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Snow and Road Transport.

25th January 1912
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Page 1, 25th January 1912 — Snow and Road Transport.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Whilst the South of England has so far eseaped the downfall of snow, many provincial areas have not been so fortunate. In fact, reports from I he :North of England are to the effect that the greatest difficulties have been encountered, and in parts are still enduring. Owners of steel-tired vehicles have suffered the usual inconveniences due to the inability of these machines to travel when snow is on the ground, and not a few have expressed regret that no really-satisfactory winter wheel has yet been put before them. We feel, in regard to this complaint, that much may be said in favour of the makers of the several types of so-called winter wheels which are on the market, because too many of them have been given a bad name in the past hy reason of their continued use throughout a whole winter, whereas their design and construction obviously fit them only for use when snow is actually on the road, if any regard be paid to probable wear and tear. We know the " hill and dale" difficulty. and we agree that many owners may prefer to accept the inconveniences due to cessation of haulage with steeltired vehicles when snow is lying on the ground : numbers are content to hope for a low average of snowy days. On the other hand, it is not quite fair that they should pretend that they did not know that a steeltired vehicle was of little use on snow, because that fact is notorious.

With rubber-tire prices at their present levels, and with ample guarantees of reasonable competition in this branch of the business, we would again urge the claims of the rubber-tired wheel. It virtually " makes good " at all times—unless during a very heavy fall or in a snowdrift, and the owner can set the advantages of lessened vibration and higher speed, both of which tell in the accounts, against the higher first cost. In addition, he must remember that the regular use of rubber-tired wheels relieves him of the necessity to purchase a spare set of soscalled winter wheels.

The Speyer London Traffic Deal.

Sir Edgar Speyer and his partners will shortly know exactly where they stand in regard to their scheme for the transference of a large slice of L.G.O.C. profits to coffers which will allow those profits to be applied to the payment of dividends upon the existing six per cent. income bonds of the Underground Co. We have not space at our disposal to reproduce the whole of the scheme. It must suffice, therefore, that we refer outreaders back to the terms which were published in our issue of the 11th inst. The material change is that stock holders are to receive an additional cash bonus of £8 per cent. on the nominal value of their holding. The cartoon in another part of this issue will serve to convey a few of our anticipations of effects when the scheme goes through—as it probably will.

The published terms make it clear that three distinct situations may arise : (1) the cordial and effective approval of the scheme by all the interests concerned ; (2) the retention of their stock by 25 per cent. or more of the existing holders ; (3) the refusal of the proprietors of the L.G.O.C. to alter their articles of association so as again to bring into force the old rule of one vote per R-10 of stock. So far as we can judge, the last-named possibility is the one which might cause Messrs. Speyer Bros. not to go through with the deal. We may recall that, on a quite-recent occasion, the shareholders' voting powers were varied to give one vote for the first £40 of stock, another vote for the next I:400 of stock, a third vote for the next £4,000 of stock, and so on. Hence, it is clear to us that the opposition element upon the board of the L.G.O.C., which is headed by Mr. Howard Moore, who for many years was chairman of the 'toad Car Co., Ltd., has only to secure sufficient adherents from the ranks of the smaller stock holders to cause a very considerable amount of trouble, and possibly to imperil the contemplated fusion. We foresee, in regard to the second of the above-mentioned possibilities, that one of two courses would obviously be open to Sir Edgar Speyer, once he had available the professed acceptable holding of 75 per cent., or any lower but mutuallyagreed percentage in excess of 50 per cent. of the total stock. These alternatives are : (a) that the L.G.O.C. should be put. into liquidation, thereby freezing out the obstinate stock holders ; (b) that the purchasing group should continue to pay the minority of stock holders, who decline to sell, a dividend at the rate of something like 27 per cent. per annum. It has to be recalled, in this last. connection, that the scheme has been formulated upon a basis which really means that the Underground Railway will receive a high rate of dividend upon the L.G.O.C. capital, and will apply the amount of the dividend so received by way of distribution upon its income bonds. The present issued total of these income bonds is £4,928,050—part of an authorized capital of £5,200,000, and which class of security it is proposed to increase by about another

1,400,000. Sir Edgar Speyer is not likely tamely to sit down while recalcitrants draw 27 per cent.

On the merits of the scheme as put forward, we feel strongly inclined to recommend stock holders to sell their holding on the market at present. prices. Continued holding, to our minds, is not so good as the proverbial " bird in hand." Interchange, joint and through bookings, between motorbus, shallow railway and tube, are attractive in the abstract, butit undoubtedly remains to he shown that they are of value in the concrete. We believe they will prove to have a distinct value, but any extreme apnlieation of the principle or re-arrangement, if it be allowed to go to the noint that members of the travelling public are left without choice of the means or transport they will employ over any one section, must give encouragement that will immediately hasten the advent of

fresh owners, and those over and above the contemplated promotions which are within view just now. The public cannot be dragooned for long ; it will take its own choice—if it can, and here the choice will be provided. We fear that tube interests may find their calculations largely upset, if particular motorbus services be largely cut down in frequency, or withdrawn altogether.

The reputed threat of Sir Edgar Speyer, that he would spend one million of money upon motorbuses himself, and fight the L.G.O.C. to the death, was probably little more than a. piece of financier's bluff. Apparently, it had the desired effect, and caused all but one of the L.G.O.C. directors, and the management as well, to come to terms. The terms, on the whole, are favourable to the parties who agreed to sell—especially if the stock holders treat the present. opportunity as one to be handled on a cash basis. The uncertainty of a good dividend return for the future is due to the bracketing of practically 2.5,000,000 of Underground income bonds, upon which at most a meagre return is otherwise probable, with the 6 per cent. income bonds which form the second line of the Underground offer. Of course, if one takes the view that the experience, of the L.G.O.C. is a valuable asset, and that view is held by this journal, the completion of the deal will vest that experience in the Underground Railway. Again., it has to be remembered that the administrators of the Underground Railway themselves possess experience of a unique character. Combined, the two volumes of administrative experience should be a thorn in the side of fresh competition, and we therefore feel that there are good grounds for believing that the trading results will provide an increasing return upon the capital. It is the likelihood of considerable guerilla tactics that may prove the unknown quantity. The motorbus will remain the dividend. earner.

In conclusion, we would revert to the threat by Sir Edgar Speyer, during the course of the negotiations, that he would purchase a thousand motorbuses himself. We regard that threat as one which need not have been taken seriously, because such a departure would merely have taken traffic from Sir Edgar Speyer's existing interests. Now, however, and in the next year or two, purchases of the kind will be made, and probably to a considerably greater aggregate than 1,000 motorbuses, by parties who will both help to keep traffic out of the. tubes and compete with the projected combination of underground and surface interests. Within limits, there is room for all. In fact, we believe that passenger transport in the Metropolitan area. is about to enter upon an era of sustained prosperity.

Motorbus Owner-Drivers.

The state of affairs which is likely to be broughtabout by the absorption of London's principal motorbus services opens the possibility of a return to a branch of motorbus transport which obtained in the Metropolis four or five years ago, when the practicable motorbus was first introduced to the London streets. Simultaneously with the decision of the large horsedbus companies to experiment with the mechanical substitute, a number of small proprietors of horsed rolling-stock also decided to have a finger in the pie. It is regrettable to have to record that, principally owing to their ignorance as to the contents of the pie, fingers were burned. It is now, of course, a matter of history that large companies, with well-nigh unlimited resources, had similar misfortune. With increasing experience and the weeding-out of the moreunsuitable personnel, it became not only possible but imperative that the horsed conveyance should be finally displaced. In the meantime, the small owner had unhappily paid the price of his somewhat uneonsidered enterprise. The motorlons was left for the large corporations to operate. The removal of several thousands of regular horsed-buses invited the

return of the •' pirate." The driver of this filibustering type of vehicle was only occasionally a driverowner; as a rule, he was a driver-hirer, But, in London omnibus circles, piracy pays, and .it must be remembered that, in spite of its ill-sounding title, it may be a respectable calling. To make it a reallyremunerative business, however, the pirate driver, or he who regards no authority other than the police, must possess a vehicle which can compete on more equal terms with his highly-organized rivals. The taxicab owner-driver, the respectability of whose calling is almost incontestable, has proved that his method ef doing business is the most remunerative, The owner-driver and the owner of a few cabs only are the sole examples of comparative satisfaction with London's existing taxicab regulations; so it is, in most instances, in the Provinces. The owner-driver of a steam wagon is in many cases making a firstclass living. May it not be that the motorbus ownerdriver, the ultra-respectable descendant of the freelance horsed-bus driver, will be able to earn a good living for himself and his conductor by virtue of his knowledge of " points " and fares and traffic conditions ? With running costs (for them) down to say 61td. per mile and management expenses at practically nil, the motorbus owner-driver would not be deterred by the likely nursing tactics of his huge rivals. They pocket whatever excess earnings are secured. Cooperative ownership and hire-purchase methods are initiating a revolution in the motorcab business. Similar facilities, in these days of successful operation, may not improbably, be grafted on to the motorbus industry, at any rate in the Metropolis. There will shortly be no lack of new models which will have little difficulty in passing Scotland Yard, and the owner-driver of the motorbus may become a big factor in the situation. We think he will.

Skating Rinks as Garages.

A certain company promoter of some note, who was prominent throughout the late boom in picturepalace and skating-rink undertakings, frankly stated that certain of his ventures would never have seen light had he not felt convinced that a modern rink building was admirably adapted to the requirements of motor-vehicle owners and repairers. At the back of his head, this man of keen foresight, of course, realized the fugitive nature of the roller-skating boom of two years ago, but his lack of practical knowledge of the industrial-vehicle industry sufficiently accounted for his optimistic anticipations with regard to the immediate future of his lbuildings.

It is a fact that the choice of a suitable site or of advantageous premises for the garaging of a fleet of inotoreabs, motorvans or motorbuses is not altogether an easy business. It is, perhaps, more difficult nowadays in London than it is in the country. The industrial-vehicle user is late on the scene, at any rate 130 far as concerns existing buildings which can be readily adapted. The repair, maintenance and housing of pleasure cars have absorbed innumerable suitable premises all over the country. The pleasure car is, however, not as a rule permanently garaged in large fleets, nor are the repairs and overhaul to this class of machine carried out by the owner. The industrial vehicle is an entirely-different proposition ; its garaging and maintenance generally call for more thought and greater organization.

It cannot be denied that there are some fleets of vans and wagons which are successfully operated, more by luck than wit it is to be surmised, under maintenance conditions of the worst. If, neverthelees, some thought be given to the choice and to the suitable equipment of a garage, corresponding benefits are bound to accrue in the running-cost account. The skating-rink promoter, to whom we have referred, was probably under the impression that all that is necessary for a. useful garage is a considerable roofed-in area with a hardwood floor. The present writer has frequently heard said, of some antiquated out-of-the-way badly-drained and badly-lighted building, albeit of considerable floor area, " what a magnificent place for a garage." Floor area of Imposing dimensions is all that matters to the uninitiated—to the far-seeing rink promoter and others of his kidney.

It cannot be too firmly impressed on users and would-be users of commercial-motor vehicles,. that the employment of valuable machinery necessitates some care as to its housing. Frequently is some shed chosen to which the approach is narrow, tortuous and ill-paved. More often than not the nature and strength of the floor has been a matter of no consideration. In many older buildings, of which plausible property agents have sung the praises, protruding party walls and supporting columns are a never-ending source of worry in after days to the man who has long and heavy vehicles constantly manceuvring in and out of the shed. Natural lighting and the possibility of artificial lighting are often not given a thought, when the bargain is struck. That the drainage must be ample from all parts of the floor may not have occurred to a tenant, who sooner or later may have half-a-dozen steam wagons wanting a wash-out at the same time. Lock-ups for stores and for coal or petrol and oil, and suitable accommodation for shop plant and repair equipment: for all these must some provision at least be made. We, of course, have in mind only those depots which are to house some considerable number of vehicles ; the demand for such garages is rapidly becoming more insistent T. the question of night storage for the long-distancevehicles has a bearing upon the inquiry for them.

The gentleman who wants to dispose of a skating rink, which has reached its obvious destiny, should be asked to remember that a flat ma-pie-wood floor is not the best proposition for the proper drainage .of waste oil and water. There also exists a necessity for ensuring that foundations, which have satisfactorily supported a few hundreds of skate-shod human beings,. shall withstand on occasion axle loads up to six or eight tons. He should also be reminded that motorcabs or motorvans cannot climb stairs or pass througli turnstiles, and that approaches Must be strong-surfaced, of gradual gradient, and wide as to doorways.

If its situation be suitable, a defunct skating rink or other such building may possibly be adapted as a useful garage, but the man who has to sell or let it should be kept awake to the fact that it will, as a rule, cost money to turn it into a suitable depot, and that the golden opportunity is his in the chance of disposal and not the possible tenant's. Suitable accommodation is frequently to be found, although not without careful search and inquiry. Vehicle -owners should, however, be seriously warned against the acquisition of some handsome spacious building which is going subsequently to run them into all sorts of expense for alterations and clilapidations. The "fag end" of a repairing lease is another dangerous element, but one that is well known to solicitor:.

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Organisations: Scotland Yard
Locations: London

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