Contributions from Drivers and Mechanics.
Page 17
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Ten Shillings Weekly for the Best Communication Received, and One Penny a Line of ten words for anything else published.
Drivers of commercial motors, and mechanics and foremen of garages or shops, who are engaged in any branch of the industry, are invited to contribute short, personal experiences, opinions, or suggestions, on subjects which are likely to prove of interest to our readers. We shall be glad to hear of anything interesting that has come under any driver's or mechanic's notice, either in the shoPs or on the road. Long and successful runs ; services with no "lost journeys" ; workshop tips and smart repairs : all are suitable subjects. Send a post-card, or a letter, or a sketch to us—no matter how short, or how written, or how worded. We will "knock it into shape" before publication. When writing, it is as well to mention your employer's name as a guarantee of bona fides (not for publication), and to state whether you wish your own name, or initials only, to be published. Payment will be made immediately after publication. Address your letters to The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.C.
A Vanguard Driver's Complaint.
[418] "UP." (Peckham) sends us a plea for the fair treatment of holders of drivers' licenses :—" I am a Vanguard' motorbus driver, and I would like to be allowed to say a few words about the speed limit in London. I want to know why so much should be said about the excessive speed at which motorbuses are supposed to be driven io London, when no one seems to bother his head about the reckless speed at which our rate-aided competitors, the tramcars, are driven. It is no infrequent thing to see an L.C.C. tramcar travelling at a speed which is considerably in excess of sixteen miles an hour. For instance, from the Lord Nelson, in the Old Kent Road, to the Canal Bridge, it seems, to all of us bus drivers, as if the tram drivers are allowed to make their own by-laws and, in fact, to do just as they like on the road.
"I have heard it said that ninety-two mechanical power' licenses were taken away from drivers, at Scotland Yard, during two months, quite recently. Do you consider it fair that a man should lose his license for getting two 'exceeding the limits' on his bill? 1, personally, think it is disgraceful. I know of a driver who was caught while 'exceeding the limit 'two years ago, and he was caught again on the 24th of last month, in the Finchley Road, and, of course, he now expects to lose his license. Can you wonder there are a nutnber of accidents in the streets, which are said to be due. to motorbuses, when the authorities are continually taking away licenses from the more experienced public motor service drivers? "
[Excessive speed has always received our severe condemnation, whether it be on the part of the driver of an omnibus or a tramcar, but we are convinced that, in some cases, the loss of a license has been too severe a punish. neat for the offence comnoitted.—En.
A Black List.
[4191 " W.WAVI." (Willesden)is responsible far the following communication :—" In your issue of the 3oth of July, you published a letter on the Drivers' arid Mechanics' page entitled ' Chassis smashes,' and, in the course thereof, the writer complained of the way in which gear changing was effected on many of the London motorbuses. I quite agree with those remarks, and I consider that in some cases it is a wonder that the superintendents allow such an exhibition of incompetency on their machines, apart from the material damage that must be done to the chassis by such hideously-bad driving. Why do you not, every other week, say, alternatively with your census, publish a black list which should give the numbers of all commercial motor vehicles which are noticed to be badly driven? You might include the numbers of drivers who drove recklessly, or took unnecessary risks, and of tram drivers who exceeded the legal limit, Such a list would be useful, as it would tend to weed out the bad and reckless drivers, and generally to pull things together, as no man would care to see his number, or the number of his machine, publicly held up to blame. You might, in this way, constitute yourselves as a thoroughly-independent traffic inspector, and one bent on the improvement of traffic conditions by improving the individual driver where necessary. You are doing much to ensure the establishment of a traffic board for London, and to aooear on the C.M.' black list should deter a man from playing the foot in traffic."
Our Friends the Enemy.
[420] L. J. BETtEmANN (Brondesbury) writes :—" I see that a great deal of fuss is being made about the speed at which motorbuses are supposed to be driven along our main thoroughfares. Is it realised that London traffic has speeded up all round, and to a tremendous extent, during the past few years? Has the attention of the public been drawn to the excessive speed at which many London tramcars are driven, and to the way in which they arc allowed to crowd together where the traffic is thickest. The insolent stare and often insolent remark of the L.C.C. driver of a tramcar, who bombastically attempts to order every other vehicle off the crown of thelsighway, is far snore annoying to me than is an occasional sprint out of the way of an oncoming bus or cab, which at least can, and does its best to, get out of my way. And I am sixty-five, and used to drive a horse tram many years ago."
Tickets as Packing Again.
The sender of this communication has been awarded the los. prize this week.
[421] In the following letter, a correspondent, " H.C.G." (Fulham), describes the means he adopted temporarily to tighten a crown pinion on the shaft in the gearbox of an omnibus chassis :—" I was recently out on the road, testing an old-pattern Bussing motorbus which had been under repair. After a run, which lasted about forty-five minutes, I turned back, as the car was going well. While on my homeward journey towards the garage, I came to a long hill which I had to descend, so I held my clutch out and free-wheeled down; when I reached the bottom, I let in the clutch, but I found the car gradually came to a standstill, although the engine was racing. I tried all the speeds, but I could not get any one of them to take up the drive from the engine. I then dismounted and examined the clutch, as I, of course, thought the trouble must be due to slipping, but there was apparently nothing amiss with either the clutch or the change-speed gearbox. My next experiment was to put one of the change gears in mesh, and to turn the clutch; I then found that the cardan shaft which joins the gearbox to the differential revolved quite freely, and this made toe think that the locking nut on the sprocket shaft might have slackened and allowed the differential to come out of mesh. But, whatever the matter was, I decided that it would be the best plan to remove the top of the differential gearbox and to get at the seat of the trouble, without any further delay.
" When I had succeeded in removing the top of the case, I found that the crown pinion had become slack on the shaft and on the keys, and that it had moved along the shaft until it was out of mesh with the large bevel wheel. I had no facilities to enable me to fit a new key, or to do any large repair, so that, after some consideration, 1 thought of attempting to pack the keys up in their seats, and of fixing the iob up in that way. I cut up some bus tickets, and carefully fitted a piece into each keyway. I then put some centre pops on the sides of the keys, which I tapped firmly down into their seats. All I had to do then was to drive the crown pinion home, and to box up again."