WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
wheel of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier. so The
Road Board Grants.
In the twelve months ended 31st March last, the income of the Read Board amounted to £173,002, an increase of £20,100, and £210,749 accrued in re. pavment of loans formerly made. The only sources of income which the Board • have had since 1916 has been interest and profit on investments and loans, the produce of the motor spirit and.carriag.e licences formerly allocated to it having been retained as part of the general revenue of the country. The Board paid out as grants £209,454, and £76,182 under loans, whilst administrative expenses totalled £12,758, a decrease of £4409. Grants and new loans made during the year were the smallest since the Board was first established in 1910, and the bulk of both was devoted to improvement in road crusts which, as is generally well known, are deteriorating ' throughout the country, in part due to the fact that much heavy military motor traffic is now being carried. Grants made since the formation of the Board amount to 23,865,000 and loans to £1,000,300 to local bodies in England and Wales.
Unanimous Opinions.
The dainty style and delicacy of catalogues issued by motor-vehicle manufacturers belongs to pre-war days. Before the war they arrived at our office with persistent regularity, but war changes all things—even including catalogues, and little wonder, too, when the price of paper and printing is taken into account.
One of the best produced catalogues. which we have had fall into our hands for some time past is that from the works
of W. Rinman at 1-5; Fitzalan Street, Kennington Road, S.W. This is really an excellently-printed book and constitutes an exceedingly neat and clean piece of work; it exhibits good taste throughout. The catalogue is entitled " Unanimous Opinions," and contains a bevy of flattering remarks concerning the capabilities and durability of Caledon commercial vehicles. Apart froau a copy reproduction of the testimonial from each user a facsimile reproduction of the original testimonial is printed together with an illustration of the vehicle or vehicles employed.
A prospective user who wishes to learn from the experience of other users in his particular trade can secure a loose leaf or leaves from this catalogue, a five minutes' perusal of which will give a prospective buyer the real information he requires to guide him in his choice, while incidentally proving the strongest arguments in favour of the Caledon.
Oil Prospecting in Australasia.
The Commonwealth Government (says an Exchange wire from Melbourne) intend granteng prospecting licences to British companies of experience in developing oilfields. They will impose a 5 per cent, royalty on net profits, retaining the right to Federal control in times of national emergency.
Note.—If the above decision, according to the "Oil News," applies to Papua a. vast field is opened up for British oil _enterprise.
Quite a number of men connected with the representation of .Aenerican motor interests in this country have recently crossed over to the States
Improving London's Approaches.
Further investigations have been made by the Road Board during the past year of various schemes for a suggested western avenue out of London, and the north circular road which ellen enable traffic approaching London from the country to switch from one main road to another without entering the Metropolis. The western avenue to fall between the Harrow and Oxford roads, and would start from Kensington and join the OXford road at a point about a mile beyond Uxbridge. The advantages of tho scheme are many, as the road would act as a relief of the traffic on the two roads named, although the Road Board in their annual report just issued say that the traffic has not yet reached such a degree of intensity as to require its immediate constructiois out of public funds. The road, too, would open up a stretch of country which would materially assist in housing the growing population of the Metropolis.
The first cost of the western avenue would be considerably over £1,000,000, and the provision of secondary roads and improvements to other roads within. the. area to ecure the necessary junctions would involve the expenditure of a further £1,000,000.
In the opinion of the Board, the bulk of this expenditure should be recovered from the landowners as their estates are developed for building purposes, end to secure the working of such a scheme unity must be secured by the grouping of the 23 authorities now responsible for the administration of the area into a representative organization.
Screw Threads and Their Tolerances.
The British Engineering Standards Association (by which name the Engineering Standards Committee is now known) has recently issued a new report, No. 84, 1918, on the tolerances of British Standard Fine (B.S.F. screw threads, those given in the previous report No. 38, being thus superseded. In the preface to this new publication it is pointed out that the experience of the past ten years has shown that whilst the series of British Standard Fine (B.S.F.) screw threads introduced by the committee in 1908 are well suited to the purposes for which they were designed, the tolerances given in report No. 38 were too small for commercial work, and the report. in conseqnence has been hut little used.
The present report gives new tables of tolerances for R.S.F. bolts and nuts which it is believed will meet present needs. The Association has in preparation similar tables for the 'British Standard Whitworth (B.S.W.) and the British Association (RA.) threads, and it is hoped that these may be available very shortly. The tolerances laid down arc those which the experience of the past few years has shown to be shitable, and the opportunity has been taken to emphasize the need of a closer fit on the flank of the thread by giving larger tolerances on the crest and root than on the effective diameter. Two classes of fit are provided for, namely, the standard B.S.F. tolerances and a second series of tolerances formed by halving the standard tolerances everywhere. Threads made in accordance with these latter dimensions are to be known as Britien standard fine threads (Close Fits). An additional screw has been included in the B.S.F. series to meet the need of the aircraft industry fora smaller B.S.F. screw than the in. size, namely, 7-32 in. diameter with 28 threads per inch. The report is accompanied by two appendices. Appendix I gives an explanation of the terms "grade" and " play " as applied to screw threads which are now employed by the Association for the first time. These two quantities are de• termined from the diametrical errors produced by errors in angle and pitch combined with the error in effective diameter and a description of a, graphical method of obtaining them is given and illustrated by a nomograph chart. Appendix II shows how the formuhe for determining the reduction in 'effeCtive diameter required to compensate errors in angle and pitch are obtained.
The present report is largely intended for the guidance of inspectors, and the Association has in preparation a further report giving tables for the use of manufacturers of screws, and showing the alterations to the effective diameter consequent upon variations in the angle and pitch within the limits laid down in the present report. The report is issued at a price of Is., postage W. extra, and may be obtained from the British Engineering Standards Association, 28, Victoria Street, S.W. 1., or from the publishers, Messrs. Crosby Lockwood and Son.
Return Loads in America.
All owners of Packard lorries in the States are being requested to enlist their vehicles under the banner of greater efficiency for the duration of the war. The movement which is the outgrowth of the Packard national lorry efficiency test is meeting with a hearty response everywhere, and it is believed that a very large number of the 26,000 Packards now on the road will swing into line and save freight cars for Uncle Sam.
In asking the co-operation of all Packard owners and drivers the Packard Co. is only endeavouring to do all in its power to promote the plans of the Highways Transport Committee of the Council of National Defence. Last spring it asked all lorry owners in the country, for greater tieacking efficiency, especially the carrying of return loads wherever possible. That its appeal has not been made in vain is evidenced by the large number of return loads bureaus already established in the principal cities of the country. The one great obstacle to the carrying of return loads is the lack of good roads. Packard officials are of the opinion that thousands of tons of farm produce .are yearly allowed to go to waste because the roads along which they are grown are in such a bad state that traffic on them is almost an impossibility.
Herbert Frood and Harry Smith.
Exceedingly interesting is the news that the "Cat and Fiddle" inn, on the lonely road from Buxton to Macclesfield, is not going to be closed down, but the lease, having been purchased by Mr. Herbert Frood, of Buxton, and Mr. Harry Smith, of Coventry, it will continue in even greater motoring glory than it has hitherto enjoyed. It is situate nearly 1700 ft. above sea level, and is the third highest licensed house in the United Kingdom. We have in that wonderful past which knew not war, driven that way on all kinds of motor vehicles, and we recall to this day the appetite that attacks one at that altitude. It is therefore not a place to stop at for long in days of rationing' but after tho war, when plenty pervades the land, we shall certainly be there with a car possessing
a goodly turn of power, and with a gun, for Herbert Freed has the grouse shooting on the adjacent moors. These two motoring magnates intend to rebuild as soon as circumstances allow, and they will adopt the Swiss chalet style of architecture, and provide what the place now lacks, sleeping accommodation for visitors.
We are pleased to hear that the North and East Lancs. C.M.TJ.A. is going ahead very rapidly, and his latterly had quite a large increase in its membership.
Mri,Poss, contractor for the removal of lunatics to asylums, tells the Christchurch (Bournemouth) Guardians that his petrol allowance of ten gallons a month is insufficient for more than one journey a month. and that he requires six gallons a month to carry out his contract.
Mr. Joseph Crombleholme, of Messrs. Matthew Brown and Co., of Preston, chairman of the North and East Lanes. C.M.U.A., now officially represents the C.M.U.A. on the Divisional Board of the Road Transport Board, and is also chairman of the Advisory Committee to that Board.
Municipal Motors.
In his annual report, just issued, Dr. Geo. F. Buchan, _the medical officer of health for Willesden, gives a review of the third complete year of the municipal motor service.
The seven motor vehicles owned by the council came into use in December, 1913, and up to the end of March, 1917, had covered a total of 154,233 miles. During the year certain work occasioned by the war was continued in connection with Belgian refugees, the meeting of convoys of wounded soldiers, the conveyance of wounded soldiers to entertainments, and air-raid calls. In addition a certain number of miles were run for other departments of the council.
The following is a statement of mileage, petrol consumption, and cost per • Jude for the three complete years ended 31st March, 1917
Second Edition of "Practical Flying."
The Service course of tuition in flying is conducted on scientific lines. The old haphazard methods have been revolutionized. The personnel in the Air Force is its chief concern, and every care is taken in the selection of the right men for the Service and their training. Even the most elaborate system of training, however, would be incomplete withont
manual of instruction, embracing the standard course, so that practical demonstration and lectures can be more easily memorized and assimilated. This is the object of " Practical Flying: Complete Course of Flying Instruction," the second edition of which has just been issued. The demand for the first edition was of an extent that was unforseen, and the second edition has been hurriedly prepared. It has been revised throughout, with the modifications which the constant changes in the development of aerial warfare demand. The book is written by Major W. G. McMinnies, R.A.F., and illustrated by Captain E. L. Ford, R.A.F., both flight instructors of wide experience, under the aegis of the Air Ministry, with an introduction by Major-general W. S. Brancker, C.M.G., R.A.F., now Master-General of Personnel, and a chapter on the medical aspects of aviation by the famous R.A.F. surgeon, Dr. H. Gramme Anderson, MB., Ch.B., F.R.C.S. It is published at 5s. net (Temple Press Ltd., 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C. 1.).
Co-operative Motor Vehicles.
Rates of depreciation for motor vgiicles are not uniform in co-operative societies. Al Reading the co-operators are depreciating their motor vans at 71 per cent. and those that cost £1861 now stand in the hooks at £736. At Woolwich the 'vehicles are being depreciated at anything from 15 to 30 per rent., and the 1.-6149 at which they now stand represents about half the original .cost ; the Batley society has reduced its cost of £1416 to £806 by a 20 per cent. depreciation.
The Austin Motor Co., Ltd., have asked the Ten Acres and, Stirchlev Cooperative Society to open a branch store at Longlaridge. A wooden structure has been leased by the company to the society, and employees will be supplied with their daily necessities then. from.
Local Proceedings.
Hythe T.C. is to purchase two petrol dust-collecting vans. Hayes U.D.C. is to consider the purchase of a motor fire-engine.
Leeds Watch Committee refuses to entertain an application for increased cab fares.
Leeds Corporation has arranged to convert a disused fire vehicle into a prison van at a cost of £78.
Ossett T.C. has rescinded its resolution for the purchase of a 5-ton steam wagon for the highways department. The Engineer of Leeds Corporation Waterworks has been asked to make inquiries as to the purchase of a light motor lorry to replace a worn out lorry.
De Dietrich Cylinders Wanted.
We have an inquiry from a reader who wishes to replace one of the juin; of cylinders of a 40 h.p. De Dietrich engine, which has become irretrievably cracked, and is even beyond the scope of the workers of wonders by welding. If any other reader can assist him will he please write giving particulars, ad. dressing the letter to "Cannot be Welded," care of the Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR, 7, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C. 1.
A Factory Tractor.
On this page we illustrate a small tractor made and used by the Willys-Overland Co. for the sole purpose of hauling wagon loads of parts from one department to another. This is not a regular production, nor is the model made for sale, but it shows that with a little ingenuitv a standard vehicle can easily be mollified for a special-purpose.
A meeting of commercial motor users of Southampton and district is being held at the Southampton Chamber of Commerce this (Thursday) afternoon, at 4 p.m., to form a Hants. and District Centre of the C.M.U.A.
Mind the Dark
With a view to obviating a bumper crop of accidents as a result of the further restricted street lighting regulations, the London "Safety First " Council offers the following advice, to pedes. trims in the streets after dark (1) Look to the right before crossing t5e road ; (2) cross the road from a street lamp ; (3) make full use of street refuges; (4) always face approaching traffic. The Council points out that if all pedestrians keep to the left, instead of to the right, of the footpath on which they are walking, not only would innumerable collisions in the darkness be avoided, but people could not step off the kerb into the road with their backs to oncoming vehicles, one of the chief causes of accident.
Motor Manufacturers' Library.
Coinmercial Cars, Ltd., Vauxhall Motors, Ltd., Skefko Bali Bearing Co., Ltd., and Clarke's Machine Tool Co., Ltd., are amongst the big manufacturers of Luton which have agreed to sub. scribe provisionally for five years £3 per annum for 100 employees towards a scheme for the establishment of a technical and scientific library.
During the last six months the Lowestoft Co-operative Society expended £196 on petrol, oil, accessories and tyres for its three cars used in light delivery work.
Mr. Duckham Decorated.
We met Mr. Alexander Ducklihm recently, and found that he had made 4 change from the Ministry of Munitions to the Air Ministry. To our knowledge he has given up the control of a lucrative business in connection with the manufacture and sale of petroleum products, and has devoted himself to important Government work in an honorary capa
city. Hence we are not stirptiscd to learn that he has been presented by the President of the French Republic with the high honour of Officier of the Order' of the Legion-of Honour, as a recognition of services rendered to the French Government in the matter of win; supplies.