Opinions and Queries
Page 63
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Australia Wants Big Oilers
THIS letter has been under consideration for almost I four years and should really be addressed to British vehicle manufacturers. During that time I have always held the hope that they would learn something as regards what is required from vehicle operating abroad and particularly in this country. As regards my eligibility to write in this way, I was born in England and am proud of it, and for some years was employed by Eastern Roadways. Now I am with the largest transport concern in Western Australia. They operate a large number of British trucks, besides being Western Australian agents for a famous British oil engine. Latterly, we have taken delivery of a wellknown American vehicle, which can cruise at 48 m.p.h., hauling 25-ton loads over what is acknowledged to be one of the worst roads in this country, and the suspension gives comfortable riding even over the corrugated surface.
What I want to impress upon British manufacturers is the need for an engine of not less than 200 b.h.p., together with a gearbox that will stand everything that the engine is capable of providing. It should have a low range for hills, bogs and sand, a normal range and the ability to haul, hour after hour, on a high range. If they think that I am wrong in asking them for this, let them come and see for themselves; they should look at the east to west road across the Mu!labour Plain, 300 miles of dead-straight flats. I am longing to drive a British produet which will trounce this big Yank, which, although a full oiler, is governed to 2,400 r.p.m. The highest governed speed of the large-capacity British truck is, I believe, 1,800 r.p.m. Meekatharra, Western Australia, D. TITMOUSE.
Time Marches On
INDER "One Hears—" of April 3, I was interested to see the paragraph concerning an old reader's pleasant ride on a horsed-bus from Kings Cross to Kensington Church. This would have been one of the London Road Car red buses, operating between Hammersmith and Caledonian Road. The body from one of these was fitted to a Thornycroft steam-wagon chassis in 1902 and ran from Hammersmith to Oxford Circus, via Notting Hill. In the end it was shipped to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. My father drove a Star horsed-bus for many years, and in those days riding on such a vehicle was quite enjoyable. Although I am of the " horsey " type and a regular visitor to the Whitsun Cart Horse parade in Regents Park, I have always been an interested reader of The Commercial Motor, and I have seen many changes from the early Scott-Stirling, Orion, Durkopp, and other vehicles too numerous to mention.
A copy of The Commercial Motor was given to me in 1905 and I have been a regular reader ever since. In fact, I still possess a miniature copy of issue No. 1. What a contrast between that and the same journal of today!
Recently I rode on one of the Bristol straight-fronted single-deck buses of Thames Valley Traction and thought of the difference between this and the early Strakers and Milnes-Daimlers. My work is concerned mainly with the painting of commercial vehicles, particularly vans—not much of a background for a man interested in horses, but things must progress.
Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. H. G. GILES.
The Near-side Mirror is Valuable
AS a regular reader, particularly of the section devoted to "Opinions and Queries," I would like to congratulate H. E. Oxnard, whose letter appeared in your issue dated April 3. In my experience the light code can be operated correctly only by means of a spot light. This, when flashed twice, normally indicates "Come on." Although, fortunately, rarely necessary in normal driving today, putting the headlights on full and leaving them on would indicate "My vehicle is unable to stop, so let me through." Such a contingency might occur on an exceptionally steep hill or icy road.
" R.W." in the same issue asks if long-distance drivers are wanted. I can say that, with considerably more than his six years' of experience and with a clean record. I find realty a good position is hard to obtain and recently I have had to take up other work.
Is it possible to sound the opinions of some of your readers regarding the compulsory fitting of rear view mirrors at both sides of all vehicles9 I regard this as an excellent aid to road safety at the cost of a few shillings. I never feel really comfortable without such equipment, the mirror on the near side serving many useful purposes. Chelmsford. E. C. MOVE.
Tram-gauge Difficulties
THE article on Hudersfield's Municipal Transport by Ashley Taylor, A.M.I.R.T.E., which appeared in The Commercial Motor dated February 27, interested me greatly, but there are one or two observations I would like to make concerning this. believe that picture No. 4 shows a bus at the Lord Street stand, not at St. Peter Street. The photographer must have been standing in St. Peter Street to take the picture. On page 96, the author says that the fleet numbers 42 single-deckers and 55 double-deckers, yet on the next page, he states that there are 83 A.E.C. Regent Mk. III 55-58 seaters.
With reference to the tramways, the gauge was laid to 4 ft. 71 in., but within a radius of 10 miles there were three different gauges, the others being Halifax, 3 ft. 6 in. and Bradford, 4 ft. There were end-to-end connections between these systems at Brighouse, between Huddersfield's Brighouse route and the Halifax Brighouse-Bailiff Bridge route, and at Bailiff Bridge between the Halifax route and Bradford's Bailiff Bridge route. Farther on, at Stanningley, the Bradford system linked with Leeds 4 ft. 81 in. gauge by means of a tapered rail in Stanningley and specially built cars with telescopic axles which enabled them to run on the 4 ft. 81 in. gauge. hope this will interest your readers, as it deals with some of the difficulties of the tramway system. Huddersfield. L. CROSLAND. [This contributor is quite correct. As regards the number of double-deckers, this is as given on page 96, i.e., 55.—ED.]