A Ryknield Demonstration in London.
Page 17
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Last Tuesday the Ryknield Motor Company, Limited, ot Burton-on-Trent, gave a most successful demonstration of its new standard motorbus. The vehicle was driven up to London from the works on the 4th instant, and since then it has been giving numerous proofs of its capabilities.
Tuesday mornin,t; was propitious for the demonstration run, and the bus left the Hotel Metropole at 11.50 a.m., having aboard members of the motor industry and Press representatives. There were also present, by special invitation of the makers : Sir Charles Owen (L. and S.W. Railway), Col. R. E. B. Crompton, C.B., and Mr. Douglas Mackenzie. All were taken charge of by Messrs. Arthur J. Clay and W. H. Clay, directors of the Ryknield Company, who had specially come to town for the occasion.
The Star and Garter Hotel at Richmond was selected for luncheon ; the bus drew up there at 12.48 p.m. During the afternoon the efficiency of the engine was conclusively proved upon several hills, and brake tests were made simultaneously. The bus acquitted itself extremely well, and its makers had no difficulty in upholding the excellent record which was recently made by a sister vehicle when it ran from Burton to Silsden, in Yorkshire.
The chassis, as now made, possesses a few special details which depart from the original design, and, therefore, call for mention: A brief reference to these will prove interesting to our readers. One of the features is the engine lubrication system; this has a positive action, in which the necessary oil is pumped to all the main bearings. The elimination of smoky exhaust is assured, and the oil bill is kept low. The chassis is fitted with the Company's patent triangular underframe and spring drive ; the former keeps the driving pinions in alignment with the gear rings bolted to the road wheels, and the system of transmission saves the gears from undue shocks when the vehicle is started on a hill, or on a bad road surface. It has also been found that the adoption of the particular form of spring drive now embodied in the design prolongs the life of the gears, and, consequently, makes them quiet when at work.
The Ryknield Motor Company believes in having ample brake power, and a third independent brake is fitted. This brake is situated on the conductor's platform, and is entirely under his control, so that, should any occasion arise where ---r
the driver is unable to stop the bus, the conductor can bring it to a standstill. The brake is of the screw-down pattern, and its blocks act directly upon the back wheels.