The German A.C. Van and Omnibus Trials.
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Second Report from our Berlin Correspondent.
I should like to he allowed to correct a typographical error which crept into last week's copy. On page 97 I read: "The beer van restarted on Wednesday." It was the Daimler goods vari (No. 7) which took up the running again the brewer's dray was "shipwrecked" for good as far as the competition was concerned. I will now supplement my first account with further particulars of the run in its various stages. In the case of the ponderous Daimler (No. 12) which got into a ditch, the driver seems to have been at fault : he attempted to pass one of the military trains at a wholly unsuitable place. But for a good Samaritan in the form of the Bussing omnibus, which came along a little later and obligingly converted itself into a tractor, No 12 might perhaps have dropped out of the competition. The results over the Berlin-Gransee section (95,9 kilometres for the light vehicles, and 65.6 kilometres for the heavy) were as under :—
I.—Omnibus for t3 persons (No. ; Automobil-Verkehr " Gernsbach " (S iiddeutsche Automobil-Fabrik, Gagg,enau"): Berlin 7.6 a.m., Gransee 1.1.39 a.m.—long course.
2.—Baimler milk van (No. 5): Berlin 7.51 12.6 noon—long course.
3--Bussing omnibus for 27 persons (No. i) : Berlin 7.35 a.m., Gransee 12.37 noon--long course.
4.—Balmier omnibus for 32 persons (No. 2): Berlin 7.4 a•n1•7 Gransee 12.40 noon—long course.
5.--Daimler military tractor with trailer (No. 16), total load 8,500 : Berlin 7.27 a.m., Gransee 12.44 noon—short course. 6.—NAG. milk van (No. 8), load 1,5oo kilos. : Berlin 7.15 a.m., Gransee 1.18 p.m.—long course.
7.—N.A.G. military tractor, with trailer (Nu. 15), load 6,000 kilos. : Berlin 7.25 a.m., Gransee 1.28 p.m.—short course. 8.--Daimler goods van (No. 12), load 6,000 kilos.: Berlin 7.23 a.m., Gransee 1.29 p.m.—short course.
9.—N.A.G. goods van (No. 9), load 3,500 : Berlin 7.18 a.m., Gransee 1.37 p.m.—short course. to --Continental Company's goods van (No. 10), fitted with a Diirl,opp motor, load 3,000 kilos. : Berlin 7.19 a.m., Gransee 2.11 p.m.—long course.
ir.--Schuchardt and Schfitte's Daimler delivery van (No. 6), load 75o kilos. : Berlin 7.12 a.m., Gransee 2.31 p.m.—long course.
12.—N.A.G. delivery van (No. 4), load 730 kilos. : Berlin 7.9 a.m., Gransee 2.42 p.m.—short course. The population of Gransee manifested keen interest in the vehicles, which were "garaged" in the courtyard of the Town Hall. In the course of the afternoon the Mayor, accompanied by the "City Fathers,' solemnly inspected the automobiles, when Baron von Molitor, starter of the Gordon-Bennett cars at Homburg, furnished them with technical details. What with the Baron's little lecture in the courtyard, and the performances of the automobiles, the councillors were so impressed that they instituted an impromptu discussion on the desirability of connecting Gransee and Ruppin by motor omnibuses. Enterprising
German firms will doubtless take care that the worthy authorities of Gransee do not backslide.
On the second day, over the Gransee-Neubrandenburg course (125.4 kilometres for the light vehicles and 70.7 for the heavy}, Nos. 7 and 14 did not start. No. 14 was the brewer's dray, of whose untimely fate I have already written. Competitors were blest with comparatively fine weather. Tyre and mechanical troubles, too, caused few stoppages; nor did any vehicle run into a ditch. This latter fact may have been due to Baron Brandenstein's practical exhortation to the drivers, whom he begged to dismiss from their minds any idea that the trials were a sort of Gordon-Bennett race. Amongst those who assisted at the arrival depot on the Tuesday was Assessor Dr. LivinStoepling, prime mover of the reliability contest. At to.37) p.m., to the general surprise, up snorted No. 7, the Daimler whose axle gave in near Herzberg, ready for action on the WednesJay. The times over this stretch, taken by Dr. Veit, who ;ravelled with Baron Brandenstein were:— Lovely weather favoured the tourists on the third day (Wednesday) over the Neubrandenburg-Gnoyen course (101.3 kilometres for light vehicles, and 77.8 for heavy) ; and here I may mention that as far as Gnoyen, the Ultima nude for "heavies," the German War Office was represented by Captain Oschmann. Another prominent military man, Captain Meyer, leader of the automobile commando, accompanied the " train" to Neubrandenburg only ; whereas Captain Sanger, Count von Stillfried, and Meves, of the Transport Department, the Militia (Schutztruppe) and the Artillery Construction Bureau respectively, went through the entire run. Between Neubrandenburg and Gnoyen a number of vans went astray. Indeed, one "heavy" went merrily to Sternfeld, instead of taking the revised course, and found himself confronted with the broken bridge which had necessitated a change of route for this class. This false reading of the map obliged the driver to return to Treptow, and thus to cover nearly 24 miles more than was necessary. Wednesday also saw considerable emulation between the "Safe" and one of the Daimlers (No. 7) ; but the "Safe" being, as it were, a born mountaineer, having been specially constructed for the Black Forest roads, easily upheld its reputation for reliability and speed, getting home first, as on the two previous days. Both the tractors from Verkehrstroppen, Nos. zs and 16, kept down the pace to zo kilometres an hour—by order—on the fourth stretch, Gnoyen to Goldberg (118.e kilometres for the light vehicles and 80.05 for the heavy). The course on this day touched its most northerly point, at Rostock, the birthplace of "Marschall Vorwarts," as Bliicher—Wellington's Blucher—was popularly named. On this road, between Satow and Billow, the competitors had to tackle two kilometres of newly "mended" road. The process of " mending " in Mecklenburg appears to be much the same as that adopted by rural parishes in England: cartloads of rubble are shot down and voila tout! These two kilometres sorely tried the vehicles. No. 4 was compelled to pull up for a short space. On this same stretch the hitherto triumphant "Safe" (No. 3) lost an exhaust valve spring, and found itself obliged to stop several times in consequence of the abominable state of the highway : these contretemps, notwithstanding, it made the best net time.