Correspondence.
Page 16
Page 17
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
R.A.C. Reliability Trials.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Since the judges' awards in the above trials have been made known by the trade Press, we have been inundated with congratulatory telegrams and letters to such, an extent that we find it quite impossible to express our acknowledgments by post to each firm. We would, therefore, ask your indulgence in our request for the assistance of your widely-read columns in acknowledging very gratefully all the complimentary communications we have received. Thanking you in anticipation.—We are, yours faithfully, HALLEY'S INDUSTRIAL MOTORS, 1...11.). GEO. H. HALLEY, Managing Director. Yoker, Glasgow, I ith November, 1907.
Albion Manufactures to the Fore.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Your many readers will have observed by the report of the Royal Automobile Club for the recent Commercial Vehicle Trials that the two box vans manufactured by us, and entered by our sole concessionnaires for England and Wales, The Lacre Motor Car Company, Limited, London, 'W., have been awarded the Gold Medal in the one-ton class. This now makes a total of five medals awarded to our manufactures by the Royal Automobile Club of England and the Scottish Automobile Club.—Yours faithfully, ALBION MOTOR CAR COMPANY, LIMITED,
H. E. Fulton, Managing Director.
South Street, Seotstoun, Glasgow, W.
Fine Performance of a Durham-Churohill Lorry.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—T think -the following may interest your readers.
I have run a 2-ton, Churchill wagon for six months (five days a week), doing a daily journey of between 6o and 70 miles. During the Whole of that time it has not missed a single journey, nor has there been any repairs to the vehicle, which has nearly always carried its full load. The cost of running has been 3.29d. per ton-mile. This includes : 2d. per mile for tires; 5 per cent, for capital account ; 15 per cent. depreciation ; wages; petrol and lubricating oil; and an allowance for repairs which have not yet been needed. I fancy this is about a record. At the end of the six months' running the wagon was pulled down to be inspected by a number of engineers. The gears were as good as on the day they were put in, and there was very little sign of wear on any of the working parts or the engine.—
Faithfully yours, WALTER JACKSON. Shipley, Yorks. A I00-minute Census.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—While standing outside IIis Majesty's Theatre on the afternoon of the 7th November, 1907, I counted the number of motor vehicles passing up and down the Haymarket and along Charles Street, which leads out of the Haymarket on the western side. I think the census taken during a period of mo minutes, i.e., from 11.48 a.m. to 1.28 p.m., may interest you. It is curious to notice that the number of motorbuses and motoreabs is exactly equal.
I believe the census to be accurate :— Useful Charts and Tables.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I beg to acknowledge receipt of the set of valuable charts (by Mr. George W. Watson, A.M.I.Mech.E.). In comparing the results shown on the above with actual results obtained with my own accurately-measured ones, in connection with some electrically-driven, heavy road vehicles, I find them in very close agreement as regards power required for road traction, etc., and I consider them to be a very valuable piece of" furniture "for the office of any engineer, designer, or works manager. An immensurable amount of time can be saved by theIiemploymant, and I have found them especially useful in connection with a. large number of calculations which I have recently. made in connection with the Hart-Durtnall system of electrical power transmission for 'traction purposes under railway eonditions.—Yours faithfully,
WILLIAM P. DURTNALL, M. I .A.E., A.M. I .1?..E.
The Burrell Tractor and its Two Drivers.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—In reading the account of the above awards, as published in your issue, under the heading " Punctuality of drivers," I failed to understand why the " Burrell" tractor should have had two drivers. The fact that two have been awarded a money prize and medal shows that two drivers have been employed. Does this mean that the " Burrell " tractor actually requires two drivers to manage it satisfactorily? If so, have the judges sufficiently taken this fact into consideration in making their awards? Further, if two drivers are required, it must add enormously to the working expenses of a " Burrell " tractor. It is a strong point, I believe, with other makers that their tractors opl.k require one driver.
Thanking you for the opportunity of allowing me to raise this question in your columns.—Yours faithfully, J.W.P.
Lost Marks in the R.A.C. Trials.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—It has occurred to us that some of your readers, who may not have studied copies of the official scoring sheets
in the recent Commercial Vehicles Trials carefully, might possibly jump to the conclusion that the 32 marks recorded against our three-ton lorry (which has gained a Gold Medal and War Office Diploma in Class E) were due to mechanical defects. May we, therefore, take this opportunity of pointing out that, of this number, 23 marks were lost through the subsidence of the road while our lorry was passing one of the other vehicles on a hill, and, although the car sank up to its axles, it was able to get out under its own power and without assistance. Seven marks were lost owing to time spent in finding out that the petrol tap had been accidentally turned off, thus stopping the engine, and the other two marks were recorded against us through having to stop to pick up a tarpaulin that had blown off the back of the lorry.—Yours faithfully,
For THE MAUDSLAY MOTOR COMPANY (1907), LIMITED, L. A. Willison, Secretary.
Parkside, Coventry, 8th November, 1907.
British versus Foreign Vehicles : Mr. Henry Sturmey's Views.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I have waited to see your issue of the 7th instant, in the belief that many of your readers would severely criticise Mr. Henry Sturmey for the extreme nature of some of the statements which he made, in the course of his article on the recent trials, in your issue of the 31st ultimo. It is, no doubt, a wise thing for you to allow a writer of standing to express his views freely, and I am of opinion that no harm can result from that course. At the same time, at the risk of there being others of your readers who have held their peace for one week only, I feel obliged to unburden myself.
Does not Mr. Sturmey entirely overlook the relative insignificance of mishaps during the trials, in comparison with satisfactory results, over a period of years, in the hands of many users? It appears to me that he deliberately goes out of his way to attack the Continental maker, and that he bases his deductions upon false premises. He does, it is true, express a veiled sympathy with a certain well-known German maker, whose vehicles are sold in this country by Milnes-Daimler, Limited, and I see no reason why there should be any mystery about the name. Now, I hold no brief for the English manufacturer, as I know Mr. Sturmey to do, and I think his inconsiderate references can only lead people to conclude that he is afraid of the excellent material and workmanship which comes from the Marienfekle work. Can Mr. Sturmey give the names of English
manufacturers who have better, or even as good, records as those possessed by the Miles-Daimler Company, whether in public-service work, either in London or the country, or in respect of vans and lorries? I think not, and therein lies the sting.—I enclose may card, and am, Dear Sir, yours
truly, " IMPARTIAL. Birmingham, 9th November.
The Manchester Show.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR." .
Sir :—As one taking a great interest, from the trader's point of view, in commercial vehicles, may I refer to the proposed exhibition of these vehicles in our (Manchester) St. James's Hall? I consider it a most unsuitable place in which to hold such a show. • The hall would doubtless be tastefully arranged inside, with time customary band, each vehicle having its attendant guardian, glib, and well-prepared with trade terms, and the details of his particular lorry. Along would come the possible purchaser, and, if he is fond of fresh air, his visit would be a brief one. He listens to the various praises, but, being probably no engineer, he learns little of the actual value of the vehicle as a carrier of his goods.
To have steam up would be unbearable, if it were possible, and there would be no room in which to move the lorry. Surely we have plenty of available land open, within easy distance of Manchester, near to a main road, and with a good hill for preference? My idea is, that these shows should be exhibitions and demonstrations. If a man wants to sell a horse, does he hold it at the end of a rope, mid enlarge only on its points to the possible purchaser? Just as he would expect a canter from the animal, so should we expect to see the paces of its fuel-fed rival. All the above points can be proved at or near Belle Vue.
As you know, Mr. Editor, 1 have no axe to grind, and I venture with diffidence upon what may be a controversial point, but I most certainly am of the opinion that, in holding an exhibition in so undesirable a place, from the point of view which I have taken, members of the committee of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders have not placed the best interests of the makers of commercial vehicles sutIL cientlyprominent in their minds.--Yours faithfully, PHILIP KERSHAW. 5, Oats Street, Clarendon Road.
C.-on-M., Manchester.
8th November, 1907.
The Rover Motorcab Challenge.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Touching on the new challenge forwarded to Messrs. Argyll by the R,M.C. Syndicate, suggesting a petrol consumption competition in London, I may say that this suggestion from them seems almost an echo of a suggestion which I made to the syndicate a few weeks back regarding their challenge to other manufacturers or agents to run with one of their Rover cabs in a trial from Land's End to John o' Groats.
I pointed out to the R.M.C. Syndicate that, in the event of anyone's accepting their challenge for the long run, the .success of either of the machines would not go far to convince the man who was in search of a cab chassis to work in London or its outlying suburbs, as the run up North would hardly represent the future work of a Londen motorcab, so that, in order to obtain the most useful result (should their challenge be accepted), I pointed out that the best route would be the road from Bow or Islington to Brighton and back, through Croydon, each day, until about Soo miles were ctwered. This would give the competing vehicles a nice bit of traffic and open country and might be calculated to represent very well the work of the London motorcab.
The R.M.C. Syndicate should remember that there are at least two foreign cab chassis which could carry everything before them in the matter of economy, reliability and general efficiency, and that these have stood what the Rover has not, viz., years of service under the most trying conditions. If the Rover is to prove itself a capable machine, let it go steadily to London work, or, if its agents cannot wait for this, let them follow the suggestion made in the be ginning of this letter and run their vehicle over the route mentioned for Soo miles under observance (not necessarily official), and in the end give the fullest publicity to the re sults.--Yours faithfmrlly, •••-••• • A,E.A.M.T.