A NEW BUS FOR A WEST SURREY SERVICE.
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The Tillingbourne Bus Co. Purchases a Dennis Bus, Incorporating an Ingenious Emergency Door.
ASMA RT type of motorbus has recently been delivered to the order of the. Tillingbourne Bu S Co., which operates over routes in West Surrey. We are told that this company has been using American chassis hitherto, and the Dennis 19-seater bus now taken into service is its first venture with a British vehicle.
The chassis is the smallest of the Dennis range for passenger purposes, having a wheelbase of 11 ft. and a four-cylindered engine of 85 mm.by 120 ram. bore and stroke respectively. It has pneumatic tyres, those on the front wheels measuring 33 ins. by 5 ins., and those on the rear wheels 34 ins. by 7 ins. With the exception of a powerdriven pump mounted on the side of the gearbox and a twelve-volt dynamo righting set fitted in place of the usual six-volt set, the chassis is standard.
The body is a Short Brothers' product and is designed for one-man control. It has an emergency exit at the rear with a very neat arrangement by means of which the central seat of the back row tips over backwards when the door is opened, to form a step which allows of quick and easy alighting. It is capable of almost instantaneous operation, and a praiseworthy feature of it is that the folding portion of the rear seat is as comfortable as, and, in fact, indistinguishable from, the rest of the seat. The emergency door is secured at the top and bottom, and at the waist-rail, thus making the regular use of the central seat perfectly safe.
The front door of the bus, operated by the driver, is of the folding kind, opening upon a step which is within comfortable reach of the ground. A detachable panel, conforming with the contour of the side, covers the upper half of the rear wheel on each side: Careful thought given to detals of this kind has resulted in the production of a motorbus having graceful lines.
The vehicle is well suited for servic.e between the smaller country towns where the number of passengers to be carried is never very great and where the roads traversed are often narrow. This Dennis bus affords comfort not generally found in so small a vehicle. above and below the pivot point respectively.
The mechanical work was carried out by the proprietors, Messrs, Shergold and White, The Silver Star Garage, Porton Camp, near Salisbury, Wilts. The vehicle has been in operation for the past 14 months and, we understand, is giving every satisfaction.
The chassis was chosen in view of the excellent reputation it obtained for armoured-ear work during the war ; the operators lay stress upon its speed, low fuel consumption, braking, lightness on tyres, accessibility, comfort, durability and silence.
The 20-seater saloon body has individual seating and is panelled in polished aluminium in order to be in keeping with the proprietors' cognomen, "Silver Star." The windscreen is raked at an angle which enhances the appearance. The tyres are of 32-in. by 6-in. dimensions. The concern responsible for the body was Wray's Motor and Body Co., Ltd., 40, Waterford Road, London, S.W.6. We are told that after covering 30,000 miles last -summer the vehicle shows very little trace of the service it has given.
Messrs. Shergold and White inform us that they have in mind the building of an improved model, designed to give an even higher degree of comfort and a still better performance.