A Disintegrated Fleet Rebuilt
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How the K.V.G. Bus Company, of Brunswick, Has Restored its Fleet, Which War Reduced from 200 to Seven Vehicles
AN idea of Germany's power of recovery in terms of reorganizing a war-torn bus fleet may be gathered from the post-,war
history of Kraftverkehrsge sellschaft, Brunswick, known as K.V.G. Accord ing to a statement by one of the directors: "The war rendered useless. the work of a quarter of a century."
After the collapse of the German front almost the entire stock of 200 buses and trailers was "dispersed, demolished or taken over by the occupying powers," and the company was left with seven vehicles capable of carrying passengers.
Brunswick was the site of theHermann Goering works,, and has been the home of the Missing factory since it was founded before the 19141918 war. It was heavily bombed by allied aircraft, and most of the production equipment of these and other works was dispersed over a wide area to reduet. losses to a mini mum. This : ?suited in increased movement of personnel and the K.V.G. vehicles were given little respite. In 1937, the fleet covered a total of 620,000 miles; from 1938 to 1944, the yearly average was nearly 21m. miles.
After the end of the war, every available man in the company assisted in rebuilding the chassis and bodies, the, bodies being stripped of non-essentials to simplify the work.
Parts were taken from badly damaged and obsolete vehicles for repair, and by the end of 1945, 50 vehicles had been restored to a sound mechanical condition.
The re-establishment of regular services in industrial districts was given high priority, and in a few months the most urgent requirements of the travelling public had been met. This favourable progress. was, however, soon frustrated by lack of BIG spares and tyres, and vehicles had to be withdrawn from service to provide the spares for those running on the most important routes. Frequent punctures and bursts of the badly worn tyres caused unavoidable delays. The number of usable vehicles was gradually reduced to 21, and essential services were kept running with the assistance of buses hired from other districts. The period of attrition continued until the currency reform in June, 1948, K.V.G. had been waiting and planning for the day that this life-saving measure would be introduced, and the overnight recovery of the organization, following the reform, is symptomatic of the subsequent recovery of the nation. The factories were ready and the operators were ready, and within a few days new tyres had been fitted to the vehicles and worn mechanical components replaced.
The policy of the Government was to give freedom to initiative, to pro-, vide the people with something worth living for and where possible to introduce a little "glitter." In a short time, K.V.G. was refitting the buses with comfortably upholstered seats and running pleasure trips to the Harz Mountains. To-day, the fleet comprises 90 buses owned by the company, 15 hired buses and 30 trailers. In 1951, 7.3m. passengers were carried, and the number of vehicle-miles (including trailers) was 2.6m. The income per vehicle-mile was about 2s. 10d.
The fleet operates from 10 depots, and repair shops are located at Brunswick and at Helmstedt, a town on the border of the Russiad zone about 24 miles to the west of Brunswick. The distance from north to south of the operating area is about 70 miles, most of the traffic being concentrated in the BrunswickHelmstedt-Salzgitter Bad district.
Of the 90 company-owned vehicles, 60 are of post-war Bussing manufacture, and these include 55 buses with vertical 105-b.h.p. oil engines and five buses with underfloor engines developing 135 b.h.p. The remaining 30 vehicles are Skoda buses fitted with 120-b.h.p. oil engines, 10 of which are operating on a liquefied mixture of propane and 'butane gases.
The conversion of a number of vehicles to run on gas was a wartime measure and the engines of these buses will eventually be reconverted to run on oil fuel to reduce costs. The success of the buses operationally is, however, of interest, particularly in view of the importance attached by some American transport engineers to the development of this form of propulsion. The gas has a high octane value and the engines run smoothly and reliably, the chief disadvantage being the weight of the bottles and the high charge for transporting them from
the source of supply. The extra operating cost, compared with running on oil fuel is about 5-Id. a mile. The gas is stored at a pressure of 7 atmospheres in containers with a capacity equal to 10 gallons of petrol.
Large Capacity
Both the 13tissing types have accommodation for 55 passengers, the greater passenger space of the underfloor-engined buses being used to provide 47 seats in place of the 36 seats of the smaller vehicles. The Skodas, which have a similar overall capacity and 38 seats, are considered " stronger " for local work. The trailers carry 50 passengers of whom 17 stand.
The buses running solo have a fuel consumption of about 9.7 m.p.g., and the average for the fleet is 8.1 m.p.g., at mean operation speeds of 16 m.p.h. The buses are never used with a trailer for the Harz Mountain tours, and the passengers are all seated.
Stage-carriage fares are based on 2.2d. per mile for workmen (all those earning less than £25 a month) and 2.47d. per mile for ordinary passengers. Weekly season tickets, which are valid for six return trips, are issued to workmen at a charge equal to the cost of six single tickets, and are sold to other passengers for 60 per cent. of the cost of 12 single tickets. Monthly tickets are valid for 25 return journeys and are available at proportionate charges. The payment for pleasure tours varies between 0.987d. per mile and 1.32d. per mile. Vehicles engaged on industrial traffic and trailer units carry a conductor, but all other buses are one-man operated. In 1951, the average income per passenger was about lid.
It is law in Germany that passenger vehicles be inspected every two months according to a prescribed form, which must be signed on completion by the mechanic in charge, his foreman and the technical director of the concern. A more compre hensive yearly inspection is also obligatory, and this is performed by a Government certifying officer, unless special permission has been obtained for members of the company's staff to undertake the examination.
Although heavy-duty detergent oil is employed, the increasing purity of the oil fuel should allow the practice. to be discontinued in the near future. Oil changes are made at about 2,000mile intervals, and the oil is sold for approximately ls. 4d. per gallon. The new buses have not as yet covered a sufficient mileage for the power units to require dismantling for a major overhaul, which will be done when necessitated by deterioration in engine performance.
Tyres have steadily improved since the war. The average tyre life is now about 37,000 miles., and longer mileages are expected in the future. The covers are regrooved and remoulded.