A NEW BUS FOR PROMENADE SERVICE.
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A Type of Vehicle which Should Claim a Vogue at Popular Holiday Resorts.
IN August of last year the Bournemouth Corporation inaugurated a promenade passenger-vehicle service between Bournemouth. and Boscombe piers with -a new type of vehicle, of which we gave first published particulars in our issue for August 14th. It may .be remembered that in this type of vehicle a Guy chassis, incorporating certain departures in design from the company's standard practice, was fitted with a special type of body, and an outstanding feature of the machine was the extremely low loading line which was rendered possible by fitting miniature disc wheels of 20-in. by 3k-in. dimensions.
Three of these runabouts, as they were aptly termed, were put into service, and from the outset they proved an unqualified success—in spite of the fact that a. fare of 6d. was asked for a journey of about 1i miles—the extent of which can be judged from the fact that a prOfit of £1,534 was estimated on their working for the first year.
At that time we foresaw in the use of low-loading vehicles of this type a considerable future for promenade servibe and we had in mind the possibility of the use of a chassis such as the S.D. freighter for this work. We need not here refer to the salient features of this unusual chassis, for the latest activities of the company who are responsible for its design and construction are referred to elsewhere in this issue, but we would, in passing, make special mention. of its low centre of gravity which results from an unorthodox disposition of the chief units. Apart from this factor, its suitability for certain 'forms of passenger service is greatly increased as a direct result or the capaciousloading space which is rendered available in comparison with the overall length.
• Our anticipation, however, has proved to be well founded, for within the last few days a special type of vehicle for passenger carrying, in which the S.D. freighter chassis forms the basis, has been delivered to a users at Worthing, where it is being used along the seafront. In general design the chassis is a standard production, but it has been modified in.one or two respects to fit is for its special duty, end notably in regard to the Wheelbase and the track of the rear wheelS. The vehicle is known as a Tramocar—a name which Mr. W. R. Gates, the user, has seen fit to register, although it does not, to our mind, present a correct or happy designation.
With the use of an unusual chassis, it naturally enough became necessary to build a special type of body for it, and this task was entrusted to the Hickman Body 'Building Co., Ltd. of 8, Grove Road, Balham High Road,' London, S.W.12, who have had considerable experience in the design and construction of bus and coach bodies of a variety of types. The body is arranged to accommodate 18 people on transverse seats. There are five seats on the off side, each to take two passengers, and four on the near side, Which are each arranged to seat one passenger only. . The loss of one seat on the ,near side is occasioned by the ingress of the door opening into the interior, but it is partially compensated for by constructing a full-width seat. to take four people at the rear of the body.
The seats themselves are of the Hickman coach type, in which steel frames and spring backs giving a reasonable degree of flexibility are employed. They are of ample length and width, and the deep cushions and springy back squabs with which they are equipped combine to give the maximum of comfort. The body. superstructure follows conventional practice, and the panelling is carried out in the usual manner, but it will be seen from the illustration on this page that there are no windows between the pillars at the sides, although the rear panel is glazed also/0 the waist rail to obviate the inconvenience of indraughts caused by a sucking action. The Tramocar is chiefly a fine-weather vehicle, although, in view of the uncertainty of our climate, it is sure to be in demand on wet days as well, and to give protection to passengers on such occasions pull-down blinds are provided at the sides. The roof is, of coarse, a permanent structure, and it is carried on a series of eross.stielts, every other one of which interconneots with the sidemembers at frequent intervals, thus giving the utmost rigidity throughout its length.
The front of the reef is supportedoi stiff stanchions from the metal screen which protects the oiriver's cab. Additional comfort-it/two ided for the driver by the use of a screeei bracketed to the underside of the roof and a curved plate affixed to the top of the front screen,
The only passenger entrance is just to the rear of the near-side front wheel, and, being of wide proportions and baying two shallow steps, it gives easy access to the interior even to the aged, who cannot always negotiate the deep steps of certain standard types of bus body. Handrails on both sides of the door opening facilitate entrance to and exit from the interior.
There is little doubt that in the near future vehicles of this class will claim quite a vogue. For the moment, of course, they form something in the nature of a novelty, in which the certainly astute owners have foreseen remarkable business possibilities.