Lorry Drivers May Join Safety League
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A SECTION of the Finchley League of .1-3. Safe Drivers has been formed for drivers of heavy goods vehicles. The object of the League is to promote safety by requiring that members shall reach and maintain a high standard of driving skill. They are required to prove their knowledge of the Highway Code and maintenance procedure, and are given driving tests with an annual refresher.
Entry fee is £1 is. This covers the first driving test, whilst the fee for the annual refresher is 10s. 6d. Mrs. L. Duncan, organizing secretary, reports that several local operators and drivers have shown interest. Applications may be made to her at Finchley Municipal Offices, East End Road, London, N.3.
BUSMEN VOTE AGAINST PROTEST STRIKES
D Y a narrow majority, Doncaster
trolleybus crews last week voted against strike action as a protest over running times, Instead, they agreed to accept a compromise by the general manager. Mr. T. Bamford, on the timing for the Beckett Road service. This has been cut from 24 to 21 minutes. but it will now alternate between 22 and 23 minutes.
Mr. Bamford has also offered to go into the question again if this scheme proves unworkable. The crews had complained that faster running would affect safety and make it difficult to keep to schedules. They had threatened to strike every Friday until the original timings were restored, alleging that Mr. Bamford had rejected all their approaches.
RUTLAND VEHICLE SPARES Q.PARES and servicing information for NJ Rutland and M.T.N. vehicles, formerly manufactured by Motor Traction, Ltd., can now be obtained from Waggon Rutland, Ltd., 230 Strand, London, W.C.2.
Waggon Rutland have acquired the name and the rights to carry on manufacture of these vehicles, and have bought all Motor Traction's °drawings and specifications. • • B20
450-ft. Cross-country Transporter
INTENDED for cross-country operation I in areas such as the Arctic or the Sahara, a multiple trailer outfit comprising 10 four-wheeled units with a sixwheeler at each end of the train has been evolved by R. G. Le Tourneau, Longview, Texas. All 52 wheels are driven by electric current. The outfit is said to lend itself to traction by nuclear power.
Each wheel has an electric motor geared directly to the rim, and the tyres are 10 ft. high and 4 ft. wide.
Steering controls are located in each of the six-wheeled units, as the train can be driven either forward or in reverse, and the tracking of all axles ensures that all wheels follow the same path. • Suspension arrangements incorporate walking beams and oscillating axles. Some 2.000 h.p. is developed to propel the outfit, the carrying capacity of which is not revealed. It is 450 ft. long, whilst the units are about 16 ft. wide.
DATA ON LAMPS INCLUDING 13 schedules of ratings, I dimensions and requirements for initial readings and life tests for lalnps, "British Standard for Automobile Filament Lamps" has been published at 12s. 6d. by the British Standards Institution, 2 Park Street, London, W.I.
Detailed requirements are specified for the positioning of filaments, and inspection and rating tests are based on a system of double sampling_
Coaches Penetrate Iron Curtain
JUIEMBERS of the Hywel Girls' Choir, IV' of Llanelly, under the direction of the conductor, Mr. John Hywel Williams, are fulfilling a series of engagements in Czechoslovakia. They are making the 3,000-mile journey in two coaches supplied by the South Wales Transport Co., Ltd.
The •two Fanfare coaches have been modified to provide racks for the 162 costumes and uniforms-used by the choir. The journey to Czechoslovakia was virtually non-stop, much of the running being done by night. South Wales Transport staff on the tour includes five drivers and a fitter. After appearing in 17 towns behind the Iron Curtain, the choir is due back about the end of this month.
WEIGHT CHECK BRINGS FINE ON HAULIERS WHEN a weights and measures inspec
tor checked a load of sand being driven through Wiveliscombe, Somerset, he found that the consignment was 131 cwt. heavier than stated in the driver's conveyance note. This was stated at Wiveliscombe Magistrates' Court, last week, when the owners of the vehicle, Perry and Perry, Ltd, hauliers, Beaminster, Dorset, were fined £5 for giving a false description of the weight carried.
For the' company, it was stated that the sand was weighed on a machine not owned by them, and the figures were entered by the weighbridge clerk.
The driver was fined £1.
BID FOR TANK BUILDERS
Pr'HE engineering concern of John i. Thompson is making a bid for the purchase of Thompson Bros. (Bilston), Ltd., the prominent tank builders.
The consideration is 35s. cash for each 6 per cent. tax-free £1 preference share of Thompson Bros., and one 5s. ordinary share in John Thompson for every two 5s. ordinary units of Thompson Bros. The offer will be made by Lazard Bros. and Co., and has to be approved by the Treasury.