AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

NEWS of the WEEK

11th November 1939
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 20, 11th November 1939 — NEWS of the WEEK
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

A.R.O. FORMULATES TRAFFICCLEARING DEPART1VIENT.

THE A.R.O. head office is perturbed at reports reaching it from various areas, not only of the difficulties confronting members through petrol rationing, but of real cases of hardship often disclosed. It is no exaggeration to state that many operators are facing a complete shut-down of their businesses. Everything is being done by the Association to mitigate such hardships and smooth over difficulties, and the Association is grateful, both to the Ministry of Transport officials and to the Regional Transport Commissioners for the prompt attention which they have given to representations.

Nevertheless, the future cannot be regarded with equanimity and the Association has decided to extend the scope of its operations to include the actual handling of traffic on behalf of its members. To do this a subsidiary company will be necessary and this is being formed immediately on a cooperative basis which will provide for any profits from trading to be returned annually to the members participating. It must be emphasized that, although the scheme emanates from A.R.O., there is no desire to restrict activities solely to members of one Association. There will be Area Headquarters in each area, with a manager and, advising him, a Committee of Management drawn from hauliers in the area. It is not intended that the Association, through this company, shall enter into competition with any existing member, • but rather that it should act as an intermediary between those hauliers with traffic to offer and those requiring work. It will be in a position to handle large blocks of traffic moving between diverse points and offering from Government departments and others, beyond the capabilities of individual operators (as the Eastern Area Office has already done), and to deal with large-scale organization such as is required under the livestock scheme.

• The latter scheme is being developed in full agreement with those responsible for the meat-transport pool and it is anticipated that the closest cooperation will be maintained between the two bodies. It is also intended to work in accord with the railways, so that those hauliers who are finding their traffic diverted to rail through the refusal of supplementary petrol are advised to make immediate contact with their Area Office. GOVERNMENTSUBSIDIZED GASPRODUCER DESIGN?

REFERENCE has been made in the daily Press to a Government standardized gas-producer plant suitable for the heavier classes of vehicle. We have watched this development for some time with considerable interest, and some gas-producer makers are perturbed at the activity displayed by a research organization,, partially subsidized by the Government, and apparently entering into competition with them.

The design seems to have been developed after meticulous examination of existing plants.

B.R.F. To Carry On Under Mr. Bristow.

AT an emergency meeting of the committee of management of the British Road Federation, held last Monday. it was agreed that Mr. F. G. Bristow, C.B.E., general secretary of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, should be asked to act as honorary secretary of the Federation for the time being. We now learn that Mr. Bristow has agreed to act in this capacity.

It is intended that the Federation shall continue its activities dealing with issues that concern the welfare of all sections of the roadtransport industry and its subsidiary interests, in accordance with its past policy. It is also intended that a close watch shall be kept on its policy concerning better roads, in order that it may continue to press for road improvements, whenever it is deemed practical to do .so. The Government Departments affected are being advised to this effect.

Sub-letting Military Contracts at Cut Rates.

STRONG complaint of what he termed a " ramp,in connection with the sub-letting of contracts for the hire of lorries to the military authorities, was made by Mr. W. J. Lowe, secretary of the Yorkshire Area of A.R:O., in an interview with our Yorkshire correspondent this week.

According to Mr. Lowe's statement, it has been found that, in some cases, firms in Yorkshire who have obtained hiring contracts from the military authorities at reasonable rates, have profiteered in sub-letting, by paying severely cut rates to operators who have provided vehicles through their agency.

Mr. Lowe said that, with a view to remedying this position, the Yorkshire Area of A.R.O. was putting before the military authorities in the Northern Command a scheme whereby A.R.O. members in Yorkshire, who provided lorries for the use of the military, would know precisely with whom they were dealing, what payment they would receive, and when they would be paid: PERSONAL PARS.

MR, G. C. CAMPBELL-TAYLOR, general manager of the Trent Motor Traction Co., Ltd., is making a good recovery following an illness.

LORD NTJFFIELD, head of the Morris group, has been appointed DirectorGeneral of Maintenance, at the Air Ministry, as a result of the direct invitation of Sir Kingsley Wood, the Air Minister. MR. OLIVER BODEN, his deputy in the Morris group, has been appointed Deputy Director-General.

MR. J. W. MiLLS, whom we saw last Saturday chatting with Mr. Leslie Burgin, Minister of Supply, is now Deputy Director of Armament Production for the Air Ministry, a post for which he is well fitted as a result of his extensive experience in the field of manufacture. We came into contact with him for the first time when he was works manager for Halley's Industrial Motors, Ltd., Glasgow, following which he has occupied important positions with, amongst others, Rootes, Ltd., and the Austin Motor Co., Ltd.

Rootes to Distribute Sunbeam Battery-electrics.

W/E are advised by Sunbeam CornVY rnercial Vehicles, Ltd„ Wolverhampton, that an arrangement has been made whereby Rootes, Ltd., will act as sole distributor in the London and surrounding area for the sale of Sunbeam-electric vehicles.

Full information in respect of these vehicles can be obtained from the Rootes commercial-vehicle department, Lord's Court, St. John's Wood Road, London, N.W.8, and chassis can be inspected at that address. The company is also able to arrange demonstrations and to deal with both trade and retail inquiries.

£500,000 Roumanian Order for British Ambulances and Lorries,

ylUITI-1 the approval of the British

Government, a contract has been concluded between the Roumanian Government and the Ford Motor Co., Ltd., Dagenham, for the supply of motor ambulances on Fordson chassis and specially equipped Fordson lorries adaptable for stretcher carrying. The value of the order is over £500,000, and deliveries are to begin almost at once.

The motor ambulances will be based on Fordson 2-3-ton chassis of 134-in. wheelbase, powered with 30 h.p. eightcylindered engines and having left-hand drive and special ambulance-type springs and shock absorbers. Four tubular steel stretchers can be carried, and are to be supplied with each ambulance.

The lorry order comprises Fordson 2-3-ton 134-in.-wheelbase chassis and Fordson 4-5-ton 158-in.-wheelbase chassis, all with eight-cylindered engines. All these vehicles will have stake bodies and canvas tops, fitted on six hoops which can be placed together at the front of the body when not in use, Demountable stretcher carriers and four tubular steel stretchers are to be supplied with each vehicle. Equipment includes snow chains, towing hooks and direction indicators.

Clifici./i Agent for Wool Traffic.

I N connection with the Government's purchase of the Australian, New Zealand and South African wool clips for the duration of the war, the Liverpool Cart and Motor Owners Association has been appointed official agent for the handling of this traffic landed at non-rail-connected berths in the port of Liverpool, Novel Advertising for Engine Reconditioning. .

AN original idea has been adopted by Hamilton Motors (London), Ltd., 466-490, Edgware Road, London, W.2, to draw attention to its activities in connection with engine reconditioning. The company has installed a reconditioning shop in its showroom windows. On the left, a finished engine is displayed, discs on the window explaining the salient points. A clock is installed, which is kept nine hours fast, so that the public is advised of the time required, from the present, to install a reconditioned Bedford engine.

The running-in plant is also well to the fore, and a partially assembled unit can be viewed through a glass panel. The sump, which has a capacity of 80 pts., supplies cool, clean oil for this purpose. This oil is continuously by-passed through a Simmonds Fram oil cleaner and refiner, thence into a glass container.

Two first-class fitters are permanently engaged in the window. The whole process of reboring an engine is carried out on the spot. The honing stand and main bench are supplied with compressed air.

Although the company specializes in the reconditioning of Bedford and Vauxhall engines, all types of commercial and private-car power units, including oilers, are dealt with.

VEHICLE LAMPS AND FLARES IN FOG.

I NSTRUCTIONS concerning procedure

during thick fog have been issued by the Ministry of Home Security. When a chief officer of police considers that conditions are sufficiently bad, he may authorize the use, by a local authority or other responsible organization, of fog flares, but arrangements must be made to extinguish them immediately on receipt of an air raid warning.

Any motor vehicle may use an unscreened fog lamp, provided that it is additional to and fitted below the ordinary head lamp and is operated by a separate switch; its beam directed downwards and towards the near side; its use restricted to occasions when progress is impracticable without it; and that it is extinguished immediately a warning is received.

Paper on the Use of Town Gas For Motors.

THE November Journal of the Institution of Automobile Engineers zontains a paper entitled "The Use of Gas as a Fuel for Motor Vehicles," by Dr. J. C. Clarke, of the Birmingham Gas Department. It deals comprehensively with the subject and covers such points as compressors, steel cylinders; reducing valves and debenzolizing plant, in addition to the characteristics of gas as a fuel for high-speed engines and the equipment of gas-driven vehicles and compressor stations. The author also gives a summary of actual and predicted developments, including producer-gas vehicles. Copies of the paper, in pamphlet form, may be purchased from the Institution, 12, Hobart Place, London, S.W.1, at the price of 3s. each.

By reason of the topical interest of the subject we shall include a precis of the paper in our next issue; pressure on our space prevents its publication in this issue.

Australian Government Encourages Producer Gas.

FOR some time there has been sitting in Australia a Government Standing

Committee on Liquid Fuel's, In the committee's recently issued third report, big users of petrol are urged, in view of the war, to anticipate the rationing of liquid fuel in the Commonwealth by equipping their vehicles with producergas outfits.

It is estimated that, in normal times, approximately 350,000,000 gallons of petrol are needed annually for Australia's transport requirements. According to investigations recently conducted by Professor A. F. Burstaff, of Melbourne University, it is believed that, if mass production of producergas outfits were undertaken by one or more large engineering works in Australia, such units could be sold profitably for £30 or less, instead of at £60 to £100. Only three concerns in Australia are at present producing such equipment.

It is reported that a brochure advising commercial-vehicle and car owners, more especially farmers, how to convert A20 their vehicles in time of war, is being prepared by Professor Burstall, in cooperation with Colonel T. R. Williams, cf the Victoria Defence Department.

This helpful article on the part of the Commonwealth Government is in striking contrast to the indifference of the British Government in the matter of gas producers.

Guy Service in Birmingham.

BYwaY of emphasizing the fact that a complete stock of Guy spares is carried, a Guy Service Week has recently been held by Wells and Mayner, Ltd., Ladywell Walk, Birmingham. The proceedings were opened by Ambrose (without his hand on this occasion), supported by Mr. A. E. Mayner, managing director, Mr. H. W. Whale, sales manager, Mr. H. Woodall, sales manager of Guy Motors, Ltd., and Mr. J. H. Holden, of F. Perkins, Ltd.

There were on view an interesting sectioned Guy Wolf 2-3-ton chassis, as well as a complete lorry of the same type, a 6-ton Otter and a Perkins P6 oil engine. In addition to its stock of spares, Wells and Mayner. Ltd., is able to give service for 24 hours a day and the facilities include well-equipped electrical-testing and repair shops.

Beet Delivery to Ely Factory.

TIIE beet-sugar factory at Ely will I be kept open on Sundays, at the usual hours, to receive beet transported by road. As a result of the lighting restrictions, night deliveries by rail and water cannot be accepted, a.s the cranes are available only during the day.

Higher Wages—Higher Rates.

I NCREASED haulage rates have been decided upon by the haulage contractors of Wigan, Leigh, Rochdale, Bury, Oldham and Ashton, as the resnit of meetings which they have held to discuss the proposals of the Road Haulage Central Wages Board. The objections, to the wages plan, tabulated at the recent meeting of Manchester operators, were reaffirmed in each place.

EMPLOYERS' REPRESENTATIVES FOUGHT HARD.

THE manner in which road-transport employers' representatives in Yorkshire have handled the wages position, resulting from the passing of the Road Haulage Wages Act, was defended by Mr. W. J. Lowe, secretary of A.R.O. Yorkshire Area, in a speech at Batley, last week.

Certain operators, said Mr. Lowe, had been suggesting that the Yorkshire employers' representatives did not fight hard enough against the Central Board's scheme of wages and general working conditions for employees of A and 13-licence holders.

Criticism had arisen through ignorance of the steps which were taken in Yorkshire, notably the preparation by the Associations' sub-committee of the case for the appeal which the Yorkshire Employers' Panel made to the Central Board's Grading Committee against the

imposition of Grade I wages in a large part of Yorkshire. Weeks were spent in the preparation of this case, which was embodied in a document amounting to about 60 foolscap pages, and included a mass of statistics in support of the arguments put forward.

The appeal was rejected by the Grading Committee, but trade-union leaders admitted that the case was the finest which had ever been tabled on behalf of the Yorkshire employers.

New Handbook on Dennis Falcon.

FOR several years Dennis instruction books have embodied the features that comprise a soundly produced manual, and the latest publication from Dennis Brothers, Ltd., Guildford, relating to the Falcon Nissen ger chassis, fully maintains the tradition. The use of two-colour printing enables the numerous:line and half-tone illustrations to be pointered in a particularly clear manner. The text is expressed simply and logically. It is a comprehensive manual, thoughtfully produced. Copies are available, .price 4s. each, post free.

NEW GIRLING FACTORY.

SOgreat has been the expansion in the demand for Girling brakes and other Girling equipment that the manufacturer 'has, for some time, felt the need for larger premises. That company, New Hudson, Ltd., has now moved into a bigger and more convenient factory in Garrison Lane, Birmingham, 9.

With an area of 31 acres, all the shops are on ground level, and the cycle factory is now separate from the Girling brake departments. In addition to a machine shop of nearly 23,000 sq. ft., an assembly section of more than 19,000 sq. ft. and such other important departments as the rough stores and receiving bays, millwrights' shops, electricians', department, canteen and surgery, totalling nearly 14,000 sq. ft., there is a fine service department into which large vehicles can be driven and manceuvred.

Important Notice to Readers.

I F your newsagent has not been in the habit of regularly delivering or reserving Tle?. Commercial Motor for you, you should, to save possible disappointment, immediately place an order with him instructing him to reserve a copy for you weekly. Newsagents' supplies are restricted owing to war-time conditions, and they cannot be expected to anticipate casual demands. It is wise, therefore, while our present difficulties last, to help the country in it economy campaign, to deal with the same newsagent and not depend upon getting The Commercial Motor from other sources where you may find your copy is reserved for some reader who has taken the precaution to order it. Alternatively, you can have The Commercial Motor posted to you direct from this office at a cost of 4s. 4d. for three months, including postage, longer periods pro rata.

If you have any difficulty in obtaining your copy at any time we shall be obliged if you will let us know the name and address of your newsagent.

Agent Required for Australia-England Removals.

ATRANSPORT service operating in Adelaide has for some time past been receiving numerous inquiries regarding removals overseas, but business has had to be refused because the firm has no London agent to handle

the goods upon arrival. It would, therefore, like to make contact with a reputable transport company to cooperate in removals in both directions. Letters should be addressed, "Overseas Removals," care of the Editor. AUSTIN PROFIT HIGHER.

PRELIMINARY figures issued by the Austin Motor Co., Ltd., show that the company made a gross trading profit of £1,609,580 in the year ended July 31, 1939, and, after deducting £893,360 for maintenance and depreciation, the net profit comes out at £716,220. In the previous year the gross trading profit was £1,282,828 and the net profit £608,658. Contingencies reserve is to receive £105,000 and income tax and N.D.C. account 2300,000.

The directors recommend the payment of a 20 per cent, dividend on the preferred ordinary stock (less tax), which will account for £150,000, and 15 per cent, on the ordinary and A ordinary stock (less tax), which will absorb 293,369.

The Legal Side of Employment.

EMPLOYERS and law students 1-LAshould be particularly 'interested in a new book, "Statute Law Relating to Employment," by F. N. Ball, LL.B., and published at 10s. by Thames Bank Publishing Co., Ltd., 29, Cliff Town Road, Southend-on-Sea. A special feature referred to is the Emergency Legislation Service which will be provided, at a small annual charge, throughout the war.

The book consolidates the modern law of employment, making it a welldefined and separate branch of legal study, and it has been adopted by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants and the Society of Incorporated Cost Consultants as an officially recommended text book.


comments powered by Disqus