News of the Week
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SENTINEL TO BUILD STEAMERS AGAIN: £400,000 ORDER
STEAM vehicles are again to be manufactured by Sentinel (Shrewsbury), Ltd. They will be available for use in this country towards the middle of next year.
A £400,000 contract has been placed through Fendrake Trading Co., Ltd., London, E.C.3, by the Argentine Government for shaft-driven six-wheeled 12-ton steamers. These vehicles will be used to overcome difficulties in the transport of coal from the Argentine Government's new mines in Patagonia, and will haul loads from the mines to the port of shipment.
Since beginning negotiations with Argentina, Sentinel (Shrewsbury), Ltd.; has had several other substantial inquiries for steamers, particularly from India and South Africa. "Due largely to international economic conditions, there is an increasing demand for steam vehicles, particularly for the export trade," the company states.
MeNAMARA-B.T.C. CONTRACT: PAYMENT IN CASH
AFORMAL contract has been signed for the sale of McNamara and Co., Ltd., to the British Transport Commission as from July 1 last. It is expected that stockholders will receive in cash about 33s. per stock unit of 12s. ' The main purchase price payable under the contract covers fixed assets and goodwill, but liquid assets are to be retained by the company. Consideration is payable in cash, and interest is at 3 per cent. per annum from July 1 last.
The company's staff, other than the commercial managers, is transferred to the B.T.C. The managers are to be compensated for breach of agreement, the B.T.C. providing the whole of the sum agreed as liquidated damages, with the exception of £5,000. The contract is expected to be completed in about a month.
A resolution for the voluntary winding-up of the company within three months will be considered at an extraordinary general meeting to be held on December 1. Shareholders will be asked to authorize payment of £3,150 to the directors for loss of office., T.A. CAMPS WITH PAY
EMPLOYEES of the group of companies controlled by General Motors, Ltd., including A.C. Sphinx Spark Plug Co., Ltd., and Delco-RemyHyatt, are to be granted leave with pay, in addition to their annual holidays, to attend training camps of the Territorial Army.
REMOVAL CHARGE REDUCED ON APPEAL
A DECISION to reduce from £10 to £8 a charge made by Pickfords, Ltd., Ipswich,. for the transport of 19 small articles of furniture and personal effects from Ipswich to ,Hawkhurst, Kent, has been announced by the Eastern Regional :TransPort. Corn
misSioner. . •
In deciding the dispute, he waS assisted by Mr. Clifford King, of Wallace King, Ltd., representing hauliefs' interests, and Mi. L. A. Carey, of Reckett and Colman, Ltd., repeeSent-. ing trIders. '
Mrs. Bensley: of IpsWich, the appellant, claimed that as the goods .comprised only a part load, the price charged was ex&ssive..
Pickfords, Ltd., submitted that Mrs: Bensley had accepted an estimate of £10. and *signed the contraCf, and that the cubic, capaeity *of the articles collected had exceeded-125 cubicft. mentioned by her. The consignment weighed about.,10 cwt. •
It was argued that as the vehicle— a Bedford • 3-tonner of 950-cubic-ft. capacity—conveyed a number of small consignments from the Home Counties, it was not possible to isolate the cost in connection with this particular order. A balance sheet was produced showing a gross balance on the trip of 23.6 per cent. of the cost, of which overheads accounted for 20.53 per cent.
The Transport Commissioner and assessors held that the manner in which the journey was performed was entirely the responsibility of Pickfords, Ltd., and that no part of certain items of expense attributed to other goods forming part of the load should be debited against Mrs. Bensley's account.
FIRST IRISH BUS WITH FLUORESCENT LIGHTING
QNE of the new double-deck buses to be placed in service by the Great Northern Railway Co. (Ireland) is claimed to be the first road vehicle in Ireland with fluorescent lighting. The supply is provided by a C.A.V. inverter, which is driven at 8,000 r.p.m. from the 24-volt battery The full-load output is 28 amps. at 110 volts, 400 cycles, three-phase. The inverter is mounted in a sound-proof container under the second seat from the front in the lower saloon on the off side.
Siemens open reflector lighting fittings are used, there being four 18-in. tubes on each side of the lower saloon, four on each side and one across the rear of the upper deck, and one on the platform, .
The body was built at the company's locomotive works at Dundalk. NEW G.M.C. LIGHTWEIGHT 280 B.H.F. OIL ENGINE
ANEW lightweight oil engine which is being developed by the General Motors Corporation, America, for use in commercial vehicles, employs aluminium for the major part of its construction, including the cylinder heads, cylinder block and blower housing. With a total displacement of 10.8 litres, the new six-cylindered power unit is said to develop 280 b.h.p.
It is claimed to have a high power-toweight ratio, its total weight being about the same at that of the previous 6/71 model, which was used in many Tanks and armoured cars during the war. A noteworthy feature is the adoption of a centrifugal blower, instead of the lobed-rotor pattern employed in previous models. The new engine will be in production by the end of this year.
The Detroit Diesel Division of G.M.C. has also announced the production of a torque converter. A brief description of this new mechanism indicates that two stator elements are employed, which are free to rotate in direct drive when the unit functions as a fluid coupling.
NO. 1 EXPORTING INDUSTRY
" VIGURES for the Nation's overseas I trade during the first nine months of this year reveal that the British motor industry now ranks as the country's No 1 exporting industry, states the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Shipments of cars, commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors, parts and accessories were valued at about £105,000,000, or £13,000,000 more than the amount attributable to the exports of the cotton industry.
During September, 6,750 commercial vehicles were exported, their value again exceeding the target of £3,200,000 set by the Government for the end of this year. Production in September exceeded a weekly average of 3,500.
LEYLAND EXPORTS 396 PER CENT. UP
TN the year ended September 30 last, I exports by Leyland Motors, Ltd., increased by 396 per cent. over those of the previous year. South Africa was the company's largest customer.
There is now a range of more than 40 Leyland goods and passenger models for export, covering most of the road transport needs of the 37 countries to which machines were shipped during the past financial year. More than 80 per cent. of Comets are being shipped abroad.
The company has appointed agencies in more than 40 countries, and the policy of selecting Leyland-trained engineering representatives to assist agents oversea's has been extended.
NEW BEAVER RUN-IN WITH 36-TON LOAD
ANEW Leyland Beaver oil-engined lorry was recently run-in on a 734mile journey from Johannesburg to Salisbury, Rhodesia, during which it towed a 36-ton road " train " over rough tracks and through undulating country. The Leyland was fitted with a locally built high-sided steel body and carried a 5-ton payload. It towed a multi-wheeled trailer carrying a 17-ton Allis Chalmers tractor, and a road scraper weighing 6 tons.
The road scraper had no brakes and the trailer had only a hand brake which was operated by a native on a signal from the driver. If the brakes on the Beaver were applied first, the weight of the " train " pushed the hauling unit sideways. During the trip the outfit forded rivers, started from rest on gradients of 1 in 8, and ploughed across country.
ANODIZING FOR BUS BODIES
APROCESS, is tieing developed by Altones, Ltd., Newhouse Industrial Estate, Lanarkshire, for the treatment of body panels to obviate the need for repainting. Panels receive an acid bath, are anodized, and then waxpolished.
A bus with a body treated in this manner will shortly be placed on the road. It is expected that the coloured surface will last for years, and will require only occasional washing and polishing. BIG NEW EXPORT PACKING • WORKS OPENED
ON Wednesday, Mr. E. A. Carpenter, 0.B.E., J.P., president of Manchester Chamber of Commerce, opened the large new export packing works of Beck and Pollitzer, Ltd., at Bailey Road, Trafford Park, Manchester. It will handle machinery and general export packing, and has heavy overhead lifting tackle, a case-making shop with the latest machinery, and all plant required for scientific padking. The new works will also provide a base for the company's industrial removal activities.
Teams of packers can be sent anywhere in the United Kingdom to undertake packing on site.
A South African branch has also been opened under the style of Beck. and Pollitzer (Africa) (Pty.), Ltd., with head offices in Johannesburg. The Beck and Pollitzer organization is now able to offer door-to-door service on goods exported to the Union. The South African company will also act as agent in presenting tenders for South African Government contracts, or as managing agent for British concerns. Mr. A. W. Joel and Mr. G. B. Seddon are local directors.
TORONTO INCREASES FLEET: FARES LOWER THAN IN U.S.A.
ASPECIAL report from Mr. H. C. Patten, general manager of the Toronto Transportation Commission, reveals that this organization is making good progress and has added 16 trolleybuses, 20 motorbuses and 63 coaches to its fleet.
In December, 1947, the Commission controlled 69 trolleybuses, 200 motorbuses and 287 coaches, apart from an extensive tramways system. It now has 85 trolleybuses, 220 motorbuses and 352 coaches, which are engaged on interurban, suburban and city services.
The coaches, although operated in conjunction with the Commission's other services, are run by a subsidiary, Gray Coach Lines, Ltd. This company works the inter-urban coach routes and the local sightseeing and Other special services, which are still being extensively developed.
This month, 20 new buses are expected to be delivered by the Twin Coach Co., of Fort Erie, Ontario.
The latest official figures of the Commission show that the total route-mileage for motorbus, coach and trolleybus. services is 1,267.02. The average fare is 6.147 cents, which represents a figure of 52.76 per cent. below that of any system operating in the United States.
Mr. Patten's report provides a striking picture of progress since Mr. H. B. Williams, a cabinet maker, inaugurated Toronto's first public transport service in 1849, with four horse-drawn sixpassenger buses.
"BEN'S" FAMILY GROWS
A NEW North Midland Centre of the 1-1 Motor and Cycle Trades Benevolent Fund, covering North Stafford, Shropshire and Buxton, has been formed. More than 50 members were enrolled at the inaugural meeting. Mr. A. Renwick is chairman, Mr. A. Ellis deputy-chairman, Mr. H. J. Burns honorary secretary, and Mr. W. Gater honorary treasurer.
New centres are to be formed in Swansea and Worcester, where meetings have been held. • REGENT BUYS R.O.P. OIL INTERESTS
DISTRIBUTION facilities and marketing interests of Russian Oil Products, Ltd., in the United Kingdom, including tank wagons, are to be acquired by the Regent Oil Co., Ltd. It is understood that oil will not be imported from Russia and that R.O.P. will cease operation in this country.
During the first nine months of this year, only 9,191,000 gallons of motor spirit were imported from Russia, whereas in a full year before the war an average of about 44,000,000 gallons was drawn from that source.
The Regent Oil Co., Ltd., it controlled by the California Texas Corporation and Trinidad Leaseholds, Ltd.
TWO WEEKS' APPEALS
CAUSE lists covering hearings at .Halifax House. Strand, London, W.C.04, during the next fortnight, have been issued by the Appeal Tribunal.
On November 17, A. G. Howard will appeal against a decision of the Eastern Licensing Authority. On November 23 a group of five appeals by W. A. Glendinning, Johnson's (Chopwell), Ltd., Messrs. Edgar and Jewitt, Messrs. Robson Brothers, and R. T. and J. Hewitt, Ltd., against a decision of the Northern Deputy Licensing Authority will be heard.
The Yorkshire Deputy Licensing Authority is involved in an appeal by Nathaniel and T. H. Pinson, which comes up 011 November 24. The case of R. S. Cording, who is aggrieved by a decision of the Western Licensing Authority, will be heard on November 25.
RATES WILL HAVE TO MEET TRANSPORT LOSSES
WHEN an application to raise Not VV trolleybus fares came before the East Midland Licensing Authority, last week, Mr. J. R. Hastegrave, for Nottingham Corporation, said: "I want to sound a warning note which should echo back on the whole proceedings. If the transport undertaking made a loss which could not be met from its funds, that loss would have to be borne by the general rate fund."
One of the Main objects of the proposals was to reduce the deficit which seemed inevitable this year and probably next year. Mr. Haselgrave pointed out that the losses on the running of trolleybuses had barely been made good by profits on the motorbuses. The estimated net result of the proposals made would be an increase of 192,000 per year in receipts.
Decision will be notified later.
MOBILE SALES FORCES
THE high advertising value of a well' finished vehicle, painted in appropriate colours, is stressed in a booklet on Dulux finishing systems, which has just been published by the Paints Division of Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd., Slough, from which copies can be obtained. The booklet sets out conveniently the painting processes to be followed