News and Comment.
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This journal fosters, represents, and chronicles commercial motoring in all its branches ; it has the largest and best circulation throughout the United Kingdom, the Colonies, India, and foreign countries generally. No part of our exclusive and valuable circulation is due to the forcing of sales in useless quarters.
We are glad to see that no provincial meet of commercial motors will be organised during the winter, but we do not know who suggested that such a meet should take place before May next at the earliest.
In addition to the pages we have devoted to our report of the Smithfield Show, we have, as the official organ of the Society of Road Traction En_gineers, published the whole of Mr. Hardy's paper in this issue.
Pressure on our space necessitates the holding over of the continuation of the • article on the " Value and utility of • steam wagons," notes from our corre • simndent hi Paris, a number of letters -from correspondents, answers to que-ries, and other matter and illustrations.
Apropos the sum of ,4;9,600 which the Australian World " reports as having been placed in the estimates by the -Commonwealth Postmaster-General, the first announcement of this intention to purchase postal motors for Australia was contained in our issue of the 23rd May last in the form of an interview with the Victorian Postmaster-General, Lieutenant-Colonel F. L. Outran'.
The March Show.
Messrs. Burford (Milnes-Daimler), Bonsor (Darracq-Serpollet), Gascoine
(Armstrong-Whitworth), Goodchild (Lacre), Johnson (Rolls-Royce), Straker (Straker and Squire), Miles (as Chairman of the Marine Section), and A. Brampton (as Chairman Of the Accessories Section)' together with the President, Mr. E. Manville, have been appointed a sub-committee for the second International Commercial Vehicle and Motor Boat Show of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. We understand that the Northern Motor Cab and Transport Company, of Bradford, to which, we referred last week (page 313 ante) will purchase Humber chassis.
A New York correspondent advises us that the Alden-Sampson train, which was illustrated and described in our last issue, does not show the slightest tendency to skid or slip. He informs us that he took particular steps to observe its behaviour when travelling up Fifth Avenue, which has an asphalt surface, and which was very " greasy."
A New Company.
Meter Cabs, Limited, has been registered, with its office at 4, Clarence Street, Manchester, to adopt an agreement with Argyll Motors, Limited, and to carry on the business of manufacturers and repairers of motorcabs and other self-propelled vehicles. The authorised capital is .4:1I,000, divided into .4.-t shares, t,000 of which are deferred. The first directors are Messrs. Duckworth, Schofield and Taylor.
A further order for six, Wellington, : compound tractors has been received by William Foster and Company, Limited, of Lincoln, from the Mechanical Transport Committee of the War Office.
A Wrong Entry: The subscription of Mr. F. A. Bonsor (Darracq-Serpollet Omnibus Company, Limited), to the expenses of the Reading Meet was, Mr. Leo. Harris advises us, inadvertently entered as a remittance for an extra luncheon ticket.
Professional Help.
Mr. Bertram C. Joy, M.I.A.E., brother of Mr, Basil II. Joy, has recently established himself, at Craven House, Kingsway, London, W.C., as a consulting engineer and designer. Mr. Bertram Joy's experience in vehicle design and marine work is very extensive, and we feel sure that calls will be made upon his services by many who require assistance of the lond. which he is so well qualified to give.
Latest Albion Order.
The latest Albion _order is for a 2-ton van to be supplied to the Bridgeton Old Victualling and Baking Society, of Glasgow. This' is the first motor vehicle to be acquired by these purchasers, who expect to show a considerable saving over their horse-haulage charges. We congratulate the Albion Motor Car Company, Limited, upon the increase of its business in Glasgow, and upon the fact that it is finding the orders come in freely both from home and abroad. The merits of the Albion chassis are uniformly appreciated by all who give the company an opportunity to satisfy them,
German Retrenchment.
German automobile manufacturers have resolved that there shall be no motor show at Berlin next year. They were led, in this matter, by the Allgemeine Elektrizithts-Gesellschaft, which finances the N.A.G. Company, and, after a deliberation of nearly five hours on Saturday last, came to this decision. The next German show to be held, after the forthcoming one, will be in September, 19o9.
Another Lacre Van in Wales.
One of the t6h.p. Lacre motorvans which have found such favour with some of the great, London houses has been delivered recently to Ben Evans and Co., Ltd., of Swansea, and it arrived on the scene at a very opportune moment, viz., the opening of the Christmas season's traffic. The van will be used for the country deliveries of the company, and it is anticipated that others will be purchased.
Timber Cartage.
We illustrate (on page 347) a standard Leyland wagon specially designed for dealing with timber. The platform of this wagon is 16 feet in length, there being some to feet between the back of the seat and the centre line of the back axle, so that timber up to 24 feet long can be carried. In the centre of the platform there is a well, and this is used for carrying the side irons, hitching chains, and other tackle used for binding the timber in position on the wagon. With the exception of the details noted above, the wagon is one of the Lancashire Steam Motor Company's standard type, of which more than 300 are now on the road on ordinary and special work.
Manchester Dilemma.
The Secretary for the St. James's Hall Show (Manchester) writes : " As in previous years, there will be no provision at the forthcoming Manchester Motor Car Show for commercial vehicles of any description." The italics are ours, and we again ask how the S.M.M.T. came to give its support to this show ?
L.C.C. and Fire Brigade Motors.
The Fire Brigade Committee of the L.C.C. reported, on Monday, that the chassis for a motor escape van which Commercial Cars, Ltd., had let the Council have for a trial of two months' duration, had proved satisfactory. The arrangement was that, if the chassis was suitable, the Council would pay the company LS32 ins., less any unexpended portion of ..50 which was provided for extras. The price included .2,c,18 for a special clutch, which had been dispensed with, and, as none of the sum provided for extras had been expended, the amount to be paid to the company for the chassis was ..764 105. In July, the Council accepted the tender of Shand, Mason and Co., Ltd., to supply a motor escape van for £940, but, at the request of the firm, the Fire Brigade Committee had agreed to extend the Lime of delivery from six to twelve months. The van, consequently, would not be delivered in time for it to be available for the new fire station for which it was intended, and the Committee had accepted, subject to the usual sanction, an offer of Commercial Cars, Ltd., to supply within one month a motor escape van at the same price as the one supplied by them (referred to above), and of I3ayley's, Limited, to supply a hese box, hose reel, hose, first aid appliance, etc., for the chassis, for
In the current number of "The Organiser " an article appears entitled "Do Commercial Motors Pay?" and a table of running costs has been compiled from figures supplied to the Lacre Motor Car Company by such firms as Messrs. Shoolbred, Maple, Hedges and Butler, etc., and a comparative table of motor and horse delivery costs is also given.
Damage to Roads by Farm Wagons.
The Motor Union calls attention to the fact that, in some agricultural districts, motor traffic is debited with an unfair proportion of the wear of the roads, whereas the mischief arises mainly from the hauling of agricultural wagons from the fields to barns, etc. Stress is placed upon the fact that the cutting up of the roads by such traffic would be avoided, if farmers had the wheels of wagons scraped before leaving the fields. The importance of this precaution was insisted upon recently by the Surveyor to the Chard Rural Council, but, although one member , men, tioned that he had had five bullocks crippled through roads cut up by such hauling, the members" were of opinion that nothing could be done." At the Taunton Rural Council the necessity of taking steps to prevent damage to main and district roads, caused by the manner in which mangolds have been hauled, was pointed out. Several mem_ bers observed that they waited for fine weather, or had the mud scraped up, whilst the Chairman advocated that the Council should have the roads scraped while hauling was proceeding. He raised the interesting point that bringing mud on the roads might be considered extraordinary traffic, for which it would he possible for the Council to take proceedings against owners of the vehicle.