The German Commercial Vehicle Trials.
Page 22
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Second Notice : From Our Berlin Correspondent.
In my last notes, I suggested the likelihood that the three Saurer vehicles would not participate in the trials ; nor at the time of writing had the Dtirkopps put in an appearance. However, both Diirkopps and Saurers eventually turned up, so that every single entry started. Owing to the necessity of rearranging routes at the eleventh hour, no particulars of the routes were available for the Press until Tuesday, the officials of the Imperial Motor Club excusing themselves for the belatedness of their information by the shortnessof time at their disposal to prepare such particulars. i am bound to say that, considering the most unenviable and awkward position in which the elimina_ Lion of the Provinz Sachsen—not to be confounded with the State of Saxony— had placed the organisers, the new arrangements shaped with a rapidity and a thoroughness which reflect much credit upon all the gentlemen concerned. Faced with difficulties of this character but a few hours prior to the day of starting, another club might perhaps have yielded to the first promptings and washed their hands of the whole affair.
I write on Thursday morning, when competitors are again rolling on their four respective ways to the town of Brandenburg, having completed once the Charlottenburg (Berlin)-Branden_ burg-Jtiterbog-Charlottenburg circuit ([or omnibuses and light delivery vans), a distance of 537.5 kilometres : this is the so-called " Blue Route," or maximum itinerary during the run. On the seventh, 52 vehicles set out from Loeb's huge garage in Berlin, and, on the 9th, 46 had returned to Berlin, but this time at the \Vest-End Trotting Course, where, by the way, some four or five years ago, the then German, but now Imperial, Motor Club held their first motor race meeting. Over 88 per cent. is a tolerably high percentage for a three-day trip.
No. 6 (a heavy Scheibler omnibus for 40 passengers), No. 22 (a light delivery van entered by the Ntimberger Motorfahrzeug-Fabrik "Union"), and No, 28 (a dynamobile from the Geist Elek
trische Aktien-Gesellschaft at CologneZollstock), disappeared from the con_ test on the opening day. The Scheiblet's troubles began with an excursion into a ditch when rounding a horse cart on the road. Two hours' work was necessary to get it out ; and a few kilometres further on one of the solid rubber tires became detached and in
volved in the chain, which snapped. Not far from Nauen, the " Union " smashed an axle, whilst a damaged armature stopped the Geist's career. Herr Biissing's monster omnibus [See pages 147 and 148.—ED.] towed the disabled Scheibler into Branden burg. Thanks to the dexterity of its chauffeur, the F.I.A.T. lorry escaped the fate of the Scheibler. The Italian vehicle stuck fast in a heavy patch, and most skilful manceuvring was required to extricate it. The working backwards and forwards had, however, slightly damaged the clutch, so that, what with extrication and repairs, the Italian car lost nearly two hours, most of which it subsequently regained. The three Saurers entered Brandenburg in the darkness—a capital bit of work for chauffeurs and vehicles, as anyone who has driven an automobile over unknown country roads at night-time can testify. As the Saurers started very late, it was something of a tour de force to reach Brandenburg that night.
Tuesday witnessed two more competitors drop out (Nos. 2 and 31). That was on the Brandenburg-Jiiterbogstretth, with a maximum length of 184. kilometres. No. 2 was the smart-looking little Gaggenau postal omnibus for 12 persons ; it broke its differential just outside Dahrne. No, 31 was a " Sun" lorry carrying a useful load of 4 tons. A Scheibler lorry (No, 24), it appears, furnished the indirect occasion for the " Sun's " collapse. The Scheibler had broken down in a bend of the road, forcing the " Sun " to make a detour up a marshy gradient, which caused a temporary disablement. Pending the arrival of a spare part, a couple of horses were hitched to it, and it was drawn out of the main road, but, when in a condition to re-start, so much time had been lost that the makers withdrew the vehicle from the competition and drove it back to Berlin. Comparatively early in the afternoon of Wednesday, competitors began to arrive at the West-End Trotting Course from Jiiterbog. I saw the bulk arrive, and the first of these, so far as I was concerned, turned out to be the singledecker " Safir " (No. I I) which came along with remarkable smoothness. Not far behind, with considerable
clatter, came an iron-shod, military lorry (No. 26) entered by the Berliner Motorenwarenfabrik, at Reinickendorf. The others arrived at odd intervals.
As I questioned drivers and observers, I thought of the dictum "Happy the country which has no history!" From practically all drivers, I received the -same reply : " Keinen Strafpunkt ; alle drei Tage glatt durch "(No bad mark ; all three days without a hitch). Nothing to report ! Happy industry ! The driver of No. 33 (a " Safir " lorry) admitted that his ventilator belt had snapped, but, since he mended it within the 30 minutes' grace in control, no bad mark was scored against him. A similar mishap had befallen No. 37 (a Dfirkopp lorry carrying 4 tons). No. 29 (a Stoewer lorry with a like carrying capacity) lost 13 minutes through a clogged petrol strainer. Meanwhile it was growing dark, and, when No. 13 (a I'Vfarienfelde double-decker for 38 persons) arrived, I could scarcely read its number. " Nothing to record ; all well." It was stripped for action— minus the top rail. An N.A.G. omnibus (No. 7) had an equally bald record. In fact, I ascertained that all three N.A.G.'s had a similarly unsatisfactory record from a picturesque point of view, and the vehicles having got through without trouble of any kind. Amongst the last arrivals was the Bussing single-decker for 31 persons. Carrying 31 persons notwithstanding the absence of an upper deck, the omni_ bus is, as might be supposed, very long and bulky—two undesirable characteristics in view of the narrow roadway set apart for the garaging of competitors ; in his struggle to turn without colliding with other competitors stationed on the ground, the driver damaged both head lamps. Then ensued a long wait. No. 42 (a Scheibler
lorry) would take no further part in the trials, we heard; it had broken an axle—a fact I duly noted down by the friendly light of a couple of motor lamps placed on the time-taker's table at the gate of the trotting course. Only two more vehicles were out (Nos. 51 and 52), two of the metal-shod, heavy brigade, the one a Bussing and the other a Scheibler. At length, somewhere near 6.30, a couple of headlights with a mountainous background loomed up. It was the elephantine Bussing, loaded with 6 tons of sand. Another longish pause, during which we all prayed that either 8 o'clock or the Scheibler would come—at 8 o'clock the control would close. Two or three minutes before 7 o'clock up rolled and clattered the eagerly-expected lorry, and the few of us still present took our seats in a luxurious, brand-new Daimler omnibus hired by the Imperial Motor Club, and were comfortably whirled back to Berlin. •
Herr Moestl, the manager of the Press bureau of the Imperial IVIotor Club, questioned whether results of the trials would be made known before the middle of next week. And I may mention that the organisers are issuing no times for journalistic ends, their object being to emphasise the fact that these trials are purely industrial reliability tests, not races. That being so, it was a pity that the more extended circuit could not have been adopted; the roads west of Brandenburg would have supplied a much more severe test of the qualities of the various makes. We are, however, as yet only half-way through the trials; the remaining throe days may weed out a few more vehicles. Forty-five—out of an original 52—appeared at the start this morning. No. 24, the Scheibler above-mentioned, required a new rear wheel, and this could not be fixed on within the time allowed for repairs. Consequently, the Aachen works are represented by a solitary vehicle ; in other words, 75 per cent. of their entries are out of action ! Much sympathy was expressed with Herr Scheibler in his bad luck. No. 8 (the spacious and ponderous Bussing single-decker) also required a fresh back wheel, but, in this case, the driver managed to effect the change in -time.