Press-button Age Forecast for Bus Operators
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A 1R.COOLED engines and air t springing were future trends forecast. by .Mr._ Ronald Cox, general manager of Rochdale Transport Department, in an address to the Institute of Road Transport Engineers at Manchester on Monday. Other developments he foresaw were universal disc brakes, infra-red drying for paint shops, press-button destination-blind selectors, automatic oil-topping units and television rear mirrors.
The orthodox worm and wheel final drive had given yeoman service, he said,. but had now reached maximum permissible loadings; the trend was now for double reduction 'gears to . be developed for the rear axles of the heavier vehicles. A double-reduction gear had completed over 256,000 miles in a trolley bus, after Which it was found to be as good as new, without pitting or flaking, and with only a darkened appearance on those surfaces not in actual contact.
Air.assisted preselector gearboxes were giving place to automatic designs.
Until recently, oil fuel with low sulphur content had been at a premium, because of the acidic action caused by the sulphur, but with detergent lubricants it was now possible to use fuels of higher sulphur content without promoting bore wear. In branded fuels the sulphur might vary between 0.98 per cent. and 0.8 per cent.
Within the next 10 years opening windows might disappear from new buses and be replaced by air-conditioning which would force hot air in winter and cold air in summer into the saloons. Fitting doors to bus entrances might • cause, a slight delay at stops, but this disadvantage was outweighed in the reduction of platform accidents and offset by some slight increase in speed as a result of better power units.
A one-coat paint ought to provide substantial savings if the . material weathered as successfully as normal paint. Where the livery had one dominating colour the hot-spray process was particularly valuable. Buses were driven on to a lift and hot paint sprayed as the vehicle was raised or lowered.
One of the most useful developments in signalling had been the introduction of a plastics-strip system. This .Was being fitted as .standard in the upper and lower saloons of Rochdale buses.
The current policy was .to pre-grind new liners to precise contoors and modern machinery had been erected for this purpose in the relining room at Rochdale. Liner grindings were extracted by suction.
Nobody Wants Bulbs and Plants" .
.nECAUSE of the speed and liability Li to damage, nobody wanted to carry bulbs and plants, the Yorkshire Licensing Authority was told last week. E. and S. Bulleyment, a company specializing in this work, were granted an additional vehicle of 4-1tons on A licence, Mr. R. W. Paterson, for the applicants, said it was an unusual application, in that there were two letters of support from sub-contractors. Bulleyment's figures had increased froth £2,355 gross for one vehicle in the year ended March 31, 1955, including 1 per cent. hiring, to £6,898 in 1956, with 54 per cent. hiring. 'In 1957 the figure was £11,262, with 67 per cent. hiring.
Much of the work was small consignments, involving 10 -or 12 deliveries, from Hull to the Midlands. It had been offered to British Railways, but they