OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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• The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should' be on one side of the paper only and typewritten by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for views expressed is accepted.
DO Clearing Houses Cut Rates?
The Editor, THE 'COMMERCIAL 'MOTOR.
[1',874] gir,—The article by your correspondent "The Sketch," in your issue of September 20th, and the letter from "Running CostS " of the prevt;ous week, clearly demand a reply, and it is hoped, for the sake of the movetheiat, that' the clearing house in question will give its explanation_ as to why it offered such a ridiculous rate for traffic frem Yorkshire to Liverpool.
The function of a clearing house; is not to cut rates, but to obtain the best rate in accordance with the class of traffic to be carried, arid if it is found that there is a certain amount of cutting going on, the fault does not altogether rest with the clearing house. It is h known fact that. certain haulage contraetora, less scrupulous than others, are in the habit of undercutting the clearing house rates in order to obtain the work direct. To my mind, the remedy does not lie in retaliation. There are other means!
It must be admitted that clearing_ houses are doing very good work in stabilizing rates and co-ordinating traffic, and a great deal of traffic is being put on the road through their agency that would, otherwise
:loy rail. To mymind; th,e future of the road transport industrt, depends upon an efficient clearing
house system. •
Re order to prevent overlapping, one, official clearing house shOuld be established in every industrial centre; and these cleaking heuees 'should all be linked together by an association which would lay down rules ofprocedure. It is not necessary that they should.he linked together financially, as -each should stand upon its own footing: The council of such an association could comprise representatiVes from the motetorganizations such as the C.M:U.A. and the AA. and M.U., and also from such ,bodies as the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and. Federation of British IndiriStrieS: Thus" would he created'a. eerPorate body able to deal with matter's of pl./1141i; from the Point of (view of the trader
as wOhI as the haulage contractor: ' In the interest Of trader's generally, it is not adVisable that •CIeiriiig houses should he controlled Ingtikb-Y,:akseeiatioes of haulage, doritriletors._
The term load " shdulcI -heifer be used in
connection with road transport, as lorries run from point to point, and an efficient organization should be able to command economic rates in any direction: , I cannot agree with your correspondent's argument, that unless the transport manager is definitely pledged to' the transport interest; then he is against it. It takes two people to make a bargaiii, and, were it not for the trader who dispatched the goods, there would be no need for the transport industry, and surely one of the parties' to the bargain is entitled to as much consideration as the other.
The clearing house with which I have the honour to be connected is part and parcel of the Chamber of Commerce, of which all the local haulage contractors are members, together with the manufacturers and merchants. In practice, this has proved to be an admirable arrangement. I am convinced that, were it not for the clearing houses, many haulage contractors who went into the business during the rush after the armistice would not be in existence to-day. The railway companies are coming into the field again, but in spite of this I am convinced that there is a great future for the road transport industry. This future will depend largely upon co-ordination and ca-operation, and not in rate cutting.—Yours faithfully,
W. DOHALDSON WRIGHT, Transport Manager, Nottingham Chamber of Commerce.
The Trackless Trolley System.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
• [1875] Sir,—It is difficult to treat Mr. Pink's remarkable communication (The Commercial Motor issue of September' 20th) very seriously, but, as ypu have thought well to publish it, I trust that you will
also find space for a, line of reply. _ '
Mr. Pink dismisses the internal combustion motor as crude and expensive, but the same criticism, can be applied to every IMMO device, it a suitable Standard of aseference. is se/ected, We are not concerned with unrealizable ideals, but with practical realities, and our appraisements are, of necessity, comparisons with available alternatives. A device which has revolutionized transport on land, extended travel on and
under water, and alone achieved aerial flight, is, assuredly, neither relatively crude nor expensive.
The main purpose of Mr. Pink's letter is to denounce the trolley-bus. "It is an ill-advised
attempt to bolster up the decaying tramway ! It. ia even more inflexible than the tramway ! It is compelled by the overhead conductor to keep in line and, therefore, wears prominent wheel tracks in the road! ". In fact, it is a national disgrace, and Mr. Pink looks. on it. with shame and regret..
That, within fairly wide limits, tramways', are, if not detaying, at any rate becoming obsolete, is not to be doubted; but on what imaginable grounds can the trolley-bus be accused of bolstering them up? The function of the trolley-bus. is to take the place of tramways, and the more successfully it fulfils that function the, more will it hasten their obsolescence The charge. of inflexibility is founded on the theory that "the double overhead conductor cannot provide for crossings and turnings." Should your correspon dent some day find it convenient to inspect a trolleybus installation, he will probably be surprised to find that his theory bears no relation to fact. Crossings, junctions, and other special work are as practicable and effective with one conductor as with two.
In asserting that trolley-buses are compelled by their overhead conductors to keep in line, your correspondent may, perhaps, have been misled by the practice that is followed in a few installations, ill which the attempt is made to use an uncontrolled. trolley with the inevitable. result. of restricting the permissible lateral deviation to a very few feet on each side of the wire. Trolley-buses equipped with a. controlled trolley, i.e., a trolley which counteracts any tendency of the trolley wheel to leave the wire, travel anywhere on the available road surface with out regard to the position of the overhead conductors. The assurance with which Mr. Pink launches. his somewhat reckless criticisms is matched by his courageous presentation of an alternative. Crude and expensive internal-combustion motors, decaying tramways and nationally disgraceful trolley-buses must give way, we are told, to the simpler system of
flat metal tracks, to which all commercial vehicles will be confined. Steel tyres, and strong, rigid over
head conductor, complete a. picture on which Mr. Heath Robinson himself might be excused for casting an envious. eye.! Such minor considerations as lack of adhesion on gradients and intolerable noisiness need not be more than mentioned, but it may perhaps be permissible to ask bow these steel tyred, rail-bound monstrosities are expected to overtake and passe one another, unless the entire road surface is of steel and the "strong, rigid overhead conductor" also becomes a flat metallic roof as wide as the roadway.
Mr. Pink claims to have been the first to point out that roads must come first. He would probably be on
safer ground in claiming to be the first (and -last) to
advocate that his "simpler system" of flat metal tracks must come next. May I add that the trolley bus claims to be, if not. the first, yet not the least champion of roads for rubber-tyred traffic, first, last,
and all the time—Yours faithfully, ENGINEER.
Water for Radiators.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1876] Sir,—Before venturing to offer an opinion, if possible to arrive at one, as to the cause of the reduction in hardness in respect of the ice water to which your correspondent "EC." refers, the writer would be glad to be enlightened on the following points :—Be the town water from which it is stated the ice was made. Was the water treated in any way before being converted into ice ; if so, in what manner? Is some town water supplies in this country have their inherent chemical peculiarities, would e60 your correspondent be good enough to mention the name of the town to which he refers?
Re the results as given by " E.C." of the analysis of the ice water. What scale is the hardness 2-8 based on, viz., as grains per gallon (of chalk) or as parts per 100,000? Does your correspondent, in mentioning that in the ice water as analysed there was no lime whatever," happen to know what salts give rise to the 2.8 hardness? Is magnesia present? In further reference to the analysis of the ice water, in stating "alkali 4.0," does "E.0." know whether the analyst specifies what alkali is present, or does the figure imply the "total alkalinity " of the water? If so, is it calculated as calcium, carbonate or as sodium oxide? The actual cause of the alkalinity is the " important " point.
The writer is very interested, and would certainly like, if *possible, to elucidate the reason for what " E.C." has found ; hence an answer through your columns would be appreciated.—Yours faithfully, Catford, S.E. H. SAMPSON WILLS.
Dynamometer Readings in the Tractor Trials.
The Editor, THE CoramERCIAL Mown.
[1877] Sir-' —Permit me to draw your attention to your report on the S.M.M. and T. Trials of agricultural motors, just concluded, as On reading through this I find a mistake has crept into the second column of page 182. It is stated there that:—
" . . . every tractor should undergo an official ,ploughing test occupying 6 hrs. in the morning and' 6 hrs. in the afternoon."
This is an obvious error, and should have read that the official ploughing, test was of 6 hrs. duration, the tractor working continuously throughout that period. [This' was due to a misreading of the details given
in the daily programme, of the Trials.—En., C.M.1
On the. following pager " skgrimot," in commenting upon the. work which was being done in field "0," expressed the opinion that:—
. . . it is difficult to say how the registration of the drawbar pun by the dynamometer can be what one might describe, as. quite fair in its figures."
I fear that " Agrimot" has either made a slip or has failed to appreciate the principal reasonfor the use of a dynamometer throughout the Trials. It was to meet such conditions as " Agrimot " mentions— namely, inequality of conditions even in the same field—that; it was decided to use such an instrument, which. records. variations in drawbar effort-, varyinF length of, furrows, variatien in depth of ploughing, work done at headlands, the distance travelled, and the time occupied, so that, in fact, it takes account of every factor, except that of gradient ; this last-named factor is one which can be dealt with by simple mathematics, as the fields have all been surveyed and the gradients, takenand recorded.
.With the full knowledgeof these factors before you and the manner in which they can be Jolt with, I am sure you will concede that the records cannot be otherwise than perfectly fair and just.—Youre faith fully, GEO. W. WATSON.
The Paris Show.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL 3/10TOR.
[1878] Sir,—I have just returned from a visit to the Automobile Salon at Paris, and I was disappointed to find that the commercial vehicle exhibits are housed in a separate building. It would surely be preferable to have all the exhibits/in one building, so that the thousands who visit the Show to view the private cars might also be attracted by the commercial vehicles.— Yours faithfully, GLOBE TROTTER. London