NOTABLE ADVANCES IN BODYWORK.
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In Passenger Vehicles Increased Seating Accommodation and More Comfortable Seats are Provided. In Light Goods Vehicles Stylish and Attractive Design is the Aim.
TE INTRODUCTION of several new chassis of the forward-dash type adds to the interest of the bus bodies shown, since one may compare the various ways in which the driving-seat compartment has been arranged. • The single deck body shown on the 2-ton Bristol chassis demonstrates ,the adyantage
of bringing the dash right up to the. radiator, because a longitudinal seat for two is provided on the near side of the bonnet with the driver on a single seat on the other. e Bartle body mounted on a Burford chassis is similarly designed, except that the space on the near side is used for pareels. whilst a large inspection door is provided on each side to give access to the engine. The Leyland-Crosville bus has a full door on each side, right in front, giving access to the driving seat and a single passenger seat respeetively. The driving compartment is partitioned off from the main saloon, which has both front and rear side entrances, so that there are three doors on the near side and one on the off, giving the maximum of convenience. Most of the single-deckers have two doors, and, if the second doorway is not on the near side, then it consists of an emergency door in the middle of the back. In both the Bartle bus Jbodies shown the middle section of the rear seat turns right over when the emergency door is open, so that the underside can be used as a step. This back door has the advantage that it does not detract from the seating space. When two side doors are used, it usually en. tails the loos of a couple of seats, which may be compensated by making full use of the width of the body at the driving seat or by using 'flap seats.
Taking an average, it is.calculated that the forwarddash-type chassis allows two more seats to be provided in the same overall length as compared with the conventional pattern. Another important factor which will have a far-reaching influence on passengervehicle design is the chassis with a low loading line. With the A.E.C. XS-type bus one may note what can be done when both forward dash and low loading line are incorporated. On the stand of L. C. Rawlence and Co. are shown both a single-deck bus and a coach body mounted on the 30-cwt. Latil chassis. In the bus bodythe wheel arch inside the body is used as the foundation of a light parcel platform with a single seat facing forward beside it. The main portion of the chassis is straight..
Low chassis, with the side member cranked over the hind axle, are to be found on the Berliet and De Dion stands. The Karrier Carrimore six-Wheeler 45seated single-deck bus is probably the most interesting passenger-body in the Show. The floor is arranged on two levels, the front portion being high enough to allow the bottom to lie on the turntable, while at the rear it is brought sufficiently close to the ground so that one mounts directly on the hind platform. The upper floor level is reached by an internal step.
On the whole,. bus seating may be described as
luxurious. There is a. preference shown for the cushion being made up on the seat rather than providing loose ones, because the life of the trimming work is increased thereby. Separate cushions are apt to chafe, however well fixed and under publicservice conditions this soon leads to disintegration. The back of the seat is often supported on two stays of spring steel rather than on wooden ones, because more "life " is thus imparted to it.
Armchair seats, either as pair of buckets or semibucket sets, or arm-rests at the ends only, all in conjunction with a central gangway, are shown fitted to several buses and coaches. Single armchairs make the body very attractive, but we fancy the body builder .often wishes for a Heavy Motor Car Order with an 8-ft. maximum width, because even half an inch added to one seat means 2 ins. less width available in the gangway, and, when drop windows are provided as well, the stipulated 7 ft. 2 ins. or 7 ft. 6 ins, means a narrow gangway if well-appointed seats are provided.
Drop windows are now accepted features of the single-decker, and they are usually mechanically operated. Most of the front-entrance buses have levers fitted to the front doors, so that they are under control of the driver, and nearly every bodybuilder has designed his own mechanism. Of particular interest is the system used on the forward-dash "Bristol bus, the double doors being operated by a wire cable encircling the roof. On the larger Bristol bus the cam and wedge fittings of bothpairs of handoperated doors should be examined closely.
The removable or winter top, which allows a Singledecker to be converted into a coach, is to be seen in various forms. The Baico top is kept in position by the body irons of the Cape hood, and the door at the back is made up in two portions, an upper and a lower one. There is also a body with a removable top shown on the A.E.C. stand with a brass strip at the point of juncture. A new idea is shown by Messrs. Strachan and Brown. Their Saloon-Chara is designed so that the top may be taken apart. The roof, the back with two large lights, the front corner windows and the makeup piece over the windscreen are made up as separate units and bolted together. When it is required to use the body as a coach, the side pillar tops are swung into the roof, the top taken apart, the drop windows removed and a fillet piece scr6wed on top of the waist rail.
There is evidently a marked increase in the demand for double-deckers, since a comparatively large number are on view. Most of them conform with Scotland Yard regulations. The Dodson body, of which there are examples on several stands, has a unique side framing. The pillars are set out behind each garden seat, and the casing board is immediately at the back of the outside panel, so that an inch or so of the seat is behind the pillar, thereby gaining that amount on each side in the internal width. The Strachan and Brown double-decker mounted on the forward-dashtype Thornycroft chassis is fitted with four drop windows in the lower saloon, probably the first double-decker to be so provided. It has been asserted that this 'method of ventilation is unsuitable for a body which carries a top load, but the problem has been solved in a workmanlike manner by increasing the strength of the side framing, and the adoption of a scientific system of plating the body, including the firm's well-known steel corner brackets.
Amongst all-weather bodies May be mentioned three leading tyres. There is the Quadruple Purpose body of London Lorries, Ltd., with swivel-mounted hoopsticks running along the top of the metal-framed mechanically operated drop windows. Apart from the ingenuity of the mechanism, these bodies are fitted with luxurious seats, ample locker space and hinged step extensions operated from the driver's seat.
The Strachan and Brown all-weather coach is fitted with a roll-top roof operated from either aide and housed in a neat casing running down the middle of the roof. This device has the merit of simplicity, and has stood the test of arduous service for two years. On the Lancia, stand there is an interesting all-weather body built by the Northern Counties Motor Engineering Co., Ltd. The roof is made up of waterproof material mounted on sliding hoopsticks, so that it can be collapsed towards tne rear. The hoop-sticks slides are mbunted about 1 ft. 6 ins. less apart than the full width of the body, 60 as to shorten the length of stick required and facilitate sliding. A tensioning device is mounted in front to keep the cover taut. The outer cant rail and curved ends to the roof are permanent, so as to enhance the appearance of the body when open.
The varieties of coach bodies shown are confined to those of medium U,nd small seating capacity. The body with a near-side entrance to each row of seats appears to be still in favour, but the central and side gangway pattern is making considerable headway.
• The Thornycroft body has three doors on the near side, each alternate seat being cut back to provide an end gangway to the next row.Other bodies have hinged seats and back rests so that a door may be dispensed with.
The central-gangway coach gives scope for the use of the " one-man ' hood. This year one or two pairs of forward vertical stays are used to support the front part of the hood on the larger bodies. An excellent example of the side-entrance coach is the Bartle body mounted on a Lancia chassis. The Bartle hood fitting has been further improved so as to increase its rigidity and adapt it to the " tumblehome" •style of turnunder. • The metal hoopstick, when down, is kicked in the middle by a neat ball catch, and can be used as a rug rail. The top rail of the backs of the seats is curved downwards at the ends, in conjunction with a straight back covered in carpet, whilst sloping footboards are furnished to each seat. This body has very wide single steps mounted on vertical stays with lockers underneath. The extension Cape hood is now fitted with allweather curtaiirs opening with the &oars, as in private car practice, as may be seen on the coach body on the Buckingham stand. Vans and loeries for carrying all classes of goods are on view, but of particular interest are the elegant designs of the smaller bodies, such as are to be seen on the Citroen stand. There are two little vans, one fitted with a Cape hood with varnished wood panels, and the other with a fixed canopy and painted green. Outside framing is used, a hinged back rest gives access to the loading portion, whilst a tailboard framed to match the sides is provided at the rear. On the Dodge stand is shown a 15-cwt, delivery van in the wood and iron. This is panelled in Sundeala millboard., and examples are on view showing how neatly it may be repaired. On an Overland delivery van is shown the application of all-weather curtains to the driver's seat, which open with the door. There are many taxicabs on view, both of the single and three-quarter landaulet pattern. Improvements consist of a hinged door for the driver on the off side and a more balanced general outline. The Yellow taxicab is shown with sloping front screen, swept roof and quite rakish lines. The ambulance body shown on the Talbot stand. has many novel features. The interior is insulated owing to the double panelling used. All internal angles are rounded off, and the air inside may be entirely renewed in three minutes by the use of an electric fan mounted in the front partition. The stretcher is mounted on a sliding underframe as well as on a wheeled carrier, which allows the whole to be swung to the centre of the body. Either stretcher base may be used as a longitudinal seat for five persons, supplementary springs coming into play when it is carrying the heavier load. The body is heated by the exhaust.