BUS FEEDER LINES in a Tram Stronghold
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Selection of Types . of Vehicle to Run on Particular Routes in Hamburg Depends Upon Traffic Density : Motorbuses and • Trolleybuses Serve the Tram and Railway Termini
By
P. A. C. Brockington, A.M.I.Mech.E.
ACCORDING to a cost expert of the Hamburg Transport Company, Hamburger Hochbahn Aktiengesellschaft, the comparative costs of operating motorbuses, trolleybuses and trams are related proportionally to the
frequency of the service provided. If the passenger density be such that the time interval between vehicles is 30 mins. or more, the motorbus is the most economic to run; if the intervals be from 10 mins. to 30 mins. the trolleybus has the advantage, and for frequencies of six vehicles to 30 vehicles an hour, the tram-trailer unit scores heavily.
Because of rubber and oil-fuel scarcities during the war, most of the buses had to be withdrawn from service, and freedom from dependence upon these products is still considered to be of potential advantage. In addition to the three systems mentioned, Hamburg is.
served by an " underground" and the Alster ferry, operated by the same company. No buses or goods vehicles.are allowed in the centre of the city, and trams are accepted as "giving order to the traffic system," a view popularly held in Switzerland.
The most modern of the twounit tram-trains in the fleet of 468 twoand four-axle cars and 624 trailers, carry 220 passengers
and are operated by a driver and two conductors. The maximum ratio of 73 passengers to one service man is approximately the same as that of the one-man-operated underfloorengined single-deckers in the motorbus fleet, but the authorities state that there is insufficient room in the city for these vehicles, and according to the results of present experiments a conductor is essential on most services to relieve the driver of strain. The 110 motorbuses and 11 trolleybuses operate on feeder lines to the tram and underground termini. The passenger per serviceman ratio applied to the entire fleet
• is found to give a measure Of comparative costs.
During the war, a, new fares system was introduced. For the sake of simplicity it was based on a 10stage unidirectional transfer ticket. A ticket now costs about 5d. as compared with the war-time cost of 4d., and the right of transfer applies only to the system. on which the ticket is issued. The direction of travel is stamped on the ticket by the conductor of the first vehicle.
A universal, transfer ticket, which is valid for either system, costs 7d., and tickets for children under 15 years are 3d. There are no other cost concessions. The tickets cover a period of 1 hour with an extension to 11 hrs. in special cases when the vehicles are crowded_ Passengers are then under an obligation to board the next vehicle on which there is room. Weekly tickets, costing 4s. 20., entitle Passengers to two journeys a day with appropriate variations for shift workers. It is of interest that 50 British T.I.M. ticket machines are in use on the trams and they have reduced fare-collection
times. fr. Time allowances are also made for night travellers and for services which are interrupted. Rebate
tickets may be purchased from the conductors at a 'cost of 3s. 6d. for a card of nine-day transfer tickets. Monthly tickets on the same basis cost 24s. 6d. on the underground and trams, and 19s. 3d. on the buses and ferry boats. An inclusive monthly ticket covering. all services costs 38s. 6d. Double the normal Government revenue tax is paid on night fares between 11 p.m. and 4.30 a.m. and the cost of the tickets is also
double. Six tram lines operate the service at hourly intervals.
The fares enumerated do not cover the operating cost of the motorbuses, the loss treing made good, with a balance to spare, by the trams. One traffic department controls both systems. The longest bus line is 7.2 miles and the shortest 2.5 miles. The total length of all lines is 62 miles and the average speed of the vehicles is about 121 m.p.h.
The peak-hour tram-service frequency is eight an hour and the normal is four vehicles an hour. The feeder-line frequency corresponds to a time interval of 74 mins. to 60 mins., according to the hour of the day. The motor and trolleybus services are also do-ordinated with the one State electric overheadrailway line in the city. The low comparative cost of operating the trams is no reflection on the motorbus organization, which is based on a very efficient system of control and workshop organization. Of the 110 vehicles, 50 are Bussing underfloor-engined single deckers in which 32 sitting passengers and 38 standing passengers are normally carried. Up to 85 passengers are accommodated in rush hours. Experiments are being conducted with one-man operation, the outstanding disadvantage, as already indicated, being the strain on the driver's nerves. The buses are powered by 135-b.h.p. Bussing oil engines with a normal type of gearbox, and some are fitted with a clutch-controlled radiator fan. The latter feature is considered beneficial.
The bodies arc 8 ft. 2i ins, wide by 33 ft. 1 in. long and have airoperated doors at the front, centre and rear. The wheelbase is approximately 17 ft. 3 ins., the front overhang being 6 ft. 9} ins, and at the rear 9 ft. 2i ins. The height of the floor is 35 ins., the bottom step being about 14 ins, from the ground. The gangway width between the seats is slightly less than 20 ins.
Standing condtictors are employed, but the sitting-conductor system will be introduced (it is already in use on the trams) when the necessary body alteratiOns can be made. The driver occupies a separate compartment, which is entered via a sliding door, fitted with a window for fares collection when the bus is one-man operated. A red light in a prominent position, clearly visible to the driver, is illuminated when the central doors are open for the passengers to alight. The traffic indicators are of the blinking type and these are preferred to moving-arm indicators on account of reduced maintenance costs. _
Of the remaining buses, 40 are of the Missing war-time LID type with conventionally mounted oil engines of 105 b.h.p. Twenty-nine seats are provided and the total passenger capacity is 60, a peak-hour overload of 65 being allowed. A few of the buses are fitted with light-alloy bodies constructed in the workshops of the company. There are also eight double-deckers based on pre-war three-axle Bussing and Mercedes-Benz chassis with a capacity for 75 passengers (15 standing on the lower deck) and a peak load of 90 passengers. All the other buses are old vehicles which are due to be replaced in the near future.
Vehicles are examined over a pit every day after service, the brakes and springs receiving particular attention; this inspection takes about 10 minutes. The vehicles are docked for half a day after covering about 2,200 miles. when a thorough examination of mechanical components is made, the filters cleaned and the oil changed. In the latest buses heavy-duty detergent oil is used of about S.A.E. 30 viscosity (8 Engler), and experiments are being conducted with oils supplied by five different companies. The Engler method of indicating viscosity . is preferred to the S.A.E. rating as the divisions of the latter are too widely separated.
Reclaimed Oil
The used oil is re-distilled by a specialist concern in Hamburg. After the lighter oil has separated from the bulk in a settling tank, it is driven off by heating and the heavy oil is mixed with a sulphuric neutralizing agent. This is followed by treatment with floridin earth and final processing in a filter press. The oil is then free from additives and is used in the older buses. It is claimed that the reclaimed oil has better properties than new oil.
The cylinder blocks of the Bussing underfloor engines are removed after 16,000 miles and wear measurements taken of the cylinder sleeves, pistons, crankshaft Annals and bearings. At this stage the micrometer reading at the point of greatest wear near the top of the bore is about 0.002 in. and less than 0.0002 in. at a point 2 ins, down the bore. Crankshaft and bearing wear is negligible. Wet, slip-fit lit ers are fitted to all the. Bussing nigines.
The top piston rings, which are chromium plated, are renewed after a distance of 50,000 to 60,000 miles has been covered, and it is expected that the new buses will run up to 93,000 miles before the engines must he stripped for a major overhaul.
Tyre Regrooving Tyres are regrooved in a special machine or by means of an electrically heated knife. The use ofan American machine which regrooves the tyres while they are in position on the bus is being considered. The vehicle is driven ever the machine and the job is completed in a few minutes.
Reclamation by metal spraying is not generally approved, because the necessity to cut grooves to increase adhesion weakens the parts. Chrome plating the steering joints and shackles is considered desirable, but the high cost of the process has so far mitigated against its general adoption.
In the newly equipped garage, twopost pit hoists will be employed, so that a vehicle can be lifted a few feet from the ground to facilitate the work of the mechanics in the pit and A32 of those working at floor level. This arrangement increases the number of jobs which can be performed concurrently and saves time. The position of the bus is ideal for certain dismantling work involving the handling of heavy parts.
At the rear of each pit is a floor vent to which an extension pipe to the exhaust of the vehicle is fitted when the engine is running. The vent is connected to a system in which a vacuum is created by an electric fan, and it is impossible for any fumes to escape to the atmosphere. Manoeuvring in the garage is reduced to a minimum by the use of a power operated turntable positioned at the corner of the two pit bays. • Features of the sunken wolikshop include the provision of four dips for hand cleaning, which include thin oil, wood shavings, fine sawdust and liquid soap. The standard grades of lubricant have been reduced to three, which comprise motor oil, gear oil and grease, marked M. G. and F respectively, to obviate selection of the incorrect type.
Engine Removal
The power unit and gearbox of the underfloor-engined Bussing buses are removed by a mechanic working at floor level, and the time taken is about two hours. A new feature recently introduced on these vehicles comprises a built-in screw-actuated hoist, by which the engine is lowered to the ground without the use of any additional tackle. Three small wheels are permanently attached to the engine to dispense with the need for a trolley after removal.
Garage equipment of interest includes electric ball-bearing heaters, which are provided in all standard sizes. The bearings are heated to an accurately controlled temperature which determines the amount of expansion and prevents distortion of the bearing during installation. Special jigs are used when setting the distance pieces of the rear-axle bearings.
A battery-electric truck is employed for normal internal-transport purposes and it has a secondary, but perhaps more important use, as a slave-battery carrier for engine starting.. A set of leads on one side of the vehicle is wired for42-volt and a second set on the other side carries a 24-volt supply. The truck batteries supply the current and are of ample capacity for a day's working. They are recharged at night.
Important links with outlying districts and with distant centres in Germany and other parts of Europe, are provided by privately owned and state transport concerns which share a terminal point at the central bus station, Der Zentral-Omnibus-Bahnhof, familiarly known as the Z.O.B. The comment was heard in Hamburg that, before the station was opened in June, 1951, many people made tedious journeys by train because they were unable to locate the picking-up point of a bus which would have taken them more comfortably to their destination.
Major Factor Stimulated by expert British and American opinion on the advantages of , centralizing terminal control, funds were eventually raised from municipal and State sources, and the Z.O.B. quickly became a major factor in the movement of passengers to and from the city. The station now handles 20,000 passengers a day and caters for local travellers, who use the services to take them to their work,. and for those going farther afield to such German towns as Kiel, Bremen, Hanover and Frankfurt, to seaside places on the Baltic, to spas in the Harz mountains, or to centres in other countries such as Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam. About 400 buses, owned by more than 20 concerns, leave the station daily from the 10 bays on regular services, tours and excursions and private-hire work.
The Z.O.B. is in a convenient position near the central railway station and the centre of the city, and the facilities provided enable passengers to obtain information on all aspects of travel in the neighbouring districts, throughout Germany and abroad.
Assembly Hall A large assembly hall is located in the centre of the building, and all the offices and so on are grouped round the hall. Arrival and departure boards are prominently displayed on the walls, and a bookstall is well stocked with suitable reading matter. Ample toilet facilities are provided.
The large white tower which dominates the station and acts as a useful landmark, was formerly an air-defence tower. The destruction of nearby buildings by bombing during the war allowed the departure bays to be laid out to the best advantage, and a continuous flow of traffic can be maintained at peak hours. The buses are not allowed to wait at the station for more than the time "necessary foiloading, and unloading and are parked on adjacent bomb sites.