IN YOUR OPINION
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rransport in the Background
I HAVE read the article by Mr. D. E. A. Pettit in the March 1 issue of The Commercial Motor with much nterest. The transport requirements of heavy industry are :ompletely different from the retail grocery trade, but I 'ully appreciate everything Mr. Pettit says and do not lisagree with him on any of the many points he makes. Xi two points particularly I strongly support him.
First, that transport arrangements should be considered it a very early point in planning any kind of new developnent of the modification of existing arrangements. It has infortunately been the case many times in the past, as vir. Pettit suggests, that transport needs and facilities have m.ly been brought up after other things have been settled aid perhaps 'schemes have gone too far to be altered.
Secondly, that the need for close and accurate costing of ransport in all its phases cannot be over-emphasized. I eel sure that the full costs of transport throughout all the tages of manufacture and distribution are frequently not riven the attention they deserve, and many people might )e surprised and shocked to find out what a large proporion of the finished price of an article is represented by ransport costs of one sort or another all along the line.
London, W.I. S. C. BOND, Transport Controller, Stewarts and Lloyds Ltd.
Institute of Distribution ?
[ WAS very interested to read Mr. Pettit's article in the L March 1 issue of The Commercial Motor and I especially velcome his emphasis of the changing role of the transport nanager in many undertakings.
There must be a large number of manufacturing cornmnies selling their products throughout the country, both n the grocery field and outside it. In each of these the ransport manager's functions range (or at least they should -ange) far beyond the mere operation of a fleet of road iehicles however important that may be. He is concerned pith controlling the pattern of distribution as a whole, that s, the entire pipeline from the moment of manufacture to :he moment of delivery of the goods to the customer. This :.mbraces the type of transport to be used, the location and lesign of depots, handling and storage methods, stock :..ontroI, and even impinges on the location of factories and le size of factory warehouses.
(It is, perhaps, worth underlining the limits as well as the scope of the term "distribution" when used in this sense. In its widest sense distribution can be made to include also selling and advertising, wholesaling and retailing. But for the sake of clarity, all the functions which can be placed under the heading of " marketing " should be excluded, while distribution should be taken to mean only the physical distribution of goods from point of manufacture to point of sale.) With such a vital function to perform, and frequently very large expenditure under their control, I am sure that many transport-cum-distribution managers would find it useful to meet, compare notes, and discuss common problems with others of their kind. And yet there does not appear to be any professional body which enables them to do so. The Institute of Transport, the T.R.T.A., and the British Institute of Management all cover much vaster fielcis and lack the special interest in distribution's specialized problems.
Should there not, in fact, be an Institute of Distribution? I feel sure that this is not an original suggestion, and that such an idea must have been discussed before. But the rapid changes which are now taking place, and the present urgent need, in the national interest, for maximum efficiency in every field, may perhaps make it worth reconsidering now.
London, W.2. F. R. L. WENTWORTH, Transport Controller, Schweppes Group of Companies.
Six-lane Motorways
I WOULD like to answer Mr. Peter Knottley's letter comparing road and vehicle widths in Britain and Europe.
In many European countries the 8 ft 21 in, (21 metres) wide vehicles have to use 23 ft, (7 metres) wide roads and the 71--mile Mont Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy will have only a single 23-ft. roadway.
On the French motorways, for example, the Western Autoroute out of Paris, the six-lane section has only 9 ft. 10 in, (3 metres) wide traffic lanes and the four-lane sections have the 114 ft. (31 metres) wide traffic lanes.
Although Britain is backward in road building, the interesting fact emerges that we have a greater mileage of six-lane motorway than any other European country. Of our 200 miles of motorway open to traffic, over 50 miles of MI and 16 miles of MG in Staffordshire are six-lane. By the end of this year the M6 should be open as far north as the Preston By-pass so we should have well over 100 miles of six-lane motorway.
West Germany, which has nearly 2,000 miles of Autobahn, has only two short six-lane stretches, near Hamburg and Cologne. Italy still has some of the two-lane singlecarriageway Autostrada, open as far back as 1925, and Holland often builds single-carriageway motorways with a provision for a second carriageway to be added When traffic volume justifies it.
There are also single-carriageway motorways in New Zealand and the U.S.A. Britain could have a vast singlecarriageway system if only the redundant railways were converted to roads.
Harrogate, Yorks. A. I. WATICINSON.
Twin-steering Passenger Models I WAS interested in the letter from Mr. S. A. Trott in last I week's issue referring to twin-steering passenger vehicles prior to the Bedford VAL.
The Leyland Gnu was introduced specifically as a passenger model of this kind at the 1937 Commercial Motor Show, although it had a certain amount in common with the Steer twin-steering goods model of the time. W. Alexander and Sons Ltd. were the first operators, receiving two, and about 1940 they also took delivery of a very similar Leyland model known as the Panda, which is believed to have remained unique.
The Alexander vehicles were of front-entrance layout the relationship of doorway to engine being very similar to that of the Bedford VAL. The first use of a layout with both entrance and engine in the front overhang was probably that of the Maudslay SF40 four-wheeler introduced two years earlier, however. On the original Gnu the radiator was moved towards the nearside so as to allow the 86litre engine to be mounted as far forward as possible. This last-mentioned feature wasn't necessary on the City Coach Co. vehicles, which had their entrances amidships, and only the first of their fleet of six had the offset radiator.
Export Model City also had a long-wheelbase export model post-war Leyland Tiger which had a light second steering axle, oddly enough, reputed to be of Bedford origin, to get round the then 27 ft. 6 in. length limit for four-wheel singledeckers. The extra axle evidently carried very little weight as I am told that daylight could sometimes be seen under the tyres! It was removed soon after the 30 ft length limit came in.
The only other twin-steering passenger model that I can recall being operated in this country prior to the VAL was also a Leyland, a double-deck trolleybus dating from 1939-40 and built for London Transport. It remained in regular service until the late 'fifties.
London, E.C.1. A. A. TowNsiN.
Biaking Equipment I HAVE read with considerable interest the article on I commercial vehicle brakes in the February 8 issue of The Commercial Motor, and the correspondence published in subsequent issues, but I am not happy with what has B40 appeared so far from the point of view of the operata since there has been little or no mention of the legal positid and the need to provide brake systems that continue t operate satisfactorily for a reasonable period.
I should hate to think that it is necessary to have th Construction and Use Regulations made more stringer before the user can obtain brakes both for rigid and artict lated vehicles which will enable him to feel that his vehicl is safe on the roads for a reasonable period. Regulatio 39 of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regul2 tions, 1955, lays down that in respect of heavy motorcai they "shall be equipped with an emcient braking system c efficient braking systems with two means of operation suff cient under the most adverse conditons to bring the vehicl to rest within A reasonable distance" subject to certai provisos.
Standard of Performance
Perhaps a standard of performance for brakes should t laid down as a means of making sure that no vehicle produced without adequate means of braking. The pe formance figures for brakes given in many of the road te reports leave much to be desired and, of course, it must I borne in mind that these are new vehicles being tested, m vehicles that have been driven for hundreds or thousam of miles. In respect of the vehicle testing scheme ft private cars and commercial vehicles up to 30 cwt. unladt weight there are certain standards for brake efficiency, at I think that quite a few of the commercial vehicles ovo 30 cwt. unladen weight would find it difficult to comp with these minima—this should not be the case.
I am wondering whether it would not be possible to ha, a British•standard for brakes based on a time test so th when an operator purchases a vehicle with the kite mai he could be reasonably sure that his brakes are efficie and built to last for a reasonable time, subject to norm routine maintenance.
May I say in conclusion that operators will be gratef to The Commercial Motor for starting this discussion it is really amazing to think of how much has been spe in developing many of the other components of a vehic] with particular reference to the engine, but how little the has been in the way of developments in respect of brakiii which is such a vital factor having regard to the fact th there is a strong tendency towards higher speeds for cor mercial vehicles. There can be no doubt about this who one considers that the speed limits have just been increaso for commercial vehicles and the fact that the maximu speed limit so often becomes the minimum.
London, S.W.18. FLEET OPERATOR.
Electric Discharge Pumps IN the March 1 issue, on page 48, under the headi "Electric Pump Discharge for Road Tankers ", there in the final paragraph the statement: "Regent has estimat annual savings of at least £100 per vehicle ".
We thought we had made it clear that a saving of greater significance can be made. The Regent Oil Col pany, for example, says that in one phase of its operatic it now employs three vehicles with electrically driven d charge pumps instead of four used formerly with p.t driven pumps.
We think you will agree that this example emphasi; the favourable economics of the electrically driven pur installation, and we would be grateful if you wot publish a note to this effect.
Hanworth, Middx. A. C. WOOD, Technical Publications” Sir George Godfrey and Partners (Industrial) Ltd.