From Our Berlin Correspondent,
Page 7
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Btissing buses are to work the road between Btizczis and Orsowa, over 80 miles apart, in South Hungary. The vehicles will have bodies suitable for carrying tourists.
Night Motorbuses de Luxe.
Another enterprise of the Berlin General Omnibus Co. is the establishing of a night-line of motorbuses de luxe between the Palace, tinter den Linden, and the fashionable suburb of Halensee. The run lasts half an hour, and casts 75 pfennigs (about 91(1.). The last bus leaves Berlin at 2 o'clock. Considering how fond the well-to-do Great-Berliner is of sitting up half the night in sonic café or another, the conductors should be able to pick up a suffiuient number of passengers to make the journeys pay.
Gun Transport by Automobile on the Continent.
I note that the Austro-Hungarian military authorities have been experimenting with the transport of heavy guns by motor lorries, and will use this class of vehicle in future for service operations, the trials having terminated satisfactorily. A 100 h.p. Daimler did what a team of six horses could perform only under exceptionallyfavourable conditions. The guns transported weigh each over two tons, exclusive of the gun-carriage, which turns the scale at 3.5 tons. Holland, too, is realizing the significance of motor transport for coastal defence, and recently carried out some experiments in hurrying off machine guns to repel an assumed naval attack by a landing party. In actual warfare, the landing party would have been driven back with great slaughter, for the guns were promptly to hand, and concentrated n storm of lead on the supposed point of attack.
Garden-seat Buses in Berlin.
Many a year has the Berliner waited for the garden-seat omnibus, and now he has got it, the Berliner Allgemeine Omnibus-Gesellschaft having recently put on a number of motorbuses with this form of ruof-seat. This company now runs light single-deckers along routes where there are few passengers to be picked up; under the old management -it would have " gone a buster " on the double-deckers and dropped a lot of money in connection with them. The working of motorbus traffic wants understanding, and the Gesellschaft has learnt much during the past two years.
Industrial Trials in Sweden.
War 011ices all over the world are fast awakening the efficaciousness of the auto Um L) bile for military transport. Those not already in possession of vehicles acquired in conformity with a deliberate scheme of purchase, are either experimenting with the object of discovering a type adapted to their peculiar needs or contemplating such experiments. The Swedish War Office has a scheme in hand, since it gave a trial to several types in the recent manoutvres, and purposes organizing special trials in the course of next summer. N-ow, experience has established the fact that Sweden's roads must undergo a radical change before becoming fit to bear the heavy lorry; hence, if motor lorries are to be adopted to-day, they mist belong to the light category. Precisely the most suitable type it will be the object of
the trials to determine. The mill tary authorities contemplate a rigorous test lasting at least a fortnight, the test also to include participation in the mance uv res.
Central German Rubber Co.'s Dividend.
From net profits amounting to 1,956,922 marks (k97,846)1 as compared with 1,616,510 marks (t80,875) in 1909, the directors of the Mitteldeutsche Gummiwarenfabrik Louis Peter, are in a position to declare a dividend of 25 per cent., as in the pieceding trading year. In the annual report there is in interesting note to the effect that, during the year, over 00,000 was lost in consequence of experiments with a new sort of raw rubber, which failed to answer. This loss \t as borne by El err Louis Peter.
Saurer Nonsk ids.
The Saurer Co., for use in connection with twin-solid tires, has just adopted a patented type of chain for securing a good grip on snow-covered, or very-muddy roads. As may be seen from the illustrations, the alternate links of the chain carry transverse steel bars which have ridged outer faces, whilst the undersides, which are in contact with the rubber tire, are smooth and flat. The chain links are neatly lodged in time space between the two rubber tires, and the device may rapidly be mounted or removed. AS only the fiat, smooth, transverse bars, and not the links of the chain, are in contact with the surface of the tire, it is quite reasonable to suppose that there will be little or no cutting of the rubber surface. The ease and rapidity with which the chain can be detached is a valuable feature in its favour. The Sanrer Co. holds the patent.