LOOKING BACK 15 YEARS
Page 20
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THE PROBLEM of abcu
propelled Battery
mulator propulsion for
B 'motorbuses jumped into uses.
= prominence in the early months of 1906, and a non-committal, though somewhat fulsome, welcome was accorded to this resurrection of an old friend. It was pointed out that neither the internal-combustion engine nor the steam-engine had anything to fear from this new arrival, although certain exponents of the new, method endeavoured to trade upon the temporary difficulties of companies who owned petrol buses. The merits of any particular system, it was said, were not proved by magnifying the transitional disadvantages of other systems, -especially as the attacking party was 'exploiting a method of road transport that had consistently failed to compete in public passenger service on common roads.
Although there are few instances in this country at the present time where electric buses are being largely employed, battery design has -undergone such radical alterations and improvements during the past, 10 years that this method of propulsion has now fallen into its rightful sphere in the matter of goods haulage, where for certain classes of work it unquestionably possesses distinct advantages over other forms of transport
Fire-engine THE ILLUSTRATIONS Progress. at the bottom of this page show a very interesting comparison between a Merryweather steam-driven engine which was in use in 1906, iind a modern Dennis fire-engine and escape in use by the Bedford Fire Brigade. Fifteen years ago the steam-driven fire-engine had quite a vogue, and such fire brigade authorities as these of Liverpool, Edinburgh, London and others, had several machines of this type in use. We know of no single instance at the present time where the steam-driven fire-engine is employed, this type having been completely superseded by the petrol-driven machine, which undoubtedly possesses several advantages over.the older method.
THE Berlin General Om Steam
Buses. ,nibus " do., whose routes were gradually being motorized in the early months of 1906, resolved to give steam an opportunity of showing what it, could do in a contest with petrol. The-company was not satisfied with its engines of the internal-combustion type, which had been in use for about six months, and it was said that if the directors could be persuaded that steam-driven vehicles were in existence which could show a superiority over the self-propelled buses then running, the former class of vehicle would be adopted for the city's passengercarrying requirements.
We have no evidence to show the results of these comparative trials, although the fact that petrol-propelled buses are now in use in Berlin is an indication that the experiments of 15 years ago with steam vehicles had to be discarded in view of the rapid advances which were being made in the design and construction of petrol-driven machines.