Answers to Queries.
Page 18
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Traffic Offering from Birmingham to London.
[2603] (Balsa11 Heath).—Messrs. Waring and Gillow have sent on to us your inquiry. We recommend you to advertise your requirements in this journal.
Licences for Steersmen.
[2604] (Barnsley).--We have dealt in several recent issues with the matter of licences for steersmen, and we would particularly refer you to the second leading article in our issue dated the 18th March.
Wants to Hire Chars-a-banes for Season:
[2605] (London).—We have ascertained that Messrs. Timpsons, of PIumstead, had their Karrier chars-abanes impressed. The best way for you to get a response is to put a small advertisement into this journal.
The "Secondhand" Demand.
[2606] (Fisherman).—There is a tremendous demand for second-hand lorries just now. You might address A. Aldersley Taylor, 29a, Charing Cross Road, London, W.C., Atkinson and Pearce, 69, Victoria Street, W., S. S. Nevi11, Ltd., 79a, Parkhurst Road, Holloway, N., or W. Rinrnan, Fitzala,n Street, Kennington Road, S.E. mentioning us.
If you want an inspection made, our charge is three guineas within 10 miles of Charing Cross, including written report.
Erroneous Purchase of a Pleasure-car Chassis.
[2607] (Cumberland).—Further in answer to your query. (No. 2551), we expect you will get good service out of the vehicle which you mention, if it is one of the maker's commercial type. Your query as to solid tires on the back wheels leads us, however, to fear that you have bought a pleasure-ear model, in which event we think you will be highly unwise to load it with more than 15 cwt. at the outside. No pleasurecar chassis gives satisfaction under such a load as that which you indicate (20 cwt. to 30 cwt.), and you have, in our opinion, made a mistake. We have repeatedly written in this journal on the great risks of buying pleasure-ear chassis for commercial purposes. You cannot safely put solid tires on the back wheels of a vehicle which is designed to run on pneumatic tires ; if you do, you will "knock it to pieces." T_ at"ez o Carry 7i Tons and to Haul Another 7/Tons on a Trailer.
[2608] (Timber).—Any steam wagon on the market, though it may be structurally capable of carrying 71 tons of dead weight, will, under that load, have a gross weight in excess of the 12-ton limit under the Heavy Motor Car Order of 1904. We understand that special exemptions are granted by the Liverpool Corporation for the use of overweight lorries in Liver pool ; but we further understand that similar concea sions are not allowed by the Bootle Corporation. You might possibly make local inquiry on this matter, say, from Mr. Brodie, the City Engineer of Liverpool, who, we are sure, will help you in every way. The joint weight of a loaded wagon and its trailer' under the Heavy Motor Car Order, must not exceed 20 tons (unless a three-axle trailer can be used by you), and the axle-weight on each axle of the trailer must not exceed four tons (including weight of trailer). It appears to us that you are clearly involved in conditions which will force you to run under the Loco-motives Act of 1898. Under that Act you have to pay an annual licence of 10 guineas in the County Borough in which you register, and of either five guineas per annum in each other County Borough in which you operate, or 2s. 6d. a day. If you decide to work under the traction-engine-Act join the National Traction Engine Owners and Users Association, 28, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.
B54 Special Taximeters Wanted.
[2609] (Belfast).—Bruhn's Taxameter, Ltd., of 245, Gray's Inn Road, W.C., sells an apparatus which registers a half-fare, but this is partly German, or was partly German until recently. The makes other than German are Halda Taxiimeter, Ltd. 15, Chapel Street, Euston Road, N. (Swedish), and Ltd., Fare Register Co., Ltd., 60, Belvedere Road, S.E. (French). Messrs. Nicole, Nielsen and Co., of Watford, have an apparatus which, We believe, is of British make. We understand that Messrs. Smith and Sons have abandoned the making of taximeters. You might also get some information about the Rogers taximeter from Motormeters, Ltd., Broad Sanctuary Chambers, Westminster, S.W.
Mail and Passenger Work in Scotland.
[2610] (Ross).—Yes; we agree the idea of getting a second-hand Albion car, subject to inspection by somebody who is nominated by the Albion Co. Fourpence per running mile should cover the actual cost, inclusive of driver, maintenance, consumable stores, insurance and depreciation. Von ought to see a revenue of at least 7d. a mile, to be on the safe side and have a profit. If you can cover your out-ofpocket costs, which we put at 4d. per mile, from the mall contract alone, you should have a balance as profit. Of course, if your roads are still in the badcondition which they were when the Editor drove over them nearly three years ago, it may be as well to reckon that the cost per mile will be id. 'more than, we have stated, this being due to excess outgo on tires. If for certain months the daily run falls from' 50 miles to 25 miles, whilst the all-round figure of 40. per mile should cover running costs inclusive of tiros on the greater mileage per day, we think you would be wise to try to get another id. per mile at least in respect of the contract for the shorter mileage. An all-the-year-round figure of tid. is probably as high as you can go, unless there is no competition.