WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
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"The wheels of -wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever Points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of Me roads over which it runs."—john Beattie Crozier.
Mr. Reginald F. Clayton.
The subject of our portrait supplement, Included in this issue, is Mr. Reginald Fitzroy Clayton, M.I.A.E., vice-chairman and managing director of Karrier Motors, Ltd., Karrier Works, Huddersfield.
Mr. Clayton was educated at Leeds University and in Germany, and he served his apprenticeship to engineering with the Saxby and Farmer Signal Co. He also served with the International Pneumatic Tool Co., and for a time worked on the construction of the Piccadilly tube railway.
He joined the firm of Clayton and Co., Ltd., of Huddersfield, railway appliance manufacturers, in 1907, and commenced the manufacture of the first Karrier chassis (a 30-cwt. lorry with an 18 h.p. two-cylindered engine) in 1908. This model was followed by others, and in 1913 a 3-tanner was produced which was one of the first to receive the War Office subsidy certificate. He was appointed to his present position with Karrier Motors, Ltd., when that company was formed in 1920 to take over the business of Clayton and Co., Ltd. He has travelled in South Africa, Canada, the Balkans and Scandinavia on behalf of his company.
He is a member of the council of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders and of the Commercial Vehicle Committee of that body, whilst he is also a member of the Commercial Vehicle Committee of the A.B.M.M., and for a time was on the British Engineering Standards Committee dealing with the motor industry. Mr. Clayton has a very charming personality and is noted for his tact and for his skill in debate.
£37,500 Offered for a Bus Company.
Altrincham Motor Services, Ltd., recently held a special meeting at which shareholders attended to consider an offer of £37,500, which had been made for the business and assets of the company by the North Western Road Car Co., whose headquarters are at Stockport. The chairman outlined the negotiations which had taken place between representatives of both companies and also the local authorities, and it was unanimously decided to recommend to the shareholders at a later meeting thyt the price offered be accepted. This, it is said, will ensure, a substantial return to the shareholders on their present holdings.
Altrinc.ham Motor Services, Ltd., were formed about four years ago, and of late the company have been faced with much ,competition.
Worcestershire's Fleet on Highway Work.
We have received' a copy of the 3tith annual report of the county surveyor of Worcester, which shows that the highways and bridges department of the county council has in service 21 coinrnereial motor vehicles. During the sear ended March 31st last the machines covered an aggregate mileage
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of 189,505 and dealt with a total tonnage of 110,008.
From careful cost figures which have been kept by the department, it is shown that the average cost per ton of material dealt with was 35.38d., the average cost per mile being 9.44d. In arriving at the above figures, the wages of drivers, steersmen and loaders were taken into account, as was the cost of fuel, repairs and renewals, registration and insurance charges, and deprecia
tion, the last-named item being retkoned at 15 per cent, in the case of steam wagons and 20 per cent, in the case of petrol vehicles. The former consist of nine Garretts and six Claytons, and the latter of four 3-4-ton Dennis and two 3-ton Leylands. All the steamers are of 5-ton capacity.
Of the loads dealt ,with, 38,023 tons consisted of ter macadam, this representing 34.37 per cent, of the total materials transported.
At the end of the period covered by the report, the total mileage Of main roads in the county was 490.02.
The Pottery Industry and Road Transport.
The National Council of the Pottery Industry recently called a conference of 11 local authorities, including the Stafford County Council and the Stokeon-Trent City Council, to consider steps for improving transport facilities between the Potteries district and the seaboard. It was urged that transport facilities should he improved and the cost of transporting goods materially reduced, and mention was made of the fact that such benefits could 'only accrue through the development of road transport. The suggestion was made that a new road should he constructed from the Potteries district to the Mersey, and this met with considerable criticism.
I.A.E. Data Sheets. e
The Standards Department of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has just issued two sets of I.A.E. data sheets, one dealing with dimensions of impulse-starter couplings and ueions, and the other with nipples and nuts. The dimensions are clearly set out and are accompanied by dincrams.
Protection for Tramways.
Wakefield Corporation has asked a sub-committee to report upon a letter from the Yorkshire (West Riding) Electric Tramways Co., Ltd., with reference to the tramways and omnibus competition, in which the committee is asked to protect the tramways by increasing the fares of omnibuses on routes served by the tramways.
Dublin's Transport Congress.
So far as we remember, the Transport Congress which VMS held in Dublin last week was the first of its kind. One has been attempted in America, and that attempt is to be repeated in January. The Congrese in Ireland was held in the City Hall, Dublin, and was organized by the Irish Motorists' Union, and amongst the subjects discussed were the general problems of transport in and with Ireland and the financial and administrative deadlock which exists, to the national detriment, between the various transport services.
Sir Henry Maybury, K.C.M.G., was to have been present, but illness prevented him. Mr. J. S. Killick (formerly county surveyor of Hereford and subsequently with the Ministry of Transport) apologized for Sir Henry Maybury's absence, and Mr. E. S. ShrapnelSmith, C.B.E., not only spoke at the conference but also at the luncheon held at the Shelbourne Hotel, Surgeon 'J. S. MeArdle presiding.
Mr. KIM& read a paper on Roads and Transport, and an interesting discussion ensued. The Congress concluded with resolutions calling upon the Governments of both the Free State and Northern Ireland favourably to enterthin the setting up either of separate commissions, or a joint one, to examine fully the correlation of all forms of inland transport, and expressing the view that further Congresses should be organized.
L.G.O. Employees' Friendly Society.
The annual share-out of the sick section of the London General Omnibus Co.'s Employees' Death Levy, Distress and Sick Friendly Society took place last week, when a total amount of £29,158 was distributed amongst 17,722 members. During the year the society has paid out in sick benats a total Fenn of £13,558, and the total amount disbursed in respect of death benefits has
reached a total of f 13,513. Dental treatment has been afforded to .5,231 applicants.
The members of the society possess a convalescent home at Capel-le-Ferne, on the south coast, where members can recuperate after an illness, free of cost. It has been decided to erect a new wing to this home at a cost of £20,000, and this will double the existing accommodation.
Identifying One-man-type Tramcars.
In view of the increasing number of one-man-controlled-type tramcars which is coming into service, where the exit is from the front of the vehicle, the Minister of Transport has lately had under consideration the question of ensuring, so far as possible, the safety of passengers alighting from such vehicles. The Minister is taking steps to ensure that tramcars of this type shall be distinguished by a conspicuous notice on the near side of the dash at each end, and this will take the form of a white plaque bearing the phrase "Font-exit Car" in red lettering. The attention of all road users is drawn to this new regulation.