The Development of the Trolley-bus.
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The Solution to the Problem of Tramway Extension and Maintenance.
ONE OF the tables included in this issue contains the essential particulars of the rail-less or trolleybuses offered by the leading makers. The inception of rail-less traction (or the transport of passengers in vehicles which are not, rail-bound, but. are free to travel upon any part. of a highway, can pass or overtake stationary or slowmoving vehicles, even though they draw the power for propulsion purposes. from overhead wires) occurred in this country about the year 1910. The system was known on the Continent, and the ideas employed,lhere,had been considered by British engineers, and the various disabilities liad been noted, so that when it was decided, to evolve a trial car it was possible to produce a design that Was moderately advanced_
tly the courtesy of Railless, Ltd., we are able to reproduce a photograph of the first production, Which, viewed from the standpoint, of the exPeriene possessed to-day, looks somewhat crude. The bus was operated over a private experimental route at Hendon, and considerable technical information was obtained, whilst. it was definitely established that, for passenger and freight purposes, within the limits of the area served by the overhead installation, electric traction on the rail-less or overhead trolley system was a commercial possibility.
The designs were improved in the light of experience gained, and in 1911 the first cars commenced operations in Leeds and Bradford, and all later types are developments of these vehicles in the direction of refinement and a careful readaptation'of the sound principles of chassis construction ishic:b have been developed in petrol-driven vehicles. Certain weaknesses were disclosed in the first 12 months' operation in daily service, and the special requirements of
rail-less traction began to make themselves felt, so that, in the end, slight departures had to be made from petrol chassis practice, but there is undoubtedly a close affinity between the two types of chassis.
It is interesting to note that, in the case of Leeds, the original vehicles are still running.
in the very latest vehicles (and in this regard we can refer to the Railless buses built for the Birmingham ser
vice), there is still an approximation to petrol chassis practice, but, except in the wheels, the front axle and, steering gear, divergence from that practice is very apparent, as, for instance, in the employment of two propeller shafts and a double worm drive to transmit, the power from the twin motors. With the limits of commercial weight, it has been necessary to provide ample strength for high acceleration and the powerful braking called for in order to maintain the schedules demanded in city serviie. The trolley-bus is su,pplanting the tramcar in some circumstances.
With regard to the extent to which the rail-less or trolley-bus can be usefully employed there are some who think that its use will be confined to suburban and inter-urban work, but many have already formed the opinion that its sphere is much wider and embraces town and city service, except in the very large congeSted areas.
The rail-less or trolley-bus is to be met with at Rotherham, Ramsbottom, York, Tees-side, Ipswich, West Hartlepool, Leeds, Bradford and Birmingham. It is proving a great success, and it is demonstrating the fact that, even where the population reaches 1,250,000, it can cope with the demands, and give a service which is profit-making, whereas the cost of installing and maintaining a tramway (rack has become prohibitive.
The great claims for the rail-less system are silence, absence of need for a track, low deadweight per passenger, low cost of energy per passenger-mile, high average speed, low capital charges, low operating costs, ability to operate on heavy grades, high overload capacity and high acceleration.