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Uncertain future
AFTER a long struggle many years ago Parliament agreed that its debates should be heard in public and later that the official record should be printed. Although much legislation succeeds in getting through with a minimum of discussion—large sections of the Transport Act 1968 provide a good example—no Minister can be completely assured of immunity from inquiry and criticism at every stage.
If he stays the course until his Bill becomes an Act most of the remaining transactions take place behind the scenes. The freedom from public discussion is almost complete. In theory the regulations he introduces require Parliamentary sanction but are rarely disputed in practice.
There may be some good reasons for this. Acts of Parliament tend to lay down principles which can be fairly easily understood. Regulations are concerned with the working out of the principles and often with technical details that only the specialist can appreciate—or at least that is what he likes to believe.
Heavy burden
On another level it has to be acknowledged that the burden of Parliamentary work is probably already too heavy and would become intolerable if the strict examination of new regulations were added. This ought not to prevent more information being given to the public or to interested parties about the progress of the many discussions which arise from the main legislation.
As a result of the Transport Act there will shortly be regulations on quality licensing and probably drivers' hours among other items. As an accompaniment there will be standard application forms and record forms. On their care and accuracy in completing these will depend whether operators and drivers are allowed to stay in road transport or whether they will be restricted, fined or even imprisoned.
Apart from the occasional leak which may or may not be deliberate hardly anything has been reported of negotiations which will be of prime importance to all concerned. What scraps of information have been divulged are not reassuring. There seem to be strong objections to proposals put forward by Ministry officials who are by no means confident themselves that they are on the right course.
Now may be the moment to emphasize that the Transport Act is not a very satisfactory piece of legislation. It may even go down in history as one of the worst on the Statute Book. The contrary impression which persists may largely be due to the vigour and charm of Mrs. Barbara Castle, the undoubted architect of the measure.
In her new department of Employment and Productivity she is cutting as wide a swathe as she did in the Ministry of Transport. Once again the verdict awaits events. She has certainly stirred up even more antagonism than she did at St. Christopher House.
An enthusiastic supporter said recently that because of the Transport Act Mrs. Castle was one of the rare Ministers of Transport who would be remembered as such. The only others in the same category, it was suggested, were Mr. 1-lore-Belisha and Mr. Ernest Marples.
The prophecy starts off on the wrong foot. Ministers are made memorable, it would appear, more by an accident of alliteration than anything else. Everybody knows about the Belisha beacon and the Marples motorways. In the same way Mrs. Castle's chief claim to fame will be Barbara's "breathalyser"—by no means a contemptible claim. It is doubtful, however, whether her name will continue indefinitely to be associated with the Transport Act.
For this posterity might deserve her gratitude rather than the other way round. Apart from a few useful provisions it has still to be demonstrated that the Act is the supreme example of far-sighted integration or of Socialist planning that was claimed during the honeymoon period.
This criticism goes beyond the more obvious defects. The proposal for special taxation on heavy lorries may be forgiven since it was deftly slipped to the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the early stages of the discussions on the Transport Bill. The knotted bundle of equivocations labelled "quantity licensing" for want of a better term may also be left out of account. It may never happen or alternatively nobody may be aware that it has happened.
Parallel theme
What may prove ultimately more serious in their effect are those provisions which seem generally to have been welcomed. The main purpose behind Part V of the Act— apart from giving aid and comfort to the railways—was claimed to be the need for improving road safety. This would be done by refusing to grant operators' licences to inadequate applicants with defective lorries. A parallel theme was acceptance of the opinion of the Geddes Committee that a restrictive licensing system had not served or at any rate no longer served a useful purpose.
On paper the various items of legislation seem to fit closely. Plating and testing will provide adequate standards for vehicles and through quality licensing the Licensing Authority will be able to satisfy himself on the standards of operation of those vehicles. The proper supervision of drivers is covered under Part VI of the Act.
The operator is engaged on two fronts. If his vehicles are falling to pieces he will not be granted a test certificate and will not be able to put them forward for inclusion on a licence. If he does not run his business properly his application will be refused and there will be no point in sending his vehicles to the testing centre. The Licensing Authority is provided with a double-barrelled weapon.
The testing scheme has still to prove its worth. There is strong evidence that many of the worst lorries—those which are in most need of attention—have not been presented for testing within the appropriate period. In other respects there has been considerable confusion which may still prove to be due merely to teething troubles.
On the other hand the progress of the scheme may reveal other problems. Less reputable operators, having evaded the issue as long as possible, may then become adept at bringing a vehicle up to what seems to be the required standard in time for the test and leaving it to look after itself during the next 12 months. This is better than having no maintenance at all but hardly justifies the provision of an elaborate and expensive system.
Other difficulties
No operator however ingenious will be able to escape the minimum additional cost which the test involves. With the best intentions Mrs. Castle must have put up the cost of road transport as a result of the testing scheme and of the Transport Act. There is no indication so far that what is being achieved in return is worth the extra money.
Quality licensing is presenting other difficulties. The Licensing Authority is given power to check thoroughly what facilities and staff are available for looking after the vehicles of an operator. The recent pilot scheme which opened a reluctant window into the official mind was confidently designed to garner a wealth of information and statistics.
Evidence on the findings of the scheme is fragmentary. From what is known of the response of operators it would seem that they found the questions puzzling or at least not easy to answer.
There may also be flaws in the scheme as a basis for comparison between operators. For example the man who carries out the whole of his maintenance and repair work within his own organization cannot easily make out the facilities and the staff to be greater than they are. If they are insufficient in the opinion of the licensing operator he might curtail the size of the fleet. The operator who mainly uses a local garage and repair shop can make much larger and vaguer claims which it would be difficult for the Licensing Authority to check.
In the end his powers and functions may turn out to be little different from what they have been in the past. He has always been able to inspect the record of an operator and if necessary to investigate what facilities are available.
THE Barcelona Show, held this year from Apnl 20-30, continues to grow in size and importance, as does the Spanish industry. The production of commercial vehicles in Spain last year totalled 181,000 demand has increased by 105 per cent in the past four years—and foreign participation, often through licence agreements, is of most interest to the British producer. Now, more than 1m commercial vehicles and 25,000 coaches are in use.
The largest number Of completely new vehicles introduced at the Show was by Barrei ros, a national firm which has recently merged with the Chrysler Group, so that now the American concern owns 77 per cent of the capital. A new lorry was introduced on April 29, near the end of the Show. This is the 42/20 for a gross weight of 20 tons, and has a 216 bhp six-cylinder diesel engine, of new design, and an eight-speed gearbox.
On show also were the Barreiros 42 /45, which is the 4.5-ton version of the new range, offered in many different forms, from refuse collector to refrigerated van. Gross weight limit IS 6.83 tons and the 42/45 is also powered by a new engine—the 0 34—which, it is claimed, has about twice the power strictly necessary for the vehicle, with resultant long life and low maintenance costs. This direct-injection engine develops 84 bhp at 2,800 rpm and its capacity is 3.545 litres. The gearbox is a four-speed synchromesh model ZFS 4/225, while braking is by an air-assisted hydraulic system.
The final model in the new range is a 5.5-ton chassis—the 42/55, which has the same engine as the 42,/45 but a five-speed gearbox and full air brakes.
As on almost all Spanish trucks, cabs on the new Barreiros range are of pressed steel, available in sleeper versions if required. Heating is standard and the seats are built on a steel frame covered with polyurethane foam and black p.v.c.
Barreiros has a licence agreement with AEC and produces a full range of coaches-the A-131 Series. These are unique in Spain in that Barreiros is the only firm which manufactures a completely finished coach on its production lines; others sell the chassis and engine, and then the hundreds of small coachbuilding firms complete the vehicles.
One of these body-building firms is Irizar, which is well known for its craftsmanship. Chassis from many firms are used to build the various models, one of the most popular being the Car 98 which is constructed with a tubular steel framework. Another model is built on a OAF chassis—Dinam 02 —which has larger windows and a single door. This has 50 seats, a 185 bhp engine and weight of 10.6 tons. The firm of Irizar is a true co-operative since it is owned by its 126 workers and their craftsmanship is backed by a first-class after sales service, which includes a free annual checkp.
Complete range
The largest stand in the Show was taken by the State concern of ENASA (Empresa Na cional de Autocamiones SA). This has recently taken over the SAVA concern which was formed to produce BMC vans and lorries in Spain—the BMC sign will still he seen on the Spanish roads as this production will continue under licence. As ENASA now controls Pegaso, Monotral and SAVA, it can offer a com plete range of transport and is the strongest rival to Barreiros. During 1968 its production figures were: Pegaso 9,487 and SAVA 3,519 vehicles.
One recent introduction is the Pegaso 2011/50, with modifications including the use of a 260 bhp engine which allows the design to be rated for a total weight of 38 tons as a tractive unit. The engine is the 9109, which is turbocharged and is 10.518 litres in capacity, with six cylinders in line and bore diameter of 120mm; the engine gives a power-to-weight ratio of 6.9 blip per ton. In common with all Pegaso models, the 2011/50 has a pressed-steel cab and this is a larger unit than the 2045 introduced at last year's Show.
. British Leyland has a 25 per cent interest in Pegaso now, according to one of the Pegaso spokesmen. For British firms, this is almost the only way that the Spanish market can be approached, as there are high import tariffs on commercial vehicles now, since home produc tion has boomed in recent years. Pegaso exports to South America in important quanti ties, and to cut costs has established Pegaso Peru SA, with an assembly factory in that country and one also on Bolivia.
The Spanish Ford company—called Ebro —had a large open-air stand at the Show, which was fortunately blessed by fine weather. There was a range of D-Series models from 1.5 to 7 tons load capacity which have just been put on the market in Spain and which have a locally designed tilt cab. There is ample interior space and while similar in shape to the usual Ford tilt cab there is a revised front styling, top-mounted wipers and greater window area behind the driver. Ebro also showed a new small bus which has 15 seats and is mounted on a 0150 chassis.
Another firm which has a range of lorries between 1.5 and 7 tons is the Avia concern of Madrid (Aeronautica Industrial SA.). This firm uses Perkins diesel engines and also produces American Clark alloy bodies under licence for refrigerated vans.
DAF chassis for Spain are built in a factory near Madrid and at the Show there was a tractor model--the TE BKA 310-with a 250 bhp diesel engine, which is sold for operation at a gross weight of between 36 and 42 tons. DAFalso showed the Eurotrailer semitrailer-van, model LFT 3200/2400 designed for use with the Pegaso 2011-A and capable of taking a payload of 20.5 tons. Light alloy is used in its construction and sheet aluminium for the finish. The Show van was constructed to TIR regulations.
The Tarragona firm of Siata continues with its light vans and has a new prototype under preparation. This uses the 600 c.c. SEAT engine and has an interior capacity of 100 cu,ft.; it has excellent handling qualities and is proving very popular.
Much attention was given to trailers at the Show and the firm of Acerb' of Tarragona had a full range of tankers of all types. Fruehauf Espanol SA. showed some of its models, which are claimed to have gained 70 per cent of the market in Spain since they were established in 1949. Leciriena of Zaragoza had a large trailer on show, which uses their patented brake-cooling system, by which a blast of filtered air is played on the brakes when they are in frequent use.
Non-Returnable
SINCE the collection vehicles which have been used by Harrogate Corporation for some years past are "being outmoded by new forms of refuse" the cleansing department is to replace them as necessary with units of impeller design. Two Glover, Webb and Liversidge Musketeers have already arrived and tenders are now being invited for a further three. The most recent report of the borough's chief public health inspector says, however, that the difficulty of handling plastics in collection is nothing compared with the problems faced in their disposal. Thus it came about quite recently that the smaller tractors, which the borough had used on the controlled tips for the past 15 years, were finding it difficult to operate with full efficiency. The trouble arose from light and springy refuse in the form of discarded containers what will not rot, burn or otherwise disintegrate. It was felt that in these circumstances work on the tip required four-wheel drive and a new Bray unit of this type has lately gone into action. Cleansing superintendent E. Dodsworth expresses every satisfaction with the new items of equipment.
Changing World
DIFFICULTIES in connection with refuse disposal sites, which are commencing to worry a number of local authorities, are such as inevitably to produce a reaction on the types of vehicles employed. In many places land that appeared likely to be available for years to come is being appropriated for other purposes at an alarming rate so that tipping areas must be sought further afield. There can quickly come a point where the collection unit will waste too much time in travelling from its operating area to a distant tip so that an extension in the employment of transfer loading stations, and of bulk carriers to work between depot and disposal point, would seem to be probable. Current thinking has, of course, turned in the direction of subregional disposal, a move that could well involve the greatly increased use of incinerators. This would undoubtedly cause emphasis to be placed on the haulage aspect of disposal work since in the case of most outlying areas there would be found need for the transfer station, and the bulk carrier, already mentioned.
A new factor in the situation is that a sub-regional incinerator is most likely to be located within the boundaries of a major authority in a built-up area so that traffic operating and congestion problems could arise for other authorities sending refuse for disposal. This would obviously influence the selection of vehicles and the planning of their day-to-day work. Salford (which is likely to have an incinerator in three or four years time, this being the period necessary to plan and construct) has already encountered opposition at public inquiries to the traversing of residential roads by bulk disposal vehicles en route to distant tips.
As it was
HISTORIC vehicle societies are now almost legion but to the best of my knowledge the Ambulance Preservation Guild, of Bury (Lanes), is the only organization of its kind in the country. Over the years a great deal of thought has been put into improving the conditions for patients in transit but as time goes by much valuable information on the subject is in danger of being lost. With this in mind the Guild has been set up to preserve suitable vehicles, documents and phuiraphs. They also propose to put on displays for the bencin of students and itie general public, and to compile a register of ambulances and associated equipment in charge of other organizations. D. A. Andrews, 477, Bolton Road, Bury, Lanes, will gladly supply more information. Currently the members are raising funds for the acquisition of a 1910 horse-drawn ambulance that is on short-term loan to the Guild. This vehicle was built by Wilson and Stockall of Bury who at that time claimed to be the largest builders of ambulances in England.
Off to Iran
AFTER a space of nearly a quarter-of-acentury the Imperial Iranian Naval Department has acquired major fire appliances of the most modern kind. These are three 185 bhp Dennis F108 fire tenders, altogether worth some 125,000. The F108, a recent addition to the Dennis range, employs a Perkins V8 diesel engine and has a Dennis five-speed constant-mesh gearbox with integral full torque power take-off; this supplies the drive for the Dennis 600 gpm pump which is mounted at the rear.
Lion library
AFTER 35 years of service a Leyland Lion can still be seen in daily use in Lancashire. For the first 25 years of its life the Lion was a Crosville bus but 10 years ago the vehicle was purchased by Bacup Corporation for conversion into a mobile library carrying over 2,500 books, and it is still going strong.