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MAKING ROAD ;PORT HISTORY.

10th August 1920, Page 10
10th August 1920
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Page 10, 10th August 1920 — MAKING ROAD ;PORT HISTORY.
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How the Employment of Motor Vehicles J access for Mr. W. F. French, of Balham.

0 NE OF THE MOST interesting personalties in the motor world, and one who has been associated with the trade since its earliest days, is Mr. W. F. French, the managing director of United Service Transport Co._, Ltd., and director of other transport companies, which now cover a large proportion of the country, and, it is hoped will shortly cover almost the whole of the country.

Mr. French started business in Balha.m in the cycle trade in 1881, and the growth of that business was very rapid, the output of machines reaching 2,000 per annum. ' Immediately motors were allowed, in this country, he purchased a De Dion provided with belt. transmission, but did not run this car any length of time, as the difficulty of driving with a man with a red flag walking in front of the car took all the pleasure 'away—not that the man was too slow for the car ; as a matter of fact, tip hill, he got to the, top more often than the car dad, and, in any case, . well in front. From that time until the present day, Mr. French has never been without a car. • . In 18913, he began to devote much of his time to the motor trade and dropped the cycle business completely in 1900. His first experience with commercial vehicles was when he converted a Canstatt-Dainder into a delivery van for the carrying of his own goods ; this took place in about the year 1898. As a result of the running of this vehicle, he soon became convinced that the commercial side of the motor trade offered greater prospects for expansion than the private car side, and he also believed that there was a great future for passenger transport. In 1900, he started what was practically the, first motorbus service ever rim, in this country. The machines used were 10-seater M.M.C.s made by Mr. George Iden, father of Mr. W. J. Iden, who is, at present, director and advisory engineer •to the National Steam Car Co., Ltd. The next project was the placing of five 10-seater Canstatt-Daimler omnibuses on the London streets, and, on the opening day, a run was made to Staines, Mr. French 'himself. driving one of the machines. These buses presented a very curious appearance when compared with the present-day London buses, and, though the project failed, atter the vehicles had been run for a year at considerable loss, yet the scheme reflected great credit upon its author, who was anything if not original in his ideas. The chief cause of failure was found to lie in the tyres. Turning • a car round or taking a corner tool sharply was certain to result in one or more tyres ccffnirtg off. These buses. were supplied by Messrs H. G. Burford and Richardson, who, though they may not be recognized in the photograph of this opening run 'which we re

produce, yet took. part in it. In' 1893, Mr. French started a passenger transport service from London to Worthing, using Clarkson steamers, but the chalky hard water soon compelled their withdrawal. A number of MilnesDaimlers were then purchased from M. Burford, who was, at that time, repre

• aentirig the makers in this country. These were very good machines, and did an immense amount of work, gome of them being in service for from 12 to 14 years. In 1904, he took over the output of the Ryknield Motor Co., of Burton-onTrent, but he found great difficulty in selling these machines, as no one would be convinced that the motor vehicle could be worked as cheaply as the horse. He, therefore, decided to take the risk and contract, Messrs. Bass, Ratcliffe and Gretton being among his earliest clients.

In 1904, too, he formed the south C-oast Haulage Co., of which he became chairman.

The Commercial Vehicle Trials • of 1907 proved a great advertisement for the trade, and Mr. French ran two Ryk-nields in them. As a result of these trials he was converted. to HalIfords, eventually purchasing the Hallferd lorry which won the gold modal. This particular vehicle has been in cOntinuour service for 13 years—a fact which we mentioned in our recent article on the works of Mes.ars. J. and E. Hall, Ltd., at Dartford.

In 1910, Mr. .French was appointed chairman of the Maidstone and District Traction Co., and, in 1912, tie purchased the existing services in Margate and Ramsgate and, since then, has become interested in a large number of passer).

get transport undertakings covering many thousands of miles of road. In London, one of 4he companies with which he is connected, and of which he is managing director, is United Semice 'Transport Co., Ltd._, about which we shall have more to say later in the article.

At the present time, the companieswith which Mr. French is intimately associated own over 600 passenger vehicles and more than 200 _ goods vehicles of all makes and, in the execution of their contracts, these companies have carried out very important work, including the transportation of stamps, which has been done for the last eight or nine years without a single hitch.

The various companies have a most complete system of returns, all of which are sent in to Mr. French, and by means of which he is able to tell at a glance not only what each fleet is doing, but also the performance of individual machines. Monthly analyses are also sent in, and from these it is possible to prepare a balance-sheet for any of the companies in a very short time. This, of course, is the result of long experience, organization, and the remarkable aptitude for systematization, displayed by the subject of our article, in every class of work with which he is connected.

It is intended by the companies to open up new districts all over the country, but this matter has been postponed until the effect of the new road tax has been fully considered. Mr. French has had a good deal of difficulty with local bodies -concerning payments. for roads, but, so far, no road taxes whatever hate been paid to any local or county authorities. It is intended to institu4e services from London to the various coast towns.by linking up the serinces so that passengers will take buses to certain points, from which they will be picked up by others.

Mr. French is endowed with a very keen sense of humour, and, when he once gets going, he can reel off anecdote after anecdote of his experi

ences in the t xrly days of the movement to the in.

tense enjoyment of his audience.

Shortly before he first placed motor omnibuses on the London streets, he took the Chief Commissioner of Police for a ,test run, and this gentleman was ca.) impressed that he made arrangements for Mr. French to take four of his officers for a trial run: The run was duly arranged, and the four %policemen commenced their tour. At the first corner, that between Parliament Street and Pall Mall, round which a, vehicle with a 50 ft. wheelbaSe could easily turn, a sergeant turned round to one of hi& comrades and said in an awe-stricken voice, "Bill, did-you see how we came round that corner? ' Incidentally, the speed at which the vehicle had turned was not much above walking pace..

Later on the same officer, when the vehicle was running at its maximum speed of 10 m.p.h.' asked Mr. French in a whisper if themachine was doing over 40 m.p.h.? During the same rim, the vehicle came to a sudden stop, due' apparently, to lack' of petrol. As there was plenty of petrol in the tank, Mr. trench took down the carburetter, petrol pipe, etc., without making any improvement, and finally nne of the officers innocently enquired, "Did I do anything when I screwed that. spindle tight ? " That "spindle " was a screw-down petrol tap ; the cause of the whole trouble was thus, at once, explained.

On another occasion, Mr. French was paying a visit to a friend at Farnborough, Hants, in a Locomobile steamer. On the way, the whole contraption took fire and was only extinguished with some difficulty. When he reached his friend's house, Mrs. French descended to knock at the ,door, whilst Mr. French attempted to turn the machine and, to do this, re. versed. The regulaion of speed on this old type of vehicle was a very difficult matter, as the range of movement on the lever was very small, and the vehicle jumped back and could not be stopped until it had got right Up to the bay window at the side. of the house. In Te mons° to Mrs. French's knock,' the friend came out, saw Mr. French apparently trying to get in through the window, oar anti all, and said politely, "If you don't mind, I would rather von came in through the door." Mr. French, somewhat startled, endeavoured to get the vehicle back on the road, arid, in doing so, succeeded in flattening down a, hedge. As a grand finale, the Locomobile again caught fire on the return journey, and what was left was hardly worth sending for.

The following story (which was vouched for by Mr. French as being strictly true, and for the insertion of which, although it has not much to do with motor vehicles, we do not intend to apologize), is about an incident which occurred to him not long ago. He was sitting in a tramcar when he noticed an old woman endeavouring to mount the car. As she was some time in doing so, the conductor hastened to assist the operation, but was met with the reamark, "Half a mo', young man, you and your Tooting Express." As there was no room to sit down, the old woman Aield on to a strap, and, when the conductor asked her for her fare, She remarked, "Do you take me for a bloomin' octopus?" At last, obtaining a seat, she sat opposite to Mr. French and, fixing him with her eye, she remarked to him, " You look a genial kind_ of old gentle man." Mr. French thanked her for the remark: She continued. " Yes, it's like this, you are just like my old man. He wears his hair short ; in fact, he is never out long enough to grow it long." Then Mr. French thought it was time to retire from the field, being, perhaps, fearful of his fatal gift of repartee.

In the year following the famous Paris-Madrid races, a high-power two7cylindered De Dion car was brought to England, and Mr. French was asked by the owner to join him in a run from London to Brighton. The run was accomplished in 1 hours and, on the way, the De Dion passed a very large car of a wellknown make. At a short stop which was made a little. further on, the owner of this.large car (thinking that the engine was a four-cylindered one) asked to look

under the bonnet of the DeDion, as he could not understand how-a, car which was firing on two cylinders only could possibly go at a speed_ sufficient to pass his. It is probable that Mr. French inherits hit. taste for motoring from hi a father who, at the age of 88, , was summoned for furious driving.

The United Service Transport Co., Ltd., of which, as we have already mentioned, Mr. French, Senr., is managing director, have purchased a large piece of ground adjoining their Clapham. Road premises. They have also under construction a fine build ing at Ba,lham, opposite the spot where the old company, French's Garage and Motor Works, Ltd, were originally established. This building will be 150 ft. long by 100 ft. deep, on two floors; the

ground floor will have five bays each 30 ft. long and running the

full depth of ,the building. In the centre bay an electric lift will be installed, by which the chassis will be taken upstairs for over haul, after the bodies have been removed from them and con veyed to the coachbuilding and paint shops by an overhead travelling crane. Large showrooms will also be built on this site. There will be suffioient shop area for the employment of 300 men, and, with the addition of these new works, the company will be able to undertake 1,000 overhauls per year, and a certain number of overhauls will be done for outside customers. Up to the present, this part of the business has been con fined to the upkeep of 'the cornpany's vehicles which are working within a radius of 250 miles round London.

The fleet totals 192 vehicles, and that it is most representative is proved by the fact that it comprises vehicles of the following makes:—Aliaion, A.E.C., Buick, Commer Car, Daimler, Darra.cq, Dennis, Ford,

F.W.D., G.M.C., Hanford, Leyland, Napier, Belden, StralZer-Squire, Studebaker Thornycroft, and Vul-ean. The upkeep of these vehicles presents a difficult problem, but essential spares are kept for every make, so that in the event of a breakdown the delay caused thereby is as short as possible. At present,lowing to the large stocks of spares required,

the stores are very congested, but these will be relieved when the new premises are completed.

Contract work is the first consideration the great aim being Continuity of service. "Then forcows casual hire work, orders being dealt with in rotation. This casual work has proved to be very uncertain, and that is the reason why it is far more expensive than regular contract work. Thursday amd Friday are very busy days for the distribution of provisions, but, on Saturdays, practically the whole of the fleet is idle, and this gives, the opportunity for a very necessary respite. Of the whole fleet, 140 vehicles are set aside for contract work, and 14 per cent, of this number are held, as spare vehicles to assist in the event of any accident or breakdown to any of the regular machines. The company also have a number of fine chars-A.-banes.

Most. of the vehicles are kept at the running depot in Clapham Road. where Mr. Ernest Reed, a late superintendent of the L.G.O. Co., has been appointed works manager. The traffic manager is Major Higgins. The chief engineer of the company is Mr. Walter Prench, son of the managing director, The shops are capacious and well lighted, and a neat little machine shop has recently been added,this includes four fine gap-bed lathes by G. Lang and Sons, Rockford millers Pratt and Whitng slotting machines, a Brown and Sharp universal grinder, and a Walcott shaper. For the convenience of the Men, there is a fine canteen! and concert room capable of seating 200. The vehicles are kept in a very. fine state ofrepair, particular attention being paid to appearance, both as regards the mechanism and bodywork, as .Mr. French has proved that. an attractive appearance, .combined with reliable service, bring more business than might be appreciated by others who have not followed this example. The growth of the various companies has been remarkable, and is without. cessation; actually, on the day we visited Mr. "French, one of ;them sent through an urgent request for 16 more vehicles, thus proving that there is little to fear of a slump in the .passenger carrying business.

We must not conclude without expressing our appreciation of the aasistance afforded us by Mr. French in the preparation of this article.


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