A 65-SEATER, SIX-WHEELED TRACTOR-BUS.
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The Application of a New Type of Vehicle to Passenger-carrying.
N THIS country the six-wheeled tractor unit is a comparatively new typo of vehicle, and it has, so far, been almost exclusively employed for the conveyance of goods. In America, however, this type of ve'niele has been turned to account for the transport of passengers.
The illustration which we publish on this page gives a very good general idea of the construction of the tractor-bus.. The vehicle, which has been designed by the Fruehauf Trades. Co., of Detroit, is in the service of the Department of Parke and Boulevards, City of Detroit, and is used for carrying passengers between the Jefferson 'Avenue Bridge Approach and Belle Island Park. It has a seating capacity for 65 people.
The loading and unloading of the vehicle is carried out from platforms, and, with the four folding doors which are provided, it has been found that large crowds can be dealt with expeditiously. The doors arc opened and closed by compressed air, and they are under the direct control of the driver. The trailer portion is also equipped with air-controlled brakes, which are operated from the driver's cab. Both doors and brakes.are operated by the same valve, and it is quite impossible to open the doors without first iapplying the brakes, and, vice versa, the brakes cannot be released without the doors are closed.
This form otbrake, together with the service and .emergency brakes, which are the standard equipment of the vehicle, thus provide three complete and separate forms of braking, each of which may he operated independently, or the whole can be applied simultaneously. We are pleased to observe that due consideration has been given to the braking of this tractor-bus, for it is most essential, if a vehicle of this description is to be used for passenger B42 carrying, that it should be provided with adequate-braking arrangements.
The tractor-bus is equipped with long fiat springs of special alloy steel, and cushion tyres are used on the wheels. The interior of the vehicle possesses a striking resemblance to that of the ordinary street car which is so familiar on the streets of the big American cities, The side walls of the interior of the body are finished in natural oak, and the ceiling is in imitation mahogany. A number of ventilators are incorporated in the roof, whilst a system of electric
lighting is embodied in the vehicle.
The actual length of the bus body is 29 ft., and, in Spite. of this, it is claimed that the vehicle can be turned ia a radius of 39& ft., which is less than the radius in which many an 'ordinary long wheelbase lorry can he manceuvred. Although we can well imagine that the driver has some little difficulty in getting accustomed to manipulating the vehicle, it is said that he can now handle the vehicle with extreme ease even in congested traffic.
One of the outstanding features of the unit, according to our contemporary, The Commercial Vehicle, to which we are indebted for these details, is that the vehicle can be used every day in the year. The trailer portion is detachable and is equipped with supports at the front end, cm which:it rests when disconnected from the prime mover. These supports are ordinarily folded out of the way beneath the body.
One of the great features of the tractor-bus, to our mind, is that, in the event of mechanical failure of the front portion of the vehicle, the passengercarrying body can be easily detached and connected up to another hauling unit.