PUBLIC-SERVICE VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT.
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The Era 1905-14, Which. was Notable for the Pluck and Enterprise of the Pioneers in Motorbus Design and Construction.
pRIOR to the first number of The Commercial Motor, in March, 1905, the subject of motorbuses and publie-service vehicles had begun to attract attention and, already in various parts of the country, some early, crude vehicles, mostly of foreign construction, were in operation. In London, the Road Car Co., Ltd., was among the first to experiment with motorbuses trials, being made with Germain (Belgian) and Durkopp (German) vehicles, under the direction of Mr. H. G. r . Brackenridge, who had been appointed manager of the motorbus department. In the provinces, the Eastbourne Corporation and the Sussex Motor Road Car Co.—the latter then using Clarkson steam buses—were amongst the pioneers.
The year 1905 brought with it such a wave of enthusiasm in favour of motorbuses and such a crop of new companies to exploit them that one of our first duties was to issue a warning. Thus in our very first numbers, in referring to the invitation of the public to subscribe for shares in the London and District Motor Bus Co., Ltd., with a capital of £255,000 and the London Power Omnibus Co., Ltd. (f200,000), we pointed out that, whilst even in that early stage of public-service vehicle development motorbuses were, with reasonable management charges, capable of yielding good margins, watered stock or excessive capitalization was to be ayoided. We added that the efficient organization of personnel was not conjured up at will and that drivers were not heaven-sent to meet the occasion, and urged that "buses should be ordered by the score and not by the hundred." Despite our advice orders flowed out prolifically, the ManesDaimler Co. reporting that they had orders in hand for over 150 buses for England, whilst another concern ordered 50 chain-driven Durkopps.
Rapid Development ,of Bus Movement in 1905..
News of other services came to hand at such a pace that only one or two can be mentioned. In February, 1905, the old South Eastern Railway inaugurated one between Herne Bay and Canterbury, using .12.h.p. 10-seated Panhard cars. Thomas Tilling, Ltd., who had been running about 2'20 horse buses in London, had been experimenting with motorbuses for softie time and now resolved"to buy no more horses. The first service in the Isle of Wight was inaugurated in April, 1905; &tent which time the Wolseley, Leyland, Thornyeroft,'Maudslay and Dennis Co.s took up the construction of double-deck vehicles; the Dennis—a 30-seater of 20 h.p.. for the London and 'Suburban Motor Omnibus Co.—embracing the, worm drive of which they were pioneers. Clarkson was also turning out a number of National steam buses, while Straker-Squire teolt out a licence to build petrel in-Ise:: in accordance with Bussing (German) plans.
TIN London Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., also started a fleet
of Milnes-Daimlers between the Law Courts and Brondesbury, the fare being half that of the horse buses. The service was run from 6 a.m. to 2 am., .m. two shifts of drivers and conductors being emploYed. The London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., had been also running for some tithe a number of motorbuses, in-eluding a petrol-electric (Fisscher) of American design and an Orion (Swiss), among the, first of British construction to be tried by this company 'being Thornycroft, Leyland and National. Sonae opposition was shown to the new vehicle at Brighton, where one councillor was aghast
that such vandalism should boproposed as that of spoiling the front by the introduction of this inartistic and dangerous product of a strenuous, hurrying age." Despite such Canute-like efforts, the movement not °illy spread but was accompanied by developments in motor chars-à-banes, an early builder of this type of vehicle being Durham, Churchill and Co., Ltd., Sheffield.
A Society of Bus Engineers in 1905.
So great was the interest in the motorbu.s movement that July, 1905, sew the formation of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers, with Mr. F. C. A. Coventry as first chairman, whilst among the members of the council were the late P. Frost Smith and the late W. Flexman French. Its title was later changed to that of the Society of Road Transport Engineers and, although the association came to an end in May, 1911, the interchange of experience afforded by the numerous valuable papers read at its meetings played a by no means unimportant part in placing public service operation on a sound footing. .
The Great Western Railway Co. was one of the first of the railway undertakings to appreciate the value of motorbuses as feeders to its system. Starting with a single bus in 1903, by September, 1905, they had no fewer than 70 in servite, adding a number of Straker-Squires to the fleet Inter in that year. A feature of one of the latter was that the entrance to both inside and outside seats was at the driver's end of the bus, providing the first example of the one-man-controlled public-service vehicle recorded in our pages.
The later months of 1905 saw several newcomers in the field of motorbus construction, among them being ScottStirling of Twickenham, Arrol-Johnston of Dumfries, and the British Automobile Development Co., Ltd., of Loughborough, whilst at about this time a question that has not yet been fully decided—that of covered double-deck buses --came into prominence. With the growing fleets of passenger-carrying motor vehicles—that of the London Motor Omnibus Co. was increased from five to 56 buses in seven mouths—one of the problems was that of storing sufficient
petrol. Thos. Tilling, Ltd.; in addition to holding, in November, 1905, a licence to store 1,000 gallons in 2-gallon tins, completing arrangements for the installation of four storage tanks of a total capacity of 2,000 gallons.
Although small services were being run in various parts of the country, London was the great centre of motorbus tiOivity, the number of vehicles having by the end of 1905 increased to 230, these being operated by no fewer than 18 different concerns. By this time it became evident that some control was necessary, and early in 1906 the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police issued a series of regulations which provided, among other things, that " each car must be capable of being readily steered and able to turn a corner without unduly interfering with other traffic "! About this time we published the first illustration of a type of vehicle that has recently met with increasing adoption—the electric trolley-bus, the one we depicted being an American production.
From London to Edinburgh by Bus in 1906.
Early in 1906 a Fiat (Italian) bus with the engine at the side of the driver secured prominence by making the run from London to Edinburgh, a distance of 401 miles, in about 32 -hours, and a Belgian petrol-electric chassis, known as l'Auto-Mixte, made its appearance, the construction of the type being taken up in this country by the Daimler Co., a company. known as the Gearless Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., being formed to run them in London. • Three additional British firms—the Ryknield Co., of Burton-on-Trent----who supplied one of the first buses to the . Leeds Corporation—the Critchley-Norris Co. and the Napier Co. also entered the motorbus market about this time. The' London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., being now convinced that the motorbus was the. vehicle of the future, decided in. ,March; 1906, to allocate a sum of no less thati. a Million. sterling for the purchase of a' motor fleet.. In April, 1996, the .delivery of. two Dennis buses to a Southend company was made. into a notable event, as ,thre. directors14 in number—invited a party of :friends to make the journey from London to the Essex resort byroad, and in-reporting the affair we recorded that the reason why. the 40-Mile journey from London occupied 10 hours was that "seemingly the bulk of the directors owned 'establishments,' and as motoring is thirsty work, each house had to be patronized "!
Other historical events of this period included the formation of the London Electrobus Co., Ltd., a concern which had an eventful but unprofitable career, and the appearance of a dozen Vanguard buses on Epsom Downs on Derby Day. Notwithstanding the fears that an accident to a Vanguard bus on Handcross Hill, on the Brighton road, which caused the death of 10 persons in July, 1906 (in respect of which the coroner's jury expressed the view that "this type of vehicle is unsuitable for vehicles on country roads"), might cause a reaction in the popularity of the motorbus, several newcomers made their appearance, including the HartDurtnall petrol-electric bus from Luttni, the Motor Omnibus
Construction Ltd., of Walthamstow, and the DarracqSerpollet steam Co.,us from France, a company running a fleet of the latter for several years in London..
Although the number of horse buses had only declined during two years from 3,551 to 2,964, by March, 1907, the number of motorbuses in London had increased to 921, these being owned by no fewer than 27 concerns. The motor vehicles were of an extremaly mixed lot, comprising 20 different makes, Milnes-Daimlers being in the lead with 291, Straker-Squires being a close second with 253, De Dion13outon following with 119, Scott-Stirling with 63 and Clarkson steamers with 46. Early in 1907 some attention was drawn to the Scotte road train, which consisted of a povVerful petrol tractor with a number of attached cars—this term being used instead of trailers for the reason that each of the cars was driven by the engine through the intermediary of an extended propeller shaft. Although the Scotte system was taken up by the Daimler Co., in describing it we remarked that "the promoters will have to get the law altered 'before they cam use the machines under the Motor Car Act." The Daimler Co. built several of the trains, but, never a marked success, the system soon disappeared.
Apart from the appearance of a British Thomson-Houston petrol-electric bus in May, 1907, the motorbus world now entered on a " marking-time " period. The undue haste of 1905 and 1906 had, as we put it, "produced a fit of indigestion," the early buses proving not only costly to maintain, but so noisy as to bring forth many complaints. Indeed, the complaints became so pressing that the police authorities stiffened the licensing regulations and inaugurated a system of noise tests on Wimbledon Common through which buses had to pass before being given a licence.
With so many bus concerns operating in London competing one against the other, it was not surprising that proposals for amalgamation should arise, these culminating ll the autumn of 1907 in the formation of a new Vanguard Motor Co.. Ltd., to amalgamate four of the principal concerns, which, between them, had 336 buses in operation, this being followed in July of the following year by an amalgamation or absorption of the Vanguard Co. and the London Road Car Co. into the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., which, with its then total of 882 buses, has since developed into the huge organization as we know it to-day.
What the Police Thought of Noise in 1907.
The year 1907 proved in many ways notable. In July the Chief Commissioner of Police, informed a deputation from the Metropolitan borough councils on the subject o noisy motorlmsea that," the vehicles were going through, a process of evolution and that so long as they had mechanical traction they would have noise"! " Sight-seeing " vehicles were jntrOduced. by Motor JObmaaters, .Ltd., in conjunction with the Great Western -RailWay, whilst Thos. Tilling, Ltd., bega.n to run buses farther afield starting ti,service between Oxford Circus, London and Sidcup, a distance 'of 14F miles for 9d.
In Birmingham the bus movement .suffered a temporary setback by the withdrawal of theearly Vehicles, the cost of upkeep of which had proved too onerous for the promoters
of the service. By this time, however, greatly improved vehicles were being turned out ; and British manufacturers were beginning to assert their supremacy.
Early in 1908 the first Tilling-Stevens petrol-electric bus made its appearance., the vehicle having been built to the joint designs of Mr. P. Frost Smith and Mr. Stevens by a-. and E. Hall, Ltd., Dartford, this being followed a month or 'two later by one designed and constructed by Greenwood and Batley. Ltd., Leeds. A service of Darracq-Serpollet steam hoses was inaugurated between' London and Maidstone; further electric-bus efforts were recorded ; a fleet of motor coaches with large-diameter rear wheels was started at Folkestone, whilst, in London, a company began to run a de luxe express omnibus service in the West End at a minimum fare of 6d., a venture which, however, did not last long.
In the motor char-à-banes or coaching business, steady progress was also being made, George Booker, Ltd., Barnsley, bringing out, on a Dennis chassis, a greatly improved form of body, the three rows of seats being on a level instead of the previous gallery 'type, and with side doors for each row— so making a notable step towards the streamline Coach at we know it to-day.
A Prophecy Not Likely to be Fulfilled !
It was in September, 1909, that Mr. A. L. C. Fell, then Chief Officer of the L.C.C. Tramways, uttered his much quoted prophecy that "twenty years hence motorbuses will be exhibited as curios in museums." In the same month. however, the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police issued a new set of regulations fixing the weight of buses at either tons unladen or of a total loaded weight of 6 tons, which did much to "improve the breed" and to render Mr. Fell's prophecy just asunwise ttfen -4s it would be foolish to-day, where 17 out of his 20 years have elapsed. In October, 1909,
the first trial took place in this country with the electric trolley type of bus, this being conducted at Hendon by the ltailleF,s Electric Traction, Ltd., for the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Co., Ltd.
The undue haste in the adoption of • motorbuses in the early stages and its costly lessons caused something of a setback in 1908 and 1909, but in 1910, although the L.G.O.C. had still a stud of over 3,000 horses, the number of motorbuses in London again began to increase, rising to 1,100 in the last-named year, in which a Sheffield firm produced a new char-a-banes which was of so greatly improved a design that we were led to the comment that "it only needed a Cape-cart hood and windscreen," a suggestion which was adopted by a Bridlington firm in August, 1911.
When the L.G.O.C. Started to Build Buses.
Eventually the L.G.O.C. followed an example set by the Grtett Eastern Railway. Co. in June, 1907, by deciding to build its own bus chassis, and in :June, 1911, produced at Walthamstow its first B-type bus. This proved so succes.sful that, before the close of the year, the company not only odered for sale 100 old-type bus chassis, but was preparing to get rid of allits-horse-drawn buses.
At the end of 1911 there were 1,457 motorbuses in service in London, among them being the Tilling-Stevens petrol.
electric, which, early in the year had been approved by the Metropolitan Police authorities, and 103 steam buses, which latter. we remarked, "were not so easy to drive as the petrol type, but were popular with the public and the authorities on account of their comparatively quiet running." Reviewing the year's progress, we considered this as satisfactory, and looked forward to seeing 5,000 motorbuses in use within four years, within a 15-mile radius from Charing Cross. During 1911 the electric irelley-bus made its appearance in Bradford and Leeds, whilst public and pleasure services were established in many parts of the country.
2,300 Buses in London in 1912.
By the close of 191.2 the number of London buses had increased to 2,310 and, in view of the increasing traffic problem, there was some talk of fixing a limit of 3,000. The L.G.O.C. B type had proved so successful that-we considered motorbus practice had now become settled. Many new singledeckers had appeared during the year, motor-coaching greatly developed, whilst Sunday pleasure services because a feature of bus operation. Progress on already well-defined lines was the 'keynote of 1913, duiing which year the Daimler Co., who, in 1912, had secured an order for -300 bus chassis for the Aletropolitan Electric Tramways Co., Ltd., built a number of covered double-deckers for service in Vienna as well as a saloon type of bus. Country motorbus services and chars-?sbanes for pleasure-rest use experienced further extension sod the question what to do with chars-h-bancs in winter was discussed at length, many owners preferring to lay them up rather than to use them for haulage work by -means of interelle gr able bodies.
The opening of the memorable year of 1914 saw 2,380 motorbuses in use in London, where a discussion, not yet fully decided, arose as to the value of pneumatic tyres for such vehicles. Chapmans, of Eastbourne, set a new fashion by organising long-distance coaching tours, the first being one from Eastbourne to Land's End, occupying six days.
Then, in August, 1914, came the war, which, lasting for a longer period than either the attackers or the attacked foresaw, caused such a change in national habits. The first mobilization resulted in the impressment of a large number of public-service vehicles and drivers, and as petrol becaine more and more scarce—what little was available being sub ject to licence permits—public services were reduced to a: minimum and those for pleasure purposes gradually and steadily restricted until they were almost entirely cut out Finally, gas, contained either in flexible bags or in compressed form in cylinders, attained some importance as a fuel, even the L.G.O.C. being eventually compelled to resort to some extent to its use.
Although the energies of the leading vehicle manufacturers were concentrated On war vehicles, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, early in 1917, issued a notice to the effect that as a result of the progress made during the six years' operation of the 1909 regulations he considered the time had come when a further restriction in bus weights was possible and invited the co-operation of manufacturers in framing new regulations. In due course, these were drawn up and agreed to, so leading to many post-war developments in public-service vehicles, which, however, are dealt with in a separate article.