LOOKING BACK FIFTEEN YEARS.
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CANOPIED OMNIBUSES.
IN late January, 1906, the conditions which had to be complied with before proprietors of motorbuses could obtain a running. certificate for the Metropolis were issued. As was said at Vsat time, " These . regulations will certainly be • applied to London owners for some years, only excepting any incidental amend ' meats affecting body construction." In the matter of dimensions the present-day omnibus adheres, in a great many respects, to those originally formulated, although the L.G.O. 1C-typo and S-type vehicles incorporate certain divergencies, e.g., the S-type is -1 ft. 11 ins, longer than the Ltype, which is, in turn, slightly longer than the fast-dying Btype. There remains one important clause, of the regulations by which Scotland Yard authorities have stood hard and fast, and that is in relation to canopied omnibuses, which is more than a constructional detail. The Commissioner's view 15 . years ago was that. the extra superstructure required for the protective covering obstructed the view of the upper deck
• occupants. He explained en passant that he had no jurisdiction over tram
cars. is decision was an important one, because it affects the health of the community and the receipts of the omnibus companies. We fail to see why rate-aided electrical tramcars should possess an advantage over motorbuses. After a 15 years' interval, no solution of The problem of protecting upper deck passengers is forthcoming, and we can only presume that the efforts of designers to provide a remedy have either proved impracticable when put to the test, or that the Strangulating regulations of Scotland Yard have militated asninst their endeavours in this direction.
LONDON FIRE BRIGADE MOTORIZATION.
THE L.C.C.'s association with motor fire-engines dates back to early 1906. Tlie fire hrigade. committee approved an estimate submitted by the finance committee towards the end of 1905 in respect of the cost of two motor steam fire. engines, Merryweather and Sons, Ltd., receiving the order for one of these machines. The council was advised at that time that the petrol driveti system had reached a stage when it might properly be tried in _connection with the -fire-eng,ines of the brigade, and is was said that it should prove the most. economical -sytsem as regards maintenance. From that day to this the L.C.O., has never looked black on its change from horses to)notars, and at the present time it) possesses one of the most, efficient motorized brigades throughout' the, whole of the world.
258 LONDON BUSES .IN 1906,
A FORTNIGHTLY census of motorhusAtraffic, which we' regularly main
tained as a feature of our pages in 1906, shows that in January there were 258 vehicles. in service in London. New buses were being put on the streets at the rate of one a' day; and this figure was augmented a little later. One vehicle a day when the industry was in its infancy (and a not too sturdy one at that) and quantity production was unknown was highly sitisfactory, although it does • not compare with the present rate of supply which has been considerably accelerated by the changed condition of passenger travel.
LONDON-EDINBURGH BY DOUBLEDECKER.
AN historical motor omniblis run was undertaken during the latter ,part, of January, 1906. from London to Edinburgh by a 24-40 }sp. Fiat double-decker, which covered the total distance of 401 miles in less than 24 how's running time. The account of the journey makes romantic reading, and contains many amusing incidents.
„BUSES v. TRAMS.
THE traffic returns of the London General Omnibus Co., -Ltd., for 1906, showed receipts of close on 221,000 per . week as compared with 214,000 per week for the London County Council Tramways. How do these figures compare with present-day totals?