WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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"The wheel of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs,"—John Beattie Crosier.
Big .Ploughing Test. .
A ploughing test. which, owing to its comprehensiveness, should attract farmers froiu all parts of the country, is-to take place to-morrow (thel8thinst). It has been arranged by J. Blake and Co.,' 20-22, Rodney Street, Liverpool, and at least. six tractors will the pa thiough • their paces. These ate as follow :—The Trafford tractor set ; Fowler-Wyles single and twin-cylinder ploughs respectively ; the Heider and Inter-State tractors; and 'the Peoria. culti-tractor.
The demonstration will he carried out at Moss Pits Field. Garden Oily, Wavertree, through the courtesy of Mr. Glover, of Hillside Farm. The field in question is grass sod, and, in response to the request of Mr. Glover, it is to be ploughed to a depth of 6 ins., with-f arrows 9 ins. to.1.0 ins. wide. In all probability three different makes of plough.s will be employed.
Honours in the Industry.
The list of appointments to the Order of the British Empire is so extensive that we preface the list of names ex
tracted from it as being more directly interesting to the motor community with an apology should any have been over looked. To say that we are satisfied with the extent of the recognition accorded to the motor industry would he entirely inaccurate. In fact, we go so far as to express astonishment at the absence. of names of men-who have to our knowledge done sterling and unquestionably important work in the nation's great _crisis. Mr. Henry Fowler, C.B.E. (Superintendent of the Royal Aircraft Factory, and Chief Engineer Midland Railway (Do.), is promoted to the rank of Knight CoMmander. The appointnient of Commander of the Order is conferred. upon Mr. John 0. Siddeley (Manitging Director Sicldeley-Dearsy Co. Ltd.); Mr. T. 0. M. Sepwith (Chairman Somvith Aviation Co., Ltd., and a B24 notable motorist a few years ago); and Mr. P. G. L. Webb (Deputy Controller of the Petrol INpartment
. the Board of Trade): The appointment of Officer of the Order is conferred upon Mr. Alfred Bednell (Sec. Coventry Munitions Board of ManageMeat); Mr. Algernon K Berrirnan (Chief Engineer Daimler Co.' Ltd.); Mr. F. C. A. Coventry (Section Director, Inland Tranaport Department, M.O.M.);
• Major Charles Jarrott (Inspector of Mechanical Transport, R.F.0.); Mr. A.' Noel Mobbs (Assist. . -Director, Mechanical Cultivation Division, Food Production Department); Mr. A. V. Roe (Head of the Aviation Co. of that name); and Mr. Frederick H. Royce (Director and Chief Engineer Rolls-Royce, Ltd.).
. Napier Rail Tractors.
We have on several occasions referred to the adaptation of the motor lorry for -duties on rail, and a further instance of the execution of this improvisation is afforded by the illustration we reproduce therewith. It depicts. a standard Napier machine hauling a German coach
which was captured by the Belgians at Tabora, German East Africa. It weighe 25 tons and was hauled by two Napier machines which had been converted to rail tracters. It is stated that these machines were fourul to be exceedingly handy when blown-up bridges had only been temporarily reconstructed to take a limited weight • of traffic. Convoys of Napier wagons were regularly run, each hauling one 10-ton goods wagon.
Major A. Cantor, in a letter sent from Rangoon accompanying the illustration sent to D. Napier and Son, Ltd., says :
". . I was out there some considerable time . . . and was extremely pleased with the behaviour of these cars, which had some considerable amount Of rough work, and in all weathers."
Royal Warrant Holders.
The lists of Royal Warrant Holders for 1918 include the following :— List of the Lord Chamberlain to the Queen J. Mulliner and (lo., motor carriage manufacturers, London, 'List of the Lord Steward to the King: —J. W. Glover and Sons, Ltd., agricultural vehicles, Warwick; Thos. Green and Son, Ltd., horticultural machines, London; liansomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., agricultural and horticultural machinery, Ipswich.
List of the Lord Chamberlain to the King :—Merryweather arid Sons, Ltd.., fire-engine makers, London
List, of the Master of the Horse to the King :—Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., purveyors of motor spirit, London; British Petroleum Co., Ltd.., puXveyora of motor spirit, London; Burmah Oil Co., Ltd., purveyors of motbr 5pirit, Glasgow; Daimler Co., Ltd., motorcar manufacturers, London; Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., manufacturers of motorcar tyres, London; Gas Lighting Improvement Co.,
purveyors of motor spirit; London General Accident, Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Ltd., insurers of motorcars, London; Leyland Motors, Ltd., manufacturers of motor lorries, London; Palmer Tyre, Ltd, manufac turers of motorcar tyres, Ltd., S. Smith and Sons (Motor Accessories), Ltd., manufacturers of motorcar watches and speedometers, London; Chas. White, purveyor of motor lubricants, London. List of the Comptroller to Queen Alexandra :--AngIo-American Oil Co., Ltd., purveyors of motor spirit, London ; Hooper and Co., Ltd., coachbuilders and motor body builders, London; S. Smith and Sons (Motor Accessories), Ltd., speedometer and motor accessory manufacturers, London ; Waseley Motors, Ltd., motorcar manufacturers, Birmingham. Glasgow Electrics..
In the annual' report of the superintendent of the cleansing department of the Glasgow Corporation some interesting figures of actual running cost relative to the . diversified fleet of mechanical vehicles employed are given. The fleet is composed of 17 machines in all, one of which is a traction engine. Two threeton -petrol-driven vehicles as well as two two-ton Edison electrics are employed for the house-to-house collection of refuse. It -is pointed out that the former vehicles; although advantageous in some respects, notably in effecting the 'rapid transit of material to the destructor works, cost more thin horsehaulage, due mainly to the numerous stoppages which have to be made during eellection of refuse. The high cost has also been influenced to a degree by the difficulty of Obtaining spare parts, the delay of which has rendered the machines idle. The. electrics, which have not been in operation any great length of time, are fulfilling expectations. The cost of each type per ton of material hauled, as compared with horsehaulage is as follows :—For electric vehicles, 27. 10.65d. ; for petrol machines, • 3s. 9.52d. ; for horse haulage, 4. 3,15d. The average working cost for the twelve petrol-driven street sweepers per 1000 sq. yds. of roadway swept, is as under petrol machines, 3.81d.; horse-drawn vehicles, 4.78d. Emphasis is laid upon the point that the petrol-driven vehicles are labouring under an extreme disadvantage due to present -stress of circumstances. It is confidently expected that a better showing for this class of machine will again result when conditions -become more normal.
Fire-engine Production.
The Anshach Motor Works, Ltd., of Magdeburg, are increasing their capital from £80,000 to £130,000 in order to 0 take over the Nuremberg Motor Fire Engine and Car Works, Ltd. The latter concern •have experienced a live business 'during the war, and will still be run as an independent concern.
The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior have recently bought two Hansa-Lloyd ploughs, also two Stock and one Wednele-Dohia machines. Two further Hansa-Lloyd ploughs are to be delivered .by March, 1918.
Risks of M.T. Men.
As authentic proof that the lot of many A.S.C. men is not as enviable post as many would have us believe, we quote a remarkable story of devotion to duty as told in the official records of deeds, for which H.M. the King, as an• nounced in a recent, issue of the " Gazette," has awarded the Albert Medal. The recipients of the distinctive honour are Major L. C. Bearne and Private A. E. Usher. The incident for which the award was. granted is officially related as follews 22nd Oetoher, 1916, a French -motof-lOrrY; loaded with . 3000 lb. of aeroplane bombs, .canght fire' in the -middle of a canal) of the Serbian Army. Officer and private crawled underneath the lorry, and eventually succeeded. in.' extinguishing' the flames, thus' averting. a serious disaster at the risk of their . own lives.. Bearne witi severely burnt about the hands and arms.
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Cheltenham's New Electric.
We understand that the borough 'electric engineer of Cheltenham has recently taken deliVery. of an Orwell electric tipping wagon. The machine is a standard model embodying Ironclad-Exide batteries, Which are capable of running the machine over level roads for about 40 miles on a single charge at a speed of eight to nine m.p.h. A test was carried out with the vehicle fully loaded over a distance of 22 miles; and the performance of the machine elicited much satisfaction. Throughout the test the average speed was seven m.p.h. The current consumption on the outward journey was 222 amp. hours at 70 volts, equivalent to 15.4 units, an average of' .68 units per car mile, or .34 unit per fon mile. Many stiff gradients were tackled on the occasion of the test. The vehicle is being used for the eolleetien and cartage of house afrd street refuse. In order to accommodate different kinds of refuse, a removable xection 18 ins. high has been fitted to the body.
Practical Flying.
There has long been,a call for an actual instructional handbook for flying pupils. Such a work will shortly be published by Temple Press Ltd., at a price in the neighbourhood of 3s., under the title of Practical Flying—'A complete course of Flying Instruction." It is both written and illustrated by practical airmen, who have had the widest experience in all kinds of flying under war conditions. It is produced with the knowledge of the Air Board. The absence of any practical work of this description has been a considerable handicap in the training of thousands of new pilots who are now necessary for the greatly augmented flying services. Every effort is being made by the publishers to produce the work in the shortest possible time. Orders cannot be accepted for it now, but as soon as possible a definite announcement will be made with regard to the publishing date. A feature of the book will be the very large number of illustrations which it
will contain. .
According to the " Berlin Tageblatt," German automobile manufacturers have recently demanded of the authorities to he allowed to increase the price of their products by 25 per cent.
Ford's New Plant.
It is stated that the building contract for the new manufacturing plant on the River Rouge, near Detroit, which is being erected by Henry Ford and Son for the production of farm tractors, and also of steel for all of the Ford work, exceeds 25,000,000 sterling, and is the largest contract ever given out on the American continent. On the new plant 82 buildings will be erected, and over 1,000,000 tons of steel will be employed in their construction, the project taking nearly two years to execute. The work is to be started by a battery of huge blast furnaces, and the tractor buildings are to follow, so we presume that the true. tors which Ford is said to have already built for the British Government, have been constructed elsewhere, as we note that the contract provides for the commencement• of deliveries not later than let January, 1018. One set of buildings alone is quite 134 acres, and will consist of blast farnaces with a capacity of 1000 tons a day, together with a series of cake ovens and similar structures. All the steel furnished by this plant is intended to be used in the construction of Ford cars and tractors.
Component Manufacture.
The home of the component, is, without doubt, the United States. More attention seems to be paid, in America, to the manufacture of individual units than in this country The builder of a complete chassis in that country, more often than not favours the embodiment a an established component in the design of his machine, in preference to ma.nufacturingthe part. It is realized that in many cases it is chea.per to buy than to build.
In this country, the chassis manufacturer is conservative in his opinions; he pins his faith only on the production of his own works. We foresee, however, many changes in this direction when the present state of inflated production becomes more normal. We know already Of several firms who intend devoting their activities to the production of specific intividual parts, after the peace. B28 • We are led to write hi the above manner upon perusing particulars of the introduction of a new American gearbox. This new design is being produced by Fuller and Sons Manufacturing Co., Kalamazoo, Michigan, and is of the fourspeed and reverse sliding gear type. This transmission set is built in two types, one being complete with dry plate and multiple disc clutch and centre contrel set, including gear shift and brake _reverse, which is known as model GH.
The other model is similarly constructed, but is intended for mounting amidships in the chassis. Both models have 3i per cent, nickel steel gears and chrome nickel steel shafts running on large-capacity annular ball-bearings. This new transmission set is primarily intended for vehicles with 2 to 3 tons nominal rating, but it is also specially suitable for heavy passenger-carrying machines. Many improvements over existing models are incorporated.
Jensen and Nicholson, Ltd., Goswell Works, Stratford, E., is issuing a useful leaflet giving full and clear instructions for renovating bodywork,
Electrics in Urban Service.
The borough electrical engineer of Croydon in his annual report gives a few interesting details concerning the working of a four-ton Edison electric vehicle in use by his department. The lorry has been in service for a year, and during its first six months' running transported 3110 tons of coal, which at prevailing contractors' rates would have cost 2277 to haul. With electric haulage
current and wages cost 2107; and, taking the life of the vehicle at eig4 years, and setting aside .278 for depreciation and 246 for repairs, a total cost of 2231 is obtained, which shows a saving of 245 on the work carried out over the six months. During the following. three months a bonus system was introduced in connection with the running of the ..machine, which enabled a 42.5 per cent.
weekly increase to be secured. 2215 tons of material were hauled in the three months. By horses this transport would have cost 2203, whereas the electric was operated for 2132, a saving of 271. The electric has proved such a success that other machines are now in use.
17th January, 1918. Recent Registrations.
Coventry FinanceCorporation, Ltd., with a capital of £50,000 in .21 shares,' to carry on business as financiers, to introduce new industries and develop the present industries of Coventry and elsewhere, and to investigate designs/ or patents, etc.
American International Steel Corporation; Ltd., with a capital of £10,000 in 21 shares, to procure, Manufacture, purchase, export and import steel and iron products, ingots, castings, forgings, wheels, axles, vehicles, etc: Registered office is at 26, Victoria Street, London, S.W. 1. • • Stanley Motories, Ltd., with a capital of £1000 ill £1 shares, to be manUfacturers of gas bags and reservoirs for storing or supplying coal-gas, motorgarage . works and _ proPrIetors, . and manufacturers of and dealers in, motor vehicle accessories. Registered office is at Bubwith Grove, Halifax.
Placing the Discharged Men;
Mr. T. W. Loughborough is now honorary secretary of the Central Committee for Employment of Discharged 201 dicrs and Sailors connected with the motor industry; A special appeal issued recently produced, up to 31st December, £585 13s., including £200 each from the B..S.A,-Co., Ltd:, and Daimler Co., Ltd.; £150 from the National Society of Chauf-. feurs, and other donations from the British Lighting and Ignition Co., Ltd. ; Sos.eph Lucas, Ltd.'; the East London Rubber co., Ltd. ;. the Coventry Chain Co., Ltd. ; the Bowden Wire, Ltd.; the British Chuck and Piston Ring Co., Ltd. ; the Day Motor Co., Ltd.; and R. M. Wright and Co., Ltd.
C.M.U.A. Meeting.
The fifth annual general meeting of the Manchester, Liverpool and Counties Commercial Motor Users Association, heldin Manchester last week,revealed the foundations of goodwill Upon Which the successful edifice ofthe Association has been erected. Mr. Leo Swain, at the conclusion of his year of office, retired, and was elected a vice-president, Mr. J. T. Faulkner .(Messrs.. C. T. Faulkner and Sons, Ltd.) being elected to succeed him. Mr. J. F: Kitchen (Liverpool Co-operative Society, Ltd.) becomes vice-chairman, and Mr. J. .T. Lawton, hon. treasurer. The Committee was re-elected with some additions:
• LeoscO Tube Savers., .
As further proof of the increasing popularity of Leosco tube eaVers, a de• vice manufactured. by. Leo Swainand Co., Deansgate;-Manchester? which takes the form of an endless fabric -and. rubber band which fits neatly on the rim of the, wheel prior to the tyre being fixed; it is interesting j,u record the fact that the company has recently executed an order for the Government for fitment to` some military motor Wagons. The tube saver prevents the ingress of dust and wet, as well as the covers from creeping. A -testimonial received from an Indian user recently runs as follows :—". After nearly 18 months experience with Leosco tube savers, I find them to he as described lo-y you in every respect. I have wire wheels on my car, and the
ends of the spokes, which are not finished off as nicely as might have been, were wearing holes in my tubes. My -Leoscos stopped this and, at the same time, kept my tubes and covers from being, rusted to the rims. • I consider Leoseo tribe savers a great advantage and would get them every time."
Dunlop and War Bonds.
amlop employees indulged in a draw for War Bonds at Christmas. The scheme was put through in a week from the sale of the first shilling ticket to the issue of the last prize, and £514 was raised. The first prize .winner took 90 per cent, of the total subscribed. -We believe -that quite a large sum could be obtained amongthe rank and file • of the commercial motorif a. carefull3r worked out proposition were put forward.
Local Proceedings.
Manchester Corporation' , Cleansing Committee is purchasing a second-hand motor.
T Farm. ComMittee. of the Glasgow Corporation recommends the purchase of amotor tractor for £460.
Oldham T.C. s to purchase an electric Minibus for post-office work in connection With the tramways. • Sheffield C.C. has purchased a secondhand Ford van, fitted out' to "run on gas, from W: Wilson and Sons, for £150.
The Bridges and Main Roads Committee of the Devon C.C. is Supporting a resolution of the Berkshire C.C., recomMending that legislation be introduced for payment of a fair mileage rate to highway'authorities-by motorbus owners.
Luton T.C. received two tenders for the supply of ,another fire-engine one front Dennis' Brothers, at £1190, and the other --from Leyland Motors, Ltd., at £1950. • The' Council has accepted the first-named tender, which is for a 65.h.p. engine with escape.
In order to ensure, as far as possible, supplies of fuel, spare parts, etc., for tractor and other petrol and paraffindriven agricultural machinery, the West Riding War Agricultural Committee has asked all farmers owning such machinery to state the make, horse-power, and average fuel used per month,
Motor Trades Benevolent Fund.
Mr. Leo. Swain, manager of the solid tyre department of George Spencer, Moulton and Co., Ltd., 239, Deansgate., Manchester, has been appointed chair-; man of the Manchester centre of the Cycle and Motor Trades Benevolent Fund. Fre announced at the-first meeting over which he' presided that there had been a splendid addition to the list of guinea members, also transfers from the 5s. membership to the guinea section, and a patron fee of £100 received from 'Herbert Froocl Co., Ltd.
Sparking Plug Terminals.
The Forward Motor CO., 39, Forward Works, Summer Bow, Birmingham', the manufacturers of -the well-known Forward sparking plugs, has recently placed on the market a small and neat spring terminal,' by the use of whichthe hightension cable is easily and readily se• cured. By the use of this novel accessory, the time usually :devoted to removing or fixing the milled not is saved. The device, it will he found, will easily snap into the neck of the milled; nuts fitted to all -Forward plugs: These spring terminals retail at is. per set of four—a negligible suits when compared With the time and trouble conserved.