News and Comment.
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rhis journal has the largest and best circulation, i.e., the total of subscribers orders and actual purchases from newsagents by readers: it is sold—not given away.
Our special section, which deals with the use of motor vehicles and tractors for hiring and contracting purposes, begins on page III. We are delighted to have a note from Mr. A. Rawlinson, the managing director of A. Darracq and Company, Limited, in which he assures us that he is none the worse from the results of the recent smash at Barnes, when, in a dense fog, his car and a bus collided.
Two articles of especial interest to owners of all types of commercial motors, whether for passenger or goods conveyance, are included in this issue. That on the prevention of excessive speed (pages rot to 103) leads up to the explanation of a device which appears to have in it the elements of successful application, and that on the latest type of Gillett-Lehmann carburetter describes a fitting, which makes for economy in the operation of petrolpropelled machines.
The Two Parades.
Accurate statistical information about the London and Glasgow parades may be of interest to our readers. In London, there were 53 machines from users, and only a single machine from a manufacturer ; in Glasgow, there were 44 machines from users, and 17 from manufacturers. As regards totals, it will be observed that there were 54 machines in London, compared with 6r machines in Glasgow. Monday, possibly, is a better day than Saturday. As regards the number of machines which were entered in competition, and which paraded, London had 34 and Glasgow 25. Both functions were successes.
The Albion Motor Car Company, Limited, points out that 35 per cent, of the petrol-vehicle entries were machines of its manufacture, and that it gained four awards out of the eight which went to drivers of petrol machines,
The Sirdar Rubber Company, Limited, points out that 32 of the parading vehicles were fitted with Royal Sirdar tires, and that every award but one went to vehicles having Sirdar tires upon them. Further, the managing director of the Sirdar Company, Mr. J. M. MacLulich, desires to draw attention to the fact that the G.P.O. Maudslay van (London winner) was fitted with his company's tires. Mr. G. Hart, of High Wycombe, has applied to the Torquay Town Council for licenses in respect of one or two inotor taxicabs.
Messrs. J. Thomas and Company, of Cardiff, recently applied to the local council for licenses for ten taxicabs, which they undertook to place on the streets within 14 days. The Watch Committee has (subject to the usual sanction) granted licenses for five cabs.
Non-Motor Exhibitions.
Further to our paragraph of last week (page go ante), on the subject of a separate form of bond for makers or other exhibitors of Commercial vehicles, we are glad to know that the policy to which we gave the strongest possible support at the close of last year's Olympia Show, in the course of a leading article which was published in our issue of the gth of April, has been adopted. The decision officially to allow each maker to take his own choice to the extent of any half-dozen non-motor shows in different parts of the country, whereby it will be possible for the constructor who has successfully appealed to a particular trade or district to avail himself of the references thereby provided, is a commendable one. It is not unlikely, however, that sufficient and fresh general interest may be created in the business side of motoring, for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, say, after an interval of another three or four years, again to concentrate upon its policy of one commercial motor show per annum.
Tractor Transport, Limited, with its registered office at 75, Queen Victoria Street, F..C., has been formed for the purpose of running a Hornsby tractor in Bolivia,
• Forfar County Council has resolved to apply to the Secretary for Scotland, in the hope that the very sound arguments in favour of the case will lead to the approval of an Imperial grant towards the extra cost of road maintenance which through motor traffic has occasioned.
Dundee's Motor Fire-Tender.
The Dundee Corporation has taken delivery of an Argyll motor lire-tender. The machine cost upwards of 4.75o; it carries ten men and some 1,cloo feet of hose and other equipment, whilst it is geared for speeds of 7, 14 and 21 miles an hour.
A South African Opinion.
" The Natal Mercury " expresses the view that it will be better to endeavour to develop and open up some of the districts which are nn crying for branch railways by means of motor transport, and goes on to suggest the encouragement of traffic by means of motor transport, up to the point of requirement of a standard-gauge railway, rather than the spending of a lot of money on light railways in the first instance, and then, as in the case of the Beira Railway, an expensive conversion of the original line to the standard gauge.
G.Ni.U.A.
The membership of the Commercial Motor Users' Association proceeds apace, and is now 310 net. It embraces the best-known owners of commercial motors in the country, and the Secretary, Mr. W. Rees Jeffreys, of r, Albemarle Street, W., will be pleased to send particulars to any enquirer. We may mention that the annual subscription of one guinea includes the postage each week of a copy of " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR :" this, in effect, reduces any member's subscription to the annual contribution of 145. 6d.
The October meeting of the Executive Committee was held yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon. A report of the proceedings will be published by us next week.
Hub Cap Found.
Mr. H. White, of Adela Avenue, West Barnes Lane, New Malden, advises us that he has had brought to him what appears to be a commercial vehicle hub cap. It WaS found about three weeks ago, in Seaforth Avenue, West Barnes Lane. The owner may have it, if application be made to Mr. White.
A Business Absorption.
Pickford's, Limited, whose head office is in Gresham Street, E.C., has acquired the business of the late Motor Delivery Company from the liquidators of that concern. The old Motor Delivery Company has, therefore, entered upon a new lease of life, and should do well under the management of Mr. R. G. L. Markham, M.I.Mech.E., M.I.A.E. The brief facts of the purchase of the business were reported in our issue of the 13th August (page 552), and we are now advised that the contracting business will be undertaken under the descriptive title of the Motor Contract Company. This company, whose manager's office is at 143, Strand, W.C., is ready to undertake the supply and maintenance of motor vehicles by the year, or other periods as may be agreed. At the present moment, the largest business is done in connection with the regular hiring of travellers' broughams and light delivery vans, one of the most recent arrangements being with Mudie's Select Library, for the delivery of books to customers within 30 OT 1.0 miles of London. Pickford's resources are behind the revised project.
The Electrical Exhibition at Manchester.
At the Electrical Engineering Exhibition, which opened at Platt's Fields, Manchester, on the 3rd instant, and which will remain open until the 3tst instant, some very interesting exhibits are staged by well-known manufacturers and agents. Amongst the former we may mention the following S. W. Brayshaw, of Hahne, Manchester, who shows his " salt-bath " Lirnace, such as we described in our issue of the uth June last; Messrs. J. C. Fuller and Son, of Bow, London (ignition accumulators, etc.); llans Renold, Limited, of Manchester (driving• chains); Alfred Herbert, I ,ittited, of Coventry (machine tools); The Hoffmann Manufacturing Company, Limited, of Chelmsford (balls, ball-bearings, and examples of their application); Ludw. Loewe and Company, Limited, of Earring(Ion Road, London, E.C. (small tools, gauges, ball-bearings, etc.); and Schaffer and Budenberg, Limited, of Manchester (pressure gauges). Messrs. C. W. Burton Griffiths and Company, of Ludgate Square, London, E.C., have a good assortment of American small tools and gauges, and Messrs. William Ayrton and Company, of Longsight, Manchester, who are the Lancashire and Yorkshire agents far the "Prana" alloy, have a good show of small castings of that material, made by the diecast process.
About "Commer Cars."
Commercial Cars, Limited, of Luton, has received an amusing letter from a customer, La Compania Moliner de Santa Rosa, of Peru, to whom a fourton " Commer Car " vehicle was supplied about a year ago. The letter reads : " Enclosed please find requisition for spares for our commercial motor wagon ; all the spanners and keys got stolen on the way out . .
so we need a complete new set of spanners. We have great pleasure in writing that the car has been running daily in the last nine months with every success, and we have had to put it up for the first time to replace the white metal
out of one of the bearings. The roads Out here are not very good."
On the subject of recent " Commer Car" business, we are interested to learn that the company's orders during last week were : one from the Crown Agents for the Colonies, for a two-ton lorry, with paraffin carburetter, for Uganda ; a repeat order from Pickford's, Limited, for a ton lorry ; four chars-a-bancs—two to go to the West of England, and two to go to Yorkshire; one export type lorry for Patagonia; one exporttype wagon for Penang, this being ordered through Messrs. Paterson, Simons and Company, Limited, of to and it, Lime Street, E.C., who have taken up the company's agency for the Malay Peninsula and the Straits Settlements; and one five-ton lorry for Messrs. Hall and Pickles, of Manchester.
We illustrate, herewith, one of the standard I..C.-type chassis, which is fitted with it body according to the requirements of the purchasing company, J. Dewar and Sons, Limited; the vehicle is designed for the rapid transportation of loads of 30 cwt.
Petrol Automobiles for Fire Brigades.
Frankfort's eighteen months' experience with a petrol automobile for firebrigade operations has not resulted in any opinion adverse to internal-combustion motors for the purpose in question ; on the contrary, the Corporation is considering the advisability of acquiring additional petrol vehicles, as well as an electric escape. The trial automobile is a gas-engine fitted on a Marienfelde chassis, and was illustrated and described in " TFIB COMMERCIAL MOTOR " shortly after the commencement of its period of probation. The commander of the fire brigade is thoroughly satisfied with the vehicle.
Reported London Taxicab Strike.
We are authorised by Mr. Edgar Cohen, the managing director of the General Motorcab Company, Limited, to contradict the reports which were current in the Press of Monday last, to the effect that on drivers in the service of that company had struck work. We are informed that, as a matter of fact, the number of cabs on the road on that day was rather in excess of the usual number. A meeting of the Motorcab Drivers' Protection Association, under the chairmanship of Mr. Sam Michaels, was held at midnight on Monday last, in St. George's Hall, Westminster, to consider the General Motorcab Company's new regulations with regard to " rest " days.
Petits Poids Lourds.
(Continued from page 9-1.)
It would not be just to the majority of competitors to declare that there are four winners in the taxicab and light delivery-van test, which has just been held in Paris, for in many cases the vehicles, though officially in one class, differed too widely to be satisfactorily classed together. In the hotel-omnibus class, carrying six passengers and Ito lb. of baggage per passenger, the four-cylinder Unic takes first position, defeating the single-cylinder De Dion. It should not be forgotten, however, that the De Dion had a greater weight, and was equipped with solid Torrilhon tires, which Were naturally a handicap in a fuel-consumption test.
In the taxicab section, the order of merit is Bayard-Clement, N'inotDeguingand, Unic, and Cottereau. Here, again, it should be explained that, although all had to carry 507 of ballast, the vehicles were not on an equal footing, the Bayard-Clement,
which showed remarkable fuel economy, being a mall two-cylinder cab specialty suitable for town service, whilst the others were four-cylinder vehicles of greater power.
The little Demeester was alone in the light delivery-van section, carrying a load of 440 lb., but was not allowed to be classed first, owing to one of the seals having been broken during a fuel test. In the closed delivery-van section (load from 1,324 to 2,645 lb.), the twocylinder Bayard-Clement had the lowest fuel consumption, the De Dion-Bouton single-cylinder van was second, and the Unic was third. The De Dion-Bouton's position is very good, for with a vehicle weighing complete over 5,5oo lb. solid tyres are more commercially correct than pneumatics, and the De Dion, unlike its competitors, had its wheels shod with Ducasbles. The Unic was the only four-cylinder vehicle in this section.
There did not appear to be much reason to take the vehicles out to Chanteloup for a hill-climbing test, as the Coeur Volant, which had to be climbed every day, was of itself sufficient to keep out any specially-prepared vehicle.
he table, which is a completion ot the one published last week, shows better than anything else the performance of the different vehicles in the economy test with petrol, white spirit, alcohol and benzol.