150 More Crossley Bodies for Holland
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I N connection with the contract awarded by the Netherlands State Railways to Crossley Motors, Ltd., for 425 single-decker chassis, a further order for 150 bodies is being executed at the Errwood Park works and vehicles are now being dispatched complete.
The metal body is a 42-seater design incorporating the Crossley patented pillar construction. A full-fronted cab is built integrally with the body and has support brackets fitted to the forward end of the chassis. The vehicle has, of course, left-hand steering, and the right. hand side of the cab is devoted to a folding platform for mail bags.
From his cab the driver controls power-operated double doors located approximately amidships on the righthand side of the bus.
There is a deep two-piece windscreen, having dual wipers which sweep through an angle of 120 degrees; the wiper spindles are mounted on the screen itself, approximately a third of the way up from the lower rim. By means of ducts from the air-conditioning system, warm air is passed on to the screens to ensure that they neither steam nor freeze up.
Overall measurements of the body are: length 33 ft. 11 ins., width 7 ft. 11 ins., with an extra I in. if allowance be made for the wings; height. unladen, 9 ft. 32 ins. The passenger compartment is 28 ft. long and accommodates 42 peoplz.
Dapta seats, which are upholstered in green leather and have chromiumplated double-top rails, form an attractive feature. Over the rear wheelarches are two pairs of back-to-back seats, whilst there are five seats arranged against the forward bulkhead. The remaining 29 are made up of 14 double seats facing forward and a single tip-up seat at the entrance.
As already indicated, the entrance is located forward of the rear wheels and when the jaek-knife doors are folded back the free opening is 3 ft. 51 ins. Pneumatic operation of the doors is on the G. D. Peters system and, in addition to the operating controls in the driver's cab, there are further push buttons inside the entrance and in the waistband, forward of the doorway on the outside of the body.
Although the doors close firmly, they can be forced open from the inside merely by hand pressure at the centre point where they meet. The actuating mechanism is contained in a box over the entrance which also houses the side destination indicator, There are two illuminated steps, from ground to floor level and there is a central pillar with extended hand rail at the top of the steps.
The Clayton Dewandre thermostatically controlled system of heating and air conditioning is employed, in addition to the screen heaters already mentioned. Weathershields lightweight sliding roof is incorporated, giving a free opening of 6 ft. 51 ins. by 3 ft. 112