The New Measures for Controlling ' London's Traffic.
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THERE MAY be a certain amount of opposition, from the large number of local authorities in the City and County of London and of the surrounding counties, metropolitan boroughs in the Home Counties, to the proposals of the Ministry of Transport to the effect that new powers for the control of traffic, in an area within a radius of 25 miles of Charing Cross should be conferred upon' the Ministry. These powers would be far-reaching and they would be applied-by the Ministry in co-operation with an advisory traffic committee which would be formed. This committee would consist of representatives of the Ministry, the Home Office, the London County Council, the City Corporation, the metropolitan boroughs, the -county councils and other local authorities, the London Underground and L.G.O.C., the railways and commercial vehicle users (horsedrawn and mechanically propelled vehicles), and labour organizations. As the committee is to consist of not more than 15 members, it is obvioua that many of the members will represent more than one individual interest. We would like to see one further interest represented, and that is the man in the street.
We understand, on the highest authority, that a Bill to give effect to the proposals has already been drafted, and that it may be offered for consideration of Parliament in the autumn, whether or not as a Government measure depending mainly upon whether it promises to become contentious, or is likely to be generally accepted. The traffic of London is sadly in need of the control foreshadowed in the Bill and every hope is expressed that no obstruction be placed in the way of it becoming law at the earliest possible morn en t.
Extraordinary Traffic: The Passage of 72-ton Boilers.
IT WAS made abundantly clear in this journal, at the conclusion of the five years' litigation between the Weston-super-Mare Urban District Council and Henry Butt and Co., Ltd., that the question of liability for damage to roads under the extraordinary traffic clause of the Highways and Locomotives (Amendment) Act of 1879 must always depend upon the particular circumstances of the case, in which must be included the nature of the traffic which is general over the road concerning which the complaint arises. What' ie. common practice in connection with the traffic of Glasgow has virtually decided the action which has recently been brought by the corporation of that city against a prominent shipbuilding company on the Clyde, Barclay, Curie arid Co., Ltd., of Whiteinch. The corporation was put to an expense of £460 in repairing three of its streets because of the damage caused by the passage of boilers weighing between 55 tons and 72 tons. The ease was carried on appeal to the upper courts and to the House of Lords, the corporation losing at every turn, because the defendants (or, as it was a Scottish case, perhaps we ought to say " defenders ") were able to show that they had conducted their traffic in the mode accepted as proper for about half a century and had done so with due regard to the interests of the users of the streets, so as to avoid either destruction, interruption of traffic, or the production of such disrepair as could be characterized as in excess of the wear and tear to which both the past history and the present requirements of the traffic show that the streets must submit.
The argument that the heavy +boiler traffic had broken the corporation's property—the granite setts-and that the respondents to the appeal must pay was one of the points of law for a settlement of which the ease went to the highest Court of Appeal, but the Law Lords laid it down that this argument upon property loses sight of the limited and fiduciary nature of the surface of the streets vested in the corporation by Acts of Parliament, the streets being constructed and the stones laid in order to be used as of right by the inhabitants and traders. As Lord Shaw pointed out, it is difficult to lay down a principle as to questions of the degree of traffic that goes beyond the category of wear and tear, but in this case Barclay, Curie and Co., Ltd., were able to show that for very many years much heavier single weights had been moved—even up to as much as 122 tons—so that they were doing no more on the occasions of which complaint was made than had previously been done. The point of the matter seems to be that this traffic has to be borne by the roads, and all that the users can do is to lessen to the fullest extent of their power the burden upon the roads caused by their operations.
Mechanical Road Transport as a Means for Spreading the Population.
NX T E have always contended that the motor vehicle, quite apart from being a valuable
means of transport, has a very important reflex action on the manner in which millions of the inhabitants of this country live. It is the motor vehicle which has had the greatest influence in the opening up and exploiting of rural areas, Particularly those adjacent to towns and yet too far to be reached
• in any other way except by the railway, and, as it has proved quite impossible to provide lines radiating in all directions from towns, it has remained the duty of the commercial vehicle to undertake the work of distributing the population, and thus overcoming the great problem of town congestion, which was becoming one of the most important of the day.
We are peculiarly situated in these isles, for most of our population is centred in, or close to, the towns. The pastoral element is sadly deficient, and, if any-tiling, is still dwindling. More and more people a re finding their activities in the busier centres, and the exodus from the country is making the housing problem in these areas one of extreme difficulty.
Fortunately, it has been ameliorated to a great extent by the fact that many thousands of town and city workers can live at comparatively long distances from the scenes of their activities, and rely upon reaching them and returning to their homes in reasonable travelling time by utilizing the motor onueibus. The more bus services opened up the greater will be the inducement for the town dweller BIB to reside in the country, and, without considering , the importance of internal communication, for this " reason alone the country-penetrating omnibus has . proved of inestimable service in many districts.
Front-wheel Drive Systems for Commercial Vehicles,
IN some respects it is curious how possible advantages that would be brought about by a simple deviation from fundamental principles have been overlooked for several years. With continued effort, one could, no doubt, build a substantial factory on a sandbank, but the fundamental principle would be wrong, and, therefore, it is well occasionally to take the broad view and to ask : is the basic design ef the modern commercial vehicle as good as it might be ?
We take such a view in the article "Front-drive and Low Loading," that appears on the centre pages of this issue. In it is to be found much food for thought, for the deeper one probes the problem of front-wheel drive the more do its potential sdvantages increase. Admittedly, the idea of driving on the front wheels is not new. Concurrently, it must be remembered that in the days when rear-wheel drive was adopted almost universally, the possession of knowledge regarding steering problems, weight distribution, and so on was far less than if is to-day. The general cleaning up of the power unit and transmission assemblies had not started, and, coupling thls fact with the realization that something must be done to improve and develop the commercial chassis as it stands at present, there is much to be said in favour of a close study of the potential advan tages as detailed in the article in question. Greater body space, lower loading lines, greater accessibility, and better braking, together with lower production costs, are desiderata well to be sought after, and if in practice, the front-drive vehicle possesses all or any of these, then its success in commerce should be well assured.
Road-rolling Developments.
THE TREND of design in road rollers has been dealt with recently in our pages, and this mat' ter is of greater importance to road users than
might at first be supposed. To begin with, the rapidity with which road repairs or reconstruction can be carried out is of vital importance. There is also the question of what sort of surface will be left when the road is completed. Bath these factors are largely dependent on the road roller employed. .
Uniformity in the strength and density of the surface is imperative, because differences in density assist a too-early formation of road-waves and -potholes. It is a pity that 'so little experimental work has been done with regard to the effect of the roller an the road, but it appears to be certain that uneven torque on the rollers and sluggish ' reversing arrangements combine to leave a very unsatisfactory': surface of uneven density. But quick reversing is now being given the consideration which is its due.
it is interesting to notice that several firms are now making motor rollers. In every case the power unit is a, paraffin engine of the orthodox type, and, whilst this form of engine may be quite satisfactory, we are inclined to think that the oil-engine would prove superior for this .purpose.
Surprising developments have occurred in the design. and construction of small oil-engines, and, as these deliver their .power at a comparatively low speed, the gear ratios required would be much less than in the case of the paraffin-engined roller. Another advantage of these engines is that many forms of cheap oil fuel can be used, owing to the fact that the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and does not pass through a carburetter.