The Wheels of Industry.
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This journal, dealing as it does with the "Chariots of War," no less than with the "Wheels of Industry," continues of national importance. Its interests embrace impartially the transport wagon and the parcelcar, the military tractor and the steam lorry.
We learn that the Foden strike is likely to be settled in a satisfactory manner. .
Proposals and Purchases. Be'size Motors, Ltd., has taken an order from the Rochdale Corporation for a motorvan.
The Colchester Corporation has ordered a Garrett five-ton steamer, with end-tipping body, at 2525 10a.
Shrewsbury-Chalimer tires will be used by the Manchester Corporation for its motorbuses during the ensuing financial year.
The Yorkshire Commercial Motor Co. Leeds, 3S supplying a vacuum gailley-emptier, at £800, to the
Bradford Corporation. , Hinckley U.D.C. is about to purchase a motor wagon, either petrel or steam, for cartage purposes in connection with its gas works.
A sub-committee of the Cleansing CoMmittee of the Sheffield Corporation is inquiring into the use of motor dust-vans. Mr. J. A. Jackson is the superintendent._ Merry weather and Sons, Ltd., has made an offer to the Teddington U.D.C. to .supply a motor fire-engine on the instalment plan, without interest, to meet the . L.G.B. situation.
Southampton Town Council has ordered a motor fire-engine, at .21085, from J. Morris and Sons, Ltd., and another steam tractor, at 2665, from Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd. • The Metropolitan Asylums Board is placing an order for three Straker-Squire chassis, for 16-passenger motorbuses, at 2666 13s. 4d. each, and for two Straker-Squire chassis, for 10-passenger motorbuses, at 2532 ]Os. each ; the Board is also ordering six Siddeley-Deasy chassis, for ambulance purposes, at 2430 each.
Gazette.
Notice is given by the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, that the name of the .London Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., registered on the 12th March, 1903, will be struck off the register, and the company dissolved, unless " cause is shown."
Recent Registrations.
British Tool and Engineering Co., Ltd. (25000), to take over a business carried on at Owen Road, WolVerhampton,
Searle Rubber Co., Ltd. (212,000), to adopt an agreement with the Searle Unburstable Inner Tube Co., Ltd. Registered by W. A. Gibb, of 23, Colmore Row, Birmingham.
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A 5-ton Foden has recently been acquired by Thomas Wallis and Co., Ltd., Holborn Circus, the sale being effected through F. W. Berkeley and Co., 39, Victoria Street, Westminster.
C. Binks, Ltd.' of Phcenix Works, Church Street, Eccles, has. issued its balance-sheet, which shows the satisfactory result of the payment of a 10 per. cent. dividend and the carrying forward of 22000.
An official request is made that all taxicab drivers should call at the Publicity Department, Special London Recruiting Depot, Whitehall, when new supplies of the latest recruiting slips can be obtained.
The Herbert Frood Co., Ltd., has opened a new •depot, at 202, Corporation Street, Birmingham, where an extensive stock of its specialities is carried. We understand that Mr. F. W. Cully, of the London staff, has been promoted to take charge of the new depot.
We are informed that the insurance-broking businesses of Lonnen, Parsons and Co., Cecil Hill and Co., and F. B. Heath and Co., have been combined and will in future be known as Lonnen and Co., 83, Colmore Row, Birmingham. The three parties to this amalgamation are Birmingham houses.
L.G.O.C. Employees.
We are in a position to state— and happy to be able to do so-that 300 drivers in the employ of the L.G.O.C. were not recently paid off, and that the report thereanent was wholly unfounded. Neither dricaers nor conductors have been discharged by the L.G.O.C. as a result of the war.
American Agencies. A gentleman. who is well known to us, and who has been associated with the commercial-motor industry for very many years, is desirous to undertake the sole representation in the United Kingdom: for an American manufacturer. We shall be pleased to forward any communications, and to treat correspondence confiden
tially. • R.A.S.E.
The Duke of Portland has made a donation of 2200 to the funds of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in connection with the Nottingba,m Show. Not a little difficulty is anticipated, we gather. in connection with the carriage of implements and other exhibits. Manufacturers of traction plant, including motor wagons, will be at a distinct advantage in this regard. Hoffmann Extensions.
The works of the Hoffmann Manufacturing Co., Ltd., at Chelmsford, are being again considerably extended. The line shafting will, of course, be supported by the company's ballbearing hangers. Sufficient of these Hoffmann hangers was supplied in 1914 to carry 42,000 ft. of line shafting to normal. pitch.
10,000-mile Tire Guarantees. • We publish elsewhere (page 167) particulars of the terms on which British tire manufacturers have settled between themselves to continue the guarantee of solid-rubber tires. We may recall that TEE COMMERCIAL MOTOR openly and unequivocally advocated the retention of a 10,000-mile guarantee, at a time when such a guarantee, which is obviously in the interest of users, was likely to have been abandoned.
A Daily Freight Exchange.
Further to our references of last week and a fortnight. earlier, in respect of the avoidance of light running, we have now to direct attention to the formal 'announcement by the proprietors of 'The Times," which appears elsewhere in this issue (facing page 150). We are much pleased to have been instrumental in furthering the prospects of relief for parties who have hitherto been unable to establish touch with one another rapidly.
Commercar Medallions.
We are informed that Commercial Cars, Ltd., during March, granted the following awards of merit ; gold medallions suitably inscribed Hooton for eight years service as driver with Messrs. Reynolds, Sons and Co.'s two Commerears covering neatly 95,000 miles, and giving his firm every satisfaction ; H. Winch for eight years service with Commercial Cars, Ltd., as driver at Luton ; J. D. Reid for an exceptional record of 100,000 miles with the Coramerear owned by Lipton, Ltd. . (this car obtained the R.A.C. silver medaland certificate, in. the Reliability Trials held in 1907) ; J, J. Starmore for consistent• good driving with a big fleet of Commers owned by Messrs. Phipps and Co., Northampton Breweries ; T. M. Rogers for seven years exceptional good service with the ear belonging to Lush and Cook, Ltd., dyers ; C. G. Young for a fine record with the Birkbeck Laundry Comniercar ; E. F. Harris for 77,000 miles with the Chelmsford Brewery's " Comflier."
R.I.A.
The 28th annual general meeting of the Roads Improvement Association will be held to-day (Thursday), at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Westminster, London, S.W., at. four o'clock. The Hon. Arthur Stanley, M.V.O., M.P., will preside, in the absence from England of the President, H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught, K.G., K.C.V.O.
Fire Brigade Savings.
The following is an interesting communication from the Superintendent of the Nottingham Fire Brigade, and has reference to the successful performance of Dennis fire-engines and Dennis ambiilanees
" I am pleased to inform you that the whole of the engines are giving entire satisfaction, and the ambulance continues to do valuable service. During the past year the total miles run was 1945, the total maintenance cost was .241 6s. 10d. (less wages) or 50. per mile, whilst the amount of revenue derived from private eases was £52 16s. The total number of patients removed was 503."
Star Commercials.
The new catalogue of c.ommereial vehicles, issued by the Star Engineering Co., Ltd., of Wolverhampton, is to hand. It again discloses support for the thumb-index method of arrangement. The catalogue rims to 60 pages, with the following subdivisions : Contents ; constructional iliformation ; chassis Specifications and prices; box vans ; sheet vans ; wagons and lorries ; passenger ears; travellers' vehicles and ambulances ; running costs ; shipping particulars ; guarantee and terms of business; users. The company's listof customers includes the British Government,. the Crown Agents for the Colonies, and the military authorities of five European countries (France, Russia, Greece, Roumania and Spain).
City of London National Guard, M.T.C.
The Mechanical Transport Column of the City of London National Guard paraded a convoy of nine Albion vehicles on Sunday last. These vehicles assembled on the north side of Trafalgar Square, facing the National Gallery, at 9.15 a.m., and proceeded in convoy to the Forest Hotel, Chingford. A company of the Corps was conveyed to the seat of the late Sir Walter Gilbey, Elsenham Park, near Bishop's Stortford, for extended-order drill and other field exercises.
The Albion vehicles were lent by the following owners, and we give the names of the drivers in parentheses: Albion Motor Car Co., Ltd. (F. Barnes), Baldwin's EmD26
pire Laundry, Acton, W. (driven by Mr. F. A. Baldwin), Eastman and Son (Dyers and Cleaners), Ltd., Acton Vale, W. (P. Venus), Mr. J. L. Henson, 97, Charterhouse Street, E.C. (M. Tradwill), Lovibond and Sons, Ltd., Greenwich (J. Pack), Mawers, Ltd. 221, Fulha,m Road, S.W. (H. Ltd., 221, Messrs. Skilbeck Bros., Upper Thames Street, E.C. (S. Brown), Union Petroleum Products, Ltd., 2, Berry Street, E.C. (B. Harvey), and Thos. Wallis, Ltd. (W. Gilbert). Mr. W. A. Fyall, of the Albion Co.'s London depot, who had given much personal assistance in preparing the convoy, accompanied it throughout. Mr. G. M. Young, who is an officer of the M.T. Column, was unable to parade. The officers on duty were Messrs. ShrapnellSmith, S. E. Garcke, F. G. Bristow, Ernest D. Lowy (motorcar section) and Ken. Willmott.
Next Sunday's convoy will be of Commerears, under the charge of Mr. F. J. Field, whilst an out-district convoy of Clarkson (National) steamers will meet a company of the Guard at Chelmsford, and convey them to Sandon ranges for musketry practice (eight targets).
Liverpool Motorbuses.
We are indebted to Mr. C. W. Mallins, general manager of the Liverpool Corporation Tramways, for a copy of his annual report for last year. The Tramways Department of the Liverpool Corporation has in service Tilling-Stevens, Brush-Daimler and Straker-Squire vehicles, and it will at an early date come to a decision in regaecl to extensions of routes. The total number of passengers, for the year 1914, was 1,025,270, with aggregate receipts of £7206. The routes served are : Woolton-Calderstones ; Aigburth-Old Swan ; and Walton-Seaforth.
A New Straker-Squire Publication. The "Catalogueof ComponentParts
, Type C.O.,' Group," issued by Straker-Squire (1913), Ltd., of Nelson Square, Blackfriars, S.E., is simply arranged in. 11 sections, for ease of reference ; it is profusely illustrated, and should be of considerable assistance to the user.
Petrol by Electricity.
Some readers of THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR may recall experiences in America in connection with the alleged production of sugar by electricity. Since that date, electricity has been suggested as the means of converting many processes from failures into successes. The latest proposition, based on an invention by Professor Walter Rittman, is to complete the cracking of petroleum vapour electrically. One reads that "no heat is applied to the liquid itself in the container "—yet it is, somehow distilled! Further, " after the liquid is vaporized," however this is accomplished, the vapour is alleged to be subsequently " distilled." This confusion of terms will require some elucidation. The distillation of a vapour, even by electrical means, is a process new to physics. So far as we can follow the proposals, they consist of dissociating petroleum vapour, in part by catalysis, and in part by electric
current. Steel balls are utilized as the catalytic agent, but the descriptions which are so far available are certainly unscientific and inconclusive. It may transpire that this latest cracking process is one which depends for its efficiency alien heat in the first instance, catalytic action in the second, and electrical discharge in the third. The actual cost of production can only be demonstrated on a large scale, and that. is in the future.