UNCOMMON BODY DETAILS ON A COACH.
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Particulars of a New Saloon Vehicle Built to the Special Requirements of the North-Western Road Car Co., Ltd.
ARTICULARS have just become
• available of a coach with several unusual features which has been built by Leyland Motors, Ltd., to the order of the North-Western Road Car Co., Ltd., for limited-stop service in the northern Midland counties. This is a bus company which, although only registered in 1923, has developed in a remarkable manner in the six years of its experience in passenger carrying. The company has a fleet of over 200 vehicles, to which it is frequently making additions in order to keep its rolling stock up to date, and the latest acquisition affords good evidence of the modern features which are being adopted so as to provide ample comfort for its patrons and an efficient service.
The chassis of the coach which we illustrate is a Leyland Tiger with forward, control, and it has a wheelbase
of 17 ft. 6 ins, and a track of 6 ft.
ins. The frame height of this chassis is only 24 ins, when loaded, so that, with a roomy body fitted, a low centre of gravity and consequent comfort and safety on the road can be secured. The single-saloon body accommodates 26 passengers and a certain amount of luggage.
An uncommon feature is the provision of an emergency door on the 'Off side behind the -driver's cab. In this position it does not interfere appreciably -with the seating lay-out, nor does it preclude the location of the luggage rack in the rear bulkhead, where it is conveniently near to the
entrance generally used, by passengers. There is, incidentally, an argument in favour of the off-side emergency door on the grounds of safety, for if egress from one side be rendered impossible in any way, an emergency door is available on the opposite.
Wheel-arch seats are frequently uncomfortable in modern coa4e8 having upswept frame members, but in this vehicle an arrangement is made to
A'INT essential feature of the modern passenger vehicle is that its windows must be easily and quickly controllalble. Whether_ they move horizon
overcome this objection ; the pair of seats above the off-side wheel-arch, opposite the entrance, is placed in a slanting position, so that the arch does not in the least intrude into the space intended for the passengers' feet.
The near-side doorway is 2 ft. 4 ins. wide, and the door is of the folding type, opening upon two steps which are illuminated by a bulkhead lamp.
The interior of this vehicle is suitably finished for long-distance work. The panelling below the waist-rail is of waterproof plywood, and is covered in rep to match the seat-backs, the scats themselves being finished in moquette. The four forward windows on each side may be opened, and are fitted with glass lonares in the style which nowadays is becoming universal. Racks for light personal luggage are provided at the cant-rail level, completing a specification which is commendable for the convenience it ensures to the passengers and for its suitability to the fast and smooth-running chassis employed.
tally or vertically there should be no difficulty in rapid opening or closing by the passengers, and there should be the minimum of controls to operate. These conditions are fully met in the caTe Of the Reclawat horizontal sliding light, type B5, which has been fitted to a large number of coaches and buses in both upper and lower saloons and in drivers' cabs.
Four finishes are available for framework, namely, polished brass, nickel-plated, oxidized copper or polished duralumin. The top runner for the sliding portion is a channel with inwardly turned lips ; springs press down the frame of the slider onto the lower rail. The bottom of the slider has lips which fit over the lower runner, thus excluding water and providing lateral location. As metal-to-metal cont get is afforded the slider will stop in any required position and will not creep owing to vibration. The springs in the upper runner provide a degree of flexibility to counteract body distortion. A lug on the vertical frame of the slider forms a convenient hand grip.
No special timber grooving is required, as the frame fits into a plain opening from the inside of the vehicle. Should a glass breakage occur the slider can be extracted after removir'e, only the top runner of the main frame. Wear can be counteracted by closing the lips of the tap runner.
• We are informed by Beckett, Laycock and Watkinson, Ltd., Acton Lane, London, N.W,10, that the B5 window is supplied at a low cost and that it bas been installed in the vehicles of several of the largest corporations, from .which several repeat orders have been received.