From Our Berlin Correspondent.
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Projected Buessing-Siemens and Schuckert Fusion Falls Through.
A. rumour to the effect that the Brunswick firm of 1-1. Buessiug had effected a fusion with the automobile department of Siemens and Scbuckert turns out to be not founded on fact. True, negotiations were carried on with a view to the absorption of the Buessing factory by Siemens and Schuckert, but these negotiations hare, as yet, not fructified. Messrs. Siemens and Schuckert seem to be going about seeking whom they may devour ; it is but a few months back that they acquired the " Froths " plant, stock and patents, together with the car of that make which a German lieutenant drove round the world in the interest of a Berlin daily. In negotiating with Messrs. Buessing, their object was presumably to secure a good chassis for industrial work, the " Pram " frame and engine having been associated mainly with cabs and pleasure vehicles.
A N.A.G. Petrol Lorry for Carrying Gas-,containers for Filling Balloons One of the exhibits at the Frankfort International Aeronautic Exhibition was a N.A.G. lorry of the subsidized type with a body constructed to carry 80 gas-containers for filling balloons. These containers each hold 5 cubic metres (176.5 cubic ft.) of hydrogen under a pressure of some 2,2.50 lb. to the square inch (150 atmospheres), and are kept in position by means of a clamp arrangement. Every four containers possess a common lead to a strong, ring-shaped collecting pipe, fitted on both sides of the body with a connection for the tubing that leads into the gas-bag. The sides of the lorry fold down, and carry the separate sections of the filling tube, which are put together through the instrumentality of patent unions in a few seconds. With the lorry and a trailer, some 30,000 cubic ft. of hydrogen could easily be transported from 100 to 150 miles daily. I have no need to dwell upon the great advantage—no, let me say rather, in view of the growing importance of the airship for military purposes, the urgent necessity of automobiles for the transport of gas for balloons.
The N.A.G. Company is also catering for the requirements of firms who want light vehicles. One of its new 12-14 h.p. models has recently been supplied to the proprietors of the " Metz Gazette," and the chassis, including tires. weighs but 525 kilos., or 10 cwt. 38 lb. Its engine possesses four cylinders, bore and stroke being 75 and 85 mm. respectively. All working parts are thoroughly protected against dust and the like, and well lubricated. At a pinch, this little van can travel at over 30 miles an hour. But high speed is, of course, essential for newspaper distribution.
Post Office Parsimony.
To the lively regret of local residents, the Hamburg Post Office officials have decided to discontinue the running of motor mail vans over the Hamburg-Wohldorf-Tangstedt-Schnelsen-Hamburg circuit, on the ground that the service, which was opened 18 months back, is far too expensive in working. German postal departments seem to be guided rather by the principle of " shop " than that of public expediency, and to lose sight of the fact that the postal system was created primarily to serve the manifold interests of the public, not to produce revenue. Naturally, it is eminently desirable that the various branches should not be worked at a loss ; but so long as the system pays as a whole, certain non-paying branches should be maintained if they can be shown to serve ends that are far more important than a credit balance in the local post-master's accounts. The Post Office is not a limited liability company, whose object is the grinding out of dividends. Perhaps the Hamburg officials selected the wrong type of vehicle, or had an inefficient staff of chauffeurs and repairers?