EXHIBITS AT THE "BATH AND WEST" SHOW.
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The First Important Agricultural Show of the Year Attracts but Few Manufacturers. Some New Ideas Exhibited.
TEIFI Bath and West and Southern Counties Soeiety, now in the 149th year of its existence, held its annual show last week in the fields of the Russell's Estate, about :a mile out of Watfosd on the main road to Aylesbury. The Russell's was, until recently, in the possession and occupation of the Aga Khan. The "Bath and West" show (as it is generally termed) ranks second in importill3ee to the "Royal " show (that of the Royal Agricultural Society of England) and this year it has been brought far from the home centre of 'the Society's activities.
On the opening day, last Tuesday, we formed the impression that the attendance was none too good, and we heard it remarked more than once that the shoW Was too near London" and that Londoners do not know , enongh to attend an agricultural show, whilst local people think that the show is too far, out from the centre of Watford.
We were, ,of course, interested mainly in the motor and steam traction exhibits and were, perhaps, not surprised to find them all too few. The motor and steam vehicle industries have not yet fully awakened to their new freedom which has resulted from the partial removal of the ban of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Members of that Society are now permitted to show at any six of the agricultural shows in Great Britain, in addition to two in Ireland, and it may be found that to exhibit at the Royal show in July is as far as most of them went to go. Certainly, the voting strength which carried the " reform " through at the meetings of the Society in the winter did mat obtrude itself at Watford—at least to the extent that would be noticed.
The stalwarts at the show, either showing direct or through agents, were :—The Associated Equipment Co., Ltd.: Dahnler Motors, Lt., Fiat (England), Ltd.. Ford Alotor Co. (England), Ltd., General Motors, Ltd.. Guy Motors, Ltd. Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd., Star Motor Co.. Ltd., jobei I. Thornyeroft and re., Ltd., gad Wallis and Stevens, Ltd.
The exhibits embraced three cattle wagons, seven farmers' lorries, two tip wagons, three platform lorries, one Normandy cart, one country carrier's cart, six tradesmen's vans, one traveller's brougham, one char-h-hancs, and seven nassenger-service vehicle buses of different capacities. Thug it will be seen that the passenger vehicle interest was entered for to some extent. At first blush this would appear to be illogical, for there i5 no close industrial connection between agriculture and bus operation, buses not being the kind of thing that a farmer would want to compare and purchase, like oatcake, or cream separators, or sheep dips, or hay tedders, or even a tractor attachment for a hay sweep. We formed the opinion that the buses were exhibited in a spirit of optimism, Or, if it did not go so far as that, in one of hope that amongst the wealthy Patrons of the agricultural show would be people who would get the idea, from seeing the buses, of buying and using them for station work or shooting parties, or of encouraging the estanlisliment of a hug service in some locality in which they might be interested and which needed such a service.
An Inspection of the Exhibits. • Let us, in imagination, pass once more through the grounds, however, and recall .the exhibits as we go. An interesting dual-purpose vehicle, ona Guy. 1-ton chassis. took our attention on the stand of the local agents for this make of chassis, Messrs. Geo. Warren and Son, of, Watford. The vehicle serves as a cattle wagon or as a platform lorry.Sides 3 ft. 3 ins, high are hinged to the platform and the tailboard folds in half to the same height. By withdrawing the keeper pins and the hinge pins, the sides and tailboard are removable. The slatted extensions (or ladder racks), 14 .ins. high, are framed on iron stanchions which drop into sockets on the high sides. For entraining cattle, the tailboard is folded down ,and rests on two substantial bearers forming a •ramp 0 ft. long. This and the fiber are' cross-battened. To assist in getting the cattle forward, a hole is bored at an angle in the bottom front corner of each side for a draw rope to be passed through, and Ting bolts are attached to the eab far securing the beasts, of which (allowing 12 cwt. each) two can be carried. A tilt cover is provided. This vehicle, complete with lighting set, sells at £369. A 2-ton Guy platform lorry shown and priced at '506 had a uSefuliy wide platform extending right over the wheel arches. A farmer wants such a wide and perfectly flat platform. A 16-seater Guy bus with body by j. C. Beadle, Ltd., of Dartford. had a roll-up "hood supported when extended on detachable head rails. It was mounted on the dropped-frame speed model chassis and was priced at £507 for the chassis. The fourth exhibit on this stand was a 26-seater bus on., the Guy dropped-frame chassis with a 30 h.p. engine offered (chassis price) at 1817. Guy vehicles are well favoured Crossing the main avenue we Came to the stand of John T. Thornycroft and Co.. Ltd., who display a bus and a lorry. The latter is the 30-cwt. type Al chassis eligible for the W.O. subsidy of i120, mounted on 34-in. by 7-in. pneumatic tyres and equipped with a hinged-sided lorry body with canvas tilt cover, the price being £470, including a 12-volt lighting set. Any type of body to suit the requirements of farmers and others would, of course, be supplied.
The other exhibit' was a 20-seated Dominion bus on the Al long chassis with 14-ft. wheelbase mounted on pneumatics. The body was by Vickers, of Crayford, and was well designed and constructed, the entrance being arranged beside the driver's seat, the windows being made fo drop and the rear 'emergency doors being simple to operate.
Eleven of the principal dealers in Ford productions operating in a wide area around Watford had combined to make one exhibit. They showed a 1-ton hinged-sided platform lorry, a 1-ton cattle wagon (precisely like that shown on the Guy 1-tonner), a 1-ton farm truck with overhanging raves and a front ladder, a 1-ton van with a canvas tilt, and a Ford touring car, the rear seating and doors being removable and replaceable by a Whitehead and Furness body which converts it to a sheep truck or van as required. In front of the stand a few Ford SOPS with straked wheels or rubber-tyred wheels were shown, one of the latter being coupled to a J.B.-type Eagle trailer—a combination of considerable use and value to a farmer.
A large space was occupied by Morris Commercial Cars, Ltd.. showing through Tomlinson '(Afarylebone), Ltd. The novelty here was a 2-tier livestock carrier. This has erected on its platform (the chassis being the 1-ton Morris) an angle-iron framework about 6 ft. high. It is boarded up to 27 ins, and above that is slatted to the Canvas roof. A loose platform lies on the fixed platform when large beasts or bulky loads are being carried, but when it is required to double the floor area for light loads, as when carrying light goods that need to be separated, or sheep or pigs, this loose platform can be raised 30 ins, by a winch and cables (these being permanently secured to the four corners). At full height, plates are turned outward to rest on four brackets to which they are then bolted, thus taking the weight off the cables. The vehicle shown was said to be the invention of a Mr. Stewart and to be experimental, but it appeared to be quite practical. Its price was not known. A 1-ton tipping ,lorry shown had hand-operated tipping gear and gave a good tipping angle.
The 25-30-cwt. convertible-wheded or creeper-track lorry was shown. This has a Roadless-Traction unit for rough ground, replaceable in four hours by one man by springs and wheels when a spell of highway work is contemplated. Such a vehicle can go anywhere. Its price, complete with creeper-track and wheels, is £545. A 1-ton general utility vehicle for the country carrier was an attractive proposition at £252 10s. The door at the rear is worked into the tailboard and the seats are removable to give a clear floor space for goods.
The last of the Morris exhibit was a 16-seater front'entrance bus with an emergency door. The seating was comfortable and well arranged and the vehicle was very roomy. It was mounted on a long-wheelbase 30-cwt. chassis equipped with 32-in. by 4i-in. pneumatics, twins at the rear, and sells for £535 fully equipped. The creeper track lorry, by the way, proved very useful in assisting laden lorries to reach their show positions over the sodden ground.
Fiat (England), Ltd., had fallen in with the spirit of the machinery section of the show by having the engines of all their staged vehicles running constantly. Away from the noises of the contiguous stationary engine (with hitand-miss governing!) and the clattering bay elevators and other implements the Fiats would have niade a good impression by their noiseless running. The four exhibits there were a drop-sided lorry for 25-cwt. loads on pneumatic tyres, a 2-ton platform lorry, also on pneumatic tyres, a 15-ewt. boxvan and a 20-seater public-service bus on a 2i-ton S.P.A. chassis. The 25-cwt. lorry was priced at £390, the 2-tonner at £515, the boxvan at £275 and the bus at 1945.
General Motors, Ltd., made a fine display of Chevrolet productions, through their local dealers, Marlboro' Motors, Ltd, and W. W. Saunders. The 20-25-cwt. market gardener's wagon had fixed open-work sides on a platform 40 ins, from the ground. It was loaded with 12 churns and would have accommodated another two without dropping the tailboard. On 30-in. by 5-in, single pneumatic tyres the price was £244. Next to it was a seven-seater rural bus, the seats being detachable and staples and straps arranged to sling them to the roof when the vehicle should be required for goods only. It was well ventilated and a very practical vehicle. On the 10-cwt. chassis the price is £223, whilst a 14-seater on the 20-25-ewt. chassis sells at £300: The 10-cwt. delivery van was shown and the 20-25-cwt. chassis had a lorry body with drop sides selling at £230, canvas tilt and hoop sticks adding £6 to the cost. This chassis was also shown with a 14-seater B26 char-tt-bancs body mounted upon it at £380. A 14-seater bus can be provided at £390. The local agents for the two makes, W. Wilson and Son (Herts), Ltd., of Royston, showed a Daimler 3-tonner and a Star 2-tonner with bodywork by themselves. The Daimler had a wheelbase of 13 ft. 6 ins. and had a lowsided lorry body in oak on ash bolsters. The sides and tailboard had double strap hinges, and link body clips, well fitted, held the tailboard rigidly. Altogether a very wellmade job, the price complete being £739. The Star lorry conformed to the same ideas and had removable raves to extend the sides and also hoop sticks and a tilt. The hoop sticks and rave standards were of the same size and thus only one set of sockets was required. The price (less hoop sticks and tilt) was £485.
Wallis and Steevees showed the only steam tractor in the show, whilst there was not a steam wagon to be seen. It had a compound engine developing from 24 h.p. to 30 h.p. at normal speed and driving through a roller chain, its wheelbase being 13 ft. 10 ins. Its selling price was £850. A model of the new Advance road roller, with its splayed axles enabling the side rollers to conform to the road camber and to roll on any surface without marking, was also shown.
The Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., had a very attractive exhibit comprising a 21-ton end-tipper on the model 204, 28 h.p. chassis and a 34-seater bus. The model 204 chassis has a frame 7 ins. deep, the engine power is taken through an invertid cone clutch, a four-speed gearbox and overhead worm and its chassis weight is only 44 cwt. The steel tip body was operated by a Woods hoist and could be tipped to a full clearing angle. The price of this vehicle complete was £780. The body of the 34-Seater bus was built by United Automobile Services, Ltd., and was mounted on a model 507 chassis, which has a 45 h.p. engine driving through an inverted cone-type clutch, four-speed gearbox and underslung worm. It was mounted on 38-in. by 7-in. pneumatic tyres. The interior was roomy, well 'arranged and nicely appointed. The price of the bus complete was £1,513 10s.
Stewart and Ardern. Ltd., showed two tradesmen's vans, a traveller's brougham and a Normandy cart, all on Morris chassis. The Normandy cart seats two persons on the front transverse seat and three on each of the longitudinal seats at the rear. The seats and cushions can be removed from the rear body, leaving the space clear for goods or livestock. Equipped with a serviceable hood the vehicle sells at £225.
The International Harvester Co., Ltd., showed the International and McCormick-Deering tractors and Piccard, Pictet and Co. showed the Sinaar rototiller, which has had incorporated mil improvement. The air intake has been extended upwards to the height of 4 ft., the orifice being canvas-screened to provide a first filter. The second filter is formed of oily wood wool and the final filter of felt. Geo. Munro, Ltd., of Covent Garden, have introduced the Kinkade tractor, which has a 31 h.p. air-cooled engine moiiiited on a hub inside the wheel and driving the wheel through an internal gear. Early-day motorists will recall the Singer motor wheel, which it resembles. This handy power unit will haul two ploughshares, a drain cutter or five tines for cultivating. It will pass between standing crops and should be very useful to the agriculturist in a
variety of ways. Its price complete with implements is £50.