The Battle over the Railway Appli• cations for Road Powers.
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rrnB parties interested in the applicitionS of the seven railway companies for extra road transport powers are, first, the railways ; secondly, The • manufacturer and trader ; and, thirdly, the haulier and carrier. The interest of the public overrides all, for its capital is invested in both railway and road transport concerns and it is the sectioii that ultimately pays for all transport service, however and by whom rendered.
The railways are conducting an extremely active and, let it be admitted, extremely clever campaign of propaganda in favour of their applications for road powers, and no argument that may be advanced against those applications is being left unanswered. The manufacturer and the trader, through different organizations, are expressing considerable distrust of the proposals, and the large number•of petitions against the Bills suggests that, even though many of the petitioners will be placated,the Committee stage, should the Bills be given their second reading, will be protracted.
The statement issued to-day • (Tuesday} by the Commercial Motor Users Association and published by us deals with some matters of public interest arising out of the proposals, but does not pretend to put the case for the independent haulier or carrier. It is asked what are the ends which the railways have in view, because they have had to admit losses up to three million pounds sterling in a year on their cartage departments, which means that had the work been done at rates which would shOw a reasonable profit and th-erefore. would not be so highly competitive there would have been more traffic for independent cartage contractors. It is feared that the railways seek the powers in order that they may cut rates against road contractors until independent haulage operations are extinguished. Many of the petitioners against the Bills will have in view the desirability of securing the introduction of safeguards which_ shall protect their interests, and, if they should be successful, it will be a question whether the powers obtained by the companies would then' be worth the having.
In one respect the C.M.U.A. statement will prove useful, It very largely clears away the argument of the railways that their burden of taxation and local rating is excessive. In their local rates they are particularly well treated with the 75 per cent. allowance, this concession not being accorded to manufacturers and traders, whilst typical intei.ests are claimed to bear rates which, expressed as a percentage on capital, are at least double those borne by the railways.
• There is a good deal of soundness in the contention that an outside stimulus, suci as that provided by non-railway road transport, would continue to be good for the railways, and at the same time it gives scope fer that independence in trading and operation which has always been encouraged in this country.
The Transport of Heavy Articles.
rpHE conveyance of single heavy articles, such I. as pieces of machinery, electric transformers, etc., presents problems which but few trausport concerns are prepared to tackle; consequently, the services of those which can undertake such work are in great demand, and the cost must necessarily be somewhat high, possibly apparently out of proportion to the actual value of the articles carried.
The concerns specializing in such work have, in some cases, devised vehicles of their own for the purpose. Certain of these are weird and wonderful, and although capable of undertaking the work may not be as efficient in every respect as would be the case if they had been designed by makers already fully conversant with the construction of commercial vehicles intended for heavy loads.
In this connection, there will be found in this issue a description Of a remarkable eight-wheeled tractor-lorry specifically designed for loads up to 25 tons, in which low loading is achieved by the simple expedient of lowering the end of the trailer and freeing the rear axles, of which there are two, sothat the axles and wheels can be entirely removed: Incidentally, the rear portion of the vehicle hinges down to form a loading ramp.
The scheme appears to us to be one which has obvious advantages and which might be applicable to other vehicles of smaller capacity, providing that careful design ensured simplicity and low cost.
The idea of bringing the platform down to the load is new so far as commercial vehicles are concerned, although utilized in such devices as breakdown trailers and, of course, on smaller machines, such as battery-electric trucks for use with stillages.
The production of such a vehicle as that we have described reflects great credit upon the commerdal-vehicle manufacturers concerned, and shows that the British maker Is prepared to cope with any transport problem which is brought to hirn.