Passing Comments
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Material Weighing ACCORDING to a recent reOne Ton Per Cubic import, astronomers at Mount hich Wilson Observatory, U.S.A.,
have discovered a star known as Ross 627, which is so dense that one cubic inch of it is estimated to weigh a ton. Builders of commercial vehicles would certainly experience difficulty in producing 5-tonners to weigh under 2i tons if the materials employed were as weighty as this.
k's An ill Wind That Blows Nobody Any Good
THE wet weather, whilst it did not improve the amenities of the Royal Show as such,
nevertheless brought advan
tages in its train if we consider only the point of view of the haulage contractor. The services of quite a number were requisitioned at short notice to bring ballast and other materials suitable for laying upon the sodden and muddy pathways within and near the Show.
Sliding versus Folding FT'HERE is no question of the Doors for PublicI superiority of power-oper
service Vehicles . ated doors for passenger .
vehicles; the problem lies in the choice of type. The sliding door has the advantage that it can follow the contour of the side panels, whilst the folding door, which must be straight, has a faster action. In making the selection, operators, of course, need to consider all aspects, but may base their decision on these fundamental matters of utility and appearance.
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THE Blackpool Corporation Electricity Committee has intrigued the Council, also the townspeople, in connection with a 21-year-old fire-engine owned by the borough. It was recently decided to sell this vehicle, then the committee stepped in to request a postponement of any sale, hut, with a twinkle, the members declin'ed
to reveal what they propose to do with it. The general opinion, however, is that the committee wants to utilize the outfit in connection with the town's big-scale fetes and illuminations. Mystery Concerning the Sale of a Fire engine .
A Remarkable HydroA LLTMINIUM and its alloys electric Scheme for r-lenter largely into the conAluminium Production struction of motor vehicles and their bodies. Therefore, interest attaches to the remarkable arrangements made by the British Aluminium Co„ Ltd., and its subsidiaries for Obtaining hydro-electric power for. its extensive Lochaber plant. The water-power system involved the construction of three dams, ranging in length from 675 ft. to 900 ft. That at Laggan is 700 ft. long and its height above the river bed is 130 ft. There are two pressure tunnels, one through Ben Nevis 15 miles long and 15 ft. in diameter, and the other at Laggan 2i miles long and 144 ft. in diameter, the capacity being 860,000,000 gallons per day, which would give an ample supply of water to half the population of Great Britain. Even the. tail race is.3,200 ft. in length and fails from a height of 820 ft. Splitting a Taxi Fare A PROPOS of the recent dis to the Royal Agriculcussion concerning the tural Show . . . . legality of splitting a taxi fare
amongst the several passengers, it is of interest to note that, in the station yard at Bristol, during the period of the Royal Show, taxis were publicly advertised on large posters as being available to carry four or five people to the Show at a fare of Is. 3d. per head.
P roof of the SimTHE remarkable simplicity pli city of a V-8 En1 and ease of maintenance of gine the Ford V-8 engine were ex cellently demonstrated to us at the Royal Show. Two men completely dismantled and reassembled a standard engine of this type in 14 minutes---a performance which gained considerable applause from the numerous spectators. Points in design that help the feat are the intake manifold, which also forms the valve-chamber cover, the fact that each valve assembly is a unit which can be inserted or removed bodily through the valve port, there is no piecemeal removal or replacement of valve, spring and retainer. During the process one man acted as commentator, explained the reason for each operation, and referred to interesting features of the unit.
Vehicle Manufacturers T appears that some of the — Try Territorial 'vehicles used by the TerriArmy Sales Prospects. tonal Army are not all that they
might be. Col. J. Sandema.nAllen remarked at a recent meeting that four out of seven lorries in his T.A. unit refused, one day, to leave the camp without mechanical attention. One field day, when the general was present, Col. SandemanAllen's staff car—a 1924 Buick l—" lay down," and he was compelled to bring his own car into service. If there be not now a queue of sales representatives outside the T.A. headquarters, we shall be surprised!
Special Constables AEMBERS of the Special Employed to Deter 'ViConstabulary are being Reckless Drivers employed in the West Riding
at week-ends in what is termed 'preventive work on the roads," with the object of reducing the number of road accidents. During the week-ends several hundred " specials " will be on duty at points where there is a particular danger of accidents. These spare-time policemen, recognisable by their caps and 'armlets, have all the powers of an ordinary police constable, and when they consider it necessary they can report a driver with a view to prosecution. The idea is that their presence will be a deterrent to reckless driving.