From Our Berlin Correspondent.
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Street-sweeping Machines,
I understand that several orders have 001211 placed, [ruin other Corporations, for the !linen street-sweepingmachine,
to which I referred last week. This machine does the work of she two-horse :nachines. In the daytime, when traffic mas to be recleoned with, the motor sweeper can clean 20000 square metres (23,900 square yards); at night, the efficiency is materially greater. The motor burns 25 litres (5.1 gallons) of petrol in seven working hours.
The Austrian Trials.
All participating vehicles except two went through the to-day run. They were set a by no means light task, nor was any day of rest provided. The " trains " and lorries with more than a useful load of 3,5oo kilos. had to cover 724 kilometres (453 miles), the lorries carrying 2,000-3,500 kilos. 924 kilometres (578 miles), and delivery vans and omnibuses 1,288 kilometres (8o5
miles). On the fourth day, a Gaggenau dropped out through the breaking of its trailer's wheel, which was particularly hard luck, and, on the last day but one, a Daimler post omnibus had the misfortune to shed IL tire near 13riin. Fine weather prevailed throughout. Competing vehicles had to undergo braking trials, each being tested on two occasions. In one try, the vehirli.. were braked when travelling at in kilometres (6.2 miles) an hour, whilst in the second an average pace of 10-20 kilometres was expected. 13tiessin:.;: scored in the heaviest class, pullinglip in 4 fret 4 inches. An N.,\.0,, with a trailer, slopped 17 inches beyond this, whilst another Buessing, also with a trailer, required as much as 8 feet 7 inches. For middle weights, the distance varied between 4 feet 3 inches and feet m inches, and the light classes stopped in lengths rangitw from 37 inches to just over 6 feet.
In the second try, a Buessing again triumphed in the heaviest category. At
a pace of S-9 miles an hour, it stopped
in 8 feet inches, and a tractor and trailer of tale same firm, when travelling at 8 miles, were brought to a standstill in ii feet 8 inches. An N.A.G. and trailer slopped in 17 feet 6 inches, but were runningeat to miles an hour. The greatest distAnce for this class measured 29 feet 6 inches. Middle weights' distances fluctuated between [4 feet and 20 feet 2 inches for 8-12 miles an hour. A Saurer omnibus, travelling at S miles, braked in 9 feet. None of the other vehicles, although running at the maximum speed, exceeded tg feet 3 inches.
An official classification of results will shortly he published.
Berlin General Electric Company's Dividend.
The '' or General Electric
Company, which is the parent firm of the N..1.G., the latter being only the selling company for N.A.G. vehicles, once more announces a dividend of 12 per cent. on ti capital of five millions sterling. After making due provision for debenture interest, depreciation and the like, the directors have 15,1)31,212 marks (1:70,561) for distribution. The report is not yet out, but I question whether it will throw much light on the automobile department when it does
make :Tpe:trance.
Berlin's Alb-motor Fire-station (Schonlankestrasse).
Last week, I referred to an officia inspection of the electrumobiles whicl constitute the rolling stock of Berlin' first all-motor fire-station, and in pre vious notes I have described the mai: features of the vehicles. A few worth however, on the escape will be of in terest. Its chassis differs from thos of the other vehicles, in that its [rum is dropped at the back in order to fin nish a low-lying platform for the me chanical ladder to turn on. 11 rear-wheel track, too, is nearly 9 inche broader than that of the front pail which measures close upon 5 feet, gauge holding good for each wheel-pal of the gas-engine, tender, and stearr pump. An electromotor lifts the ladde from the horizontal to the vertical in seconds, and in another 20 seconds th telescopic joints can be pushed out to height of 82 feet. I should observ that the joints are not extended by clot Inc power, hut by pressure from cat bonic-acid ,as which is stored in cor miners at the front of the ladder "pecktal " at the back. These containers ar visible in the photograph. In the even of any failure of the gas arrangement the ladder is extensible by manutpower. All four vehicles are front driven, by lohner-Porsche electronic tors fed by II:n;en batteries in the for part of the chassis. In course of time Berlin's Other stations will underg. "motorisation." Commander ReiChE may be trusted to keep the treiter be fore the City Fai hers : he has beei hammering away it " all-roo'sor fire stations " for seven or eight years, an, frequent references to the results of hi efforts in this direction have appearei in TILE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
The escape weighs, with two men :1.-6 tons, and cost ,4;1,8no, it like sun having been paid fur the fire-engine The tender cost 4,1,250, the gas-engin, ft. too, The engines have already hal tl-r:ir baptism of fire, I may mention.
Cabs on the Instalment Plan.
rkt the general meeting of the Kanelhardt Motor Hiring Company, of the directors took occasion to exress their regret that makers were in he habit of selling motorcabs on the inraiment system. Through the overupply of motorcabs, the public suffered s well, since, with so small a yield on apital, if any at all, it was impossible ifltfOCItl cc improvements. Further, -le large number of empty cabs running bout the streets unnecessarily ohti-acted traffic. In view of the recent ankreptey of the " Blitz " Motorcab lompany. the Berlin Motorcab Owners' tssociation had renewed their applicaion for ii police regulation of the de-land, but no answer had yet come to and. The Kandelhardl. Company pays per cent, on a capital of L:20,000.
Colognes Tipping Cart.
There have, of late, been several inlances of the adoption by German Cororations of self-propelled vehicles for cartiri.!: of refuse, and 1 forward it good photo. of such an automobile. It has a s-ton body, built on a SLoewer chassis possessino-a 3211.p. motor—a type which has successfully gone through a subvenLion ordeal by the
Prussian Office. By means of a short broad ladder, the men in charge mount. upon a platform which is suspended by a couple of chains at the side, and from here shoot their loads-mostly contained in metallic bins—into the wagon.