WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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"The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all diOlculties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crozier,
Liveliness at A.A. Annual Meetin g.
The annual general meeting of the Automobile Association held last Wednesday was attended by malcontents for the first time in the history of the Association, who raised objection, on the presentation of the balance sheet, to what was described as the strike-breaking activities of the Association during the recent trouble, those activities consisting in the supply of transport facilities to the police. There is no need for us to deal with this matter here. What, however, was of interest was the cornmeat of of Sir William Soynson-Hicks, who was present at a subsequent luncheon as vice-president of the Association.
He described the general strike as without doubt a deliberate attack on the constitution of the country, and said that it had not only been the duty but the privilege of every motor owner to place the service of himself and his vehicle at the disposal of the Government. He commended the work of the Association at the time of the general strike in very warm terms.
In dealing with the much-debated question of police traps, he showed, by his remarks, that whilst he was the Government official responsible for the work of the police, he was not a lover of police traps, but he said that whilst some motor drivers drove at speeds of over 60 m.p.h. on the roads of the Metropolis, it was his duty to take the necessary action to prevent what was obviously a discourtesy on the road.
It is of interest to note that the name of the Motor Union has been removed from the title, which will henceforth be known, as it is in general phraseology, as the Automobile Association.
Irregular Bus Practices.
Competition between rival motorbus undertakings has become "ib acute in the Bishop Auckland district that the local urban district council has found it necessary to adopt stringent rules with a view to safeguarding the public. At the last meeting of the council various members stated that little regard was paid by certain proprietors to maintaining approved time-tables and that " chasing " and loitering were being carried on to an alarming extent.
The council resolved that if timetables be not adhered to, and other irregular practices stopped, it would refuse to renew licences when they became due. It was also decided to establish a committee to report upon the advisability and cost of having all vehicles on service in the neighbourhood examined periodically by an expert.
London's New Bus Station.
The new omnibus station at Victoria constructed by the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd., is now in full operation. The foundation of the Southern Railway forecourt, in which the station has been built, has been relaid in wood blocks on a solid concrete base. Five raised loading platforms, each sufficiently long to accommodate three buses at a time, have been erected, and alto c20 gether 21 services will operate from the new station. No fewer than 220 buses will pass through it during each rush hour.
At one end of each platform green and yellow light signals are to be provided, and these will be operated electrically from the control tower, which
will take the form of a glass-sided steel cabin about 23 ft. high. It will adjoin the station and will accommodate the official traffic regulator. A yellow light will warn the staff concerned that the bus is due to start, whilst a green light will form the signal to get away.
It is hoped that the new system of control adopted will lead to better and smoother working.
Worcester Coach Proprietors Obtain a Concession.
Mr. F. Hall, honorary secretary of the Worcester Bus Proprietors Association, states that difficulties as to parking have been encountered by local coach proprietors when taking parties to other towns.
So far as Birmingham is concerned the difficulty has been overcome through Mr. Hall obtaining sanction for vehicles to park in certain streets by communicating with the local officials. Worcester owners find parking accommodation unsatisfactory at Cheltenham, and a similar effort is to be made with a view to making matters more convenient in that centre.
A Fordson Tractor Display.
In every Ford dealer's window during last week and this week a Fordson tractor has been on view as part of a display campaign arranged by the Ford Motor Co. (England), Ltd. This machine is capable of hauling a heavy load, but its usefulness does not stop at work of this kind, for it has a pulley attachment which enables it to be used as a stationary unit.
Those users who are interested either in farming or road transport and whose requirements may he met by a machine of this description should visit their nearest Ford dealer, where details of the capabilities of the tractor in specific branches of activity can be obtained.
A typographical error occurred in the paragraph published on page 674 of our last week's issue dealing with an order received by Scammell Lorries, Ltd., for ten flexible six-wheelers, the capacity of each of which should have read as 9 tons.
French Trial of Alternative Fuels.
A long trial, or rather demonstration, has been arranged by the Technical Committee of the Automobile Club de France for vehicles using fuels other than petrol. The fuel question is becoming very serious indeed in France, especially for industrial vehicle users. Every fresh burst of acrobatics indulged in by the franc is followed, not unnaturally, by an immediate rise in the price of imported motor spirit. The ordinary five-litre tin of spirit now costs from 15 to 16 francs, whereas a year ago it only cost about 7 francs 50 centimes.
The proposed "other fuels." trial, or rally, will take place from September 4th-16th next. The route to be followed by the vehicles has been carefully chosen with a view to passing through the most important industrial centres of Northern and Western France. Leaving the Place de In Concorde, in Paris, the vehicles will proceed to Rouen, Le Havre, Deauville and Dinard. Turning northwards again they will pass through Rennes, Le Mans, Rouen (again), Beauvais, Amiens, Lille and St. Quentin to Paris.
As the event is to be a publicity demonstration pure and simple, no special regulations are being drawn up and no medals or prizes will be awarded. So important, however, is the fuel question in France just now that a large entry of vehicles is practically assured for the event. Quite a number of firms have already expressed their intention of entering vehicles.
Whilst, as already mentioned, there will be no special rules, the A.C.F. technical committee is making arrangements whereby any manufacturer participating in the run may have his vehicle or vehicles officially "controlled."
Full particulars of the event may be obtained from the A.C.F., Commission Technique, 8, Place de la Concorde, An Increasing Business.
When Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., took over from E. G. Wrigley and no., Ltd., their factory on January 1st, 1924, the total shop area was 130,148 sq. ft. Considerable additions have been made to the factory since that time, including a new test shop and a body shop, service department, increased stores, etc., making in total an additional floor space of 128,177 sq. ft., so that the total area now occupied is in excess of 258,000 sq. ft.
Fuel Storage Equipment in Demand.
The Dowson and Mason Gas Plant Co., Ltd., Levenshulme, Manchester, inform us that in February last they doubled their electric welding plant, and that they have just placed orders with the makers again to double this plant to enable them to cope with the constantly increasing number of orders they are receiving for petrol and fuel oil tanks. They attribute the increasing demand for oil and petrol storage equipments to the coal strike.