Passing Comments
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A Paradise on Two LsIKE the proverbial old Decks and Four oldier, buses seem to prefer
Wheels fading away to dying. We are
all familiar with that common seaside manifestation, the "desirable, labour-saving chalet," . which, on inspection, is revealed as an ex-public service vehicle. In these days of housing difficulties, too, numbers of young people are engaged in adapting old transport vehicles as love-nests for two. Now we hear of a bus being converted into a holiday " home " for 30 schoolboys, with the upper . deck as a dormitory, and the headmaster's study 'in the driver's cab. The intention of the headmaster/ driver is to tour :France and Spain in August, with two members of his staff sharing the driving and, we presume, conducting duties. Knowing the schoolboy's love of buses, we feel the idea to be a commendable one, but opportunities of sneaking out after lights out are likely.to be strictly limited.
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A Suggestion Scheme IN many branches of industry, Which Gives Good 'including our own, there is Results increasing appreciation of the•. value of consulting employees in matters pertaining to the furtherance of production efficiency and general well-being. In this connection, the A.C. Sphinx Spark Plug Co., a division of General Motors, Ltd., started a suggestion scheme in 1943, the • committee being under the chairmanship of the service manager and including specialists from the planning, personnel, costing and technical branches, also others from the workers' advisory panel. The results of this scheme are shown by the fact that no fewer than 284 suggestions were received during 1949, and 105 accepted, awards amounting to £329 being given. One was as high as £50 as its adoption effected considerable savings in labour and material. The company employs nearly 2,000 persons. half of whom are women. Useful . Factor to Re0,NE of the most important memberwhen Spraying •factors in obtaining satis Paint faction with the spraying of
paint finishes was referred to incidentally by Mr. Thursby while giving his recent paper on this subject. That factor is the pressure at the nozzle. If this be too low the finish may be lumpy. The point to remember is that the pressure at the nozzle is not necessarily the same as that in the reservoir, owing to loss in the pipe line, and it is advisable to allow for a reduction of 1 lb. per sq. in. per ft. of hose.
I-la uli6.s. CoMpensa. T" panel which, under the tion Panel Works chairmanship of Mr. J. B. tion Panel Works chairmanship of Mr. J. B.
Quickly and Fairly Osier, is engaged in settling
claims for compensation by hauliers whose businesses have been taken over by the Road Haulage Executive, is doing a difficult job extremely. well. 'It is, of course, closely restricted by the terms of the Transport Act, but its decisions are generally regarded as fair. In a recent week, the panel settled valuations of vehicle's' totalling £285,000 for hauliers, for whom Mr. K. Firth Butterfield, of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, was acting. Mr. Butterfield, who has spent many days with the panel, is impressed by its businesslike approach to its work, although he has frequently expressed strong views on the treatment of hauliers under the Transport Act.
The Cur:ous Experience MANY years. ago Mr. of a London Bus "I Walter Crook was one of
Pioneer the best-known men amongst the independent bus operators in London, as he, wit_h Mr. W. F. Mallender, ran the City service. In addition, he was managing director of a bus company at IrthIingborough. For some years, however, he had been ailing, and he died on April 23 in Devon, to which he had retired. Naturally interested in the transport of passengers, he once had the curious experience of rescuing two young women whom he found lying almost unconscious in the road after having been pushed out of a passing car. The unusual nature of this event was accentuated by the coincidence that, while assisting them, he discovered that they both lived in the same hotel as himself.