The September Trials : Warnings from Another Expert Organiser.
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Mr. Basil H. Joy, the late and only Technical Secretary of the Automobile Club, who will make any contributions on the subject of the forthcoming trials exclusively to the pages of "THE COMMERCIAL Morok," puts forward not a few trenchant and interesting arguments in the course of the article from his pen which appears in this issue. It is not on every occasion that an Editor finds himself in close agreement with the views of a particular contributor, but we have to take exception only to one point in the present instance, and that arises, as will be seen, because Mr. Joy evidently has not been correctly informed about the contemplated programme in the abandoned service-condition trial that was under discussion last year. No words of ours are needed to make clear how well qualified Mr. Joy is to criticise and to suggest, for his article carries its own stamp of conviction on every paragraph. His views, not unnaturally, are in close agreement with our own, and this is bound to be the case amongst the few men who have had actual, responsible control of trials organisation—a group which may be numbered on the fingers of a single hand. There is no question that successive postponements of the trials will now prove a blessing in disguise, by reason of the increase in the entries that must be brought about by the mere efiluxion of time, and the parallel advance in the status of the commercial motoring section of the industry, a section which can now support its own annual exhibition
at a profit to the promoters. The awards, as pointed out in the course of the article under notice, cannot be other than secondary to the general demonstrative effect of the trials, but we are of opinion that, subject to the adoption of the many safeguards in organisation to which attention is directed, the gaining of a first or other award by any vehicle will be of the greatest possible benefit for the sucressful competitor. As a matter of fact, we know that Many so-called commercial `ootors will, if submitted, fail to
come through the test altogether, and we shall look with interest to see whether those who have given an undeserved name to particular machines will have the temerity to enter at all, for, if they do submit to the rigours of a 1,000-mile test under the rigid surveillance which the Club can be trusted to apply, not a few of their vehicles will "drop to pieces " before they are half-way along the course, and the winners of the awards will benefit proportionately by comparison, as well as by reason of the intrinsic and inherent merits of their productions.
The problem of " shifting depots " is by no means insuperable, although the difficulties of organisation are considerable, and this we appreciate to the full from our own experience in toot, but we have no reason to believe that the Royal Automobile Club is deficient in perception on this score. The importance of effective local publicity, and of the co-operation of representative committees in every important town on the route, so that no opening for business may be neglected and that official assistance may be obtained everywhere, is of similar moment for all concerned. The withholding of the name of the Judges will not, we trust, be a cause or source of comment for many weeks more, as it is of transcendent importance that the Committee of Judges should meet at a very early date, in order that the members may be enabled to keep thoroughly in touch with the plan of organisation ab initio. We very strongly urge upon the Committee of the Club immediately to take all necessary steps to secure the nomination or a body of competent judges, both engineers and users, before any valuable time is lost, as these gentlemen must in fact be the executive committee for the trials.
The one point over which we believe Mr. Joy to be incorrectly advised is that which bears upon the passibility of establishing fair comparisons in a service-condition trial. Had the programme that was offered by several of London's largest carrying undertakings, at the instance of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, been adopted, the vehicles would have been put upon deptit-to-dep8t work, with exact intervening mileages, and the loads would have been equalised by the use of water as ballast when necessary.
The Seating Capacity of Motorbuses.
Our second report of the proceedings of the special commission of the Paris Municipal Council, whose members are charged with a study of the motorbus question, in preparation for the granting of a fresh concession for omnibus services in the French capital, and which second report appeared in our issue of the znd instant, has directed the general attention of the motorbus world to the rumoured intention of the Metropolitan Police to call for a reduction in the seating capacity of London's stage carriages. The most strenuous advocate of the smaller vehicle 'is found in the person of Mr. Worby Beaumont, but we doubt very much if any practical gain will accrue to anybody by a modification which seeks to reduce the total number of seats from 34 to 2S. Our readers will have noticed, from our announcement on the subject in our last issue (page 247) that the official statement, notwithstanding the verbatim report of the French journalists who accompanied the members of the deputation in question, is to the effect that it is not at present
proposed to make any alteration in the regulations in respect of motor omnibuses, and proprietors may, we feel confident, -rest assured that no arbitrary order on the subject will be issued by Sir E. R. Henry, who has shown himself fair and considerate in regard to the affording of opportunity for -.discussion before any drastic changes in dimensions have been enforced, but the seriousness of the proposition, from the standpoint of motorbus takings alone, is sufficiently serious, none the less, to justify more than a passing reference to its possible operative effect.
All dispassionate and impartial observers of the problem of motorbus traffic in London will agree that the various conditions which obtain to-day cannot be regarded as other than tentative. Changes will have to come, some gradually and others with at least outward appearance of abruptness, before the motor-omnibus companies settle down on a profit-earning basis. This journal has, since the advent of the double-deck motorbus in London, combated the arguments of parties who desire to see enormously large vehicles upon the streets, and our Editorial references some ten months ago, under the title of " Multiple axles, smaller units, or better roads? " (Vol. 3, No. 73, pages 447 and 448), expresses Our belief that, in the absence of improved road surfaces, a reduction in axleweight offered the next likely direction of modification. Since that date, however, the police have been noticeably more ficiive in checking the pace at which motorbuses pass along the streets of the Metropolis, although we consider that the owners of the vehicles themselves should take further steps, by the provision of speedometers, to give their drivers a reliable means of gauging speed, and our reason for re-directing attention to the question of axle-weight, in view of this rumoured indirect reduction by the cutting-down of the maximum seating capacity, is that, within limits, a speed reduction effects the same results, and those are, principally, the elimination of excessive vibration and undue noise in service.
We accordingly desire to impress upon the management of London companies the fact that the remedy for the latest threatened assault upon their somewhat precarious takings may be met by action from within, and that they may of their own initiative prevent the accumulation of any further evidence in support of a change that would deprive them of the capacity to take the most acceptable and valuable extra receipts which are added so often, at least in the summer months, from passengers numbers 29 to 34. Six weeks earlier than the date that has been quoted above, we did our best to emphasise the fact that overdriving means financial loss, and that it is "the speed that kills." We still have some occasion to protest against this vicious craze for speed at any price, whilst admitting that the grounds for protest are much less than they were during the summer of 1906, but we think that the evident intention of the police, both from their own independent judgment and upon the advice of their technical expert, renders it an opportune moment to say once more and yet again that strict observance of the speed limit, except for overtaking purposes, when temporary spurts are obviously both necessary and permissible, will cut the ground from under the feet of those who wish to cut down the seating capacity of motorbuses, especially when one recognises that no material reduction in either the weight or the leading dimensions would be attainable in respect of the proposed alteration, which may, like the Old Age Pension Bill, be the first prevision in a series of reductions.
Our Special Issues.
The practice of publishing users' reports as to the performance of their vans, lorries, tractors, and other vehicles dates back to the very earliest of our announcements more than two years ago, and next week's issue will be upon the lines which experience has proved to be most convincing in the case of prospective buyers. No such missionary effort can be expected to have any material result in furthering business, or extending the utility-vehicle movement, if it is of what we may term the " hole and corner " variety, but nobody will gainsay that this single extra mailing of moo() copies is other than on a liberal and definite scale. Although this journal is admitted to have a normal circulation of unequalled value, and although that regular circulation now exceeds 8,ocio copies weekly, we have Dot been content to cry "enough." We prefer to deal'in figures, rather than in those nebulous generalities which are more common with publishinghouses, and members of the trade whose announcements appear in "THE COMMERCIAL MoToR " are not kept in the dark about either newsagents' end subscribers' orders, or the destination of the issues as a whole. We have no occasion to withhold the figures, as our results justify our claims, and we desire to acquaint all who ate interested in the progress of the heavier sections of the industry, whose developments this journal fosters, represents, and chronicles, with the fact that there will be no departure from our policy of free and open disclosure on these subjects.
More Sequelie : ThornycroIt's Report.
Thornycroft's annual report is not welcome reading for the shareholders, but we have reason to believe that the company's affairs have " touched bottom " and have already taken an upward turn. Re-organisation, as much as decentralisation of departmental management in the works, has been proceeding during the past fifteen months, and good results must follow if all departments work only for the common end. Some extracts from the report and accounts will be found on page 270, and they cannot be regarded as other than an addition to the discouraging financial results which have so far characterised the majority of returns from motorbus production for the London market. No exact statement of the losses or contingent liability to loss in this connection are given in the printed particulars, but the Chairman's speech, at to-day's meeting, may enter into detail.
Having regard to the magnitude of contracts in other departments, we hope no effort will be made to lay all the blame on the unfortunate motorbus, for difficulties cannot but have existed in other departments, else the general result had been less unfavourable. Certain actions of the Metropolitan police have not eased the situation, but Thornycroft's considerable loss in the motorbus department cannot be ascribed to any one cause alone, although we recognise the police factor to be a large contributory one. Other makers have been under the same risks, and have had to cover themselves by finding alternative markets, or by the terms of their contracts, and the Metropolitan outlook, whilst far from bright, is neither hopeless nor devoid of reasonable prospects of more profits for manufacturers. Circumstances other than exclusive considerations of the present state and early future of Greater London's passenger transport have, it is clear, dictated Thornycroft's temporary withdrawal from the contest there as a matter of policy, and we trust their period of marking-time will be short. The famous Chiswick company has been able to sustain its reputation in so many exacting and competitive spheres of engineering activity that its recovery from the untoward losses of the recent phase is only a matter of time. The directors must find solace in the good account which their vehicles are giving of themselves in other branches of utility application, both at home and abroad, and must not allow passing discouragement to have more effect upon them than corresponding troubles have had upon other manufacturers of repute. Their resort to the case of London's traffic conditions as a refuge in distress will not, we firmly believe, do any permanent harm to the self-propelled stage carriage, though their words are likely to be twisted to suit a variety of purposes in the mouths of hostile critics of the motorbus. It has been decided to sell Thornycroft omnibus chassis elsewhere, and we are aware that the company has good export orders in hand, a branch of trade which we hope to augment by our " All-World Motorbus Special " of the 2oth proximo. It is the choice of others not to " throw up the sponge," even for a period, and it will be an unparalleled exception if pertinacity and endurance do not reap their accustomed reward even in the field of -motorbus construction for the Metropolis, trying as the situation is to-day.