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OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.

17th November 1925
Page 30
Page 30, 17th November 1925 — OPINIONS FROM OTHERS.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The Pditor invites COrrestondence,an all subjects counseled with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be as one side of the .paper only and typewritten by fire ference, The right of abbreviation is ieserued, and no responsibility for views exti■essed is accepted,

Summonses for Petty Offences.

The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.

12421] Sir,—We think thatit is time that some strong form of organized protest is made against the apparently vindictive fines which are inflicted by . some magistrates.

We have always adopted the attitude that where we knew we were guilty of an offence, however trivial, rather than waste our own time and that of the magistrates in putting in an appearanee, we have written, apologizing and explaining the circumstances. We have recently, however, had two cases—one in Sussex for exceeding the 10-mile limit in a village, where our man was fined £5 4s., although only going 17 miles an hour, and another for having an ineffective silencer in a London borough. This was due to the silencer blowing out on the road, but we were fined £5 and the driver 10s. In each case we were told that' the fine was so heavy because we had not put in an appearance, which leads us to suppose that we were fined so heavily, not so much for the offence, but for offending against the precious dignity of the magistrates. We know it is a waste of time and money appealing,Thut we do feel that steps should be . taken to control:. this expression of petty dignity in the administration of (so-called) justiee.Yours faithfully,

• KEITH AND BOYLE (LONDON), LTD.

London, &En. ER/C MONKMAN, Manager.

Sheeplike Methods in Design.

The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.

[2422] Sir,—Anyone who has observed the habits of sheep will have seen that when a. leader of a flock does some particular thing, such as falling into a ditch, the rest of the flock will endeavour to do the same thing. One can hardly imagine that these animals are guided by their intelligence; they simply see others doing a thing, so they follow suit. In such matters as clothing, eating and drinking, fashions come and fashions go, simply because we want change from time to time, and one does not wish to appear conspicuous by wearing, eating or drinking what is out of fashion, no matter how good that thing may be. There was a time when I wore an Inverness cape ; I never fotmd any fault with that garment, yet I should not dare to be seen in one to-day, as I should be considered a freak for so garbing myself. But the fashions that seem to come and go in motor construction as in other things are less accountable. The recent Commercial Motor Show seemed to suggest to me that fashions for and against certain details of construction are followed sometimes without an adequate reason.

When one asks why a certain thing is adopted, the answer is that "everyone is doing it." Someone said one day "we want flatter springs," so, in order to appear up to date, many makers adopted them, and others followed for the same reason that caused me to give up my Inverness cape. I have never heard a really sound reason why flatter springs should be used, but I know many sound arguments against them: The almost universal adoption of grease-gun lubrication is not in all cases due to this system having been tried out and found satisfactory. Inquiries in some eases brought forth the answer, in a stage whisper, " we have had no experience, but it looks up to date." Grease-gun lubrication is all right so long as the driver

does not loose the gun orit damaged by careless handling so that it will no onger shoot. If this should happen, and a new gun is not immediately provided, the owner can look out for trouble.

Someone said " let there be low frames "; and there were low frames; yet some of these low frames did not permit of a low body being fitted, as the floor would have to be packed up above the side members in order to clear certain essential working parts.

Enormously heavy connecting rods were once thought necessary in commercial vehicles because the engine had behind it a heavy load. Makers of private cars (I believe " private " is the fashionable term) have been able to make engines that carry pistons of the same diameter but with connecting rods of half the weight. In spite of this, the first of the commercial motor makers has not moved in this direction.

One would think from a study of the average brake gear that when a man is put to drive a commercial motor he is suddenly endowed with abnormal strength. Some of the brake and clutch pedal levers were Strong enough for the use of the heaviest elephants. In some cases a little more sheeplike designing might have been beneficial.

Many of the gearboxes are unnecessarily long in the shafts between bearings, whilst other, and perfectly satisfactory, models can be found in which the shafts were appreciably shorter.

An antiquated water-circulating system which has been brought into line with what is well known to bethe correct plan, was recently pointed to by its makers as being the result of experiment and research. Details such as brake adjustments which could be manipulated by the driver without leaving his seat, the use of coloured wires in the ignition circuit, etc., have been described as novelties, although the merits of both these useful details had been fully recognized and standardized by others 16 years ago.

I see no harm in designers copying the best and proved details of others, as without it designs could not advance, but I think that more care should be taken to ascertain for certain that a departure is really satisfactory before it becomes the fashion to copy it, and I also think that there are many useful details to be found in certain models .which, if more generally adopted, would tend to improve the usefulness of the British commercial motetr.—Yours faithfully,

London. A. G. ROUSER,

Steam Chassis for South Africa.

The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Moro&

[2423] Sir,—In South .Africa considerable development is taking place in respect of the motorbus, and I am anxious to get into touch with manufacturers of efficient steam chassis suitable for bus and goods transport purposes. For this country the only type of vehicle in which I am interested is one working at high boiler pressures ; that is up to, say, 800 lb. per sq. in., having radiator cooling, pneumatic tyre equipment, paraffin-fired boiler, presumably of the semi-flash type, or, if possible, the crude oil-fired boiler. My reason for being so emphatic about the desirability of using crude oil is that the price per gallon is approximately Pd., whilst that of paraffin is 1s. 61, and petrol nearly 3s. per gallon. . You will thus see that, with the great difference in cost of fuel, the practically doubled tyre mileage and the minimum maintenance costs, a 30-cwt steam proposition is infinitely more attractive as a business investment than that given by the equivalent petrol-operated vehicle. With the above details you will have no difficulty in realizing my requirements, and I shall be much obliged if British makers of suitable chassis will get into touch with me, with a view to my taking up an

agency.—Yours faithfully, A. M. H. Tnonp: Care of Messrs. Malcomes, Ltd., East London, South Africa.

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People: C MONKMAN
Locations: London

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