Improvements in
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
COACHES for
DAY-AND-NIGHT TRAVEL
Some Interesting Details of Arrangements that could Easily be Made to Ensure Greater Comfort and Convenience for Passengers on Long distance Vehicles
order that the long-distance coach shall retain is present popularity, the owners concerned must Orme to study and anticipate the wishes of the ng public. One of the problems which confronts proprietor is the compilation of a time-table so anged that it will attract not only the pleasurerer, but also the business man who wishes to Tel by road iaud may find that a lengthy journey ing the day-time is inconvenient.
'0 meet such a demand the coach should be ipped differently from the usual style of day-time ice. As the sleeper coach is not in favour (apart n the fact that it is expensive to run) the vehicle aid be provided with seats which are designed Ilford the maximum amount of comfort, so that • may be utilized for relaxation and sleep.
. coach that is to be used for night travel should e a well-spaced seating arrangement. Plenty of n for stretching oneself and a few inches extra ;th of cushion are desirable. The vehicle should built well up to the limit of 7 ft. 6 ins, wide all and have only three seats per row. Then there may be a double seat on one side of the gangway and a single seat on the other, with the advantage that each: passenger may have an arm-rest on each side, whilst the armrest that divides the double seat may be twice the ordinary width in order that at the same time two passengers may use it.
In the usual type of day coach the passenger is seldom allotted more than 1 ft. 53: ins, of cushion length and, if the coach be 7 ft. 6 ins, wide, the central gangway will be about 1 ft. 2 ins. wide at the cushion level.
Without decreasing -the size of the gangway it is suggested that with the three-seat-per-row plan, each passenger has an allowance of about 1 ft. 11 ins, of seat length, including arm-rests, or 1 ft. 7 ins. between the arm-rests. These are 2 ins, wide, with a 4-in, arm-rest in the middle of the double seat. The cushions should also be wide from back to front, say, 1 ft. 7 ins, or 1 ft. 8 ins., with the usual full-depth back squab, plain or independently shaped, which can, if necessary, be increased in height by means of a fixed or detachable head-rest.
If the seats are to be specially adapted for sleeping purposes some kind of leg-rest is desirable. The cushion is of normal width and an ample space is allowed between one row of seats and the next. There are two cushions to each seat, and for day travel these are placed one above the other. They provide the normal height of seat of about 1 ft. 5 ins, from the floor.
The upper cushion is mounted on a link mechanism, so that it may project forward and form an extension of the lower one. The front of this extension rests on the top of the day-time font-rest, or any other convenient ledge of the seat in front. There is a doubledeck arrangement of cushions for each passenger, so that, with a double seat, one traveller may continue to sit upright while his or her neighbour reclines. Individually adjustable backs would also improve this dualpurpose style of seat.
On a long journey by night the traveller will welcome any locker accommodation which is close at hand, and its ready accessibility will be quite as important as its size. There will not be much room under the seats for packages if the usual foot-rests be situated at this point, but if the spacing of the seats be sufficiently generous to allow the footrests to be placed entirely behind them, a useful space becomes available.
Pockets which are attached to the backs of the seats will hold ply small items, or such as fold compactry. There fore it is suggested that lockers be formed in the roof, immediately above the seats. The size of these compartments will depend on the transverse shape of the roof and the amount of headroom available.
These lockers may on each side project across the body for about two-thirds of the length of the seats below them, or may be made smaller if the coach is to have a sliding roof, or the headroom above the central gangway be not more than 6 ft. The lockers would be fitted with sliding front panels, thus overcoming the objection to a hinged door opening into the gangway.
The ventilating scheme will include drop windows with a glass louvre at the top of each and some means for admitting or extracting air at the cant-rail level. With headroom of 6 ft. 4 ins. or 6 ft. 6 ins, the roof lockers may be built above a ventilated cant-rail panel or wind tunnel. The inside panel is provided with a sliding grating, so that the amount of ventilation may be regulated. Each window should have a spring roller blind. This is an item which might more often be added to the ordinary day-time coach, because it is useful for excluding sun glare. The blind does this more effectively than does any arrangement of side curtains.
Although a buffet is not a necessity for the night coach, a lavatory should be installed. This is most conveniently situated on the off side at the rear. It has a door opening inwards. The self-contained chemical closet may be neatly panelled and above it mounted a folding wash basin. Over the latter is a mirror, at the top of which is a shelf, with a rail around it, for towels and so on.
The fixed windows are of opaque glass, or they are made more attractive if they consist of leaded and coloured lights. The wails should be covered with an easily washable material, such as a sheet-metal imitation tiling. Small adjustable ventilators are fitted above each window and there is an air extractor in the roof.
Regarding the general design of the combined dayand-night coach, a maximum-sized forward-control type of six-wheeler, with a full-width cab, is recommended. The roof is higher for the main saloon than for the cab, because the former has a maximum amount of headroom, necessitated by the provision of inside roof lockers. The door is raised in order that all the seats may face forwards and the panels are extended below the chassis with under-floor lockers formed right across the coach between the wheel-arches and the main front entrance.