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.
One Whistle or Three?
Our suggestion of last week is now adopted in London.
Motoreab Fares.
We can authoritatively state that no reduction in the Metropolitan schedule of fares for motor taxicabs is contemplated or feasible.
"Commer Cars."
Two more two-ton " Commer Car vehicles have just been ordered by Waring's, and another recent order fur the same make and type is from Henry Meux and Company, Limited, of 268, Tottenham Court Road, W. It so happens that one of the " Commer Car " estate cars is on view atthe Olympia Show of this month.
Reference No. 576,201/2.
The circular letter of Sir Edward Henry, Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, reads : " in view of the large and increasing number of motorcabs now plying in the streets, it is considered that it will meet the convenience of the public generally if, instead of the usual three blasts of a whistle for a motorcab, one blast be substituted, three blasts being the call for a four-wheeled cab.
" On and after the Sth November, 19or..;, therefore, the code will be ;--For a motorcab, one blast ; for a hansom, two blasts; for a four-wheeler, three blasts. All cab companies, owners and drivers are being informed of the proposed alteration in calls, and the Commissioner of Police will he obliged if you will publish this notice."
Mr. A. R. Alley has been elected a member of the Nottingham City Council. His victory provided a Conservative gain.
Repair-shop Equipment.
The Morvi State of India, which owns between fifty and sixty self-propelled cars anti lorries, has just placed, with Drummond Brothers, Limited, of Ryde's Hill, near Guildford, an order for the fitting-up of an extensive repairing depot. In addition to a number of milling machines, and special tools, the ()Wilt vill include two of Drummond 's special motor-repairing lathes, one of which will be a lighttype five-inch lathe, with self-acting, sliding, boring, surfacing and screwcutting motions, and the other will be one of this maker's new heavier type of machine which has an " all-geared " head. The design of the latter tool provides for the fittingof a novel form of turret which, when fixed on the saddle, converts the htilv into a self-acting
hexagon turret lathe upon which large quantities of standard bolts, studs, pins and other similar details, which cannot be procured" up country" in India, can be rapidly produced.
We reproduce, on this page, a photograph of one of the heavy machines mentioned above. The height of the centres above the level of the lathe bed is 7L. inches, and it may be seen that the saddle has a very large bearing surface on the long slides that are level with the bottom of the wide gap, over which the saddle may be run.
Wolseley-Siddeley Staff Changes.
Coincident with the concentration of the larger portion of the manufacture of the products of the Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company, Limited, at its Adderley Park Works, Mr. Max R. Lawrence has been transferred from Crayford to become works manager at Birmingham, in the room of Mr. 0. Clegg, who has received an important appointment in the crane works of Appleby's, Limited, at Glasgow.
Patients by Taxicab?
AL the last meeting of Ow Hampstead Board of Guardians, the Finance Committee reported having gone into the matter of the employment of taxicabs for the removal of itinatios to asylums. It was found, however, that: these would be more expensive than the horse-drawn vehicles at present used. A suggestion has since been made that the Guardians might consider the purchase of a motor for the removal of lunatics and other purposes in connection with the Board.
The liquidator of The R. M. C. ,yndicate has paid a first dividend of 5s. in the L.
Merrywr7ather and Sous, Limited, of ;reenwich, S E., recently delivered a oh.p_ four-cylinder fire-engine to the tochdale Brigade. The pumps are apable of delivering 450 gallons oi cater per minute, and the road speed is s high as 30 miles per hour. Very atisfactory brake and other tests were andueted over Blackstone Edge.
"Lotis" Progress.
Sturniey Molors, Limited, of Coven
[-sr, notifies I lie coinpletion of its econd financial year, and that the turnver in commercial vehicles is going
head very smisfaeforily. There are ow in hand for early delivery : a piano an, specially built to the order of ,lessrs. Hime and Addison, of Vicaria Street, Manchester; a grocers' ne-ton van, for Mr. Thomas George, f Blandford; a one-ton van for Willis, ,imited, of Tunstall, Staffs.; and a 5-cwt. van for Messrs. F. W. Harris .nil Company, mill furnishers, of Iurslem.
Motor Ploughing.
At Freiston, near Boston (Lincs.), on he 5th instant, two prizes for motor loughing were offered by the Boston nil District Agricultural Society—" to long-h as much land as possible, in the lest stud most economical manner number of furrows optional), in :ours, and not less than 5 inches eep," ran the conditions. Only a oh.p. Marshall motor, from til(' anions Britannia Iron Works, Gains
wits presented for trial, and, .s there was thus no chalice of a. coniietilion, the judges decided that the ,farshall tractor should have the gold aerial if it " exceeded anything tha, lad been done before." The motor doughed over 41 acres, turning five urrows each 51 inches deep for five tours on end, on a consumption ol gallons of paraffin, An incidental net showed the motor to be able to ,lougli four 13-inch deep furrows. .cedless to add, Messrs. Marshall ;arrted the gold medal, which success has to be added to the one they achieved at the Winnipeg trials in July of this year. We described and illustrated this successful agricultural motor in cur issue of the 5th December, 1907.
Helping the Unemployed.
A Lacre vehicle has, since March last, been doing valuable work in Miti
gation tIe hardships of unemployment, It seas sold to the Central tin employed Bureau, of London, and has been found very useful between the model 1;irm sj Hollesley Bay and various points of delivery, in the conveyance of produce and general stores. The hody is liv Liversidge, and capable cif a di ulde-curpose nature.
L.C.C, and Defective Children: A Chance for Motors.
The Edecat ion Committee of the 1...C.C. is considering whether, in lieu of the prevision of additional horsed ambulances of the pattern of those at present in use in connection with the conveying to the Council's schools of physically-defective children, vehicles of a fighter construction should be pro vided, which woald be built to admit of their remaining open in fine weather. The committee is obtaininga specificadon for the building of one of these ambulances, but, in the meantime, as a temporary expedient, seven horsed omnibuses are being hired.
A Valuable Repeat Order.
E. Marria:se and Sans, Limited, of East Mills, Colchester, after nearly ight years' experience with ;4 Mann wagon of the three-ton-tare lays, has ordered another vehicle from Mann's Patera Steam Cart and Wngon Coal Limited, of Pepper Road Works, flunslet, Leeds. This is valuable testimony to the results obtained, and the new-pat tern vehicle will do much better still.
Road Maintenance: An Imperial Evasion.
A correspondent of " The Newcastle j ournal " writes, inter alio, in a recent issue of that paper : " Prior to 1889, the State paid one-half of the cost of main raids by repaying a quarter of the cost to the county and a quarter to local authorities. The county handed over half of the cost of the roads to the local authorities, thus leaving them to pay ..mly quarter of the total.
• ' When the local Government Act was passed, the Imperial groat was withdrawn, hut, in substitution for that grant and for ethers, what is called the Exchequer (ontributions grant has since been paid. At that time, the bargain for local authorities was not a bad one, but, as years syent on, the cost of the roads increased, while the I',overnfent grant remained stationary. Thus, local ratepayers are now in a worse position than they were 20 years ago; and this fact seems somewhat to have escaped the attention of members of Parliament. The difficnny might be net if Government would take over both the management and the cost of those roads which are really ' main ' roads. The local ratepayers would thus be relieved, and the real users of the roads would contribute their share as t:s. payers." Close upon -/:400 is still required to allow the purchase of a motor ambulance for Cardiff. The honorary secretary of the Glamorgan centre of the St. John's Ambulance Association, Mr. Herbert Lewis, is honorary secretary to the fund.
Halley Vans in London.
The London office of Ilallev's Industrial Motors, I.td., which is under the charge of Mr. D. McN, Sharp, 25, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., continues its active and successful programme to sell lIalley's vehicles. A 28-341op. demonstration van, for loads of three tons, is now available for tests at the hands of any bona fide enquirers, and, as will he seen from the accompanying illustration, this vehicle is fitted with a flat platform and detachable sides, which render it very suitable for the requirements of brewers, millers, or other industrial users. We also illustrate one of the latest thh.p. 25-cwt. Halley yans for the Civil Service Co-operative Society. The body of this vehicle is very findl finished, and painted in Post Office red with gold lettering. 13otli bcdies are by Bayleys, of Newington Causeway, S.E.
Epicyclic Gear in Use.
A representative ol" Commta: ta.n. '' had the opportunity, two weeks ago, closely to examine
ci
" Lotis" tepic■ clic change-speed gears, after some 12,000 miles of use. Sonic people stoutly adhere to lw view that rapid wear is. a necessary feature of the type, but Sturmey Motors, Limited, holds that this is entirely a question of design, and that with the " Lids " gear, as used in its vans and commercial vehicles, wear is conspicuous by its absence. 'The first 12-t8h.p, van, which embodies the present type of this gear, had come in for an overhaul, Lifter months' use and some 12,0410 miles of running in charge of an inexperienced driver. The gear was taken down in the presence of the representatives of journals interested, with a result which entirely hears out the contention of the maker. The toothed wheels and pinions showed no signs of wear, save the merest indication of burring out at the extremities of some of the teeth, and a slight polishing of the tooth faces. The pinions, too, were perfectly right en their bearings, and the only wear which could be so called was on the surfaces of the control drums, where the action of the metal control brakes had produced some wear on the drum surfaces.
Bristol Association of Engineers.
Mr. W. Thompson, the engineer to the Nethain Chentical Works and president of the Bristol Association of Engineers, read a paper on " Steam )lotor Wagons "'at the opening meet ing of the c, elation on Satunho .
the 31st October. his remark. were illustrated by a number of lantern views, which showed some of the Principal details of the following well
known vehicles : Foden, I.eyland, Sentinel, Straker-Squire, and Yorkshire Mr. Thompson expressed the opinion that the improvement would follow along one or more of these lines :—E if .1 reduction of the gross weight, at the' snme iime carrying a five-ton load; this will be done by simpfifying the design, and improvements in construction. (2) The possible displacement of reciprocating engines by the non-reciproenting type, as the turbine, with higher steam pressure (consequently smaller boilers), thus gettingrid of the noise of a pulsating exhaust. (3) Greater resilience, net only as regards load springs, hut also as regards wheels, starting, driving and brake appliance.
We do not endorse these conclusions.
An Early Mann Vehicle.
Some six years ago, Messrs. J. S. uid J. Hot-wood, of Enslow iti ills, Bletchington, Oxon., purchased a Mann steam wagon, and we are glad to know that the machine continues to do its work in a satisfactory manner. An illustration is given herewith, and this shows the machine in course of loading at the mill of the firm which owns it, from whom we learn that it i. " still running" strongly.
Alfred Herbert's Publications.
In tin' sixth edition of the " A " section of the instructive catalogues which are issued by -Alfred Herbert, Limited, of Coventry, some entirely new models of horizontai and vertical milling nutchines are illustrated and described. The section is divided into six parts, and, of these : part j is devoted to horizontal milling machines; part IT contains particulars of those of the vertical type; part III deals with millingmachine attachments; various exmnples of milling operations are given in part IV; in part V some valuable hints on " the installation and use of milling machines " are presented to the reader; and part VI contains a quantity of notes on the design and sizes of all kinds of milling cutters and tools. There is no tool More efficient than a millingmachine, when One is properly equipped and handled, and this company's long experience with this class of tool should enable it to put. in the right kind of machine for the particular needs of any motor manufacturing company.
Sundry Notes from Scotland.
DALKEITII. —Dalke1111 Town Council, it its !fleeting last week, unanimously [greed to purchase a motor refuse yagon, the cost not to exceed ,.;450, o perform the work of three carts in he town, end of a fourth in the village if Bonnyrigg a mile away, where sepaate stabling for two horses has had to to provided, which will now be tbolished, thereby saving 4;38 per year EDINeuer.ii.-The Cleansing Departnent of Edinburgh Corporation haying .ecornmended the adoption of a selfiropelled refuse wagon In displace twoparse vehicles now in working in the it Streets, the Town Council, on the th inslant, decided to purchase a hree-toe " Sentinel," steam, tilting cagon. Proposals were also considered
or the j rcha si if a petrolalriven, ombined. road-cleaning machine, conisting of 71 revolving brush and scraper. .'he vest, it was stated, would be £280, ad the machine would he capable of crferming the work of five horse mahines.
The Haddington :ounty Ceuncil is purchasing a eoh.p. ,etrol wagon, to perform the operation of distributing road metalling over 3.3 miles of read in the county. Seven horse was is are at present employed for this perpose, and the Council's stud of horses comprises twelve animals, all of which will be displaced. Economical considerations are the chief reason for the change.
lewrii. The Leith Motor Haulage Company, Limited, which recently issued it repeat order for a five-ton Foden wagou, states that its present Foden has run since February, 1907, during which period it has travelled up_ wards of ee,000 miles, !.ind carried 9,340 toils (an to Far:4-Q load of five tons on the wagel I. and two on a trailer), it remains in eNcelient eonditioni As illustrating !he capabilitiesof this it will he of interest to mention that tipoi H r■e 6":caion, it has hauled about 9,h, ions of stone from the Tranem quarries to I ill!' (eight miles), making. !hp killrller in hours, and
without sitslaining nov i ill
effects. The company owns, in addition, three other steam wagons, including a " Sentinel," and does a large carrying trade between Leith and Tratient, where there is no railway, and to other districts where the railway rates are double those at which it finds it profitable to carry. The manager adds that " a great field is open in the. east of Scotland for road-motor conveyance in competition with the railways and this company expects to be working the largest fleet of motor wagons in Britain, in the near future, in fierce competition with railways." I lc alse states that his company intends to adopt the heavy petrol wagon for certain purposes.
LINLITHGOW, — LillliThgOW County Council has concluded arrangements Inc the installation of a Foster -steam tractor, to he employed for the haulage of horse wagons which are used for road work in the county. Four horses will, at present, he displaced. Also, it has been decided to provide the County Surveyor with a two-seated, ioh.p. petrol ear, in lieu of the horse and trap new used by him ; for a long time, he has complained of being handitiapped in his duties, which cover a large area, and the motor will enable him to perform the county's work in a more efficient manner than hitherto.