A LONG WINTER TEST OF A SALOON BUS.
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A Standard G.M.C. Product Performs Well on an Arduous Run from London to Edinburgh.
TN order to subject .
20-seater one man-controlled-type saloon bus to an extended road test and to give it an opportunity for proving its capabilities under most trying winter conditions, General Motors, Ltd., recently despatched a standard model on an arduous run from London to Edinburgh, via North Wales, during which it covered 936) miles. The route was purposely selected to embrace a number of notoriously bad roads, particularly steep hills—including Bwlch-y-Groesand dangerous hair-pin bends. Furthermore, it was arranged to carry out the test at a time of the year when climatic conditions are usually at their worst.
The opening day's run was made on January 22nd, when the bus left the works of General Motors, Ltd., at laendon, London, at mid-day, the first portion of the journey being to Worcester. At this centre a halt was made for the night, and on the following morning the 'vehicle left at 9.12 en route for Bala. The bus travelled via Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury, and after passing through the latter town the route, planned in the itinerary, was missed, and when this was discovered the. bus was headed for Oswestry with a view to proceeding via Llangollen and Corwen.
At Llynglas, a road leading to Bala, 27 miles distant, was picked up, and, upon inquiry, it was discovered that this hinl a good surface, although it had many stiff gradients. Several fairly formidable hills were encountered on this day, but they were all surmounted quite satisfactorily. At l3ridgnorth the bus was baulked at the foot of the hill leading to the upper town and brought to a standstill, but, despite this, an easy climb in second gear was made. On the descent of Harley Bank, the brakes were tested individually and were found to be effective in holding the bus on the steepest portion of the hill, which has a gradient of 1 in 6). The long climb from Llynglas to. Bala was made mainly in second gear, with occasional periods of top-gear running.. The surfaces of the roads varied considerably and some were in a very poor conditien.
Very bad weather was experienced . on the Tuesday, considerable rain and sleet showers and heavy wind being encountered. From Dines Mawddwy to Bala the climb was much more severe than in the reverse direction, but this was negotiated quite easily in first gear, in spite of the loose character of the road surface. This hill is considered very difficult and dangerous, • which. may be judged from the fact that touring cars are advised not to use it, whilst coach traffic rarely attempts it. The fourth day's run served to give an excellent indication of the capabili ties of the vehicle. All conditions of roads were encountered, some good, hut the majority in a poor condition. On this day the route included many steep gradients, and, as a result, a considerable amount of second-gear work was necessary. In the Snowdon range, a continuous five miles was covered in -second gear, it not being found 'possible to use the
top gear for so stiff a climb. This did not distress the vehicle, however, and at the end of the climb, the .water in the radiator was found to be at a normal temperature. The hill out of Bangor, was surmounted on top gear, with the exception of about 50 yards.
Dinas Hill—a long climb of 1 in 20 ---was surmounted in top gear, with the exception of two short stretches which were run in second gear, the first being caused by a check in the traffic and the second owing to a bend being taken at slow speed on account of the darkness and heavy rain.
The halt for the next day was Windermere, and it was considered a good plan to use this day as a test of the performance of the vehicle at high speeds over main roads. The governor had been adjusted at Bala and it was now possible to run at 40 m.p.h. as recorded on the speedometer, which, allowing for its reading being
somewhat behind, gave a speed of approximately 45 m.p.h. actual. The bus was DOW certainly warming up to its work and was running even better than when it first left London.
On the sixth day snow and icebound roads were met and considerable care had to be exercised in driving. Shap was approached from the Pen rith side and was taken in top gear, with the exception of a short stretch' of about 50 yards, the lower gear-work being necessitated by the need for caution when negotiating the bend before the last rise, the surface of the road being badly frozen.
No difficulty was experienced in negotiating Kirkstone Pass on the way to Carlisle on the following day, the occasions on which first gear was needed showing that ample reserve of power was available. The run on this day was without any outstanding incident, the G.M.C. bus seeming to revel in hard work and difficult road surfaces.
The following day—Sunday—was passed without any unusual incident and, after proceeding to Newcastle, where lunch was taken, the journey was continued via Heddon-on-the-Wall, Chollerford, Greenhead, Brampton, Longtown, Gretna Green, Loekerbie, ,Bodrtosk to Moffat, where a halt was
made for the night.
The final stage of the test was from Moffat to Edinburgh via Broughton, Romano Bridge, Leadburn, Penicuik and Liberton.. The Devil's Beef Tub was climbed in top gear under very bad conditions, the roads being frozen and the surrounding country shrouded in a heavy mist.
The driver's summary of the test speaks in glowing terms of the performance of the bus and stresses the point concerning the ease with which gear changes can be effected. He also comments on the ability of the engine to "hang on" to its work and to its ready response to throttle changes. The steering proved light, but not unduly so, and enabled the bus to be kept under perfect control even at high speeds. Despite the fact that only single wheels were used at the rear, there was no excessive tendency to roll, even when travelling over bad surfaces at speeds which, truly speaking, were rather high. No mechanical adjustments were made to the chassis throughout the whole run.
A run of this kind by a roomy motor coach is a very good criterion of the capabilities of such a vehicle, particularly when it is remembered that, at this early period of the year, unexpected, or at least unusual, conditions of temperature, weather, atmosphere, road surface, etc., may be met, thus disturbing all calculations and tending to make the test more than usually severe. The route, as will be recognized by all who know their country, is very hilly, in fact it could not have been made much stiffer unless the vehicle had been sent over the Grampians.