Seddon With Horizontal Underfloor Engine
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THE first Seddon passenger chassis with a horizontal underfloor engine has been completed. Known as the Mark 20, the chassis has a 17-ft. 10-in, wheelbase, suitable for a 34-ft. overseas body, and the power unit is a Meadows 6HDC 500 oil engine. A shorter model for the home market is to be manufactured soon.
The 8.143-litre engine develops 135 b.h.p. net at 2,400 r.p.m., and is unitmounted with a Meadows five-speed synchromesh gearbox. The unladen frame height is low for an underfloor-engined design-3 ft. Of in. Air-hydraulic dualcircuit brakes are fitted.
Another new Seddon model is the Mark 15/10 14-tons-gross forward-control four-wheeler. A payload of approximately 10 tons can be carried. This solo chassis has a similar layout to the Mark 15 74--tenner, and a Perkins R6 (series 2) oil engine and Meadows five-speed gearbox are employed.
Aeon rubber helper springs are fitted to both axles, and a double Atlas vacuum-servo unit is incorporated in the braking system. The basic chassis price is £1,825, the part-plastics cab being £210 extra. These prices do not include purchase tax.
B.T.C. BUS TRAFFIC 6.3 PER CENT.
DOWN
THE British Transport Commission's provincial and Scottish bus undertakings. last year carried 6.3 per cent. fewer passengers than in 1956. The Tilling Group's traffic dropped by 6.5 per cent. and the Scottish Group's by 5.9 per cent.
Mileage fell by 7:4 per cent. The Tilling Group operated 7.5 per cent. fewer miles and the Scottish Group 7.3 per cent. fewer miles.
These figures are influenced by the fuel shortage early last year and the bus strike from July 20-28.
London Transport carried 2.3 per cent. fewer passengers and ran 0.1 per cent. fewer miles. London's buses and coaches showed a decrease of 1.8 per cent. in passengers and 1.7 per cent, in mileage. Trolleybus traffic fell by 3.5 per cent. and mileage by 1 per cent. London railways carried 2.9 per cent. fewer passengers, but covered 2.4 per cent, more miles.
Rail freight traffic was 0.9 per cent. lower than in 1956, but passenger traffic increased by 8.3 per cent.
DAIMLER HIRE IN VAN TRADE?
THE extension of the hiring of commercial vehicles in this country is a strong possibility, following the recent acquisition of Daimler Hire, Ltd., by Hertz International, who have had great success in America with truck hire. This was revealed last week by Lord Brabazon of Tara, chairman of Daimler Hire.
Mr. C. Swain, of Daimler Hire, also said that van hire was being considered. Any scheme would he confined to light vans or trucks, hired by annual contract.
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