited, of HighStreet, Cheltenham, for a motorbus license. The Cheltenham Light Railway Company, which runs the district service of electric trams, and which obtained its concession from the local council on the most extraordinarily easy and advantageous terms, naturally .does not approve the advent of motorbus competition.

Company for Merthyr Tydvil.

Following upon the failure of the Merthyr Tydvil Borough Council to obtain Parliamentary powers to run a service of motorbuses, which failure was largely due to the opposition of the Great Western Railway Company, and the circumstances of which we fully reported in our issue of the 19th March last, we are interested to observe the registration of the Merthyr Tydvil and District Motorbus Company, Limited, with its office at 1, Alexander Place, Abereanaid, Merthyr Tydvil. The company has an authorised capital of .4;2,000 in 5s. shares. Are Oil Droppings "Filth"?

Sir James Ritchie, sitting at the Mansion House on Tuesday of last week, held that the dropping of thick black oil on a public roadway did not fall within the definition of " filth," as intended to be regulated by the Public Health (London) Act of 1891. This decision was given in a case against the driver of a cab owned by the General Motorcab Company, Limited, but it is of interest to proprietors of motorbuses, A Remarkable Offer.

The Electric Vehicle Company, Limited, of West Norwood, has offered to purchase four old-type petrol motorbuses from the Eastbourne Corporation, at the inclusive price of £oo, if the Corporation will purchae four accumulator-driven omnibuses, complete with bodies and tires, for .Z:,778 per vehicle. The same company has made a remarkable offer, in regard to the taking-over of the whole of the Eastbourne omnibus undertaking, and its conversion to accumulator propulsion, and the Motor Omnibus Committee has expressed its preparedness to consider any proposals. On Monday evening, the Council refused separate licenses for electrobuses, and decided from lack of funds—not to order any.

Manchester Licenses.

The struggle in Manchester, as to the licensing or non-licensing of motor omnibuses, continues apace. At the last meeting of the City Council, On the ist instant, Mr. Ross Clyne moved a strongly-worded resolution to the effect that the decision of the Watch Committee not to license any motorbuses Was " narrow, unprogressive, and altogether unworthy of the traditions of a great city, whose province it should be to stimulate inventive genius and to foster industry ; and hereby instructs the Watch Committee no longer to ignore applicants for licenses. The motion was rejected only by 3o votes to 24, from which figures we conclude that there is still hope for the motorbus in Cottonopolis.

Better or Worse 7

We suppose the accounts of the London General Omnibus Company, for the period beginning the 1st July, 1907, may be expected in the course of the. next month or less. The shareholders, whom it is now sought to cheer up by the information that the receipts are. less than -L5oo worse, for the half year ended the 3oth ultimo, than for the corresponding period of the year 1907,. will do well to remember that the takings for the first half year of 1907 were some -4;6o,000 behind those for 1906, whilst those for 1906 were some £30,000 worse than those for 1905. The prospects, then, do not look so alluring.

New York Motorbus Extension..

The principal route which is served' by the New York Transportation Company in New York has always beerr along Fifth Avenue, in which thoroughfare the wealthy residents have' successfully prevented the establish. ment of tramway tracks. The company has recently extended its operations by the estabtishm(Int of a new service to Riverside Drive, via Broadway and Seventy-second Street. A so. minute interval is now observed, and seven machines are at work on the new road ; this number will be increased immediately the directors receive delivery of the further batch of machines which is on order. The whole fleet at present consists of 26 De Dion omnibuses. A " General-Electric " petrolelectric machine is undergoing a prolonged service test, and this development is interesting in view of the close relations which exist betwen the General Electric Company of America, Limited, and the British Thomson-Houston Company, Limited, which has spent much time and money in the attempt to produce a satisfactory petrol-electric _heavy chassis. The American-built machine has the usual combined engine and dynamo, which supplies current to the two motors that drive the road wheels by side chains. We are given. to understand that so of these machines have been on order for some time.


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