News of the Week
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COST OF RUBBER-ECONOMY CAMPAIGN
AN expenditure of approximately £69,000 has been incurred by the. Government on advertising and publicity directed to rubber economy, stated Mr. Brendan Bracken, Minister of Information, in the House of Commons. Provision has been made for spending about £36,000 in this way over the next six months. The national Press is not, at present, being used for this purpose, but .advertisements are placed in 'the trade and technical journals circulating among drivers and those responsible for the operation of commercial vehicles..
SHOULD INDIVIDUALITY OF DESIGN BE RETAINED?
Or-IN July 6, at 6.15 p.m., at the-Royal of Arts, John Adam Street, Adelphi, London, W.C,2, the I.A.E. will hold an unusual form of debate on the subject, " Is it in the best interests of the British motor industry that its individuality of design is retained as a characteristic or is its overseas market likely to be increased and the home market improved by following American trends in design? "
The debate will be opened by Mr. Cecil Kimber, late of M.G. Cars, Ltd., and now works director of Specialloid. Ltd., whilst Mr. W. Sernple, of Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., will open the case for the opposition. An impartial Summing up will he made by the chairman, Sir Lynden Macassey, K.B,E. Cards of invitation for visitors may he obtained from the Acting Secretary, I.A.E., 12, Hobart Place, London, S.W.1, HENRY SPURRIER SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANTS FOR 1943 VULL particulars of awards under the Henry Spurrier Scholarship and Grants, 1943, ' have been issued by the Institute of Transport, IS, Savoy Street, London, W.C.2.
For the award in August, 1943, of one Memorial Scholarship not exceeding £150, and at least 12 Memorial Grants not exceeding £25 each, the Council invites, without restrictions on age, nationality or sex, applications from persons engaged in road transport in any of its branches, or engaged in. or desirous of pursuing studies for the proniotion of knowledge of road transport.
• As regards the Scholarship, candidates should have passed the graduateship or A.M. examination of the Institute or other examination of similar standing acceptable to the Council. The Grants may be awarded to assist students in the purchase of books and instruments, payment of educational fees, travelling or other expenses. Application forms should be obtained from the secretary, with whom they must be deposited not later than July 31 next. NET PROFIT OF CROSSLEY MOTORS SHOWS RISE
N"profit of Crossley Motors, Ltd„ for the year ended March 31 last • amounted to £78,372, after providing for all . taxation, compared with £75,351 ift the previous year: A dividend of 15 per cent. for the year is recommended for payment.
The company mentions that there has been a further rise in turnover and, in accordance with its usual practice, premiums payable under the War Damage Act and all A.R.P. expenditure have been charged to revenue.
GUARDING AGAINST POISONING FROM PRODUCER GAS " IN view of the danger of poisoning by carbon-monoxide gas from producer-gas vehicles, what special steps are being taken to warn those concerned of this danger? " asked Mr. David Adam of the Ministry of War Transport, in the House of Commons, last week.
Mr. Noel-Baker, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry, in reply, said that a note on the possible danger from carbon-monoxide has been sent recently to every operator of public-service vehicles which are run on producer gas. The danger is also explained in the manual of instructions which will he distributed with each producer-gas unit allocated to operators of goods vehicles.
ABUSES THAT CAUSE TYRES TO RUN HOT 'TEMPERATURES as high at 230 I degrees F. have been recorded inside the covers of commercial-vehicle tyre,s. stated Mr L. Thompson, Dunlop service manager in Glasgow, in the course of a recent address to the Glasgow Centre of the Institute of the Motor Trade. The heat normally generated by the constant stretch and recovery of the rubber can be exaggerated to that extent by underinflation or overloading. Pressures, Mr. Thompson suggested, should be checked when the tyre is cold, and in connection with long-distance haulage vehicles, with-a full load, it is advisable to make allowances for stops of 10 mins, at, say, 40-50-mile intervals, to allow the tyres to cool off:
DRIVERS FIN-ED FOR FALSIFYING LOG SHEETS I N proceedings, last week, at Halifax•West Riding Police Court, against five drivers who pleaded guilty, to obtaining money by false pretences from their employer, Beaumont Brothers (Halifax), Ltd., haulage contractor, Chapel Field Works, Ripponden, it was stated that, during .night journeys between Ripponden and Glasgow, they had falsified log sheets and time sheets of redording clocks fitted in the cabs of their lorries, to, show that the vehicles had been running longer hours than was the case.
Each tof the accused was charged in two instances, but the prosecution said that these evere only specimens taken from a large number of cases. The offences had been committed over periods ranging up to 10 months., For the defence, it was pleaded that the offences were committed during journeys in the black-out, when, the drivers had found it extremely difficult to keep awake and, unknown to their employers, had taken breaks for short rests.
Each of the drivers was fined -£12 with 13s. costs. The presiding rnagiss trate told the men that but for . the important nature of their work they would h,ave been sent to prison.
ALBION'S "FINAL " 'DIVIDEND
IN respect of the year. 1942, Albion Motors, Ltd., is paying a final dividend of 7f per cent., less 'tax, on the ordinary shares of the company,
FUEL STILL ALLOWED FOR GOLF CLUBS
I AST week, in the House of CornLemons, Major Lloyd George, Minister of Fuel and Power, stated that he has discontinued allowances of petrol for the mowing of lawns in private gardens, but he does not belie sle it would help the war effort to stop the very small allowances which enable golf clubs and public bodies to provide healthy recreation for substantial num
bers of people. "
NEWCASTLE WANTS MORE TIME FOR TROLLEYBUS EXTENSION
IT is proposed by Newcastle-on-Tyne City Councirto apply for an extension of the time under which it has authority to extend its trolleybus service over the Tyne,. Bridge into the Gateshead area. . Whilst the Gateshead and District Tramways Co., Ltd„ has not objected to the suggestion, both Gateshead Corporation and Felling Urban District Council have urged Newcastleon-Tyne Corporation to apply I& a provisional Order now to carry out the work.
R.T.C. URGES -GREATER USE OF TRAINEES FOR REPAIRS
THE Northern Regional Transport Commissioner, Sir John Maxwell, has drawn the attention of motorvehicle repairers to the shortage of skilled mechanics in the area, and has urged them to make greater use of trainee labour. Ile has pointed out that, two years ago, he warned repairers of a possible shortage of skilled men, and told them to prepare for it, he complains that, except in certain instances, little or nothing was done.
Sir John, stressing that it is essential• that civilian-transport facilities should be maintained, has urged repairers who are in difficulties to get into touch with the Commissioner's offices.
BIRTHDAY HONOUR FOR MAJOR S. H. JARDINE
WE regret that in our list of Iiirt'hday Honours we failed to give the name of Major S. IL Jardine, who has been awarded the 0.B.E., owing to its inclusion in the Military Division. He is well known as the secretary of the Metropolitan Area of A.ICO., but, perhaps, less well known to many of our readers, as the Second in Command of No. 1 London Trenspert Column of the Home Guard, of which Lieut.Colonel Norman .Letts is Commanding Officer.
MORE BACKING FOR TYNE , TUNNEL SCHEME QUNDERLAND Town Council has aJdecidecl to lend its support to the decision of South Shields and Tynemouth Corporations to apply to the Ministry of War Transport for sanctidh to build a road tunnel under the River Tyne, between •North and South Shields.. A.R.O. APPOINTMENTS IN NORTHERN AREA
THE chairman . of the A.R.O. 1 Northern Area Haulier Sectional Board for the coming year is Mr. H. Wilkinson, of Sunderland. He has had a long connection with the Association and has been a -member of the Area Board and Area Committee since 1933. He is chairman of the Road and Rail Regional Committee in the Northern Area.
, Messrs. T. Gordon, A. Todd, W. W. Walton and H. Wilkinson have been appointed to the Area Committee to represent the Area Haalier Sectional Board, whilst Messrs. T Brooke Davison, J.P , and A. Todd will represent the Area on the National Haulier Sectional Board, • Mr. A. Todd has also been nominated to serve on the National Council.
UNLIMITED BUS-TRAVEL TICKETS BEING SUSPENDED'
AS a measure of travel economy, the issue of unlimited-travel tickets will be discontinued by the .West Yorkshire Road Car Co., Ltd., except on certain routes, as from June 21. The withdrawal also applies to the joint undertaking of the,'! West Yorkshire "company and Keighley Corporation, and to certain services operated by Mr. Samuel Ledgard, of Leeds, and B. and B. Tours Ltd., of Bradford.
Weekly 12-journey tickets are to be issued in substitution, .but, in certain cases, daily workman's return tickets will be used instead of 12-journey ones. Some workman's fares are being reduced, mostly by Id.
The changes involve between 2,000 and 3,000 stages. It is possible that sinailar changes will be introduced by other bus undertakings in the northeast.
B.E.T. RESULTS 'THE revenue of the British Electric 1 Traction Co., Ltd., for the year ended .March 31 last amounted to £760.293, compared with £767,588 for the previous year. After deducting £59,268 for general expenses, etc., £51,553 for income tax, and charging £79,479 for debenture-stock interest, there is a profit of £369,393, ,compared with £527,393 a year earlier. The fol
lowing final dividends, tax, are to be paid:-5 per cent, on the participating preference stock (making 8 per cent. for the year), 4 per cent. on the preferred ordinary stock (making 8 per cent, for the year). and 30 per cent. on the deferred ordinary stock (making 45 per cent, for the year). An amount of £50,435 remains for transference to the undivided profits account.
V BELTS IN LEATHER
THE shortage of rubber has meant considerable restrictions on the production of V belts made in this material, but they can easily be replaced by those made in leather.
The Benson Vee Leather Co., Ltd., Longside 'Lane: Bradford, • Yorks, is specializing in these. They arb stocked in standard sections and lengths, but any of special size can be produced in 12 hours on demand, this applying to, special angles, •lengths and sections.
It is claimed that the tensile
strength, transmission of power and flexing properties are equal to the finest rubber types, whilst under • difficult atmospheric conditions .they stand up in a remarkable manner. The first cost is about 20 per cent, higher, but they are said to last 25 per cent, longer.' and their salvage value is high. All belts are prestretched and fully flexed
BIG RISE IN PROFIT OF SIMMS MOTOR UNITS
FOR 1942, Simms Motde-Units, Ltd., made a profit, after taking interest, depreciation, war damage premiums, etc.., into account, of .495,268, compared with £53,374 in the previous year. Taxation takes £85;500, and debenture redemptionreserve £2,500, whilst a dividend of 10 per cent, is tO be paid on the ordinary shares, leaving £12,503 to be 'carried forward, compared with £19,048 brought in.
PERSONAL PARS •
MR. NORMAN MORTON has been appointed assistant engineer and manager of Soutlipckt Transport Department.
MR. JOHN CLIFF and MR. P. ASHLEY COOPER, members of the London Passenger Transport Board, have been re-appointed to serve for a further term of five years, from May 18 last.
MR. CHARLES PHILIP FOTHERGILL
has been appointedDeputy Regional Transport Commissioner for Scotland. He has been hon. Scottish Regional Welfare Officer to the Ministry of Home Security for the past 13 months.
MR. A. J. LYDDON, C.B.E., M.1xsr.C.E., chief engineer of the highways department, Ministry of War Transport, has been elected an honorary member of the Institution of Municipal and County Engineers in recognition of eminent public services in the field of highway engineering. DEATH OF COLONEL•SYDNEY E. SMITH —p-tE passenger-transport industry 1 and many friends in other sectidns will learn with great regret of the death of Colonel Sydney E. Smith, C.B.E., J.P., at Bristol, on June 11, following a sudden illness. Colonel Smith, who was 62, was one of the pioneers of aviation,• having been one of Britain's earliest pilOts (his proficiency Certificate being No. 33), and a director of the Bristol Aeroplane Co.
He was also for many years director and general manager of the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co , Ltd. He was always an enthusiast in association matters and was for some time chairman of the, then, Tramways, Light Railways and Transport Association We personally feel that we have lost an old and esteemed friend. • H.M.F. IN LUTON AREA
A PROVISIONAL committee to look .t1. after the interests of local hauliers will shortly be set up in the Luton Area by the Hauliers' Mutual Federation.
BUS SEASONS FOR WAR
WORKERS ONLY
SE4SON-TICKETS for Scottish Motor ...)Traction Co. bus journeys in Lanarkshire will be issued only to war workers who have obtained cettificates from employers. This Ministry of Transport direction will come into operation on June 27.
The new Order makes certain bus weekly tickets available only to travellers who have obtained a certificate from their employers, as is at present necessary for Sunday travel tickets.
Up till now housewives living in country districts have been buying weekly tickets, in order to go shopping or for entertainment purposes, and have been enjoying the same priority privileges as workers who hold seasontickets.
So far, the season-tickets concerned apply to local journeys in Lanarkshire. but the situation on routes to and from Glasgow is under observation, SPONGE RUBBER SUBSTITUTE MAKING PROGRESS
RAPID progress is being made with the development of that interesting material, Resilitex, which is an effec-• live Sut/Stitute for sponge rubber, and is produced by Lister and Co , Ltd., Manningham Mills, Bradford. One advantage of the material is that, being made on the 'unit principle, it can not (ally be cut, caved or bent to any shape, but can also be built np to any thickness, for which purpose other materials, such as felt, can be sandwiched with it.
A coarse, soft material, classified as Listoply, is being used to cover made-up pads of Resilitex, which increases their comfort for seating purposes, whilst there is a new, harder, and very thin grade made on chiffon-velvet looms. Then there are grades with, say, 1-in. pile• and air space Resilitex is being supplied for certain special packaging purposes, often in only one ply and in a variety of shapes, as for containing delicate instruments. One container (not for medical purposes) protects an extremely fragile article which can be dropped on to a hard surface from' a height of 32 ft. without damaging either the contents or the case.
AREAS WHERE TAR IS SHORT
l'HE Tar Controller, Ministry of Fuel 1 and Power, has issued a direction to tar distillers in the Eastern and London Divisions of the M.O.W.T., and in the Couhty of Bel kshire (in the Southern Division) that these are " shortage areas. In them, distillers, unless their stocks exceed the specified amounts, will supply tar, and the tarmacadam manufacturers will supply the latter material only to meet Air Ministry requirements, or on the authority of a permit issued by the M.O.W.T. Divisional Road Engineers at:-Palace
Chambers, Silver Street, Bedford, for Eastern Division; Gaywood House, Great Peter Street, London, S.W.I. for London Division; Northernhay Gate, Queen Street, Exeter, for Berkshire, to whom such application should be made.
DAVID BROWN'S TAX PROVISION TAKES £484,000
THE trading profit of David Brown and Sons (Huddersfield), Ltd., for the year ended September 90, 1942, was £564,649, against £434,472 in the previous year. Provision for taxation accounts for £484,870, so that the net profit is £79,779, compared with 458,400 a year earlier. A dividend of 10 per cent. (less tax) is to be paid on the ordinary shares, and contingencies reserve is allocated £100,000. The amount carried forward is £234,001, compared with '£290,482 a year earlier.
KEEPING YOUR PAPER REDUCES PRODUCTION
WAR factories require an enormous VV amount of paper. For instance, 31 cwt. of blueprints are necessary to prdduce atnd assemble the parts of the Rolls-Royce Merliti aero.engine. Many tons are also employed as containers
for explosives and shells. Specially treated paper, is put in contrete aerodrome runways to prevent moisture from seeping through. Thousands of other war uses could be quoted, so turn out for *salvage all the paper and books that you can spare.
MOTOR ELECTRICAL MANUAL"
A REPRINT of "The, Motor Elect-1. trical Manual" will be available from booksellers and newsagents, it 3s. 8d., or direct from the publishers, Temple Press Ltd., Bowling Green Lane, London, E.C.1, at Ss. 9d. (including postage) on June 21. The number is limited, so orders should be placed early. EROSION PREVENTER FOR OIL ENGINES WE are informed by Jenson and W Nicholson, Ltd., Jenson House, Stratfoid, London, E.15, that the company has recently come across instances of severe erosion attack HI the water jackets of oil engines used for road-haulage purposes. These are particularly severe where aluminium inspection doors are provided, or, in fact, where any non-ferrous metal forms part of the water-circulating system.
In this connection, a material known as " Debecote " has been evolved in America for the express purpose of preventing erosion on condenser tubes, particularly those employing sea water, and it has been adopted by the U.S. Navy. Whilst primarily designed for the protection of non-ferrous metals, it has since been found to be efficacious with iron and steel.
Jenson and Nicholson, Ltd., has now taken over its manufacture in England and it is already being used by the Admiralty: It is not an ordinary protective paint, but is claimed to have all action almost wholly ,electrolytic. Perhaps it would be better to say it counteracts electrolytic action and gradually sacrifices itself to this purpose, requiring renewal very two or three years. It can be applied either by spray gun or brush.
MAKING A HABIT OF IT
WHEN two Halifax boys, aged 15 VV and 16 years, were jointly charged at Huddersfield Borough juvenile Court last week with taking and driving away a motor lorry without authority, it was stated that this was the 16th occasion on which the elder boy had taken away a vehicle without he owner's consent., This lad was fined £2, and the younger boy was placed on probation for 12 months.