The Principals of a Firm Should Seethe Show.
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THE Commercial Vehicle Show (the fifth of the dynasty, by the way) opens at Olympia, London, on Friday next, and, from what we have already seen of the vehicles which the manufacturers are preparing for display, we are satisfied that all previous records for interest in design, style, method and finish will be beaten.
Ideas have materially developed during the past year, under the influence of slackness of demand, and the need for the same development has made itself felt throughout industry in general. We put it to every concern making use of mechanical road transport in the conduct of its business that it is imperas tive, not only for,the transport manager but for the principals and heads of departments to attend the Show.
A wealth of ideas must be derivable at such an exhibition. The best way to make the motor vehicles of a concern valuable as a source of advertising should occupy the attention of at least one member of the staff. The various types of bodies displayed should be most carefully examined for ideas for the better transport of the concern's products and the pursuit of its trade. Methods of loading and unloading that are .applicable to the class of goods in which a concern is interested should be studied with a view to the acceleration of those time-absorbing operations. , Too mush.should not be left to the transport manager. He will find his attention fully occupied by matters of technical moment, by the means employed for securing reliability, ease, and cheapness of maintenance, and by considerations of suitability of the displayed chassis for the work that he would require of them. • .
The choice of a vehicle, or a fleet of vehicles, should be made the basis of very wide consideration of the whole subject, and this is best possible if all the departments of a concern likely to be interested in the transport side of the undertaking are invited to study the question from their own point of view. Nowhere is this study so likely to be profitable as at a show exclusively devoted to commercial vehicles.
Trolley-bus Developments.
AT present, we know of four concerns in the commercial vehicle industry who are actively considering the question of the manufacture of the electric trolleplaus, or rail-less car. One concern is beyond the consideration stage, in fact, and is actively making, its first vehicle being sufficiently advanced in construction for us to secure photographs
of it and to describe it in this issue. The vehicle itself is expected to be in service on the Tees-side system in three weeks from now, and it will be the first trolleybus that will have been designed for its job and made by bus manufacturers and not fabricated from components obtained from various manufacturers.
There are about nine different services in.this country where the trolley-bus is employed. Two. of them —those at Ramsbottoin and on Tees-side--being selfcontained, that is to say, they are not mere extensions of tramway systems. As the need arises for further extensions of public passenger services, due, to the continued outward growth of the townships, and for the replacement of the worn-out pernapent way, the number of services in which the trolley-bus will provide the solution to a stiff problem will rapidly increase. To us, it only seems reasonable that bus manufacturers should be ready to quote for motorbuses or trolley-buses. It is all business, and good business. The fact that the trolley-bus chassis is a little strange in its unite should not act as a barrier. As a matter of fact, it is an extremely simple chassis lending itself to nicety of design, and, particularly, to
i cleanliness of body arrangement. .
We commend our preliminary notice of theanew trolley-bus appearing in this issue to the careful attention of the commercial vehiclesindustry. :
Phantom Work for a Workless One.
DISSATISFACTION exiets amongst some of the owners of commercial motor vehicles In the Merseyside distriet as to the staffing arrangements of their lorries. It appears to be.a rule of the Liverpool Carters' and Motormen's*Union, to which practically all the Merseyside motormen belong, that every heavy vehicle must have a second man and, if atrailer is 'attached, a trailerman in addition, for whom there is a standard wage as agreed between the employers and the men's representatives. Cases are not unknown where dock labourers and warehousemen have threatened not ,• to handle vehicles insufficiently staffed, either by being minus'a secoed man or trailerman. Drivers of incoming vehicles (that is vehicles from other towns outside_ the Mersey district) have had to take steps, therefore, so that their outward journey may be completed and their return from Liverpool may not unduly be delayed. To do this, many of them, coming from towns where a different code of rules is recognized, and where different conditions govern the empleynaent.of second men and trailerraen, upon reaching the boundaries of the city of Liverpool, have simply picked up a workless man, who is paid a nominal sum to act as the "minus one" for the period required to unload
and reload the lorry. . In this way, owners of steam wagons from areas outside the city of Liverpool are in a position of advantage compared with those in the local trade.
The question is one which calls for careful consideration, and, as we understan.d that meetings of Liverpool employers are due to take place this month, we hope to learn that the whole question of labour conditions and wages on Merseyside will then be reviewed.
Bodywork is Given Greater Prominence at Olympia.
T this year's Olympia Show the stand of body builders are to be interspersed with those of chassis manufacturers. There is little doubt that this new arrangement will be the means of attracting greater attention to the craft of the coachbuilder than in previous years. At last year's Show, it may be remembered, the bodybuilders were huddled together at the far end of the annexe, well removed from either of the entrances, and although it may be taken for granted that interested visitors and prospective buyers did not overlook the stands, we do 012 not hesitate to say that this section did not rece4ve the atteation that the exhibits merited.
Many bodybuilders make arrangements 'with chassis manufacturers to exhibit complete machines, so that, when ranged alongside the exhibits of other chassis manufacturers, their stands serve the dual purpose of drawing attention to the chassis and to the body which it carries. This is particularly desirable in the case of motorbus and motor coach construction.
This year's Show may not reveal any striking departure in body design, although the tendency of builders to reduce the weight of their bodies without sacrificing strength, particularly with regard to public-service vehicles, will be apparent. This desirable object is being achieved by the liberal use of reinforced steel pressings, which combine rigidity with lightness,, and enable the builders to dispense with heavy wood strengthening pieces. _
There will be ample indications of the keen" endeavours which are being made by bodybuilders to provide a type of coach body which is suitable for all-the-year-round employment, and in this matter two schools of thought are at work, one favouring the vehicle which is convertible from an open-type coach to an all-weather saloon, and the other favouring the body, with a permanent rigid top and removable or
drop-down side windows. '
The influence of the large-section pneumatic tyre will be reflected in many of the bus and coach bodies to he shown. In -Ws -connection the tendency to favour the smaller type of passenger vehicle will be marked.
Fleet 'Names and Coach Colours. FOR the motor coach owner the end of the season has almost arrived, and thoughts are being turned to the problems of overhauls and renovation. Many fleet owners are now paying special attention to the colours which shall be given to their vehicles, and the matter is • one which deserves careful consideration. Striking colours have their advertising value in, attracting attention, but, on the other hand, when any of the primary colours are used it is found that whatever the state of the roads, or the weather, dirt and dust show up and give the vehicle a travel-stained appearance only too soon. It is impossible tokeep a coach clean when fis use, but the wise owner carefully considers which reelours hide both mud splashes and the all-pervading dust, met with in turn, depending upon whether the roads be wet or dry. Unfortunately, no colour wdi hide both dust and mud splashes, and', in adopting. what in. the case of animals the naturalist cells ' protective colouring," a compromise has to be found whieh will meet the varying. circumstances. In disguising travel stains, experiments with the quieter colours will be found to be worth .while.
A point which does not appear to have received sufficient attention, however, has been the adoption of a series of names which indicates sufficiently well that the vehicles belong to one particular fleet. It is immaterial to an owner in which of his vehicles a particular passenger rides, but, when a passenger has been satisfied with the comfort and convenience of one vehicle, it almost certainly follows that he will be satisfied in the case of another vehicle run by the same owner ; or, at all events, an attempt should be made that the credit gained by one unit should be turned to the advantage of the whole fleet. The link can be maintained by th.e adoption of the same style of type for the lettering in the name of each coach, in ensuring that details of equipment and decoration are -uniform, and in selecting names which fall into a single category.
The name of a coach being well painted is a. matter which is worth a good deal from the advertising point of view, and it is surprising that more owners do not carry some indication on the front of the coach, where it is much more easily read by those on the road than upon any other part of the vehicle.