A Luxury Horsebox on a Passenger Chassis A PART ICULARLY handsome
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and practical horsebox has just been completed and delivered to H.H. The Maharajah of Baroda's well-known racehorse trainer, Mr. Fred Armstrong, of Newmarket. The body was built by Vincents of Reading, Ltd., Station Square. Reading, on a Daimler passenger-vehicle chassis, the order having been placed through Messrs. Glovers, of Ripon and Harrogate.
The wheelbase of 17 ft. 2i ins, gives ample space for mounting a body of large proportions. The spacious layout facilitates loading and unloading and provides generous stall accommodation for three horses and comfortable quarters for grooms and attendants.
The body is built to the design of Vincents of Reading. Ltd., and is constructed of English ash with Columbian pine panels. The main part of the body is stained and varnished, and other parts of the coachwork, driver's cab, wings, valances, etc., are finished in cream and blue. All metal fittings such as radiator, head-lamp rinN etc., are heavily chromium plated.
Two Ramps
There are two loading ramps, one being on the off side, which is used for loading all three stalls, and one at the rear of the body for unloading the horse from the rear stall. The ramps are controlled by .the Vincent patent coil-type spring balance and can be operated by one man. They are secured in the raised position by special ramp fasteners.
The three horses have separate stalls, these, being positioned on a pattern rather similar to the three feathers of the fleur-de-lis and with the heads of all stalls pointing to the rear. The stall in the centre and to the rear of the compartment is fully enclosed, and is entered through the compartment adjacent to the off-side ramp. The animal enters through folding doors at the rear of the stall and leaves by a hinged door at the head.
The sides of the stalls are well padded, the upper parts being covered with pigskin and the lower parts with I-in. rubber sheeting. Each stall is fitted with a detachable aluminium manger.
There are two padded doors at the entrance of the ramp to form side wings when the ramp is down The stalls are divided from the grooms' compartment by a full-height partition with a centre entrance door flanked on each side by windows fitted with roll-up blinds.
The grooms' compartment is in the rear and runs across the full width of the vehicle. It has full-length doors with winding windows on both sides. Seating is provided in this compartment for six to eight persons on two long sliding bench-type seats usable in an emergency as beds. A collapsible table is incorporated and lockers under the seats are fitted with an electric teapot and cups, saucers, etc. A power point for heating is provided. All interior fillets and panels are of African walnut.
Ventilation is by a double roof with an intake, manually controlled from the driver's cab, in the front of the body. The air flows over each stall and passes out through electrically operated extractor fans high up on eh side of the body in the main compartment. The extractor fans are controlled from switches in the grooms' compartment.
"Intercom."
There is a pilot light in the horse compartment, with individual lights over each stall controlled from switches in the grooms' quarters. A Burovox intercommunication telephone is fitted between the grooms' compartment and the driver's cab, and there is a one-way electric bell for communication from grooms to driver.
Mounted on the rear partition of the driver's cab is a fusehox controlling all circuits and a main control panel carrying switches for starter, head lights, side lights, reversing light, etc. A singlepiece windscreen, hinged at the top to open outwards, encloses the front of the cab and has a wide-angle electric wiper. There is a large locker under the frontbinged forward-tilting seat.
The cab is fully enclosed and is fitted on the off side with a full-length door with winding window and a sliding glass partition on the near side.
Oil Engine
The Daimler chassis is the latest CVD.6.SD. type as used in this country and abroad by many passenger-transport undertakings. It is powered by the latest Daimler 100 b.h.p. six-cylindered oil engine and is equipped with fluid transmission and four-speed preselective epicyclic gear change.
A point of considerable interest to intending purchasers of similar vehicles is that the Daimler company is able, at present, to allocate early delivery of this type of chassis and that Vincents of Reading, Ltd., can offer reasonable delivery dates on bodies.