News and Comment.
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The comment and views of this journal are respected and carry weight, because members of its Editorial staff have practical experience and knowledge of the construction and use of commercial motors. Our circulation is genuine, and includes the heads of many wealthy commercial houses.
The capital of Pfieumatie, 1910, Ltd., is .C.135,000 in £1 shares.
The Albion factory, as the second eorks with which we have dealt in our series of " British Works Revisited," presents many points of interest to the visiting engineer—see pages 480 and -181.
Mr. E. Kerr-Thomas, our correspondent in the -United States, has sent home some most-interesting photographs which were taken during the recent snow blizzard on the other side of the '' Herring Pond." They are reproduced on page 490.
Commercial Cars, Ltd., notifies us that Mr. R. Barry Cole has been appointed sales manager in the place of Mr. A. Aldersey Taylor ; Mr. Taylor will in future represent the company as special travelling representative. nnd we believe he will concentrate upon particular trades.
Country-house Cars.
Commercial Car Hirers, Ltd., of Cambridge Circus, W.C., desires it to be known that it is now prepared to take orders for the hire of countryhouse cars during the next shooting season, and more especially for Scotland. Owners of large country houses, who entertain big parties in succession, find that they can comfortably bring numerous guests, together with their baggage, from the station, that they can carry out the necessary marketing in neighbouring villages, and that the getting of guns or beaters out to some distant moor is so greatly facilitated, by the use of these sturdy yet high-speed vehicles, which hold up to 18 people, and are now built with side. entrances, that the demand threatens to exceed the supply. We
may mention, incidentally, that the manufacturers have specially strengthened the roof, so that 15 cwt. cf mggage may be carried, whilst the turnout of the whole vehicle is smart.
Mr. T. B. Browne's Paper.
Mr. T. B. Browne, M.I.Mech.E., read a paper last night (Wednesday) before the Institution of Automobile Engineers, on the subject of " Some Points Affecting the Design of Petrol Motorvans, with some Details Relating to their Running Cests." The van costs, from users, have practically all appeared in this journal ; the costs for country motorbus services are reproduced on page 483. In particular, the figures which Mr. Leyeester Barwell set out in his letter which appeared in our" Overseas Special " of the 9th December last, are, after being brought up to a more-recent date, repeated.
Manchester Show.
Regular supporters of this journal, and particularly those in the Manchester district, are strongly recommended to inform their newsagents that there will be an extra demand for the issue after next. This will contain our stand-to-stand report of the commercial-motor exhibits at the forthcoming Manchester Show, and a mass of information with regard to vans.
Motor Mails.
We are indebted Lo Sir Henry :Norman, Assistant Postmaster-General, for the following text of his references of last week :
"Apart front the long-distance motor services there are at present 13 motor services in London averaging about 3'2 miles each per day. On and from 1st July, 10 sets of services, in and out three times a day, will be run from Loudon te provincial towns on the out
skirts e.g., Kingston, Enfield, etc. There are all-motor services now running foreign parcel mails to Tilbury, twice weekly.
" The 13 long-distance parcel motor services are, London, to and from:— Aylesbury ; Brighton; Dover ; Hastings; Ipswich; Oxford; Ramsgate; Reading; Broxbourne and Epping; Redid]]; Portsmouth; Southampton; and Cambridge. The mileage per month of these services is about 40,000; the longest service is the London-Dover, which is 84 miles ; in most cases, there is one coach each way. These 13 night coach services save over 60,000 a year, on the conveyance of some 10 million parcels. The largest saving on a single service is about Vi,000 a year_ The last of the old horse coach services to disappear was the London-to-Oxford service, which ti as converted on 31st March, 1909."
Yorkshire Steamers.
The Yorkshire Patent Steam Wagon Co., of Hunslet, Leeds, has received a further repeat order from Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Ltd., of Manchester, this being the sixth Yorkshire steam wagon to he sold to that company. It has also received, during the past 10 days, an order for two additional wagons, making four in all, from a large motor haulage company in the south of France, and a repeat order from Messrs. Hunt Bros., chemical manufacturers, of Castleford.
Thornycroft Sales.
John T. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., of 2, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, W., has quite recently received the following orders :—A 16 h.p. (type A) light box van, from the French Cleaning and Dyeing Co.. of Southgate, N. ; a 16 h.p. 30 mt. (type A) box
van, for the Leeds Industrial Cooperative Society, Ltd., through Mr. C. Pemberton Wooler, of 2, Park Place, Leeds, the company's sole agent in the North of England—a repeat secured as a result of the very satisfactory running of a similar van supplied in February, 1909; and a 30 h.p. 31-ton lorry, to run on paraffin or petrol, for the Spanish War Office— received through Messrs. Macnaughtan Hermanos, the company's sole agents in Spain, in competition with all the leading Continental makers, for shipment to Bilbao this month.
Petrol Storage in Fulham.
The application of the British Petroleum Co., Ltd., to the L.C.C. for a licence to store 270,000 gallons of petrol upon a site in Fulham, it will be remembered, was originally granted on the 7th December last. Subsequent local opposition secured the temporary holding-over of the actual permit. It now appears, from the substance of a letter sent to the Fulham Borough Council by the secretary to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, that this latter body had not, at the time of the application, directly received a proposal for the acquisition of a lease of the land in question. Such an application has, however, recently reached them, and it has been decided, under the circumstances, not to entertain it.
Petrol Rebates.
The Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., has indemnified the Westminster City Council in respect of its recovery of the 3d. per gallon duty on motor spirit to the 31st December last, and the Highways Committee has instructed the Town Clerk to take the necessary steps, on behalf of the Council, to obtain repayment from the Customs and Excise. In this connection, it may be mentioned that the refund of the petrol tax is proceeding smoothly in many centres, and the fear that there would be undue delay or trouble has not been borne out.
R.A.S.E.
Doncaster and York are in competition for the 1912 show of the R.A.S.E., and deputations from both Corporations were received by the Council of the Society, in London, on the 2nd inst. As our readers are aware, this year's show will be at Liverpool, and next year's show at Norwich.
Torkington Tires.
A set of Torkington solid tires, entered for trial at the hands of the Royal Automobile Club, has conapleted a road test of 4,001 miles without causing a stop upon the road. The total running weight of the car with passengers was 4,695 lb., and the condition of the tires, at the conclusion of the trial, was found to be good. The average wear upon the treads was but little in excess of 5-32 in., and the ribbing upon the tires was still apparent. Further to our paragraph of last week, in regard to the establishment of a motor banking-service, we now reproduce, on this page, three views of the two-cylinder van in the course of its novel work. Accounts can be opened by a deposit as low as a single penny. Having regard to the facilities which are offered by the Post-office Savings Bank, which has offices in practically every village and hamlet, we doubt if the novelty of the scheme will bring sufficient new customers to meet the running expenditure of the car.
Albion's London Depot.
We hear good reports of business from the London branch of the Albion Co., which is "going" under the charge of Mr. G. M. Young. Mr. Young is a practical mechanical engineer ; he had many years of training in the works at Scotstoun before he was put on the sales side. The writer well remembers his first meeting with Mr. Young, when that gentleman was honorary secretary of the Glasgow University Engineering Students' Association, in the year 1899, and it is not improbable that some part of a lecture then delivered, in Glasgow, on the subject of commercial motors, with particular reference to the results of the Liverpool Trials of 1898 and 1899, may have helped to turn Mr. Young's attention to the branch of motoring in which he is now occupied as London representative for the Albion Co. The Albion Challenge Cup.
The directors of the Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd. of Scotstoun, Glasgow, are always most appreciative of any scheme for the encouragement of good and careful drivers. The Albion Cup, shown on page 487, has been presented by the company to the Scot tish Automobile Club, for annual award to the driver—of any commercial motor vehicle, in Scotland—who shows the highest merit in regard to his care, intelligence in upkeep, and maintenance of the vehicle under his charge. The winner also gets a silver medal as a permanent memento.
Apropos this company's progress,
we learn that it has just received an order from Joseph Lyons and Co., Ltd., of London, for nine 16 h.p. vans, and that these new vehicles will be used in different parts of England and Scotland, in connection with various depots of the purchasing company. Amongst new Foreign and Colonial business, which is growing steadily, are sales of two 25-cwt. vans for Buenos Aires, one 25-ewt. and one .10-cwt. van for British Columbia, one .10-cwt. van for Turkey, and three composite vehicles for Australasia.
Motor Funerals.
Sturmey Motors, Ltd., of Coventry, has had an excellent report from its first customer for a motor hearse, Mr. A. Pargetter, undertaker and cab proprietor, of the City Mews, Coventry. This new owner has used the vehicle, which we illustrate below, for as long a journey as 250 miles in a single day, and his three months experience with it has satisfied him of its considerable utility. Its principal use is to meet the conditions of work when a funeral has to be carried out at some distance from the place of decease, which dispenses with the heavy railway charge of is. per mile, as well as with the funeral cortege at each end. The hearse is interchangeable with a cab body. I heard, from many quarters, in Edinburgh, that next year's Scottish show will be held in Glasgow.
The following election incident was recounted to me, at Edinburgh, by a gentleman—inti
A Heckling mately connected
Incident. with its leading char
acter—who is an eminent motorist, an ardent politician, end the head of a large concern dealing in commercial vehicles. He had gone down to a constituency to speak on behalf of a friend and to enlighten the heathen on Tariff Reform, on which subject he was thoroughly posted, with a distinct bias in its favour. He had not proceeded far with his harangue when he was interrupted persistently by a heckler. He stood it patiently for a while, then, as he is a. man of resource, the idea came to him. Ile expressed himself thus. " Ladies and gentlemen, I came here with the idea of making a speech which might interest you on the subject of Tariff Reform, but there is a section in the audience which would appear to prefer me to answer its questions; for the convenience of all present I suggest that those who are able to write shall send me a few lines by post and I will faithfully answer them by the same method* There was a very obvious dissent to this process on the part of the hecklers, but the general murmurs were changed to shrieks of laughter when the speaker continued to say" If there are any who are itnable to write I will answer them now." He was allowed to go on on his own ways. F. Edge generally is.
The dinner in connection with the Scottish Motor Show is always an in
Edin6tirgh one is sure of a Aviv Dinner. cordial welcome, and is bound to meet with a host of Northern friends—encountered too seldom. In my case, it is refreshing to hear the Scottish accent running through it all ; sonic of the speeches too, were quite good. Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B.. the LordJustice-Clerk of Scotland, is what the Scotsmen would call a " laddie." He is always so full of his subject, so humorous, and so enthusiastic withal. Specially relevant, in his speech, to our side of the movement, was his prediction that the day of the boom in commercial motors is close at hand. He spoke of the motor's advan
tages, and emphasized its value to tradesmen and others as a. perambulating advertising medium. He reminded his hearers that Mr. Fell, widely known in connection with the L.C.C. electric tramway system, had a few months ago predicted that in 20 years time no motor omnibus would be found outside a museum. Sir John went on to say that " Mr. Fell will find by this time that he has been an ass, but I don't suppose he will admit it." Recently, when in London, lie was interested enough personally to count the vehicles passing along the Strand during a given
period, and his census worked out as follows: 775 horse-drawn conveyances; and 1,178 motor vehicles ; and of the latter number 200 were commercial motors. Mr. E. M. C. Instone, of the Daimler Co., spoke excellently, al usual, as also did Mr. Julian Orde, Colonel Bosworth, and Mr. J. S. Matthew, of Argylls, Ltd. The lastnamed gentleman said, with all sincerity, nice things about the Press.
It came to my ears that this year's president of the S.M.T.A., and chairman of the Edin"Haggis and burgh dinner, Mr.
Nips." W. L. Sleigh, was responsible for the retention in the procedure of some interesting features of the dinner, and the distinctive character given to it. When the guests were told that the feast was ready, a sort of equivalent to a toastmaster stentoriously gave the names and titles of everyone occupying seats at the top table, and each better-known names received separately its compliment of applause. Then the pipers merrily led the way to the spread. In the middle of a. thoroughly-Parisian menu, in which even the day's date was translated into French, were the ominous words " .Haggis and Nips." When we had worked down to this item, the skirl of pipers was heard outside and a solemn little cortege was seen marching round the room : first the pipers, again producing a lively air, then a servant holding aloft the sacred haggis, followed by a regular John Barleycorn, proudly and ostentatiously swingZet with rhythmic motion, a flagon by hand: not halting until the chair was reached. Then we Southerners, discovering that these flagons contained the soothing and innocuous wine of scotland, determined to take our diances with the national dish.
It, was interesting to meet with Mr. J. B. Dunlop at the Scottish Show,
and to hear him de
Statue to clar e, again and J. B. Dunlop. again, that he took no especial credit for the invention of the pneumatic tire. It was such an easy, obvious thing to do. All the same, I heard—not from him—that it is the intention of Edinburgh citizens to erect a statue there to his memory. Mr. .J. B. Dunlop was born in Scotland's capital, and took his degree there as a veterinary surgeon. It transpires he was invited to Scotland in connection with this estimable project.
It must be very satisfactory to J. W. and T. Connolly, Ltd., to find
that McNamara and
Activity of Co., Ltd., after hay Conno/(0. lag tried Connolly
tires for 12 months, has placed a. contract for the ensuing six months. It is quite apparent that Connolly's are rapidly extending their ramifications; they have recently appointed Captain J. H. Bennett, late of the Queen's Regiment, as representative of their motor-tire department, and this gentleman may be expected to look up the large solid-tire users without delay.