AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

This Week's Important Tractor Tria?.

20th September 1921
Page 1
Page 2
Page 1, 20th September 1921 — This Week's Important Tractor Tria?.
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

ir0-DAY (Tuesday) commences the most important trial of agrimoters ever heldr, in this country. It is important because the hard work which has been put into the pioneering of the agrinibtor is, in the opinion of qualified men, on.the point of being rewarded.

Previous trials have paved the way ; that promoted by the S.M.M. and T. in 1919, and held at Lincoln, made a very good impression upon the farmer, who, however, looked mainly at results (examining the furrow and therefore considering the plough and not the power unit pulling it). Last year's trial by the Royal Agricultural Society, also at Lincoln, made a much deeper impression upon the farmer, whom has inherited a deep faith in all that is done in his interests by the Royal Society and who was thus brought to a full appreciation ef the merit of trials.

This year, therefore, the farmer approaches the trial in a frame of mind that could not have been 'expected two years ago, or even last year. Moreover, the Agricultural Committee of the S.M.M. and T. approaches the trial period with a wonslarful accumulation of knowledge, able to see where it could improve upon its own organization of 1919 and to vary the methods employed by the R.A.S.E.. in 1920. It has learned many valuable lessons from those two trials, and has become confirmed in its eonvietion that gold and silver medals and other selective awards are unnecessary, uncalled for and injurious to the majority of the competitors. _ Where some of the competing implements are,likely to lack merit and to be unreliable and badly made, the prize medal idea is of some value ; but theaproducts of the motor industry are of too general a. level of excellence to warrant the singling; out of one or two in a class and the granting of invidious rewards.

The dynamometer devised by Mr. G. W. Watson for the Society has been improved in many respects, and, as the outcome of the trial this week, some really useful data will be provided, the aim of which will be to. assist the farmer to choose the agrimotor exactly suited to his soil and circumstances and to the work for which he requires it.

Where_ is the British One-tonner ?

IT IS somewhat unfortunate that, when we are asked to give the names of makers or concessionnaires of chassis with a load capacity of one ton, we can only give those of foreign vehicles. Even

in the 25 cwt. class there arc only two or three British makers, and the makers of ;,30 cwt. machines do not number more than half-a-dozen or so. . Many of the .Continental and American machines which fall into the one-ton class are certainly excellent machines, but, at the same time, we should like, as we have said before, 'to see the British makers competing in their own market, rather than giving place to foreign-built machines without even making a bid for the trade. Some makers appear to be afraid to face the competition of such vehicles as the Ford, but they Should remember that,whilst the Ford is certainly :a wonderful machine. it does not appeal to all classes of users. One might. just. as well say that, because Ford builds a private car, there is no market for other private cars of similar capacity.

We certainly consider that, now production costs are decreasing, some at least of our manufacturers should get busy in attending to the wants of tho-e who desire vehicles with a comparatively low capacity.

From the inquiries which reach us, it would appear that many users of motor velliclee have a preference for British-built machines, if they can be obtained at anything like a reasonable figure; in fact, if they could be certain of obtaining reliable machines, they would, in many cases, not object to paying slightly more for British products, but they cannot he expected to pay a great deal more. Quite a number of small capacity motor coach bodies, to holcl from 12 to 14 persons, are being fitted to the Ford and other one-ton chassis. The lighter types of British vehicles, on the other hand, are hardly suitable for bodies with a capacity of under 18, and this size of veldele often proves too much for the small man.

The question of tax also enters into the matter. The 14-seater motor coach is taxed at £24 per annum, whilst that with a seating capacity of between 14 and 20 is liable to a tax of £36.

The. Growth of Country Bus Services. N0 other country in the world can claim to have such efficient facilities for the -transport of passengers in provincial and country districts as can this country. Practically all our large towns have tlseie own services of motor omnibuses, owned either by the reunicipal authorities or by private companies, and the small towns and villages are rapidly being linked up, so that, to-day, places which were many hours apart by a circuitous rail route have now, ei far as travelling facilities are concerned, been brought, in many cases, width, a matter of minutes of each other. The inhabitants have not been slow to avail themselves of these facilities, with the result that many of the services are doing eon siderably more than paying their way. The interest centred in the motor coach hae somewhat overshadowed that taken in the motor omnibus, but if the matter is closely looked into it will be seen that the Motor omnibus has developed almost as rapidly as the long-distance vehicle. The fares charged are certainly not exorbitant, ranging, in most cases, from lid. to 2d. per mile.. The results of the inauguration and expansion of this means of passenger transport are to he seen on every side. Villages which, at one time, were practically isolated from each other are now more or less eenneeted by houses situated along the bus routes.

One of the greatest difficulties, which existed when settling on a site for a works or factory was, until recently, not so much the obtaining of the necessary labour as where to house it,Land close to towns is, naturally, far more expensive than that at some distance away, hat the difficulty to overcome, when the site was far out, was the transport of the necessary labour, which could only he obtained in the towns or villages. The motor omnibus has, to a gieat extent, .overcome this difficulty, and in the ea

future we may expect to gee a considerable increase in the number of manufacturers with works situated in sparsely-populated districts, but dose to regular bus routes.

The Unlighted Cycle and the Lorry.

WITH a life-long experience of road travel, covering. practical riding and driving of every type of road vehicle in common use during that period, we say that the cyclist who is on the road at night time without lamps to indicate his presence to approaching and overtaking traffic is acting indefensibly. For this reason we cannot support our correspondent whose letter on " Cyclists and Cycle Lighting" is reproduced on another page. Two blacks do not make a white, and because it is extremely difficult with present-day appliances for the pedestrian to show a light, that is no reason why the cycliat, for whom ample provision has been made, should go unindieated. The pedestrian knowa his vulnerability, and takes exceptional care; the cyclist, in his youth and obstinacy, reminds himself that he is as good a man as the motor driver, with just as much right upon the road, and it is only the wild teachings of a group of leaders that have put into his head the idea of trying to impose upon other road users, by. showing no light, the, responsibility for any accident that might occur. We dispute the statement that the cyclist is as easily visible as the pedestrian. We say emphatically that he is not. This fact dawned upon us many years ago, when headlights were poor and the eyeliet had not then been compelled to show a rear light. A lengthy series of experithents proved to us that the most rapidly discernible. object on a dark road by light reflected from one's own lamps is a. stationary object. Any movement at all tends to obscure the image and the. more rapid the movement the more difficult is it to gather certain lights and shades together and group them into an object. Let it not be forgotten that, unless one is driving behind intensely powerful headlights of far-reaching capacity (rightly regarded as objectiona.ble and not even favoured by those who really have need to use them), the presence of objects on the road, the direction of the road itself, the conjunetivity of side roads With the main road, and everything else that calls for the watchfulness of the driver, is only indicated to him by a series of sudden juxtapositions of lights and shades. His imagination helps him to sort these lights and shades into groups and immediately to create objects or circumstances, each of which takes a form which is either confirmed or changed into something else as the group of lights and shades is merenearly approached and a truer view obtained. In the course of a mile of driwing on a dark road, a driver will be deceived a dozen times or more. A high light, separated a certain distance • from. a shadow, will suggest the presence of a wayfarer only a yard from one's front wheel; the same light and shadow appearing closer together will suggest a pedestrian 20 yards away. The. mentality of a driver of a motor vehicle is so alert that he will " see" 'carts, groups of people, cattle, and pedestrians galore on a deserted road, each vision to be shattered in turn as it is approached. The cyclist knows little of all this; the wayfarer nothing; because neither is travelling close to his visional margin. Is it, therefore, to be wondered at that the motor driver should ask for all possible amelioration of his task by the use of head and rear lights on all vehicles and by cattle drivers? The cute inventor who first puts on the market a simple indicator for the pedestrian to display at night time is sure of a market for it, because common sense will ultimately compel its universal adoption. Therefore, for cyclists to gloat ,over their temporary freedom froin compulsion to show a light to Fear and to boast. of having smashed up their Ilamps strikes us as the height of foolishness.


comments powered by Disqus