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News of the Week.

18th May 1905, Page 3
18th May 1905
Page 3
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Page 3, 18th May 1905 — News of the Week.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

It will be observed that advertisers, both new and old, support " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."

We proved the courage of our convictions by being the first to announce a weekly issue, and our policy has been consistent throughout Mr. E. A. Greathed, who was a condidate for the Secretaryship of the British Motor Boat Club, has been appointed assistant secretary to the A.C.G.B. and I. lie will be remembered in connection with the accident to Mr. Earp in the Isle of Man eliminating trials last year, when he rendered valuable assistance to Mr. Orde.

The organisation and conduct of the commercial vehicle trials is the first big task that devolves upon him, and we trust he will acquit himself to the advantage of the industry and of the Auto' iobile Club.

The cognoscenti will appreciate the following reference to the commercial motor from a contemporary's issue of March 18th a --" We have no intention of devoting a separate paper to it, because there is no need for any such project. Should circumstances change, we might publish the separately, but we do not believe such a step would at present be in the interests of tither the automobilist or the maker of commercial vehicles, and we know it would be welcomed by neither." This declaration must be found rather awkward.

We are sorry to prophesy trouble for the Canadian Government's van, which was illustrated in our last issue, but the small diameter of the wheels, which measure only 26 inches over the tyres, will probably lead to trouble on rural roads and soft places. The illustrations were produced from photographs taken at St. Pancras goods yard, before the van was unloaded, special facilities being afforded to "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR" by the courtesy of Mr. W. T. R. Preston, of the Canadian Emigration Department, Parliament Street, S.W.

Mr. Alfred Holt, of Liverpool, the inventor of the Plateway system of carrying goods, in which the same vehicle takes loads from the quay to anywhere in the country, and vice versa, has addressed a letter to the Press reminding them of his scheme. Mr. Holt offers a reward of '515 for a "good, fairly-descriptive (or, at any rate, not misleading) name of about to letters," because he considers that his proposals have suffered front the use of the word Plateway, which does not properly convey the essentials of his intentions for goods conveyance.

Mr. Yerburgh, M.P., who is President of the Agricultural Organisation Society, recently visited the inotor wagon service promoted by the Brandsby Branch, in Yorkshire. He said that the most striking feature of the Brandsby experiment was that it marked the inception of the application of motor transport to the needs of Farmers' Co-operative Societies, which was a great step forward. The motor had largely been regarded as detrimental to the farmers interests, but he himself was a breeder of Shire horses and could clearly say that after all, the farmer was going to get the better of the motor. He was going to tame it, to put it in harness, and to make use of it for his own purposes, for the motor would remove the disadvantage under which the isolated farmer laboured at the present time. To have a farm near a station was an enormous advantage, but the motor was going to remove the element of distance and was going to equalise the chances of farmers by levelling up the lot of those in remote districts with that of the farmers near the railway. Mr. P. Burtt, the Deputy General Manager of the N.E. Railway, who spoke after Mr. Yerburgh, said he regarded motor wagons as providing a valuable means of subsidiary transit which would serve railway lines all over the country. Such a linking-up would largely improve the demand for home produce which should be brought by the individual farmers to central depots in each district. Our next special issue will be devoted to the use of motors by millers and flour dealers.

We publish to-day some further particulars concerning laundry vans. which were crowded out of" No. 9."

Mr. E. Manville, 3/1.Inst.E.E., whose departure for South America in connection with extensions of the Buenos Ayres Tramway scheme we recorded. on March itith, has returned to London. Mr. Manville is chairman of the Car and General Insurance Corporation, Ltd., and a director of the Daimler Motor Co., Ltd.

From reports which reach us of the registrations by the London County Council, the proportion of commercial motors is on the. increase. This is not limited to motor omnibuses, though they contribute to the result, and the total registrations at present exceed lot per week.

The Surrey County Council has authorised its Highways Committee to spend ,4;2,000 in making experiments with dust-laying materials upon various sections of the main roads.

The Works Committee of the Borough Council of St. Pancras (London) has recommended the council to purchase two steam wagons, with interchangeable box and watering bodies, at a cost of if,I,soo.

The Southampton Town Council has appointed a special committee to consider the question of motor traction in the different departments of the council, and as to whether, by the adoption of mechanical vehicles a saving can be effected in the present costs for cartage. As the council spends .4.11,000 per annum upon horsed work, we have no doubt that large orders will be placed as soon as ever the committee is able to render its report.

The Government authorities in Ceylon some time ago asked for tenders for a motor mail service, but as no offers were received the scheme has been abandoned, except as concerns the Bandarawela-Lunngala route, which covers a distance of some 44 miles. The Crown agents for the Colonies will now purchase four cars, and the service will be generally managed by the Government Railway Department. Our manufacturers must see to it that only British vehicles are supplied. The address of the Crown Agents for British Colonies is Colonial Office, Whitehall, S.W.

The Ayrshire County Council some time ago petitioned the Secretary for Scotland to close certain roads in the county altogether to motorcar traffic; to restrict the speed to to miles an hour through all the towns and villages whose roads are under the jurisdiction of the county council ; and to reduce speed across various county bridges. The Local Government Board held an enquiry at Ayr, and the Secretary for Scotland has now agreed to comply practically with the whole of the requests of the council. The roads entirely closed to motor traffic are Au-chenhuive road, Gerviston road, Millside road, from Millside to Greenridg,e, and Skelmorlie road, from junction of road leading to Beithglass Farm to junction of road leading to gas works attached to Skelmorlie Castle, all in the northern district. The bridges on which speed is to be reduced to to miles an hour (and for 50 yards on each side measured from the centre of the bridge) are Auchenhuive, Larholm, Gadgirth, Stair, and Barskimminga These five bridges are an in the Ayr district. Speed has to be reduced to to miles an hour through the burgh of Prestwick and all the villages. in the county from a point so yards before the first house, and so yards beyond the last house. We are not greatly. concerned with the speed limits, as pleasure cars will feel the hardship of such antediluvian regulations more than commercial motors; but we can foresee glorious trouble in 12 months' time, when a number of commercial motors are in use and attempt to deliver goods to residents in the closed roads at Ayr.

— Gelman Commercial Vehicle Trials, Exact datc not fixed, 1745 Olympia Show,

The Town Clerk of Manchester has accepted service of a writ issued at the instance of Messrs. Sutton and Company, the well-known carriers. The corporation is called upon to show that it has powers to utilise its tramcars for parcel conveyance, and that it is lawful for it to spend money frotn the city funds for that purpose.

Olympia has been given the necessary start on its path to more prosperous times by the great success of the exhibition of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders in February last. We understand that the exhibition of the National Electric Manufacturers' Association, to be held There from September 25th to October 21st next, is only one .cif several in contemplation.

We commented in our issue of April i3th on the petition lodged with the Lambeth Borough Council against the intended repaving of Waterloo Bridge approach with granite :setts. At its meeting on Thursday evening last the Council decided to relay with jarrah hard wood, a result which will be welcomed by those who have to endure the noise of the traffic at this point. Now that the wood pavement is to be renewed, it is to be hoped that, when down, it will be maintained in proper condition. The state of the surface between Waterloo Station and the bridge over the river has been little short of a scandal.

Mr. G. Hayes, of Pluinstead, whose service of postal motor vans we described and illustrated in a recent issue, has been allotted the contracts for conveyance of mails between London and Hastings and Tunbridge Wells and Eastbourne. The contracts are the largest yet 'issued by the PostmasterGeneral for motor mail work, and must be satisfactory to Mr. Hayes, as he secured them in the face of competition from some 30 other tenders. The new' services will commence in October. Mr. Hayes now holds five motor mail service contracts, viz. :—London to Epping, London postal district, Birmingham to Worcester, and the two above.

An important decision with respect to the liability of road users for damage to highways was given by his Honour Judge Scully, at the Chichester County Court, on May loth. Action was brought by the Corporation of Chichester against Messrs. Penfold, contractors, of Arundel, and Mr. Foster, contractor, of Emsworth. The claims were for Li I is. 2d. and -(2 los. respectively for alleged damage to water mains by traction engines. Judgment was given for the plaintiffs, with costs under scale C. In the course of the judgment, his Honour stated that :-" Both actions were brought on the ground that such things as traction engines, weighing upwards of to tons, were dangerous for use on the highway, and that the owners were liable for damage caused by them, even if there was no negligence in the construction or use of the engine. The plaintiff Corporation owned water mains in South Pallant and St. Pancras, Chichester. These mains were laid about 30 years ago, and not in the best manner according to modern ideas. They were 0in. below the crown of the road, and were still fit to stand the pressure of ordinary traffic. His Honour found that each of the mains was broken by the weight of the traction engines passing over them." Notice of appeal was given in both cases.

The widening of Knightsbridge on the north side is now on the eve of completion by the London County Council. The south side was finished some months ago.

The Pontypridd District Council has decided to purchase a steam wagon, as it is estimated that a saving of j.,340 per annum can be effected by its use.

Earl Cawdor, the retiring Chairman of the Great Western Railway Company, has been presented with a silver gilt vase by the officials and staff of the line. The presentation took place at the hands of the General Manager, Mr. James C. Inglis, at the annual dinner of the G.W.Ry. officers.

In connection with the present revival of attention to our canal systems, it is of interest to recollect that a paper entitled " A new method of utilising canals for traffic" was read by Messrs. W. B. Cook and F. Willoughby, on December 15th, 1896, at the Liverpool Royal Institution, before members of the Liverpool Self-propelled Traffic Association. It was pointed out by Mr. J. Walwyn White, during the discussion which ensued, that canals generally followed the level of the country and were consequently somewhat circuitous in their routes; for example, it was sixteen miles from Widnes to St. lIclens by canal against ten miles by road or rail. This question of distance would unquestionably be a serious one were any canals drained and used as roads or for railway tracks.

The Middlesex County Council has passed the following important resolution That the Council take into consideration the advisability of obtaining powers to widen all the main roads leading out of London which are in the county of Middlesex to a width sufficient to accommodate the great and increasing vehicular traffic, including the tramways or light railways and motorcars, with wide footways for pedestrians, before these main roads are further encroached upon by building operations; or, where more expedient and economical, to provide similar new routes, and that a special committee be appointed to endeavour to get the other counties bordering on London, and also the L.C.C., to join in a comprehensive scheme to widen all main roads leading out of London in the counties of Essex, Hertford, Buckingham, Surrey, and Middlesex, and apply for Government assistance, as the matter is of national importance."

Some interest attaches to the suggestion recently made by Mr. A. E. Blizzard, before a meeting of municipal engineers held • at the Agricultural Hall, for the use of blue bricks in footpath and carriage way paving. He advocated the use of these bricks, suitably burnt in the kiln, and considered that their use would avoid side-slip for all indiarubber tyred vehicles, whilst the pavement was one which could be easily repaired. Further, there would be no dust, although he agreed that bricks would not stand the heaviest forms of traffic. The comparative approximate costs per yard super. of various pavements laid in London were given by Mr. Blizzard as follows :—Blue bricks, 7s. 6d. ; creosoted yellow deal, 8s. ; compressed asphalte, 201. thick, /las.; jarrah or karri, Its. 6d. ; granite setts, 135. 3d. In the discussion which followed, Mr. A. D. Greatorex, borough engineer of West Bromwich, remarked that he had been laying blue brick pavement for years at 35. per square yard, and this pavement had lasted in the High Street. of West Bromwich for over 30 years.


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