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AN ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND MOTOR COACH.

15th March 1921, Page 9
15th March 1921
Page 9
Page 10
Page 9, 15th March 1921 — AN ALL-THE-YEAR-ROUND MOTOR COACH.
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Original Body Design which Enables a Char-a-bancs to be Used in Four Dis _inct Ways.

THE TYPE of motor coach, which from the point of view of numbers is at tho present moment markedly in the ascendency, is regarded by proprietors as essentially a fine-weather vehicle. The popularity of the average coach is in each year 'caniined to a period of very limited duration, varying, of course, according to the length of the " season at the different holiday resorts, from which by far the greatest number of vehicles run.

'Very few coaches which are used solely for passenger work, i.e., the work for which they were designed and constructed, are in use on an average for more than six months of any year, or, say, allowing for drenching ,wet days, on which there would be no demand for tours at all, 175 days in the year. Some vehicles are in use for a period of not more than three months, after which they are seldom used for other passenger work than the conveyance of an occasional dance or football party.

Now, those associated with commercial vehicle operation, whether it be ordinary haulage or passenger work, fully appreciate the fact that, in order to enable a vehicle to render a remunerative account of itself, it. is essential that it be employed to the fullest possible extent. The less work a vehicle performs the higher the total cost per mile for that work.

it is admittedly practically impossible to employ a motor coach for all-the-year-round i,ervice as the body is at present designed and constructed, and the result is that many proprietors, anxious to avoid the possibility of a sotu-co of income lying dormant during the winter Months of the year, substitute an ordinary haulage body for the coach body. We are firmly convinced—and our contention is backed by the varied experiences of many thoughtful users—that this is a, mistaken policy, and that, moreover, harmful results will almost inevitably be observed in the running of the vehicle on passenger service.

Another consideration, and an all-important one from the public paint of view, is that charges for tours are to a great extent governed by the duration of the season, or, in other words, the. mileage which the vehicle runs during that period. Of course, it is net conceivable that by doubling the nureber of miles run in the year it would be possible to reduce substantially the cost of charges for :tours, but it is certainly reasonable to assume that reductions might he capable of being effected were the vehicle employed for the whole 12 months in the year.

The charges generallY prevailing for motor coach tours are slightly in excess of those ruling on the railway for the same distance (many are already lower than the comparable rail fares), but, were it possible to employ the vehicle all the year round for passenger work, there would remain few instances of coach fares exceeding railway charges.

There will always be a greater demand for coach tours during the summer months so long as the English. climate remains as it is. That fact is

admitted, but there is no reason why the travelling public should not be educated to appreciate the beneficial and delightful pleasure of touring during the late summer, winter, and early spring periods.

During the summer, passengers will not travel on a fine day in any form, of enclosed vehicle if an open one is available, and, in the winter months, they will not expose themselves to the elements. If a proprietor seta himself out to cater for both summer and winter touring, then it is incumbent on him to provide two, distinct types of vehicles—one of the open type and the other of the totally encloeed type.

• It is doubtful whether a vehicle used solely for winter touring could be made a remunerative proposition unless charges out of the reach of the majority were enforced. To popularize winter touring, charges must be very moderate. The way to overcome the difficultyis by the employment of two distinct types of bodies, which can be substituted for one another according to the time of the year. In this manner one chassis can be made to serve the two purposes, and all that is necessary is to store away the body not in use in a convenient corner of the garage.

We have had opportunities of inspecting vehicles fitted with interchangeable bodies designed to enable them to be used all the year round, but we cannot recall having examined a motor coach which fulfils the opposite requirements of summer and winter touring so ad mirably as that which we illustrate herewith. The Chelsea Motor Building Co., Ltd. of 164, King's Road, London, SW., have sought. with commendable ingenuity, to design a.hody which enables passengers to enjoy the open-air travelling of the ordinary motor coach during the summer months and the benefits of the • enclosed vehicle during the colder days. It will be seen from the illustration of the open car that the body is provided with a clean waist rail for the reception of a detachable rigid top., together with its accompanying window sashes, the trimming being brought over in such a manner as to ensure a perfect bed, and at the same time to provide a water-tight joint. Like the rest of the body, the window sashes are made of ash, and into these are fitted the lights enclosed in mahogany surrounds which lend a distinctive appearance to the ensemble

The upper halves of the windows are made to open inwards, and thew are held in. position when _down by special spring Clips against rubber silencers. in order to prevent rattle. All the windows are glazed with best British polished plate glass, and the sashes are rabbeted in such a, way that in the event of a breakage a broken pane can be very easily replaced. The designers have given every thought to the important matter of ventilation, whilst for every chassis equipped with alighting set, the Chelsea Motor Building Co:, Ltd., provide an electric roof light over each group of Beats which, by the way, are built in settee fashion, the wiring being carried through in such a way that, immediately on the fixed top being placed in position, the circuit is complete, and it only remains for the drier to switch on the light from the dashboard.

The detachable rigid top is easy to remove and as easy to fix. The rear portion sits on the waist rail behind the Tear seat, wWlst the front part engages with the windscreen uprights. Should it be found desirable as a middle course to remove the, side windows, this can be easily accomplished, and, as

is the case during the summer months, they can be suitably stored.

The doors are all fitted with slam locks, having safety hook bolts to obviate all risk of the doors flying open and to ease the strain on the doors when travelling over uneven surfaces. Railway carriages are provided with locks of this character, and the time is not far distant when it will be compulsory on all char-h-bancs owners to fit locks of a similar description. Such a provision in the case of a large typo of char-h-bancs appears to be an absolute necessity, and owners should insist on a provision of this nature if they desire to avoid any claim which might possibly be made in respect of personal injury to a passenger falling out consequent upon the door giving way through the body becoming strained.

The seats are upholstered in -good quality leather, the cushions being deep and comfortable and stuffed with horse-hair. A tool box is fitted under the rear seat, whilst a box to accommodate two spare wheels is fitted under the back part of the chassis frame. For longdistance tours, provision is made for carrying spare wheels on the off side running board, thus leaving the box at the rear for the accommodation of passengers' luggage.

The vehicle, which is a16-seater, is most certainly an all-the-yearround machine, for it can be used in four 'distinct ways :—(1) Completely open with_no covering ; (2) with the one-man hood up ; (3) with the detachable rigid top minus the windows; (4) or as a totally enclosed saloon coach. It is well appointed in every way, and every detail of its design and construction has been carefully thought out, both from the point of view of the users' requirements and the passengers' comfort. The latter consideration is clearly indicated by the incorporation of rug rails on the hacks of the seats and ash trays. On this coach, entrance to the rear seats is gained by a lift-up seat in the penultimate row, but the builders have also in course of construction a similar type of body for the Vulcan chassis (the body we have described is on a Fiat chassis), which, on account of its longer wheelbase, enables the Chelsea Motor Building Co. not only to fit outside doors to all the rows, but to make a 16-seater body convertible into a 20-seater at will.

An example of another type of coach body, which they term a 30-seater divisible char-h-bancs, is also going through the company's worksIn this vehicle the whole of the body from behind the driving seat is removable, which enables it to be used in the winter months, as a ferry. As in the case of the passenger vehicle we have described, this machine has also been designed with the object of securing for its owner an all-the-year-round return on his investment.

We might mention that Chelsea chars-it-banes are so constructed that the detachable rigid top cart be ordered and fitted at any time. In this way a proprietor who does not feel justified in purchasing the complete equipment at the beginning of the season can, by waiting until the close of the summer season, purchase the winter part of the body out of his profits made during the most remunerative part of the year. The complete body sells at 2675, which is remarkably good value for money when one remembers that it enables the vehicle to be employed for 12 months in the year. The coach illustrated is to the order of Haslam's, Ltd., of Folkestone.

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Locations: London

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