Opinions from Others.
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Taximeters and Horse-cabs.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
1,..)0:2J Sir :—The Home Secretary, in reply to a question put by Mr. Wiles, )d P. stated that the taximeter for horse-drawn cabs has been tried, and has proved a failure. Our experience, as manufacturers of these instruments, is, that this reply is not in accordance with the facts. So far asLondon is concerned, the taximeter on horse-drawn cabs has not had a fair trial, only about 2 per cent, of the total number of horse-cabs licensed being fitted with these instruments. The real reason why they have not been more extensively adopted ist. I h fact I` C..e _act that ever since the taximeter has come into such use, now some fs months back, a dispute has been going on between the owners and drivers of horse-cabs as to the proportion of the day's takings the latter shall receive, and, until this dispute is settled, horse-cab masters, as a general thing, refuse to fit taximeters to their cabs.
In the Provinces, our experience goes to show that a taximeter fitted to a horse-drawn cab, is equally a success with one fixed to a 1110torCid.).—Yours faithfulh ,
THE GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, LTD. Kilburn,
1The London dispute appears to be settied: see page 12,—Ep.1
Running on Snow.
The Editor, `• THE COMMERclAt. MOTOR.'' 19o3j Sir :--The snap of wintry weather which we have experienced last week is a very serious business for the owners of heavy steam motor wagons, with their steelshod tires. 1 heir competitors, the lighter three-ton and four-ton petrol motor wagons, shod with rubber tires, have been skipping about over the frozen snow quite jauntily, performing feats and doing work which neither horses nor heavy steam wagons were able to do. During this spell of repeated snow, thaw, and frost, people with rubbertired machines have been in a comparatively happy position, and their machines at a premium. But this state of things cannot last long; owners and makers of the heavier steel-tired machines, either steam or petrol, anc not going to sit with folded arms and do nothing, as was evident to interested visitors at the recent Belle Vue show.
I was extremely fortunate, one day last week, in seeing a very practical test made of the Spurrier device, on roads and two different hills that were covered with about halfan-inch of frozen snow, the surface of which was half thawed, and was in a exceedingly slippery condition ; these were negotiated safely, loads of one ton and four toms having equal success. It was agreed, by several motor men who wore present, that it would have been utterly impossible for the wagon to have moved without the nonskid attachment, for, after the wagon had been over the road, the wheel tracks left behind had the appearance of " glare " ice. One
of the hills ,mounted had a gradient of I in so, the other of i in 12. An experiment was also made, to test the improvement that had been made this year by the use of eight attachments to each wheel instead of only four. One wheel was fitted with the latest eight attachments, whilst the other wheel was fitted with the old arrangement of four attachments. The difference in adhesion was very
: the wheel fitted with the lesser number of attachments slipped every time between the rubber blpcks, and the wagon had some difficulty in climbing the hill; on the other hand, the wheel fitted with the improvement had a good grip on the road. The demonstration made it very clear. both to myself and others, that snow covered roads, such as those we hm.
had for the past week, are not an insurmountable difficulty to heavy steel-tired motor wagons, and from what saw I am convinced that wagons could travel through Snow three or four inches in depth.
I also saw an attempt made to run on a road having six or seven inches of snow upon it, but the snow gathered in front of the fore wheels to a depth of eight or nine inches, forming a complete stop-block, or scotch, through or over which it was quite impossible to go, as the back wheels were literally flying round. When the wagon was backed for a short distance, the front wheels left two semi_ circular pads of hard compressed snow, which formed an effectual barrier, It appears to me that, to enable wagons to be used on roads covered wit' t soft snow more than five inches deep, some kind of a small snow-plough will have to be used, in immediate advance of each front wheel, to clear a track, in addition to the non-skids on the back wheels. I feel sure that some kind td very simple and cheap arrangement could be made to clear a track for the whrels. The arrangement would work within, say, one inch of the road, and so enable owners of heavy steam wagons to use their machines at all times, except when the snow lay very deep, which, fortunately, is a state of affairs we seldom see in England : when such (t catastrophe does happen it generally lasts only a day or two. There often are light falls of snow, and frozen roads, and it is most annoying, when these touches of winter disturb our business arrangements.--Yours, etc.,
" OBSKRVE14,"
Users' Experiences (No. V).
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.'' No4] Sir The work for the past week has again beer, completed in a most satisfactory manner. There hasbeen a substantial rise in the earnings, due partly to the use of trailers and also to the fact that we had no interruptions. Without desiring to depart in the least from my duties as a recorder of everyday experiences of a motor-wagon carrier, I must just register my entire :fo,-reement with your leading article on" The large-scale organisation of road transport by motor wagon," and more especially respecting the matter of motor-wagon carriers' working in closer conjunction with the railways. I have, co more than one occasion, made an offer to railway companies in this direction, but have always been me[ with the reply that railways must use their own systems for their own work. I do not pretend to manage ether people's business as well as my own, but I am tempted to believe that there are advantages to be gained by the railways in adopting a policy of harnessing us to their system. They wourd at least retain control over the traffic passing in a district, and would obtain control of much traffic which is otherwise sent by road, out of which at present they do not receive a penny ; small stations and goods yards, which are liable to become congested, could be relieved by goods being sent from larger stations, and the cutting of rates would be prevented, which would be a benefit to the entire carrying trade. As it is at present, I have to listen to some terrible fairy tales as regards rates. Only this week I was told by a customer that a certain rate was live shillings—so it was, from station to station, exclusive of labour, but collected and delivered the rate was ten shillings I
With regard to the question of farming a large-scale organisation, I would suggest that the existing small carrying companies should be embodied in any such scheme as far as possible, so as to obtain the experience of those who have already worked in a district, and know something of the practical work.
During the past spell of bad weather, the " boys " have certainly done excellent work in battling with the elements, and this brings me to one of the most interesting problems connected with my work—that of drivers. There is no employment of which I am aware that brings out the character and individuality of the worker to the same extent as motor driving, and there is no business which depends for success so largely upon the initiative and fidelity of the employee. In the first place, the motor-wagon driver performs his work without the personal supervision of his employer. He is sent all over a district, in charge of a machine which when loaded may represent a value of anything above ei;1,000, and an error of judgment ors his part may run his employer into most serious costs. In view of the fact that he is performing such responsible work, it always appears to me as somewhat ludicrous that a policeman who is but an unskilled labourer in uniform should be encouraged to interfere unnecessarily with his actions, as so often is the case. I could enumerate endless cases of absurd interference on the part of the police with my men in transit, such as the following : one foggy morning, a wagon was showing steam owing to the dampness of the atmosphere, and a policeman stopped our driver and insisted that something was wrong with the wagon. Our driver explained the atmospheric conditions were the cause of the steam's showing, but the unbelieving policeman requested to see the arrangement for preventing the steam showing. Our driver, in despair, explained it was inside the boiler casing. Luckily, another wagon passed by at the moment offending to a far greater extent than our own. The policeman felt the position was developing too rapidly, and allowed our man to proceed—with a warning!
During the course of a driver's work, he has to prevent undue delays in collecting and delivering, which often entails a display of diplomacy of no mean order in deciding quickly the most effective means to employ. He is sometimes confronted with the problem of finding that his orders from home do not coincide with his customers' requirements, and must reconcile the difference to the best of his ability, and, where the want of a road prevents him reaching his point of delivery, arrangements must he made on the spot. While running from point to point, a driver should be constantly " feeling " his machine—getting the best out of her, and keeping her steadily at work; by picking out the best track, he will save a considerable amount in repairs, and bv watching the traffic he passes he may pick up valuable information for his employer. Stopping to water brings new duties, including " feeling" round, oiling up, and looking after loose nuts, etc.
The most important and difficult duty of a motorwagon driver is, perhaps, that of guarding against mechanical troubles, or, when they do arise, being able ta read the cause and suggest a remedy. He must be able to differentiate between what repairs it is essential should be done at once, and what may be safely left over for a depOt day. Time and again I have found men failing in this respect, where otherwise they were quite
up to their work. The result has been a very heavy repair bill, and, when I have enquired why the failure was not reported, the answer has been : " Oh! I thought it would run to the week-end," The whole question of the training of motor-wagon drivers is a very difficult one, and considering its importance receives but scant attention from manufacturers, although their reputation is more or less in the bands of the men driving their machines. I hope next week to refer briefly to the proper treatment of drivers.
The log sheet is as follows :—Earnings, L;53; age, 654; tonnage, 132; percentage of work done, 92; coke used, 5 tons; oil (gear), 14 gallons: oil (cylinder), 4 gallons.—Yours, etc., MOTOR-WAGON CARRIER."
Should He Have Died ?
The Editor," THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[9051 Sir :—I have read Mr. D. Richardson's letter about castor beans in your issue of 25th ultimo. I have also to thank you for the small sample which you have sent to me. These have unfortunately been crushed in transit through the post, but even in their dilapidated condition I believe that I am warranted in recognising them as castor beans. I confess that Mr. Richardson's statement that " a number of his friends partook of them, some eating as many as two dozen " with no more serious result than would have followed a dose of castor oil, amazes me. It has equally astonished several of my friends who are acquainted with the nature of the bean. Let me tell you what I know about it.
Upwards of so years ago, my mother, who had been given a number of the castor beans as curiosities, gave a few to our family doctor, who subsequently, as it transpires, was tempted, in the interests of science, to experiment upon himself by eating a portion of one of the beans. The result seems to have been as alarming as it was unexpected, as the doctor called next day to inform my mother that he had been nearly poisoned by the small quantity which he had taken, and urged her to put the remainder out of the reach of the children. I have also heard of deaths ensuing from eating a bean instead of taking a dose of cawasr oil. In one case, the victim was the servant of a doctor, and she succumbed in spite of all that medical skill could do to save her life.
The properties of the bean itself are not referred to in the British Pharmacoixeia, but in " Martindale and Westcott's Extra Pharmacopceia " (i898, page 337), the following remark occurs :—" The seeds, but not the oil, contain the poisonous proteid Ricin," In view of this statement, I think that your staff were well advised in declining to risk an experiment which might have interfered with the publication of " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," and I hope that you will excuse me for following their prudent example.—Yours truly, J. VEITCEI WILSON. Battersea.
The Red Light Behind.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
[9061 Sir have before rue "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR "of the I.Sth February, wherein, on page 488, you give particulars of regulations under the Lights on Vehicles Act, 1907. in paragraph 2, it states that a lamp or lamps shall be carried showing a red light to the rear by all vehicles in the West Riding of Yorkshire and other places. Now, this is a point where many owners of horsed vehicles are apt to get wrong.
I have obtained a copy of the West Riding by-law, and it reads thus : " Every person who shall cause or permit a vehicle to be in any street, highway or road to which the public have access during the prescribed period, shall provide such vehicle with a lamp or lamps in proper working order,. and so constructed and capable of being so attached as when lighted to display to the back or rear a red li.ght visible for a reasonable distance." The italics are mine. It is this " reasonable distance " which gives rise to trouble. In the West Riding, it is customary to have a lamp, with a red disc in the hack, affixed to the front right-hand (off-side) corner of the vehicle, showing a white light to the front. This is all right, and can be seen by anyone in a direct line with the vehicle from behind, but, when that vehicle is in the act of passing other traffic, turning a corner, or under the influence ef any other circumstance that may arise to cause the vehicle to make a swerve or turn, that light cannot be seen by anyone in the rear, and this is where, I fancy, the police authorities will be able to secure many cases.
To safeguard our society, I have provided each vehicle with a tail (rear) lamp similar to a motor tail lamp, in addition to the lamp carried at the front. Personally, I think it would be better if this providing of a rear lamp were made compulsory on all vehicles; it would form a far better protection to motorists, and I am sure the cost is not prohibitive. I should value your opinion on the matter.
During the last two months, while on the roads after dark, I have had ample evidence that the one lamp at the front is not sufficient. I regret taking up so much of your space, but I do think, in the interests of motorists, this " Lights on Vehicles Act " ought to be.made more explicit. I should like to see a test case taken to prove the Act. Perhaps you can say whether a case has been taken in any part of the country vet? If so, I should be glad to learn the particulars.—Yours truly, J. FROST. TraFFIC Department,
Barnsley British Co-operativeSociety.
[The chief weakness of the Act, as we pointed out when It was passed (issue of this journal for the 12th September, 12071, lies in the fact that it does not make it compulsory that any lamp on a horsed vehicle shall show a red light to the rear. It only reads : "If the lamp or lamps be so constructed . . . ... that light shall ho rod.' Until a Universal Lighting Act calls for a tail lamp on all horse-drawn vehicles, the danger I.') which our correspondent refers will continue. There can be no &added case in the circumstances, unless under local by-laws. We think he has wisely protected himself at common law by fitting tail lamps as stated.—Eol
American Commercial Vehicle Design.
71w Editor," TEE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," [9071 Sir :—As Mr. Henry Sturmey has occupied your valuable space in order to discuss the subject of my letter (published in your issue of the 28th January), I venture to ask you for a little space in order to reply to his article. I was absolutely correct when I stated (or rather suggested) that, had the American commercial-vehicle designer and maker been assailed by the competition of freely-imported chassis, they would have been forced to evolve heavy chassis of durable, desirable, and common sense pattern. The result of protection from a commercial motorist's point of view has had a far from happy effect in the States, one of the best-known heavy motorists out there only recently remarking to me, that it was the present design in his country (i.e., the " submerging " of vertical engines, the use of horizontal engines, two-speed gears and friction drives, etc.) that kept things from " moving faster."
The American designer, as Mr. Sturmey says, may not be alone in placing the vertical motor " anywhere but under the bonnet," but this does not prove that the practice is not a bad one. Let those interested look at the Continental makers who have of recent years taken to putting the motor beneath the footboards, and they will see that hardly a single machine of this type can be disposed of. We naturally demand the bonneted type, which is selling in dozens all over Europe, and for which all who have the true interests of the industry at heart. are thankful. In fact, to attempt to market a commercial car with a vertical motor under the driver's seat or footboards, in Great Britain, is in my mind a deliberate. attempt at commercial suicide. If one comes to discuss experience as a factor in evolving a suitable commercial chassis, well, Mr. Sturmev has given himself away. He suggests that the American may be lacking in experience, but he will see that the Packard Motor Company, of Detroit, after experimenting with " submerged " engines for years, has turned out a bonneted, water-cooled, vertical-engined lorry, as its standard production for 1908-09. This is the result of experience. Air-cooling, we must leave to the States; it has met with much success out there, but could not be tolerated in Europe. Epicyclic gears, when well designed, are to my mind suitable for chassis built to take loads up to 25cwt. : above this the fittingof such gears is unwise, especially for country work, and for greater loads than 25cwt. we should have the ordinary sliding gear, or the always-in-mesh type with the drives taken up by dog-clutches. The right place for the horizontal and double-opposed engine, should anyone be foolish enough to continue to construct it, is the scrap heap, or "junk pile" as they call it in the States. The vertical motor and gear transmission will serve the user in a thoroughly satisfactory way, so, if we want a commercial car which will do service, and not disfigure the roadside with its useless presence, and end the clay by being of the " horse-drawn " type, let us have the former fittings and assure success.—Yours faithfully,
A.E.A.M.T.