BUS BODIES IN QUANTITY-PRODUCTION.
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Details of the Extensive New Factory Erected by Messrs. Strachan and Brown to Enable them to Meet the Increasing Demand for Passenger-vehicle Bodies.
THOSE who are in any way concerned with passenger transport by road motor, and particularly that branch dealing with public-service requirements, will need no introduction to the name of Messrs. Strachan and Brown,' for the company trading under that title have won a foremost place in the
bodybuilding section of the commercialvehicle industry. The success which the company have achieved is reflected in the number of bus and coach bodies of their design and construction which have been supplied to prominent users in all parts of the country. The demand for their products has increased to such an extent that it recently became imperative for the company to augment the manufacturing resources at their command. This they have done by erecting a new and extensive factory alongside their existing works at North Acton, London.
Although the new factory is virtually self-contained, the administration of it , will, when it is ecirepleted in the space of a few weeks, be conducted in close harmony with the older shops, and,
since part of the work proceeding in both will be interconnected, a strong covered-in footbridge has been built at the far end to facilitate communication between them.
One of the most interesting features in connection with the new factory is that, with the exception of the steel girder work and roofing, for which the Glasgow Steel Roofing Co., Ltd., are responsible, the whole of the work (both production and erection) has been carried out by the company to their own designs. Under their own direction the completion and opening of the new building have been greatly expedited.
The new factory is perfectly rectangular in shape and is 285 ft. long and 133 ft. wide. The main walls are constructed of cement-faced breeze blocks made on the site of the works, the cement' on the outer sides of them being 14 ins. thick. Such blocks are cheap and easy to make, and have enabled brickwork to be entirely dispensed with. It is usual practice in a building of this size to use concrete for flooring, but Messrs. Strachan and Brown have preferred to impose lengths of timber on a layer of breeze, for the reason that this form of construction is less discomforting to the workmen, apart from being more resilient. It is a more expensive method, but a wood floor does not possess the disadvantage of being hot in summer and very cold in winter.
A gallery runs the entire length of the east aide of the building, it being 20 ft. wide until it emerges into tbe gallery at the far end, which is 50 ft.
wide. The side gallery will be used for upholstery work in general, and Singer sewing machines are installed. An electric lift is being fitted at the p,oint where one gallery adjoins the other, and this is in direct line with the footbridge linking up old and new shops. The lift will be mainly nsed for carrying completed seats, windows and other fittings from the shops in which they are made or assembled to the men engaged in the work of body erection in the new factory.
One side of the end gallery will .he used for small hencliwork, such as riveting, filing, etc., and the other for operations in connection with the stuff ing and covering of seats. Between them a section is screened off to serve as the shop foreman's quarters, from which point a good view of practically the whole floor area is available. Although the cross-members of the roofsupporting structure are low, the headroom is sufficient to avoid interference with the workmen's comfort.
Below the side gallery, at its far end, a capacious stores adjoins the lift. This is of roomy proportions, and contains numerous bins for accommodating small fittings and parts. Suitable ports are provided in the partition separating the stores from the main works, and these are protected by drop windows of the company's patent type as used in their saloon bodies.
A concrete stairway inside the building leads to the end gallery, whilst two others connect with the side gallery ; the latter are built outside the works,. one giving access to the gallery, whilst the other is for use in case of emergency.
Below the end gallery the space is divided into two sections, one being equipped as a panel-beater's shop, where wings, scuffles and the like are produced, whilst the other is a paintahop, the roof of which is specially reinforced to prevent dust from the gallery above passing through the floorboards and soiling newly painted bodies.
Hot water ie circulated throughout the whole of the new building (galleries as well as main shops). Three Robinhood boilers and a large Meldrum destructor and boiler are installed for this purpose, and the shavings, sawdust and other waste from the sawmills in the old building are used for firing, a special, suction plant being used for. automatically collecting this material. A 70-ft. chimney has been erected by the side of the boilers.
In the design of the new works proper attention has been given to the problems of ventilation and lighting. Overhead ventilators of the railway pattern, but of a larger type, are disposed at intervals along the centre of the roof. The windows are wide and deep at the sides and abundant top light is given by large windows in the main roofing, The building is electrically . lighted throughout and the whole of the wiring was carried out by the company.
Only a few stanchions are, used along the centre of the main shop, so that the work of erecting body superstructures and of mounting them on the various chassis is not impeded. Furthermore, the spaciousness of the premises enables vehicles to be manceuvred from one point to another with complete ease. Access to the main shop is by way of double sliding doors (two of them are provided), and they give sufficient clearance to enable enclosed double-deck buses to pass through them.
Fuel Facilities for Customers.
The frontage overlooks Victoria Road, from which it is separated by a wide
courtyard. Here three Pratt underground petrol plants are installed, each storage tank having a capacity of 4,000 gallons. This equipment is for the sole use and benefit of the company's customers. A 'point of interest in connection with the fuel arrangements Ss that a -withdrawal pump is available, this being used for emptying the tanks of chassis when they enter the works. Whatever amount of spirit is drawn oft is duly recorded, and a like quantity pumped into the tank before. the completed vehicle leaves.
The area of the new shops exceeds 50,000 sq. ft. and the total area, of the works is now three acres, whilst a further 2 acres adjacent to the existing premises are available for further extensions.
It is proposed to erect new offices to link up with the present office accommodation, and other alterations are
foreshadowed which have as their objects the improvetnent and extension of the arrangements for the works hands and the business slag; the total number of employees exceeds 00.
A very good idea of the extent of the company's activities can be gleaned from the fact that their present output is about double the average of the previous year, and they anticipate that when the new factory is in full working order they will again double their output for the ensuing year. In considering these facts, it must not be overlooked that many of the bodies, particularly luxury saloons, are built to specific and exclusive designs, and that if standard types were called for the output would be appreciably higher. About 50 bus bodies of different types and sizes are usually passing through the works in various stages of completion.
At the time of a recent visit some of those in hand included five singledeck bodies on Garrett trolley-bus chassis for Copenhagen, six single-deckers on Karrier low load-line chassis for Halifax Corporation, four single-deckers on E-type Dennis chassis for Rochdale Corporation, three single-deckers on A.E.C. trolley-bus chassis for the Bradford authorities and two single-deckers on Leyland Lioness chassis. In addition, other bodies were being crated for shipment to Calcutta, Bombay and Rangoon.
It is interesting to note that about one-third of the orders dealt with by the company are received -from municipalities.