The Motor Omnibus World.
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Particulars of Fresh Proposals for Municipal Motor-Omnibus Services.
Bills have been deposited for the next session of Parliament by three municipal bodies, which seek powers to run motor omnibuses, in connection with their tramway undertakings. These are : Sheffield Corporation, King's Norton and Northfield Urban District Council, and Rawtenstall Corporation.
The clauses in the Sheffield Bill with regard to motor omnibuses are as follow :—" (1) The Corporation may provide and run motor omnibuses within the City, and, also, in connection with their tramways in any district adjoining the City, and the Corporation may demand and take such reasonable fares and charges for the conveyance of passengers and parcels therein, or thereon, as they may think fit, provided that the Corporation shall not run motor omnibuses in the district of any urban or rural council beyond the City except with the consent of such council. (2) The Corporation may purchase by agreement, take on lease, and hold lands and buildings, and may erect on any lands acquired by them omnibus, carriage, and motor houses, buildings, and sheds, and may provide such plant, appliances, and conveniences as may be requisite, or expedient, for the establishment, running, and equipment of such motor omnibuses. (3) The Corporation may make by-laws for regulating the travelling, and for the prevention of nuisances in, or. upon, any motor omnibus belonging to them, provided that any such by-law shall be made subject, and according to, the provisions of the Tralinvi-ayS Act, 1870, with respect to the -Making of by-laws. (4) The Corporation and any urban or rural council within whose district, or any part thereof, the Corporation propose to run the motor omnibuses by this Act authorised, or any of them, may from time to time enter into, and carry into effect, agreements with regard to the routes and running of such omnibuses within the district, or any part thereof, of such urban, or rural, council_ (5) In this section, the expression 'motor omnibus' means any carriage moved by mechanical power, including in that expression steam, electrical, and every other motive power not being animal power, provided that any motor omnibus moved by electrical power shall be so equipped and worked so as to prevent any interference with telegraphic communication by means of any telegraphs of the Postmaster-General or of any licensee of the Postmaster-General. (6) All provisions of the Conveyance of Mails Act, 1803, relating to the conveyance of mails on tramways, shall apply and have effect in relation to the motor omnibuses provided under this section as if such omnibuses were carriages on tramways authorised after the ist day of January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three. (7) All expenditure in respect of motor omnibuses shall be defrayed, and all receipts shall be ap
plied, as if the motor omnibuses Were part of the tramway undertaking of the Corporation." The parliamentary agents for the Corporation are Messrs. Sherwood and Company.
Messrs. Bircham and Company are the parliamentary agents for the King's Norton and Northfield Urban District Council. The clause in the Bill with regard to omnibuses runs as follow :— "Section 47 (Temporary use of omnibuses) of the Act of 1001 is hereby repealed, and, in lieu thereof, and substitution therefor, the following pro visions shall apply The Council may provide, maintain, and run omnibuses (whether moved by animal or mechanical power) within the district, in connection with the tramways, when the running of carriages thereon is impracticable, or during the construction, reconstruction, alteration, or repair thereof, or in extension or prolongation of any of such tramways, or for the purpose of connecting together any of such tramways, and, also, for testing the amount of traffic along any route or between any particular points, and the Council may demand, take and recover tolls and fares for the use of such omnibuses ; provided that any omnibuses moved by electrical power shall be so equipped and worked as to prevent any interference with telegraphic communication by means of any telegraphs of the Postmaster-General.' " The Rawtenstall Corporation Bill deals with omnibuses in the following clauses :• -" (t) The Corporation may provide and run omnibuses, moved by animal or mechanical power, within and beyond the borough, and may demand and take such reasonable fares and charges, for the conveyance of passengers therein, as may be approved by the Board of Trade; provided that the Corporation shall not, without the consent of the Board of Trade, run omnibuses along any route beyond the borough except the following: from the point where the boundary of the borough, at LoYeclough, crosses the Burnley Road West to the existing terminus of the Burnley Corporation tramways, at Burnley; from the point where the boundary of the borough, at Horncliffe, crosses the Bury Road to the Market Square, Edenfield; from the point where the boundary of the borough, at Water, crosses the Burnley Road Fast to the existing terminus of the Burnley Corporation tramways, opposite to the entrance of Townley Park. (2) The Corporation may purchase by agreement, take on lease, and hold lands and buildings, and may erect, on any lands acquired by them, omnibus, carriage, and motor houses, buildings, stables and sheds, and may provide such horses, plant, appliances and conveniences as may be requisite, or expedient, for the establishment, running, and equipment of such omnibuses. (3) The Corporation may make by-laws for regulating the travelling, and for the prevention of nuisances, in, or upon, any omnibus belonging to them, provided that any such by-law shall be made subject, and according to, the provisions of the Tramways Act, 1870, with respect to the making of by-laws. (4) Provided that any omnibus moved by electrical power shall be so equipped and worked so as to prevent any interference with telegraphic communication by means of any telegraphs of the Postmaster-General or any licensee of the Postmaster-General. (5) All provisions of the Conveyance of Mails Act, 1803, relating to the conveyance of mails on tramways shall apply, and have effect, in relation to the omnibuses provided under this section, as if such omnibuses were carriages on tramways authorised after the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-three." The parliamentary agents in charge of the Bill are Messrs. Roberts and Company. An important note for your engagement list : the adjourned discussion on Messrs. Hart and Durtnall's paper will take place .at-the Hotel.Cecil, V.C., on Monday the 4th proximo, beginning at 8 o'clock prompt.
The liquidation of the Manchester District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, is proceeding, but a committee of shareholders is vigorously opposing various proposals in respect of the payments to be made to a number of contracting parties.
General Picquart, the Erench Minister of War, has ordered a census to he taken of all motorbuses and motorcars capable of carrying 15 people each, as well as of all commercial motors capable of transporting more than 1,50011). of useful load, The resolutions of the shareholders of the Torquay and District Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, for the disposal of the rolling stock, and the voluntary winding up of the company, in accordance with he terms of the motions quoted in our issue of the t7th instant (page 431), were adopted, at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, on Tuesday afternoon last.
Through the instrumentality of Dr. H. S. Hele-Shaw, F.R.S., M.Inst.C.E., Chairman of the Fuels Committee of the Motor Union, and on the suggestion of Mr. Alexander Duckham, the Council of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers has intimated its willingness to allow certain tests of heavygrade petroleum spirit, and other classes of fuels suitable for internal-combustion engines, to be made at its Putney research laboratory.
Where a principle is involved, it does not matter how much, or how little, the amount at stake. The Highways Conunittee of the Lambeth Borough Council has resolved to take the necessary proceedings against the London Power Omnibus Company, Limited, with a view to the recovery of damage amounting to 6s., for the repair of the footway, opposite the Prince of Wales public-house in the Brixton Road, which damage is alleged to have been caused by the accidental passage across it of one of that company's " Pioneer" motorbuses.
An amusing discussion took place, at the last meeting of the Chesterfield Town Council, in regard to the dispersal of mud, by motorbuses, in one of the narrow main streets of that Derbyshire centre. The Chairman of the Watch Committee disclaimed any control over the buses, except in respect of speed, and several members of the Council expressed the belief that the responsibility for the muddy condition of the streets rested between the Highways and the Health Committees. The Mayor, Councillor G. A. Eastwood, J.P., concurred that a little more attention to the condition of the streets was desirable, and the subject was allowed to drop on the understanding that, whilst the speed should be kept within proper limits, something more should be done to improve the road-surface conditions._
The scheme for the establishment of a motor omnibus service for the Alfreton district is making headway, and it is probable that a service will be established between Alfreton andBridge, where botE Midland and reat Northern stations can be served, Rid
dings and South Normanton. It is probable that the, capital of the new company will be ..5,000, and an early meeting will be convened.
The latest addition to the ranks of motorbus builders in this country is that of J. and E. Hall, Limited, of Dartford Iron Works, Kent. This company enjoys an enviable reputation as manufacturers of refrigerating machinery (carbonic acid process), and is accustomed to the turning-out of work of the highest possible class. The new chassis will be known as the ." Hallford " (Saurer patents), and it will be built upon the successful and approved lines of M. Adolphe Saurer, of Arbon, Switzerland. We look upon the combination as a happy one, for it will bring both the wages and sales profits into the pockets of Englishmen.
Mr. E. J. Field, who is well known to many of our readers as the chief engineer of the London and District Motorbus Company, Limited, and of the London and Provincial Motorbus and Traction Company, Limited (" Arrow " services), has taken up an important position with H. and W. Greer, Limited, of Clerkenwell Road, E.C. Mr. Field's principal duty, in his new sphere of work, will be his undertaking the entire charge of thtLondon and South Coast business in Dunlop solid-rubber tires for motorbuses and other commercial vehicles. We wish Mr. Field the best of good luck in his new vocation, where he will be able, without doubt, to keep in close touch with his many friends in the motor omnibus world.
The Barnes Accident.
The accident to one of the L.G.O. De Dion motorbuses, near Barnes, on Sunday evening last, gave another opportunityfor hysterical writing in the daily Press. It is remarkable how priority of attention is given to these vehicles, whilst electric tramcars and railway trains, to which we are more accustomed, do not receive the same amount of notice from those who dearly love to chronicle mishaps of any kind. The vehicle left the road without warning, and the driver states that he remembers nothing until he was at the foot of the embankment, and in the water. When the bus was pulled back on to the road, early the following morning, it was found that the shaft, which carries the worm wheel and extends through the steering-gear casing, had been broken, close up to the squared portion. Whether this fracture was due to impact with the railings, or whether it was the prime cause of the accident, is a matter of surmise; the driver does not appear to have been seized with any illness, to account for his inability to change direction, and examination of the broken shaft discloses no inherent defect. But for the fact that the river was pretty high at the time of the accident, and that the water broke the downward career of the motorbus, loss of life
might have occurred. In the event, as no glass was broken, the resistance due to the body-work allowed the front wheels to strike the bottom of the river very gently.
The Kintyre Motor Company,. Limited, of 7, Old Quay Street, Campbeltown, of which Mr. C. F. Wakeharo, Junior, is Managing Director, and Secretary, began a series of test and demonstration runs, over its proposed. new routes, on Monday last, leaving Glasgow at 2.30 p.m. The itinerary included the following : Monday, Glasgow, Tarbet and Loch Lomond, 35, miles ; Tuesday, Tarbet, Inveraray and Tarbet, 47 mites; Wednesday, Tarbet, Inveraray, Dalmally and Inveraray, 55 miles ; Thursday, Inveraray, Lochgair, i_ochg,ilphead, Kilmelfort and Oban, 634 miles ; Friday, Oban, Easdale, Kilmelfort and Lochgilphead, 54.1 miles ; Saturday, from Lochgilphead to Campbeltown, 3La miles. Albion and Beaufort vehicles are carrying on these preliminary services.
A successful trial was made, on Monday last, in London, of the Hartridge patent non-skidding tire, manufactured by the Hartridge Tire Syndicate, Limited, of 265, Strand, W.C. The condition of the road surfaces was exceptionally bad, and nearly every motorbus one met was giving more than usual anxiety to its driver, but the Hartridgetired vehicle manceuvred in and out of the dense traffic, more particularly near Hyde Park Corner, where a circle of small radius was taken, deliberately, at more than normal speed, to the entire satisfaction of a company of critical experts and other gentlemen interested in the matter. Selected patches of asphalt, in Westminster, were specially taken for their obnoxious character, and the results, here, were nearly as good as upon wood pavement. ltrcmains to be proved how the same tire will behave when its edges have lost their original contour, due to wear in use.
With further reference to the instructive percentage statistics of performance, obtained with Milnes-Daimler vehicles, by Thomas Tilling, Limited, which were published in our last issue, the mileages are based on the timetable published by the Atlas and Waterloo Omnibus Association, which calls for a certain number of buses to run 120 miles on each week day, and go miles on each Sunday. The number of journeys varied according to the slight alterations made, from time to time, by the Association ; for example, at one period, the company was running it journeys per day, and, at another, 12 journeys per day. The published figures represent the actual percentage loss on the schedule of requirements. It is, further, of importance to note that vehicles Nos. to to are an average of two years old, and mose numbered from 16 to tg, are an average of ni months old; all the remaining vehicles. are 12 months old. No. I was put intcs. service in September, 1904, and Nos. and 3, on January ist, 1905. We are glad to learn, from Mr. Percy Frost Smith, the engineer to Thomas Tilling, Limited, that the figures would havebeen 2.45 per cent, better, but for an unanticipated contingency.
So reliable have the Thornycrort motorbuses proved themselves to be, at Nottingham, that the local papers deem it necessary to give a special paragraph to the unusual occurrence of a temporary breakdown !
The All-British Chassis Bus Company, Limited, Alderman's "[louse, Bishopsg-ate Street, E.C., is in negotiation with the West Ham Corporation, with regard to leasing from the Council the disused car sheds in West Ham lane.
A number of Straker-Squire motorbuses in London have been fitted with Morse chains, and the result is highly satisfactory from the point of view of silent running. It is, also, interesting to note that the small sprocket wheel has been increased in size from ii to 17 teeth, and that any of the buses so altered are, now, operated with only three driving speeds. The attention of the public is, positively, riveted by the smoothness of running of the vehicles, after this treatment, and, more particularly, of those which are, in addition, fitted with the new Peter Union tire. The London police are exercising increased stringency in regard to the speed limit for motorbuses. We hope they will pay equal heed to the infractions of the law of which electric tramcar drivers are, more frequently, guilty.
" Motor omnibuses run from corner of the estate to Piccadilly Circus in 20 minutes." Thus reads a portion of an advertisement in a recent issue of " The Daily Telegraph," in the columns where the merits and advantages of flats and houses are set forth by numerous estate agents.
Both the Grosse Berliner Strasenbahn-Gesellschaft and the Berliner Allgemeine Omnibus-Gesellschaft, the leading tramcar and omnibus companies, respectively, in Berlin, have applied to the Corporation for licences to run motorbus lines on the basis of graduated tariffs. From the former company, whose electric car system is worked on a uniform tariff of to pfenfigs (t.25d.), comes the application for a licence, in respect of six lines, with fares of to and 15 pfennigs, instead of five longer lines with fares of to, 15 and 2o pfennigs, as originally designed. On
the other hand, the omnibus company wishes to adopt the three-grade tariff, for existing as well as tuture motorbus lines. Hence, it will be seen that neither company can, at present, afford to work solely with the low tariff adopted for the tramcar system in Berlin, but must increase fares with the distance covered. When the matter came before the Corporation for discussion, Dr. Kallmann, the City Electrician, furnished an exhaustive report on the profitableness of motorbus lines, but no definite decision was arrived at by the Corporation. In the meantime, the matter is under the consideration of the police authorities, who, also, will have a word to say.
Splendid results are being obtained in Calcutta, with a 20h.p. Wolseley double-deck omnibus. This vehicle was imported by Mr. W. Lewis, an enterprising carrier, in Calcutta, and it is securing a large amount of patronage, both for public service and private hire. Even when fully loaded with 35 passengers, the machine is allowed to pass over the Howrah Bridge, where the load per wheel is, now, restricted to a load of t ton r8cwt.