Motorbus
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Widnes Motorbuses.
The " Commer Car " motorbuses for Widnes, four of which have been purchased at the net price of 4:844 per vehicle, will maintain a 20-minute service from the transporter bridge through the town. Each omnibus will carry 34 passengers, and a garage with other buildings is now in course of erection, at a cost of -4,'I,soo. The vehicles will have covered-in top decks.
Single-deck Steam Omnibuses.
The Metropolitan Steam Omnibus Company, Limited, has recently put into service, between Barnes and Piccadilly Circus, a 20-seated, singledeck, Darracq-Serpollet omnibus, the body of which, as we announced in our issue of the 4th ultimo would he the case, has been built by Christopher Dodson, Limited. An interior view of the body is given herewith, and it may be seen that 12 of the passengers can be seated on six crossseats in the forward part of the body, whilst the remaining eight passengers may be seated on two seats arranged in the more usual manner.
The lighting of the bus is all that can be desired, as, in addition to the front and side glass panels, the roof is provided with four circular, glazed apertures. At night-time, the bus is illuminated by means of the " Leitner " electric-lighting system, the small dynamo for which is driven by means of a leather belt from the second-n lotion shaft of the engine. Ventilation has also been well studied and provided, and the first and second windows on each side of the body may be raised or lowered, to suit the conditions of the weather.
The bus is neatly completed externztlly in the company's usual colours (green and white), and it is certainly the most comfortably-seated and tastefully-finished omnibus now in public service in London. We understand that the vehicle may be hired for theatre parties or other private purposes. Mr. A. C. Clifford, the company's manager, who is responsible for the seating arrangement of this vehicle, as also for that of the double-deck buses which are run along the same route, is to be congratulated upon the design. Although Mr. Clifford is very reticent on the subject of the reasons which have induced his company to operate singledeck buses, we gathered in a recent conversation with him that the new type has been introduced with a view to increased ellkiency of working. It has already proved popular.
The Newcomb "Non-skid."
The Newcomh anti-side-slip device, which was described in our issue of the 7th of May last, and which was subsequently fitted to a Vanguard bUS NO. L.N. 348 employed on No. 14 service from Stratford to Putney, completed its three months' trial under service conditions on the 20th ultimo, and, since that date, we have received a copy of the driver's daily log book showing the behaviour of the device during the period of the trial. We are glad to be able to record that the fitting has, under the most trying conditions, proved itself to be a most efficient means of preventing side-slip on greasy roads. The Newcomb NonSkid Syndicate, Limited, whose registered office is at Broad Street House, E.G., has had no little difficulty in persuading the police authorities that there would be no damaging effect upon the roads, and it was not until the sanction of the surveyor in each borough through which the bus had to pass had been obtained that the police gave permission for the trial.
Since being withdrawn from service, the device has been taken adrift, and we have had an opportunity of examining all the component parts. These appear to be in excellent condition, and they show no undue signs of wear: Careful record of the cost of maintenance has been kept, and, basing our calculation on the results obtained, we have no hesitation in stating that, in our opinion, the device could be maintained in an efficient condition at a cost not exceeding .00l.d. per car-mile, provided the driver uses the device in accordance with the printed instructions which are set before him. We hope shortly to hear that it will have received the full approval of the Commissioner of Police. We believe that the only outstanding question now is that of noise when in operation, and, to satisfy the police on this point, a bus to which the device is fitted will be submitted to the tests by the Noise Committee of Scotland Yard to-day.
Southport Advertisements.
The Southport Corporation is very proud of its streets, which are admittedly beautiful in many respects, but it is proving hypercritical in regard to the flying motor tour of " Dolly Reforming Herself." The police have objected to the passage of the Maudstay vehicles through the streets, owing to their bearing what are regarded as advertisement announcements. Is not this a case of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, in view of the unsightly horse-drawn advertisement hoardings which belong to the Corporation?
The Penrith and District Motor Services show a profit on the year's workingof -..618.
With the modest capital of ,300, the Pontypridd Motor Bus Company, Limited, was registered on the 4th instant.
An Eltham firm of house agents, in its present advertisements of new property, sets forth : " Motorbuses pass the door."
A 16-seated Darracq-Serpollet charit-banes will open this season's Isle of Wight services, about Easter time. It will be run by Messrs. A. H. Creeth and Sons, of Nettlestone, Ryde, I.O.W.
In answer to a correspondent, we are able to say that the financial year of the London General Omnibus Company, Limited, will end at the wth June next, and that no accounts will be presented until about the month of August. We have every reason to believe that the company is doing exceedingly well, notwithstanding its lesser revenue.
A Demonstration Char-a•bancs.
Amongst the stoutest and most reliable chars-a-banes are those built by Commercial Cars, Ltd. We illustrate below the one upon which Mr. Perks, of that company's staff, has done some yeoman service. This vehicle was snowed up at Doncaster for three days recently, out was none the worse, and it is now helping sales again in its accustomed style. Hull, Bridlington and Scarborough are the latest places to admit its good qualities.
Derbyshire Services.
Various efforts have been made to maintain a motorbus service in the Baslow and Bakewell district and to give improved facilities of access,. between Grindieford Station and Baslow, by means of motor vehicles. The latest effort, however, this time by the Bennier Motor Garage, Limited, of Sheffield, is to provide a quicker service, and it is expected that the journey from Sheffield to Baslow will be accomplished, by train as far as Grindleford, and thence to Saslow Hydro by road in about 40 minutes.
Another application was made to the Bakewell Urban Council for a license on the 3rd instant ; the Council resolved to grant a license to the applicants, On the 5th instant, as the result of pressure brought to bear by the owners of local horsed vehicles, a special meeting was held, and, after a heated discussion, it was decided to rescind the original resolution and so to refuse the license. It was pointed out, in the course of the discussion, that the proposed service would have brought Bakewell into communication with Sheffield ; at present the town appears to be isolated entirely from the surrounding districts so for as a quick and reliable passenger service of any kind is concerned. A Council, however, which will change its mind so completely in a few days always offers possibilities of still further alteration.
London United Tramways.
The London United Tramwars, Limited, has only been able to pay 3i per cent. on account of its five per cent. cumulative preference dividend, for the year ended the 3ist December last. It is evidently feeling the ntress of competition, and it can hardly be regarded as a good factor in the situation, that its reserve funds total only j;39,168, when the issued capital exceeds four millions sterling. Presiding at the seventh ordipary general meeting, on Monday last, Mr. C. J. Cater Scott admitted that the chief cause of their disappointing traffic was the competition of the motorbuses. Most of his speech was devoted to an elaboration of the great disadvantages under which a tramway undertaking has to be established, in comparison with a motorbus undertaking, and his arguments were. certainly very convincing. The chief points in favour of the motorbus were stated to he : less restrictions
• u. in speed; absence of compulsory .stoppages; no permission needed to be there (sic); no payment of way leaves; no expense in street widenings ; no paving or maintenance expenses; ready ability to divert traffic. One statement we do not exactly to!low; it is that the motorbuses ' frequently and deliberately obstruct the tramcars," This statement cannot be reconciled with the complaint about greater liberty for the motorbuses in respect of speed, unless the tramcar drivers consistently ignore the Board of Trade regulations in force.
Another Skidding Decision: Important Appeal Case.
j J. Darling and Pickford gave an important judgment, in the Divisional Ccurt, on Saturday last, on an appeal by the defendant company in the action of Parker versus The London General Omnibus Company, Limited.
he plaintiff, a boy named Alfred Parker, on the 28th April last, sudck aly stepped off the kerb in the Fulham Palace Road, and the driver of a motorbus, in order to avoid killing the boy, applied his brakes so rapidly that the bus skidded and knocked him down. The jury at the Brompton County Court found that there was no negligence on the part of the defendant company's driver, but was unable to agree on Me question of nuisance.
Mr. Charles now appeared for the appellant company, and Mr. Jellicoe and Mr, Griffith Jones for the. respondent, Mr. Justice Pickford remarked that, if a bus were a nuisance because it skidded when pulled up suddenly, so was a horse if it fell under similar circumstances, and Mr. justice Darling observed that, if a motorbus were a nuisance, it was an indictable offence to put one on the road, just as it would be to let a lion loose in a street.
The Court allowed the appeal, but gave leave for a further appeal by respondent. In the course of his judgment, in which Mr. Justice Pickford agreed, Mr. justice Darling stated that it would be something new to say a horse was a nuisance, while being carefully and skilfully used, because it fell down. It therefore be came, as between the skidding of horses, carriages and motorcars, simply a question of degree. If the car were a nuisance, as contended, it was because of some inherent property, and, the roads and the vehicles being what they were, if plaintiff were right, whoever put such a car on the road could he indicted for a nuisance at common law. In 'the present case, -there was no evidence to show that the car was a nuisancethat it was dangerous in itself if skilfully managed. If it became a danger in doing what was necessary to save the plaintiff's life, defendants were not liable.
Mr. Charles, for the appellant company, was instructed by Messrs. joynson-Hicks, Hunt, Moore and Cardew.
A Cardin Retirement.
Mr. R. B. Goodyer, for many years manager of the Cardiff Provincial Tramways Company, Limited, and who had prior experience in Edinburgh and with the London Road Car Company, has retired from the management of the motorbus services between Whitehurch and Cardiff.