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News of the Week

WHAT WILL R.H.A. DO?

IVIANY operators are wondering alwhat the future policy of the Road Haulage Association will be and what attitude the Association will take up towards the British Transport Commission. These questions are not likely to be answered for the next week or two, as it is understood that the executive committee of the R.H.A. does not meet again until September 3. The national council will hold its next meeting on September 4.

These are likely to be important events, marking the end of the first round of the campaign against nationalization, and, it is generally hoped, the beginning of the second. It is also hoped that a statement of future policy of the R.H.A. will be issued shortly afterwards SAME JOBS: NEW NAMES

CONFUS1ON that has existed for many years over the titles of the Traffic Commissioners and Licensing Authorities is cleared up by the Transport Act, 1947. Under that Act, the Traffic Commissioners, appointed under Part IV of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, will in future be known as the Licensing Authority for Public Service Vehicles,

The Licensing Authority for the purposes of Part 1 of the Road and Rail Traffic Act, 1933, will henceforth be known as the Licensing Authority for Goods Vehicles, The chairman of the Traffic Commissioners becomes chairman of the Licensing Authority for Public Service Vehicles and is himself the Licensing Authority for Goods Vehicles.

NO " POOL " AFTER THIS YEAR

ON December 31 the Petroleum Board will be wound up. Two committees will be set up by the oil industry, through which the Government will be able to obtain any information that it may require in controlling prices and imports.

A24 One committee will deal with the supply, refining and distribution of petrof and oil in the United Kingdom, and the other with oil questions in general. A consumers' council, to advise on the use of oil in the United Kingdom, is also expected to be set up.

There will be some delay, after the Pool is dissolved, in resuming the sale of branded petrol.

TROJAN PRICES UP AGAIN

NEW prices for the Trojan 15-cwt.. vehicle are announced by Trojan, Ltd., Purley Way, Croydon. The chassis now costs £365, and the standard van in primer finish, £485. The old prices, published last month, were £345 and £450 respectively.

BAD ROADS: TELL R.A.C.

ROAD users are asked by the Royal VAutomobile Club to report either to the appropriate local authority or to the Club, bad stretches of road which they may encounter during their travels. Already the R.A.C. has received many complaints about danger spots on roads, and in a number of cases immediate action has been taken by the authorities concerned to rectify the faults.

PRICE OF STATE CONTROL

SALARIES for the chairman and fulltime members of the Transport Commission are to be £8,500 and £5,000 a year respectively.

OIL ENGINE PIONEER DEAD

VE greatly regret to announce the death, which occurred on August 14, at Leeds, Of MAJOR W. H. GODDARD,

M.I.R..T.E. He was certainly one of the pioneers of the industry and retained his enthusiasm for it, particularly in connection with oil engines, until the end.

As long ago as 1896 he became a graduate of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and was an early member of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers, before which body he gave an interesting lecture last year.

He had for long been an agent for Gardner oil engines for a large territory, and was one of the first to recognize the future which lay before this type of power unit. It was in 1930, at his instigation and with the co-operation of the late Mr. A. R. Fearnley, that Sheffield Corporation put into service a Karrier six-wheeled singledecker which had been converted to an oiler by the fitting of a six-cylindered Mercedes-Benz unit.

From 1896 until 1914 he spent most of his time in the Argentine in connection with a variety of engineering work, including steam locomotives, generating stations and well-boring.

He combined a great sense of humour with a forceful character, which often expressed itself in print.

OBITUARY WE regret to announce the death of W MR. J. H. SpaRsilArr, M.B.E., chairman of J. H. Sparshatt and Sons (Portsmouth), Ltd., and of J. H. Sparshatt and Sons (Southampton), Ltd. He was 64 years of age and had been connected with the commercial-vehicle repairing and body-building industries for 30 years.

NEW VEHICLE CLASSIFICATIONS FOR WAGES?

THE demand, reported in last week's issue, for increased wages for road haulage workers, has been accompanied by an application to the National Joint Industrial Council for the Road Haulage Industry for a revision of the classification of vehicles. According to the Transport and General Workers' Union, the object is to obtain uniformity throughout the country.

The Union is asking that for drivers under 21, vehicles be limited to 1 ton carrying capacity. The proposed classifications for vehicles driven by adults are:—Up to 2 tons, over 2 tons to 5 tons, over 5 tons to 8 tons, over 8 tons to 12 tons, over 12 tons to 15 tons, and over 15 tons.

MANCHESTER-LIVERPOOL RATES INCREASED

I NCREASED rates on bale and case traffic between Manchester and Liverpool and Birkenhead docks are now operative.

As the result of a recent conference of the principal Manchester carriers engaged in this class of work, it was decided to put up the rate to 16s. per ton to Liverpool docks and 18s. 6d. per ton to Birkenhead docks, for consignments of 1 ton and upwards.

When consignments arz less than a ton the rates will be is. and Is. 3d. per cwt., with minimum charges of 5s. 6d. and 7s, 6d. respectively. K.C. TO DEFEND IN ANTI

NATIONALIZATION CASE THIRTEEN more summonses have I been served by the Blackburn police on members of the Road Haulage Association who took part in the recent anti-nationalization demonstration in Blackburn. As reported in " The Commercial Motor," Mr. W. H. Bowker, a leading haulier in the NorthWest, who was chief marshal of the procession;1%Mr. I. Ainsworth, chairman of the Blackburn Area of the R.H.A„ and Miss P. D. Bridge, secretary, were originally summoned for organizing the event.

Now the following members of the R.H.A. committee have been charged: Messrs. John A. Baird (Kinder Bros., Ltd.), Arthur Bolton (Ribblesdale Coachways, Ltd.), Harry Harwood (Darwen), John Hindle (Jack's Motors, Ltd.), Frank H. Lloyd (Lloyd Bros., Ltd.), B. Winterbottom (1. and H. Whittaker [Transport], Ltd.), Robert Clayton (Messrs. R. Clayton and Son), Arthur Davies (A. Davies [Blackburn], Ltd.), John Potts (Blackburn), Torn Wearing (F. Wearing and Co„ Ltd.), R. Duckworth (Duckworth Bros., Ltd.), David Hardman (Hardman and Gillibrand; Ltd.), and George Ball (G. and W. Ball, Ltd.).

The defence has briefed Mr. W. Gorman, K.C, and all the proceedings are to be heard on August 28, Mr. Bowker recently addressed Blackburn Young Conservatives on the nationalization of road transport.

N.C.B. ELECTRICS AT TWO SHOWS

EVERY opportunity is being taken by Northern Coachbuilders, Ltd., to show its electric vehicles to the, public. A 1-ton bakery van, with a double-lined ventilated body designed to prevent the formation of moisture, is being exhibited at the Co-operative Bakery Exhibition, which closes at the Horticultural Hall, London, to-morrow. It is one of 20 vans supplied to Nottingham Co-operative Society.

At the Northumberland Agricultural Show, which also closes to-morrow, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, a range of electrics is being shown, including the Electruk 12-cwt. electric pram manufactured by T. H. Lewis, Ltd., and distributed in the North-East by N.C.13, Sales and Service, ltd.

1,300,000 RETREADS

IN 1946 more than 1,300,000 retreaded ityres were produced in this country, the greater part by members of the Retread Manufacturers' Association. Mr. L. G. Hamilton, president of the Association, mentioned this achievement at the annual general meeting, He also said that the Association's total membership now numbered 67.

Active consultations are taking place with the Tyre Manufacturers' Conference regarding the establishment of a national price structure for the retreading industry.

RETURN TO BUSINESS

FIRST meeting of Leeds Branch of the Industrial Transport Association for the 1947-48 session will be held at 7.30 p.m., on September 2, at the Hotel Metropole, Leeds, Mr. W. G. Anwyl, liaison officer, Fibreboard Packing Case Manufacturers' Association, will deliver a lecture entitled " From the Tree to the Packing Bench."

MERSEY DOCKS WEIGHING CHARGES TO BE RAISED FROM September 1. charges for the I use of weighing machines on the estate of Mersey Docks and Harbour Board will be increased.

The minimum charge for weighing goods in road vehicles will he 6d. and the maximum Is. 6d. All descriptions of goods will be charged at 2d. per ton, except coal, coke, limestone, paving materials, ballast, sand, gravel, rubbish

and manure in bulk, These will be priced at 1d. per ton, with a minimum of 3d. These rates include taring.

When duplicate weight tickets are required for loads in road vehicles, they will be issued at 3d. each. Certificates of the total net weight of any number of loads in respect of which weight tiekets have been issued, will he supplied at is. for the first 50 loads and 6d. for every additional 50 loads or part of 50.

NO BUSES NEAR HULL SHOPS? nIVERSION of buses and all heavy 1--.1 traffic from Hull's reconstructed shopping centre is provided for in a plan prepared by Mr. W. R. Davidee, a town-planning consultant.

The plan, which aims to keep the shopping centre as much to its pre-war location as possible, has been put forward as an alternative to be fitted into the main Abercrombie plan for reconstruction of the city.

Mr. Davidge said that, to keep heavy traffic from main shopping streets, he suggested the building of a new eastwest road and the construction of a new avenue from the Old Town northwards, BACK TO ACTON

SHORTLY, Stewart and Ardent, Ltd , is to move from temporary war-time premises at Earl's Court, to Morris House, The Vale, Acton, London, W3, a four-acre factory which was built 21 years ago. Four-fifths of this depot were requisitioned during the war by the Ministry of Aircraft Production for D. Napier and Son, Ltd.

To enable Stewart and Ardern, Ltd., to carry on, the Ministry requisitioned the premises at Earl's Court, which will soon be vacate/id. They still house the head office, private and commercialvehicle sales and dispatch departments, and spare-parts stores.

Application has been made for the de-requisitioning of that portion of Morris House, Berkeley Square, W.1, which is still occupied by the Government.

WELDERS TO DISCUSS THEIR CRAFT

THE Institute of Welding will hold its autumn meeting in the Addison Restaurant, Olympia, London, OR September 11-12. The Engineering and Marine Exhibition will be in progress at Olympia at that time.

The programme is as follows:— September 11: 2.30 p.m. a paper by Mr. H. E. Lardge on "Welding in the Development of Jet Propulsion Engines"; 5 p.m., Mr. E. C. Davies on " Some Novel Developments in the Design and Operation of AC. Arc Welding Plant." September 12: 2.30 p.m., Mr. A. H. Bent on "The Development and Application of Stud Welding"; 5 p.m., Mr. J. K. Johannesen on "Some Aspects of Welding Repairs."

THOSE VIOLENT YEARS

EXCELLENT use is made of colour printing in "The Other Battle." the story of the war-time activities of the R.S.A. concern. The high light of this fascinating book is a reproduction in colour of a painting by Charles Cundalt, RA., of the scene at Small Heath on the night of November 19, 1940, when German raiders registered direct hits on the new building, the centre of Browning gun production.

The BS.A. works suffered badly at the hands of the enemy, and the story of life in the second line of attack is well told. "The Other Battle" makes a valuable contribution to the history of the war.

ALUMINIUM IN ROAD TRANSPORT

TO encourage the correct and increasing use of aluminium and its alloys, the Aluminium Development Association has issued a new publication, "The Aluminium Courier." Each issue will deal mainly with a specific application of aluminium and its alloys. The first is concerned with structural building and the second will be devoted chiefly to the use of aluminium in road transport.

MINISTRY WILL PAY WHERE the supply of white fish YV exceeds, market requirements, the Minister of Food is willing to pay the reasonable cost of carriage from the port where it is landed to the nearest fish-meal factory, if no facilities exist at the port for processing the fish. BAN ON SLOW TRAFFIC IN CITY

RESTRICTIONS on slow-moving traffic in certain key streets in the City of London, announced last May by the Minister of Transport, came into force yesterday.

Mechanically propelled vehicles restricted to a speed of 5 m.p.h.. horsedrawn and hand-propelled vehicles are prohibited from using scheduled streets between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays inclusive. Only vehicles in the service of a local authority, which are tieing used for the maintenance of essential street services, are exempt from the Regulations.

Streets included in the schedule are Cheapside, Poultry, Cornhill, Leadenhall Street, Aldgate, Fenchurch Street,Gracechurch Street. Threadneedle Street, and Bishopsgate.

VAUXHALL WARNS WORKERS

UNDER the Abercrombie plan, Luton's population would be limited to 93,000 people, or 13,000 fewer than at present. Any diminution in local population would obviously have a serious effect on Vauxhall Motors, Ltd , Luton. This fact has apparently prompted Sir Charles Bartlett, managing director, to issue to the workers a leaflet explaining the consequences that might arise from any restriction of the cornpany's long-term plans.

The leaflet explained that the company was establishing funds for a big programme of expansion and improvements. Sir Charles said that it was suggested that Luton should not be allowed to expand much farther, and some of the company's wort( might have to be done sewhe re.

DETACHABLE I-IF.ADS IN NEW MALLETS

COMB1NED hammers and mallets with detachable heads have been placed on the market -by Howard Clayton-Wright, Ltd., Welleshourne House, Wellesbourne, Warwickshire. Theyare

known as Osotuf mallet's, and are designated types C and D.

Type C, which weighs 11 lb., has a hickory handle and a shank and head of aluminium. It is supplied with twin rubber heads, one medium hard, and the other hard. 1 he rubber heads are renewable, Type D has a drop-forged, heattreated, polished shank and head, and a detachable rubber head 2 ins. in diameter. The weight of this model is 2/ lb.