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THE ALL-WEATHER COACH and Its Opening Roof.
Page 132
Page 133
Page 134
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Some Features which have Popularized All-weather Equipment, and a Brief Review of the Different Interesting Forms which are Available.
I T is probable that the modern
all-weather coach, with its easily operated hood or roof cover, would never have been invented had it not been recognised that the size of the vehicle itself imposed certain limitations, which no amount' Of ingenuity could -overcome,if the coach -was to 'give satisfactory service. As the length and width of the body could not be •reduced it was therefore a question of decreasing the size and Weight 'of the moving parni.
The problem Would have taken a long time to solve if, at that,critical time, the drop window had not been coining into use as a standard fitting for the single-deck bus. If the windows could be concealed, then the bus was already converted into an all-weather coach, at least so far as the sides were concerned. It only remained to devise suitable mechanisms for operating a roof cover instead of an entire superstructure. Moreover, there was no longer any need for separate curtains or side screens.
A ' pioneer invention in allweather coach construction is the Strachan roll-top roof. Mr. J. M. Strachan was one of the first to popularize the balanced and adjustable drop window for the single-decker, and it was soon realized that the drop window was not only a means for ventilating a bus and making it More attractive to ride in, but it was also a device which went a long way towards converting the service bus into a • coach suitable for pleasure trips, The all-weather coach, with its fixed side pillars and cant rails, is a common sight to-day," but it required courage some eight years ago to place before the user an allweather coach which did not fulfil the conventional idea of a vehicle made to open.
The Strachan roll-top roof, although its details have been refined in many ways, does not differ in its essential features from the pattern which was first introduced—a striking testimony to its merit. Also it is in a class by itself, because it opens and closes transversely in sections. The hoopsticks are used as parallel guides for each half-roof section. These are made of wooden slats and roll up into a neat housing which runs down the centre of • the roof. With a roof section to each main window it is possible to provide the same amount of roof as window. adjustment.
This roll-top roof is not only used for the long-distance coach, but is fitted to a large number of service buses as well. The firm of Strachan's also make the all-weather coach with the usual type of sliding hood for those who prefer this pattern.
1■26 Another pioneer invention is the Beatonson headwork. G. Beaton and Son, Ltd., was able to bring to bear much valuable experience which has been gained by the manufacture of all-weather fittings for the private body. These fittings were notable as they were of all-metal construction and comprised a complete headwork with pillar tops, hoopsticks, window and door furniture. The same idea was utilized, with suitable modifications, for the headwork of the larger body. The chief difference made was the use of the cant rails as guides for the sliding hood, the hoopsticks of the coach being no longer continued to the waist line, an innovation which has since proVed to be of fundamental iraportance. .
The cant rail and pillar tops were made to fold on the top of the waist rail 'after the hood had been lowered at the rear. This folding framework Was very corn' pact, because, like the private car fittings, it was made entirely of To-day the Beatonson headwork is still an all-metal one, and it is niade in several van s. "'he side frames may be fixed or made to fold, the cant rails over the doors may be separately hinged, or the fittings may be modified for use with fixed rear quarters, or for mounting on wooden side frames.
The main feature of the Beclawat . all-weather coach equipment is that metal side pillars are supplied to bolt down to the floor frame of 'thern body and extend directly to the cant rails.
Theimportance . of the Becla. IA/Jr fittings is that they haye always been made with a fixed side framework, therefore anticipating the present-day simplicity of construction. The aluminiumalloy pillars are shaped to provide the necessary attachments for the waist, garnish seat and light rails and are fitted with Beclawat silent window-channel runs. The outsides of the pillars below the waist rail are packed with timber cut to the shape of the body side to which the metal panels are fixed The pillars are also provided with grooves for fitting the inside panels. A strong scuttle pillar is used for supporting the screen posts and front door. The Beclawat hood can be raised or lowered by turning a crank handle fitted at the rear bottom end of the coach. By this means the hocipsticks and hood material are lifted to the cant rail, where they can be pulled along by the front hoop. At the present time the coach proprietor appears to favour timber pillars in preference to metal ones and, in order to meet this demand, the Beclawat equipment is
supplied in its various forms either as a complete set of fittings or as part sets, including only cant rails and boopsticks where'required.'
The Beelawat horizontal sliding window, which is used in the front doors of the coach, is of simple design and easy to fit. The sliding frame runs in a metal groove in the top and a metal guide at the bottom. This provides a very firm intimate, sliding contact, and holds' the frame in any position without creeping, so that na lock or catch is required.
The vertical edge of the fixed glass is fitted with a metal and rubber section forming a jobit with the sliding portion, so that this part of the window is also weather-tight.
The all-weather coach made by John C. Beadle, ltd., has this concern's own cant rail. This is a brass tube in which the boopsticks slide by means of a ball attachment having
a locking device. The hoopsticks rim along thc cant rails in the usual manner and go right down at the back on to the elbow, or stop at the dome back if the customer prefers fixed rear quarters.. Either wooden or metal side pillars are fitted, and it will be remembered that this maker has used the metal pillar to improve the visibility of the singledecker with fixed roof.
Another well-known sliding hood is the Triumf-ed of Messrs. Hemming Bros. The fittings can be adapted to any type of coach, the parts being few and of simple .design. Mach cant rail Is a double channel, the upper one open at the top and the lower one on the inner side. The lower channel carries, on its underside, a rubber weathering and buffer for the top edge of the windows,
The steel tubular bows have swivelled ends and run on anti-friction rollers operating in both channels. The bows are held 'in position by a neat looking lever and silencer.
The Sidno sliding fittings of Messrs. Cooper, Webb-Jones and Co. ard designed for either wood or steel hoopsticks. The leading feafure is the ball-bearing slide, whereby friction is reduced to a minimum. The metal track, which is
mounted on each cant rail, is of modified H-section, having a top flange and two lower side ones providing a bearing for the rollers. A thumb nut provides an effective locking device.
B. Disturnal and Co. manufactures a wide range of sliding-roof fittings. These may be used for the roof and back quarters to fold, with or without a side light beyond the rear doorway, or with a front or rear fixed-roof portion.
One pattern is designed to slide between well-curved cant rails, so that the saloon-coach effect is well Preserved, even when the roof is open. This all-weather equipment includes the Gibson windscreen, which is designed so that a panel can be detached in the event of breakage without interfering with Or in any way damaging the bodywork.
The boopsticks of the fit-' tinge already described slide between guides fastened to or forming part of the cant rails. With the Sunsaloon head each cant rail is perforated, providing positive engagement for the pinions mounted on each end of the loopsticks. Spring steel, automatic, pulling and folding straps are -provided.
The spring straps raise the hood. material clear of the carriers, prevent chafing, and assemble the folded head neatly at the rear. The Provision of a deep watergutter permits of overlapPing joints which are wiad and water proof. Operation of the hood either, way is accomplished by turning a handle, and when raising the hood, by securing the head locks when the head is drawn forward to the screen. The hood may be operated if required while the vehicle is in motion. The Barwatt head of Duple Bodies and Motors, Ltd., is another type of geared equipment. In this instance the cant rails are of I-beam section and are perforated along the centre line of the web. The front stick is provided with a bevel gearing at each end and in the centre. The central gear is for use with the operating handle, which revolves a cross-shaft so that motion is imparted to the end gears, thereby causing the stick to travel backwards or forwards along the cant rails, according to the direction in which the .handle is turned.
One of the most recent types of all-weather coach roof is the Plein-Azur, the sole manufacturing rights for which are 1527 held in this country by London Lorries, Ltd. As this roof was recently described in our columns it is only necessary to remind our readers that it not only slides but also disappears. It is mounted in conjunction with fixed, domed back quarters. As can readily be grasped by reference to the illustrations at the top of this page, this design gives an unobstructed view overhead.
The hoopsticks do not assemble when the roof is opened by the operating handle fitted above the driver's seat, but are permanently spaced apart by spring-steel stripe. By this means the roof is able to bend and is concealed under the panelling of the back quarters, and, when fully open, under the floor as well.
As the hood material has only to adapt itself to the comparatively large corners of the body outline, it is a pattern which should withstand much hard wear. Moreover, a hood which can be concealed without affecting the normal design of a high-class coach is one which should appeal to the user who appreciates detail refinements.
The all-weather coach which is built -with the -kustor
fittings is scientifically constructed. The pillars are of silicon alloy, and, those not farming part of the doors, have their feet extended sufficiently inwards to roach the chassis, to which they can be bolted or clamped. The pillars are machined and finished complete for assembling on to the bottom framing, and include the necessary wooden fillets for taking the panels. The door equipment. Is complete with all furniture and component parts. The cant rails are of special brass section and the hoopsticks are of tubular steel and designed to eliminate all possibility of binding when they are slid along the cant rails. The typical set of Auster fittings is the fixed-pillar pattern with a sloping screen and side panels, and it is made for either fixed or folding rear quarters. When a folding rear quarter is used telescopic tubes and springs are supplied to assist in raising the head From the foregoing summaries of well-known produtts it will be realized that a wide range is available to the purchaser of long-distance coaches, or other types which must be capable of giving comfort to the passengers throughout the year despite the many vagaries of the British climate. For work in other lands the designs referred to in this article offer advantages which cannot be denied.