Financial Facilities for A.R.O. Members W E referred last week to
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the registration of a company known as Associated Road Operators (Area) Finances, Ltd. This has been formed to provide a new and comprehensive financial service exclusively for members of A.RrO. It will undertake an ambitious sscheme, for which it has entered into a long-period arrangement with United Dominions Trust, and, in connection with this, it will have the exclusive services of the latter important organization.
The originator is the Metropolitan Area of the Association, but so favourably has the scheme been received that it is practically certain that every other area will adopt it, although each will -send its inquiries to the parent company.
The various plans will Over vehicles and equipment, Road Fund tax, alterations and additions to property, major overhauls and tyres. The amount provided will necessarily depend upon the financial stability of the member concerned, and this will he the only limit, and only in connection with vehicles will the hire-purchase principle be adopted. In every other case it will be merely a question of the repayment of a loan by monthly instalments.
In the case of the Road Fund tax,
the saving over the quarterly method of payment arranged by the Government is considerable; for six vehicles at £30 each per annum it amounts to £8 18s. 641.
For alterations and additions to property, financial facilities will he granted normally up to 90 per cent. of the contract price of the work; this figure applies also to overhauls and tyre purchases.
The present average charge is 51 per cant: per annum, although it is intended to revise the position every year, with a view to making small reductions if possible.
An important point is that the A.R.O. Co. will riot. know anything of the internal working of an applicant's business; this will be dealt. with only by the Trust. The financing of the company has nothing to do with thesubscriptions of members.
Although details were circulated to members only a few days ago, inquiries have already been received to the extent of £20,000. Negotiations are now proceeding in respect of the financing of insurance..
Further particulars can he obtained from the secretary, A.R.O., 19-20, Water Lane, Great Tower Street, London, E.C.3.
CONFECTIONERS FEAR FURTHER RESTRICTIONS.
The position of the C-licence holder came up for discussion at the halfyearly meeting of the British Federation of Wholesale Confectioners, at Leamington Spa, last week.
Mr. A. J. Bolton (London) urged the Federation to keep a watchful eye on those concerned with regulating the hours of drivers. The interests of the big concerns, he said, centred in 3-ton vans, but those of the wholesalers using smaller vehicles needed to be looked after. There should be no further restriction upon the operation of vans under the weight of a ton.
Mr. Harold Butcher (Northampton) suggested that the Manufacturing Confectioners Alliance should be canvassed for its support.
A resolution was passed asking that a representative of the Federation be allowed to appear before the Advisory Council to state a case .for users of licences.
Employer Charged with Avoiding Obligation.
A lorry owner, who was stated to have made his drivers sign a statement placing upon them responsibility for the condition of his vehicles, was involved, at East Penwith Sessions, Camborne, Cornwall, in a case of considerable interest to hauliers.
W. W. Richards, of Lemon Villa, Frogpool, was summoned for having permitted a van to be used with defective tyres and pleaded "not guilty." His employee, Harold Nettle, of Lanner Road, Redruth, was summoned for having used the van while the tyres were defective and pleaded " guilty."
A police superintendent stated that Richards did not deny that a tyre was in a bad state, but he made the drivers sign for the lorries, and they were responsible for them. This was an important point, for, if employers could make their men sign such statement*, they were contracting out of their obligations under the Act.
The employer stated that drivers had but to ask for tyres.
Richards was fined 22 and Nettle 21.
2,000 Bales of Wool Held Up.
An advantage of road transport over rail for the carriage of wool was suggested during the hearing, at Leeds, on Monday, of an application by R. Barr (Leeds), Ltd. The application, for a short-term A licence to operate two additional trailers, was heard by the Yorkshire Deputy Licensing Authority (Mr. E. Russell Gurney).
Mr. James Cunningham, secretary of the applicant concern, said the two trailers had been licensed for a short term, which expired on January 30, to deal with the Christmas rush of traffic. The present application was made because the company was now faced with abnormal requirements by its customers for the delivery of wool from Hull to the West Riding. At the moment there were 2,000 bales of wool at Hull awaiting delivery by the applicant and a further increase was expected this week.
B14 Mr. H. F. R. Sturge (for the railways) " Is there any reason why this wool should not go by rail? "
Mr. Cunningham : "Yes, because it is delivered by road directly from the docks into the conditioning house in Bradford."
Mr. W. R. Hargrave explained that the Barr company desired only to carry out the requirements of its own customers.
A short-term licence for two calendar months was granted.
Mr. F. S. Bennett New President of the "Fund."
The new president of the Motor and Cycle Trades Benevolent Fund, Mr. F. S. Bennett, will have his work cut Out to better the good work that his predecessor (Mr. Peter F. Bennett, 0.11.E., J.P.) has performed, for during the past year over 225,000 has been received in donations.
This fact was announced at the dinner held on Tuesday last at the Connaught Rooms, London, attended by many well-known trade personalities; altogether over 400 e ere present. Amongst the speakers were Sir John D. SiddeIey, C.B. E. , and Viscountess Snowden.
Voices' Earnings for Current Year.
The factory reorganization of Yokes, Ltd., 95-105, Lower Richmond Road, Putney, London, S.W.15, and the original extensions contemplated, are approaching completion, and production is up to capacity. Further extensions are planned, but lag in the adjustment of selling prices to meet the upward trend in production costs has curtailed the ratio of profits. Until the costing position be stabilized, the directors do not anticipate that the rate of profits estimated for the current year will be realized.
Air Cooling for Silencer Efficiency.
By making adequate provision for cooling, the maker of the Tubex silencer (the Tubex Silencer Co., 15, St. Michael's Lane, Leeds, 6) achieves two highly important ends, namely, the -reduction of back pressure and the prevention of carbon deposit.
The former is caused by the rapid contraction of the hot exhaust gases on reaching the cool silencer, whilst the latter is attributable to the fact that the metal does not get hot enough for carbon to form. As a result, internal cleaning is never necessary, and the efficiency of the silencer is unimpaired throughout its life. The low temperature upon which its success largely depends is maintained by the provision of longitudinal fins on the exterior. The Tubex silencer is stoutly constructed and costs from 22 5s. A special model for BecIfords sells at 22 7s. 6d.
FORTHCOMING SITTINGS OF THE APPEAL TRIBUNAL.
February 23.28, 10.30 am., Parliament House, Edinburgh.
14. and R. Duncan, LOwer Gilmore Place, Edialurgh, against refusal to vary A licence 'Southern Seetlancl Area).
Jean Leclie !Glasgow Eastern Transpert Service), 597, A.'gyle Street, Glasgow. against refusal to vary A. licence (Southern S(otland).
NO TRAINER SENDS RACEHORSES BY RAIL!
" There is not a single trainer who sends horses, which he is training, to race meetings by rail," said an applicant, a newcomer, before Mr. J. H. Stirla, East Midland Licensing Authority, at Leicester. He was Mr.
D. C. N. Baring, of Somerby, Leicestershire, and he was applying for a licence for a horsebox to convey horses to races, hunts and point-to-point meetings.
Asked whether he had experience of the way that racehorse traffic was handled by the railways, Mr. Baring instanced a four-hour delay to himself and horses which he was accompanying, and of a " guaranteed " time of arrival of horses at Aldershot, where the animals arrived five hours late.
" The railways do not guarantee to sget passenger trains in te time, but, as a matter of fact, it is common know,. ledge that they usually do," commented the railway representative.
Mr. Stirk : "Common knowledge?"
More Co-operation Between Transport anti Trade Needed.
Reference to the Minister of Transport's contention that imperfections in road design and construetion were responsible for only a negligible proportion of road accidents, was made by Mr. J. Howell, at the annual dinner of the Birmingham and district branch of the Industrial Transport Association, last week. He urged that those responsible for the roads should be forced to carry out the suggestions contained in the memorandum recently issued by the Minister.
Mr. Owen Massey, chairman, stressed the need for co-operation between transport and trade. He said that the Association was pursuing a programme of development, so that transport managers might make their influence felt in industry.
Oldest Clearing House "Comes of Age."
Nearly 100 Lancashire and Cheshire business men were present at a dinner held on February 10 in celebration of the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the clearing house of Nathan Fine, Ltd.
The formation of the transport department of Manchester Chamber of Commerce, 21 years ago, was mentioned by Mr. E. W. Willis, who said that the object was to enable the transpcirt of the country to be carried on during the war, while the railways were fully occupied in various ways. Mr. Nathan Fine had been responsible for the department, and later, when the work was given up by the Chamber, he had taken over the business and had developed it to its present state.
Reference to the presence of Mr.
E. C. Simon and Mr. A. J. Samson, directors of Transport Services, Ltd., was made by Mr. Fine. During the past few weeks the concern had linked up with Transport Services, Ltd., which, he believed, woUld give a greater opportunity of service. TRANSPORT NEEDED FOR NEW . INDUSTRIAL ESTATE.
Mr. A. T. James, K.C., South Wales Licensing Authority, has 'intimated his willingness to hold a special sitting at Pontypridd to consider additional transport facilities to and from the South Wales Trading Estate, at Upper Boat, midway between Cardiff and Pontypridd. Mr. James emphasized the importance of adequate services to the estate.
Glamorgan County Council, on Monday, decided to spend £61,000 in making an 80-it. road past the factory site.
Mersey Tunnel Shoulders /75,000 Loss on Ferries.
At a meeting of Mersey Tunnel Joint Committee on February 10, it was estimated that there would he a surplus of £3,044 on the working of the tunnel _ for the year ending March 31. The loss on the Birkenhead ferries for 1936-37 is estimated at £75,000. which will he met out of next year's account.
Expenditure for 1937-38 is estimated at £483,260, compared with an estimated expenditure of £479,798 for the current year, and -a probable expenditure by March 31 of £496,678. The current year's cost figure includes the loss of £75000 on the Birkenhead ferries. Tolls next year are expected to produce £290,000, compared with this year's estimate of £269,000 and a probable revenue of £280,000.
Hand Operation of 120-ft. Road Bridge.
Anew steel swing. bridge, which carries the -main road from Inverness to the north across the Caledonian Canal at Muittown, has recently been -completed by Sir William Arrol and Co., Ltd. It has a total length of over -120 ft.,. with a 20-ft.-wide roadway and two footways. It is of the unequalarm swing type, operated by electrical power or, in the event of current failure, by hand power. The latter is made possible by the application of taper roller bearings to the pivot, which takes a swinging load of about 900 tons, and one roan can swing the bridge quite easily through an angle of 68 degrees.
The hearing used is the Timken tapered flat thrust type, with dimensions of 14 ins. by 25 ins, by 6i ills.
Spring Preparation Number of " The Motor."
Next Tuesday, February 23, an enlarged special Spring Preparation Number of The Motor will be published. It will deal with the choice of a car, from popular family models to quality cars of high performance, and will contain a review of specialized coachwork at a moderate price. Helpful advice on buying second-band will also be featured.
Articles on overhauling and reconditioning, re-equipping and insurance, as well as information about legal requirements, and an illustrated description of non-standard accessories and fittings will also be amongst its contents.