• PHASES OF PASSENGER TRAVEL
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Notes on a Variety of Aspects of Coach and Bus Travel 23 YEARS OF COACH OPERATION.
Details of the Passenger-transport Activities of a Welsh Firm Which Started in Business in 1906.
BACK hi 1906 Messrs. Zones troe., The Garage, 'North Parade, Aberystwyth; acquifed their first passenger vehicle, this being a Daimler-Mercedes, which was equipped with a 28-seater
open-brake type of body. The firm continued to buy more machines until 1912. when they decided to assemble vehicles to meet their own requirements. This was carried out under the supervision of their engineer, Mr. G. F. Frew, who, in the early days of motorcars, was associated with the Star Motor and Engineering Co., Ltd.
In 1914 Messrs. Jones had in operation eight coaches. six being of their own assembly. The engines were mostly of they old White and Poppe 60 h.p. type, similar to those employed in the early London County. Council fire-engines. These power units were continuously in use until a recent date.
It reflects considerable credit on Messrs. Jones when it is stated that • they commenced, in, 1918, a regular weekly service lon Saturdays) from
Aberystwyth to Birmingham, and this service is still working.
After the war, the firm found difficulty in obtaining suitable components from which to assemble their coaches, so that they abandoned the idea and decided to purchase complete vehicles. Dennis was the object of their first choice, these chassis being equipped with 28-seater bodies of the old charh-bancs class. Several Daimler 22seaters were acquired later, in order to have available suitable types of different load capacities.
From 1920 additions have been made to the fleet and it now includes a number of Lancia and Star Flyer allweather coaches. With the arrival of the demand for low-loading vehicles, Messrs. Jones decided to convert one of their old Dennis chars-it-bancs along the lines of the modern coach. The chassis height has been reduced from 3 ft. 6 ins. to 2 ft 2 ins. The wheelbase is now 17 ft.. but the track re
mains unaltered. The distance from the dashboard to the centres of the back wheels is 14 ft., and from the dashboard to the 'end of the frame 20 ft.
We are told that Messrs. Jones are new converting the remainder of the old, high-load-line vehicles, and that they are prepared to enter into the question of effecting such alterations for other users.