News and Comment.
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This journal has a genuine circulation, genuine advertisement support, and an Editorial staff whose members have practical experience and knowledge of the construction and use of commercial motors.
An article on crankshafts, and several letters from correspondents, are unavoidably crowded out.
Twelve new members were admitted to the Commercial Motor Users' Association, at the July meeting of the Executive Committee.
Fodens, Limited, of Elmsworth Works, Sandbach, will be exhibiting its well-known steam wagon at the Highland Show (Aberdeen), the Royal Lan. cashire Show (Manchester), and the Yorkshire Show (Halifax).
In"The Times."
Mr. Mervyn O'Gorman, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Royal Automobile Club, and a partner in the firm of O'Gorman and Cozens-Hardy, the well-known consulting engineers, of 82, Victoria Street, 'Westminster, SAIL, is now writing on the subject of " Motor Engineering," in the • engineering supplement of " The Times," and we observe, with interest, that he is giving no small measure of prom:nence to the commercial side of the industry.
Non-motor Exhibitions.
Important meetings of heavy-vehiele manufacturers, in respect of bond and .exhibition arrangements, took place r London on Tuesday last. A number of manufacturers met, at the Great Northern Hotel, King's Cross, prior to the meeting with the Commercial Vehicle Committee of the S.M.M.T. In the result, a reasonable .amourlt Of freedom will be allowed to . commercial ni o t 0 r companies, in cornparison with the practical absence of latitude in the case of plea su re-car companies. This is as it should be; the two branches are essen
• tiallv different.
R yk [add Motors.
A Rvknield lorry has just been supplied to the order of the Pickering and Crewdson Motor Company, for service at Accra, on the West Coast of Africa. Another five-ton Ryknield lorry is now ready for delivery to William Hancock and Company, Limited, of Cardiff.
Sound Scotch Finance.
The accounts of the Glasgow Corporation tramways, for the year ended the 3ist May, 1908, should form interesting reading for members of the Highways Committee of the L.C.C. Of a total debt of -L3,122,822 at the 3ist May last, no less than .4;639,774 has been written off capital account in the year ; further, no less a sum than ,/i,o37,208 is invested in respect of depreciation and permanent-way renewals.
War Office Trials.
In the seventh line of our reference to the War Office Trials in last week's issue, page 466 ante, for " stipulation " read " prohibition." The full te*t of the conditions will be found on pages 486 to 48R, and we would draw attention, in addition to the points named on the first page of this issue, to the intention of the War Office to provide, free of charge to the competitors, all fuel and water, as well as the trailing wagons and the loads. Further, it is evident, from condition nuber 23 (a), that any distance run by 'a tractor above roo miles on the road will tell in favour of the competitor. We would also direct the attention of intending entrants to the necessity for fitting wheels of such 'width that the axleweight does not exceed 5cwt. on the basis of a three-foot-diameter wheel, a decrease of one-third being necessary, as compared with the ordinary commercial type of tractor, to compensate for the extra total weights that are allowed by Article XVII of the Heavy Motor 'Car Order. As regards the driving control, it. is required that all pails shall be so clisosed tbat the di fkunli I OF tW'afivin4-'Wliee1... iinaVhe
locked from the footplate, and it is evidently the wish of the authorities that any machine shall be arranged for effective control by a single man, although the employment of more than one man is not a bar to participation.
Italian Trials.
Entries for the Italian Trials, which are to take place in the neighbourhood of Piacenza from the 15th to the 25th September, can be received until the 3nth instant. No less than 28 machines have already been entered, and these include, of English manufacturers, the St. Pancras and the Yorkshire—both steam wagons. Substantial reductions for vehicles, exhibitors, and drivers haveheen arranged on the Italian State Railways, and the delegate of the Executive Committee in the United Kingdom, Mr. A. G. Graziani, of 22, Billiter Street, E.C., hopes to secure special fares from London to Italy. The Italian War Office will decide, in the course of these trials, in regard to the class of motor to be adopted for its requirements, and we strongly urge upon British makers the expediency of their taking part in the tests.
Motors to Protect Water Pipe-line Supplies.
The Metropolitan Water Board, on Friday last, decided to apply to the Local Government Board for sanction to borrow .4.6,000, for the purchase, by the Works Committee during the recess, of two small traction engines, two large lorries, and two pipe whims, for the conveyance of breakdown gangs and material.
Alderman Huggett moved that the recommendation be postponed, on the ground that the whole of the proposed expenditure was not necessary.
Mr. Cobb defended the proposal, urging that members might have a little more confidence in the Works Committee than to believe it would ask for L:6,000 that was not required. When they considered the many miles of large mains for which the Board was responsible, the necessity of getting the breakdown gang with all appliances quickly to the site of a burst must be apparent. Unless they made this provision, the Board might have to pay away in compensation, after one or two bad bursts, as much as the whole of the proposed expenditure.
The Committee's recommendation was carried. Useful Middlemen.
Mr. H. 1-I. Bracewell, under the trading name of the Commercial Ainocar -Company, has opened new quarters in Hereford, and is ready to undertake the supply and maintenance of commercial vehicles. We illustrated three Dennis vans, which had been purchased and supplied by Mf. Bracewell, three weeks ago.
Parochial Motors.
The Albion Motor Car Company, Limited, of Scotstoun, Glasgow, adwises us that it has secured a repeat .order for one of its vehicles from the Glasgow Parish Council. The bodies are arranged for alternative use as Ambulance or passenger vehicles, and they are employed by the Parish Council for the transference from one institution to another of persons seeking ,parochial relief. A considerable saving in both time and money has resulted.
War Office and Municipal otors.
The various municipal authorities throughout the Kingdom, which own motor vehicles, have received from the War Office a communication inquiring whether they are willing to enrol their motor vehicles for hire during times of peace, and for purchase in time of war. The subsidy which, under the scheme, is to be paid on enrolment, for purchase in time of war, of motorvans with a .carrying capacity of three tons and .over, is ,Z,-1 per annum each vehicle. It 1S estimated that, to-day, over 300 motor wagons are in municipal service. The Westminster City Council and the Chelsea Borough Council—the Works and General Purposes Committee of the latter body has already decided that the Council's motorvans he enrolled for .purchase, if required, in tune of war— are the largest users of motor vehicles among Metropolitan bodies, whilst -Liverpool easily heads the poll in the Provinces. Full particulars of the WarOffice registration scheme for cornmet• • cial motors was, published by us on the .31st January, 1907.
Cab v. Omnibus.
The General Motor Cab.Corripany, Limited, was unsuccessful, on the 17th instant, in an action against. the London General Omnibus Company, Limited, to recover .',34Dodamages in respect of a collision between one of its motorcabs and one of the defendant company's motorbuses. The collision occurred one day last month, in the early morning, at the corner of Pimlico Road and Lower Sloane Street.
Another Cab Company.
Yet another motorcab company for I.ondon, and several more are in preparation. We fear the business will be overdone, as was the motorbus industry at the outset, and we foresee, as we have already pointed out, corresponding difficulties ahead. The Consolidated Motor Cab Company, Limited, is offering 99,500 preferred participating ordinary shares of ,Z;t each, and there are ro,000 deferred shares, of is. each, which are to take four-tenths of the balance of any net profits after 7 per cent, has been paid on the ordinary shares, and after carrying to per cent. to a reserve fund, but these deferred shares are being otherwise purchased in connection with the promotion.
The new company will acquire a few Argyll vehicles from a company which has been trading as British Motor Cabs, Limited. The takings are estimated at L2 a day, and the expenses, including driver's wages, and petrol, at Lo 3s. per day ; it is estimated that the annual net profit will be',34,000. Figures are quoted from the experience of the General Motor Cab Company, Limited, and it is suggested that there is a constantly-increasing demand for motorcabs. Whilst this is true, there is a constantly-increasing number of them to share the trade, and, when the beneficial influence of the Franco-British Exhibition is removed, we believe that many cab companies will have to face straightened revenue and hard times.2114-re Will, of course, always be room at the top for the companies which are organised properly. Our congratulations to the Anglo American. Oil Company, Limited, or its appointment, by Royal warrant, a: purveyor of motor spirit to His Majesty
Berlin's Electrical Street-Washe: Cheaper than Horsed Vehicles.
Engineer Szallan, who presides ovei the Berlin Street-cleaning Department reports to the Corporation that tht petrol-driven sprinklec replaces foul horsed vehicles and works faster. A the end of last summer, a body for th( transport of street-cleansing appliance was substituted for the watering body so that the chassis, instead of lying idh in a garage and rusting for over sb months of the year, rendered good ser. vice throughout the whole twelve. month. The Corporation's electrica: street-washer has turned out anothet success, working more effectively ane cheaply than a 'horse-drawn washing machine, especially in regard to asphalt.
Renard Trains.
A very striking demonstration was given, in the neighbourhood of the Crystal Palace, last week, with two Renard trains. We understand that one of these will be shipped to Calcutta, for trial purposes by the Assam-Biengal Railway, and that it will be used between Gauhati and Shillong, a distance of 63 miles. This heavy train was shod throughout with steel tires, and proved its ability to ascend and descend paved gradients of as much as i in 9 without want of adhesion or other difficulty. The power unit, with its 8oh.p. engine, is of British manufacture, haying been made at the Daimler works, Coventry : it is capable of dealing with a. gross weight of between 35 and ao tons, over average roads. Another of these trains is intended for shipment to Messrs. KBlick, Nixon and Company, of Bombay, and it should reach -India in time for demonstration after the monsoon. .
Enquiries in regard to this interesting system should be addressed to. The Recard Road, Rail, and Transport Corporation, Limited, 82, Victoria 'Street, Westini n ster, S.W. " Lotis" Mail Vans.
The contractor for the motor parcelmail service, between Leeds and Bradford, has informed Sturmey Motors, Limited, of Coventry, which company supplied the " Lotis van for the work, that the vehicle is " running like a clock." The consumption, over a very hilly route, and with a gross weight of fully two tons, has proved to be 19 miles to the gallon of petrol.
Motorvans for the L.C.C.
The L.C.C. Fire Brigade Committee has considered the following tenders for the supply of motor (escape) vans for the fire brigade. Those marked t are tenders not in accordance with specification :—
1-Leyland Motors, Limited—(a) price for one van, 4884; (b) per van for two vans, ;4_,-874; (e) per van for three vans, ,:864; (d) per van for four vans, £854; (e) per van for one Or two additional vans if Ordered • within twelve months, ,,;854. +Durham, Churchill and Company (Sheffield)—(a) .4;885, (b) • (c) i.;$79., (4) L870, (e) 4;875+Shand, Mason and Company—
(a) £920, (b) (c) and (d), any further or future orders to be based on the same quotation, (e) .4;920. +Argyll Motors, Lirnited—(a)
(h) (c) £940. (d) 4925, (e) -L940 +John Morris and Sons, Limited (Manchester)—(a) £970, (b) • (C) Lyso, (d) ;6950, (e) contract price.
Merryweather and Sons, Limited (provisionally accepted for two vans, with one set of spare wheels for the two vans; allowance for spare sets of wheels not required, .442 15s.) — (a) ,4;1,048, (b)
(c) £1.032, (d) .4;1,024, (e) ;61,048. Commercial Cars, Limited (provisionally accepted for two vans, with one set of spare wheels for the two vans; allowance for spare sets of wheels not required, .65) —(a) ,61,o8o, (b) ;4: 055, (c) I3S. 4d., (d) .Z.1,042 los., (e)
+Bavlevs, Limited—(a) L1,190, (b) (c) £1,160, (d) „4'1,120, (c) 47,1,190.
tThe Belle Isle Company, Limited—(a) £1325, (b) ;61,225, (c)
(d) L;1,o3o, (e) +Sidney Straker and Squire, Limited—(a) £t,sso, (1)) ..1,5oo, (C) „61,450, (d) 1,450, (e) The sums quoted include, in each case, £50 per van for extras. The specification provided that the engine of the appliance should be of not less than 50-55h.p., but, according to a committee report, of the firms and companies quoting only two, Merryweather and Sons, Limited, and Commercial Cars, Limited, were prepared to comply with the specification in this respect. One other firm stated that the engine would be of 5oh.p., but the Committee has ascertained that the h.p. (R.A.C. rating) of the engine which it proposed to supply was below that. Having regard to the nature of the ground over which the appliances will be used, it is essential that they should be sufficiently highly-powered for the purpose, and the Committee was advised that an engine of less horse-power than that mentioned in the specification should not be accepted. Both Merryweather and Sons, Limited, and Commercial Cars, Limited, have supplied similar appliances in the past.