The Motor Omnibus World.
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Mr. A. H. Tyler, who used to be engineer to the Leamington and District Motor Omnibus Company, has been appointed to take charge t)f the Shepherd's Bush depot of the London Motor Omnibus Company.
Monday's meeting of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers, at the Hotel Cecil, when Messrs. Hart and Durtnall will present their paper, promises to be one of great interest, and a sustained discussion is expected.
The performance of certain MilnesDaimler omnibuses, to which reference is made on pages 423 and 433 of this issue, is stated in terms of the actual loss experienced with the vehicles allotted to service : Tillings allow 20 per cent, of spare vehicles.
The Eastbourne Town Council has decided to purchase four additional double-deck omnibuses, at an estimated cost of .4;868 each, inclusive of tires. The receipts of this Corporation's services, for the month of November, total I:455, from 90,909 passengers.
On Tuesday next, the 22nd instant, an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the Torquay and District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, will be held at the Northcote Hall, Torquay, for consideration of the following resolutions :—(t) That an agreement made January 8th, 1907, between the Harrogate Car Company, Limited, of the one part, and the Torquay and District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, of the other part, now produced and read to the meeting-, be ratified and adopted. (2) That the Torquay and District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, be forthwith voluntarily wound up. The Lord Mayor of Leeds is chairman of the Harrogate Company, which intends to purchase the eight Chelmsford steam omnibuses which have done so well at Torquay.
The new Hercules radiator, illustrated on this page, has the top and bottom covers of aluminium, and the tube plates of cast brass. The tubes are carried well down below the level of the chassis frame, and are no less than 2 feet 51 inches long, thus providing an unusual amount of fin cooling surface. The side members for !.ecuring the radiator to the chassis are braced together, at top and bottom, by :trong tube plates, into which the tubes are expanded before soldering. These tube plates are flanged to receive the top and bottom covers, which are attached by small bolts and nuts, as shown in the drawing, and they are easily accessible for inspection or repair. It is only necessary to undo the bolts and nuts, and to detach the covers, to make an inspection. This particular radiator has been designed for a motor of 4oh.p., and contains A feet of I-inch diameter tubing per tep., or a total of 120 feet. The approximate weight is ti cwt., and the water capacity 61 gallons. The company is prepared to supply this component to builders of utility motors.
On the 2nd instant, the London Road Car Company altered the service of the Clarkson steam omnibuses, which have been running between Hammersmith and Oxford Circus, via Fulham Cross and Piccadilly, so as to run, now, from Hammersmith to Charing Cross, via Bayswater Road, in conjunction with the Diirkopp buses which, previously, served that route. This change was made because so many vehicles of both makes were due for painting and relicensing that there remained an insufficient number to maintain the services on two routes.
During the past fortnight there have been several changes in the "Vanguard " services. " No.7 "service now runs from Wormwood Scrubs to Oxford Circus only, and the extension to the Law Courts has been discontinued. "No4 " service now runs from High Street, Wandsworth, to Shepherd's Bush, via Putney and Hammersmith, and the buses that have been taken off this route have been used to improve " No. 6 " service, where they now run at very short intervals. Extensions of " No. 2" and " No. 3 " services are contemplated in the immediate future.
The Calverley (Leeds) Rural District Council has appointed a committee to examine certain propositions for the establishing of a motorbus service between R(xitey and Greengates, which, if instituted, would join up the tramway systems of Leeds and Bradford.
The Newburn (Newca.stie-on-Tyne) District Council has appointed a committee to wait upon the directors of the North Eastern Railway Company, and upon the Tramways Committee of the Newcastle Corporation, with a view to inducing one or both to authorise the introduction of motorbuses between the New burn district and the railway stations or tramcar termini.
The Vanguard Motorbus Company, Limited, was registered, on the 4th instant, by Messrs. Christopher and Roney, of 33, Cornhill, E.C. Its principal object is to adopt various agreements, dated December 28th, 1906, with : (I) the London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited; (2) the London and District Motor Bus Company, Limited; (3) the Motor Bus Company, Limited; and (4) the London and Provincial Motor Bus and Traction Company, Limited. It is, also, intended to carry on the business of motorcar, motorbus and motorcab proprietors, carriers of passeegers and goods, and dealers in, and builders of, motor and ether vehicles. The capital is ,4;n000,000, divided into soo,000 seven per cent. non-cumulative preference shares, and soo,000 ordinary shares, and authority to issue debentures to the extent cirf 4:5oo,000 is taken. The qualification of a director is .7250 of shares or stock, and the remuneration is 300 guineas each per annum. The directors, in addition, have power to vote extra remuneration as follows : not exceeding ...t,000 to the Chairman, and not exceeding £500 to the Vice-Chairman, annually, without the sanction. of a general meeting.
A well-known coach-builder, in com_ menting upon Mr. henry Mozley's design for a double-deck omnibus body (see our issue of the 3rd instant, pages 378 and 379) has remarked that a clear mica might very well Lake the place of glass in the wind-shield. He has, also, expressed the opinion that Mr. Mozley's estimate of 3ocwt. for the body is a high one.
Are theatre-goers, and others, who have relied upon the existence of late travelling facilities from the centre of London to their own particular suburbs, to be left lamenting? Both railway companies and motor-omnibus companies are evincing a tendency to cut down the opportunities for travel after midnight, and it looks as though cab fares, let us hope to motorcab drivers, will have to be paid more frequently than heretofore.
Wines-Daimler Performances.
The table below, and the summary of results, to which Editorial reference is made elsewhere in this issue, must go far to send home the fact that the motorbus is capable of giving good results when it is properly bandIed. They have in mind art, principally, those which arise from the maintenance of a service over bad paving, and along a route where motorbuses are given no quarter by electric tramcars, and the preliminary difficulties of organisation which are inseparable from the early days of a public-service undertaking. The chief credit for this performance roust be given to the resident engineer, for even good machines and wil.iig support from proprietors will not compensate for any lack of ability on the part of that responsible officer. We keg sure that the table and summary will be read with great interest by many of our readers who are contemplating the adoption of motor omnibuses, or any other types of self-propelled vehicles for road-transport purposes. Mr. Frost Smith has, in our opinion, been handicapped by the fact that he has not, so far, had enough motorbuses to justify the setting-aside of one for the training of drivers. It is not a satisfactory position to have to take occasional vehicles for this purpose, and, with a larger fleet under his control, he should, with corresponding facilities for teaching new men, do even lwatuduring 1907.