OPINIONS and QUERIES
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SUGGESTED INSTITUTE OF ROAD TRANSPORT ENGINEERS
AS a transport engineer (one oil the smaller fry) it has appeared to me for a long time that although highly instructive material is published in the pages of your excellent journal the formation of a body which might be known as The Institute of Road Transport Engineers
is long overdue.
It must be realized that heavy transport is now one of the Nation's vital services, and the opportunity of personal contact between the many representatives of the industry would lead to a better understanding of the many difficulties encountered. I refer to this matter • particularly from the engin4ring point of view.
Ideas could be,exchanged on all aspects of the industry, particularly maintenance problems, and there is no doubt in my mind that manufacturers would welcome the official views and suggestions put forward to them by a really representative body of engineering opinion. Further, difficulties and problems that one meets in the workshop could be discussed and, as a result, possibly made routine practice by others, thus saving much time and unnecessary worry. I consider also that manufacturers, by using the services of such an institute, could have their suggestions and queries more readily attended to, for they would then be able to approach a central official body.
One .,of the Institute's aims should be to encourage the ambitious and intelligent worker to make a study of his profession, by holding examinations for admittance into the Institute, and there are many other respects in which such an Institute would prove its value by looking after such engineering matters,which, so far as I am aware, are not provided for in any of the societies or institutions already in existence.
H. WEST,
London, S.W.17. Convoys, Ltd. (London): WHY THOSE FETTERS ON ROAD TRANSPORT?
WITH reference to the article by "Tantalus "in your vv issue dated December 3, this contribution, which was entitled "Forging Fetters for Road Transport," seems to put the present positiondn a nutshell.
Might I suggest that :the answer to his query : "Why have the leaders of the industry maintained continuous and profound silence? " is that these leaders have sold their birthright and are unable to raise. a voice in protest, even if they desired so to do?
Is it not correct that all unit controllers have been forbidden to express their independent views, and are there now many, leaders left who are not either connected with controlled units or depend upon these for their traffic?
Let ;us face the facts and recognize what is happening and what may happen. In my view, the small operator is headed for doom. It appears to be the desire of the Government to get rid of him. The only fly in the ointment is that it does not seem to know how to do this, but where there is .a will there is usually a evay.
, Your leading article, "An Injustice in Vehicle Taxation," concerns another example of legislation which is completely out of date.
Why is it still considered necessary to base the tax of a goods vehicle on its unladen weight? Surely it is only common sense that the fax should be on the payload. This would, at one stroke, avoid the necessity of the weighing of vehicles by licensing authorities to ascertain their tare weight. It would enable manufacturers to produce vehicles more suited to their tasks, save many people the trouble of making a 6-tonner into a 7i-tonner by the fitting of larger tyres and sprint, whilst, incidentally, making no changes in the brakes, which must obviously have been designed for the original load, capacity. • It would be interesting to know what the Government intends to do when everybody again starts running private cars. Will these be rationed? Will the building of better roads giving greater capacity be forced upon it, or shall we become so congested on our highways that it will be quicker to walk? BRISTOL HAULIER, Clutton.
ANSWERS SOUGHT TO LEADEDFUEL QUERIES
WILL one of your able contributors, knowledgeable in these matters (perhaps "Northern Engineer "), answer the following questions :
• (1) What Is the difference between pre-war leaded petrol and war-time leaded petrol?
(2) Why should we have no trouble with it prewar and heaps of trouble during the war?
(3) ..Why we receive advice from one of the " 'Ablest American Technicians " not to put oil in the petrol to overcome the difficulty and advice from one of the ablest oil technicians to put oil in the petrol? (4) Why we should receive ad vice from various vehicle manufacturers and the aforesaid technician to. increase tappet clearance, and yet observe from various advertisements that the best thing to do is to have tappets hydraulically controlled with no • clearance whatever?.
(5) Why do we have to use this leaded fuel at all? • Lastly, if we accept the advice, of the " A.A.T." to carry out considerable and various modifications to our engines, how can the small haulier manage to get this work carried out at the average small garage, overworked as it is, and with nothing but ,ignorant boy labour?
• LondOn; SE 1. Joins B. WALToN; S.P.D., Ltd.
ACTION MORE IMPORTANT_ THAN BRAINS
WHEN Mt . . T L. Bennett and his fellow-members ask for Government aid in operating their licensing scheme for repairs and maintenance of road vehicles,
• it is a foregone conclusion that they will get every help and consideration.
Whilst it is noted that a haulier must be in possession of a permit to repair his own vehicle, has Mr. Bennett forgotten' the manufacturers who have their own depots for servicing and repairing their own makes? • Does he propose to inspect their premises and equipment and tell them that they must hold licences?
Is this another red light to warn us of another blessing
in 'disguise? • in 'disguise? •
We have so many committees and associations working for us that they can be likened to ivy clinging tO a grand old oak. Are we going to suffer the same fate,and slowly to be throttled to death?
At a recent association meeting in Bristol the question arose : "Was it desirabje that an employee acting as manager of a haulage concern should hold a position on the wages board and negotiate With the representatives of employees?"
This discussion led to another gentleman saying that very often managers had more brains than their bosses.
Maybe it , is because so much braintvork has been devoted to the haulage industry that it is heading towards peril.
Is it not time that we had more action and not so much brains? It is not my pleasure to know Mr. L. V. Ward, but it is hoped that he will get the ammunition he needs. , One is reminded of the story of the commercial traveller who was selling stationery and special books for accounts. Calling on a haulier he persuaded him to buy his new system of book-keeping for costs and accounts. Some time later .he called to see how he was getting on with the new system. The haulier replied : "Oh! I've a wonderful system of Costing." "Yes! But how's the haulage business?" , "Oh that! We don't need it anymore,. the Govern
ment has it!) BRISTOL HAULIER. • uttcip.
LAGGARDS MAY LET THE. INDUSTRY. SLIP C'GRATULATIONS oh your leader, "The -Future Basis of Transport," in your issue dated November 19., You may put my.name-first on the list of roadtransport employees ‘r1,1:io prefer to work for a " boss" rather than a " Board:: Some of the people on these larger organizations do not know the front end of a vehicle from the back. Personally, I would rather bal'a poor free man than a pensioned 'robot.
It is amazing that your patience and that of "Tantalus" does not exhaust itself after the many excellent leaders and articles which you have written, but is anyone backing your efforts? It seems to me that many of those most vitally concerned personally are merely standing by and expecting you to fight their battles for them. Meanwhile, the threat of nationalization is spreading over our industry, which is not being judged on its -.true merits.
We hear of some so-called "tooth-and-nail" fighters —but they seem to have retired to the dentists.. Let us hope that they obtain new teeth before it is too late and the first blow has fallen. R. Etwrcic. London, N.12.
WOULD FEDERATION PRINCIPLE IMPROVE EXPORTS?
IN the tribute to the rubber industry which you published from Lord Strathspey in your issue of November 19, and• for which we are grateful to him, he urges the federation of other trades associations, the members of which, like our own, are dependent ,upon a common raw-material. The recommendation is all the more important when applied to those industries likely to suffer .from a -temporary shortage of raw materials when the war is over. • Raw-material shortage means controlled allocations and these, in tun, 'involve priorities. Such priorities an best be fixed in 'relation to an entire ,industry and should not be influenced by the competing claims of individual ,trade associations.
The 'rubber industry provides a good example. During the last year of peace it exported no fewer than 26 -different products of a total value. of £5,647-,-314. Assuping a.temporary shortage of rubber after the war, which of these products should receive high priority of supply? •Let us name a Jew of them—tyres, footwear, sports goods, proofed garments and industrial equipment. Tyres will be important in the home market,
because transport is vital to reconstruction and", consequently, to re-employment; yet although sports goods may appear to be unessential, in the last year of peace we sold, overseas, R146,087 worth of golf balls Ind £142,781. worth of tennis balls, which, apart from their export value, "carry the flag." As in the rubber industry, so in others decisions will have to be made, and, from a• practical point of view, these may best be based upon the recommendations of federated trade associations representing every view
point. L. KE.NWARD, Chairman, Reconstruction Committee, Federation of British Rubber and Allied Manufacturers' Associations.
London, W.C.1.
CAPACITIES OF OIL AND PETROL • VEHICLES YOUR issue .dated Decenlber 3 contains a letter from
• M. R. H. Seddon, of Foster and Seddon,. Ltd., in connection with a .previous editorial reference of yours dealing with the load capacities of petrol and oil-engined vehicles in the 30-mph. class. Concerning vehicles in any specific load-carrying class, he very rightly points out that, irrespective as to whether petrol or oil-erigined, most of them accommodate bodies of equal.,size.
He then makes the guarded claim that the 1938 oilengiried Seddon was the first vehicle produced in the 30-M.p.h. class with a platform equal in size to cointemporary petrol-engined vehicles. . This, however, is far from being correct, for way back in 1933 the Commer concern produced 80-m.p.h. vehicles in which the body sizes of oil-engined models were identical to those of the petrol-engined types in the same load-carrying class, and this practice we have continued ever since. N. AKRoyn, Publicity Manager, Luton. Commer Cars, Lid.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BALLAST HAULAGE TO my mind, the letter from A.C.I.S. in your issue dated December 3 iS of considerable interest and invites 'debate.
To have eight vehicles out of action daily from a fleet of 20, even if they be engaged on the, haulage of ballast, seems to be most excessive. It is also difficult to know why profit cannot be made with a haul of eight miles for 5s: 6d. .per yd., carrying six loads in an 84-hour day. I would say that this high percentage of breakdowns is due to bad management of drivers and lack of proper attention to service and maintenance. The operation of a fleet of 20 lorries on this class of work Calls for a good maintenance organization. I would say .that. there ,shOnld always be one vehicle under complete overhaul, one in for periodical inspection and repair, and for minor troubles two, at most, under treatment daily, making .a total of four instead of eight. In ordinary times, only skilled labour should be employed on their repair, and the. vehicles should not be trio old, although they need not be new, but new blood must be introduced from time to time, do not "think it possible for sand and ballast to be hauled 4t set rates according to mileage, as there are' so many-different -items to be considered.. For example, conditions at the loading and discharge 'points are often a deciding factor in the matter of cost; however, many hauliers in this branch of transport have to be satisfied with less remunerative 'terms than those given in the letter in question, yet they appear to survive. .• Bushey. . H.W.F.