News and Comment.
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This journal fosters, represents, and chronicles commercial motoring in all its branches ; it has the largest and best circulation throughout the United Kingdom, the Colonies, India, and foreign countries generally, No part of our exclusive and valuable circulation is due to the forcing of sales in useless quarters.
A petition has been lodged for the winding-up of Commercial Motors, Limited, and we take the opportunity of pointing but that this company has nothing to do with " THE COMATF.RCIAL :MOTOR," or with Commercial Cars, Limited, of Luton.
Mr.. Dugald Clerk, M.Inst.C.E., F.C.S., will lecture before the Incorporated Institution of Automobile Engineers, on the i eth December, at 8 o'clock on " The principles of carburating as determined by exhaust-gas analysis. "
Entries for " Tim. COMMERCIAL MOTOR "prizes for good driving, which are this year limited to the London area must reach the Secretary of the Commercial Motor Users' Association, 1.,,Mbemarle Street, W. on or before Saturday next the 3oth instant.
G.P.O. Motorvans.
The Postmaster-General has received highly-satisfactory reports about the performance of the 4oh.p. Mandslay Van which belongs to the Stores Departrne.nt of the General Post Office, and we understand that it has been officially decided to make further purchases, this time in the direction of vans which are suitable for i-ton and 3o-cwt. loads.
We are glad to note that the matter of the representation of commercial vehicle manufacturers upon the Council of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has been under discussion, and, now that attention has been directed to the matter, members may take some interest in it when the next elections occur. We are, incidentally, pleased to note that the Corn_ mercial Vehicle Committee has been strengthened by the addition of Messrs. Julian A. Raiford (Commercial Cars, Limited), Frank Churchill (Messrs. Durham, Churchill and Company), G. C. Gnapp (Maudslay Motor Company, Limited), and U. Kerr Thomas (J. and E. Hall, Limited),
A Trade Dispute.
We are notified that the Continental Tyre and Rubber Company (Great Britain), Limited, is advised that the Sirdar Rubber Company, Limited, is infringing its Letters Patent Nos. 5,356 and 14,157, of the year ig06, for steelarmoured, non-skid, lire covers, and that all persons using this particular class of Sirdar, non-skid covers are liable for an action of infringement of the above-named patents.
A contrary notification reaches us from the Sirdar Rubber Company, Limited, of 34, Baker Street, W. This circular intimates that the Sirdar Company is advised that the Continental Company has no valid claim against it, and that the contention about the said patents is ridiculous, and that any proceedings will be defended. Kempshall Tires.
We recently had an opportunity to test the non-skid properties ot the Kempshall pneumatic tire, ;J-/
tire neither bands nor studs are employed. The tread, which is moulded in one with the cover, has a series of circular, equi-spaced cavities in it, each about i inch in diameter by a l• inch in depth, and the suction effects are such, whether on impervious or macadamised roads, and whether these be wet or dry, as to render any vehicle proof against side-slip. We understand that the principle will be applied to solid-rubber tires' hereafter. The company's address is at i and 2, Queen Street, Cheapside, E.C.
Petroleum Spirit in Sewers.
The I„C.C., at its meeting on the Igth November, decided to serve copies of an order prohibiting petroleum from being permitted to flow into sewers on the following, amongst other, firms :— London Central Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., Walworth ; British F.lectrornobile Co., Ltd., Grosvenor Place; Landaulette Motor Cab Co., Ltd., Coleman Street, E.C. ; Motor Schoels, Ltd., Heddon Street, Regent Street ; British Motor Cabs, Ltd., Brixton Road; Vanguard Motorbus Co., Ltd., Albany Street, N.W. ; the York Motor Garage, Ltd., Thornton Place, Maryleholle ; and the United Motor Cab Co., Ltd., Farm Lane, Fulham, A Renard train„ which is touring through Lancashire and Yorkshire, gave an interesting demonstration in Manchester last week.
Last week our Berlin correspondent enabled us to give first publication of the details regarding the new streetwatering cart used in that city, and this meek we are able to give an illustrated description of the new Gaggenau engine.
According to our contemporary " Commercial Intelligence," Bombay and Lucknow are the first Indian towns to possess motor fire apparatus_ All the appliances have been constructed and supplied by J. C. Merryweather and Company, Limited, of Greenwich, S.F.
Mr. Eustace H. Watson, the Managing Director of Argyll Motors, Limited, has concluded a large contract, running into several hundred chassis, for Argyll cabs. We are not at liberty to give further details at the time of going to press, but we believe a new company is to be formed.
Not a Motor Wagon.
Some London papers reported, on the 21st instant, that a steam lorry had run away down Cleeve Hill, near Cheltenham, and had killed the driver. We take the first opportunity of contradict, ing these reports, and of pointing out that the runaway lorry was a tool-truck owned by the Cheltenham and District Light Railway, of which truck control was lost while a party of men were descending the hill.
"Shell' Motor Spirit.
The British Petroleum Company, Limited, of 22, Fenchurch Street, E.G.. desires us to make it known that genuine " Shell " spirit can henceforth only he obtained in cans which bear an adhesive .label on the handle, and which are sealed with a miniature representation of the company's trade mark -an escallop shell. This action has been taken owing to the Company's having discovered that spirit other than its own is being sold in its cans,
New Commercial Bodies..
We include in this issue an illustration of one of the fleet of motorVans owned by John Richardson and Company (Leicester), Limited, the wholesale chemists. The chassis is not a new one, as it has already travelled some thousands of miles in the service of the company, but a new body, of large capacity, has just been built by Bayleys, Limited, of Newington Causeway, S.E. The frame of this body is of oak, and the panelling of mahogany, and the tilt-sheet is of India-rubber, lettered in black. Bayleys, Limited, is at present carrying out orders for 21 commercial-motor bodies, and these are all on their way through the shops.
Fining the Engineer.
Two drivers of motor mail-vans, the men being in the employ of MacNamara, Limited, were summoned for driving these vans without having two independent brakes thereon. The cases came before Alderman Sir Walter Wilkin, on the igth instant, and the company's engineer also answered two summonses for causing the offences in question. It appears that only the foot brake was in working order, the hand brakes of these two vans being defective and broken. The Magistrate held that the engineer was really responsible, and ordered him to pay los. and costs on eaeh summons, in all 24s., the charges against the drivers being dismissed, although the Alderman pointed out that they should acquaint the engineer of the fact when they found their brakes to be defective.
One-ton Vans.
Milnes-Dairnler, Limited, of 221, Tottenham. Court Road, W. has now entered the one-ton market in real earnest. The company has embodied its great experience of heavy vehicles in the design, and its latest production was fully described and illustrated in our issue of the 29th August.
Our readers will recollect the unfortunate experiences which befell this machine in consequence of troubles with its pneumatic tires, but the wheels have now been adapted for the reception of solid tires, with the result that excellent running on the road has been recorded. We understand that the Managing Director 01 the company,
Mr. G. Burford, M.1.illech.E., who was greatly disgusted at the necessity for the withdrawal of his vehicle from the recent R.A.C. trials, is about to submit it to a long-distance test by the
Club. This one-ton vehicle is constructed on sound lines, and of materials which undoubtedly possess very lasting properties. Its first cost is but very little in excess of vans for similar loads which have only twocylinder engines, compared with the four cylinders of the Mil/les-Daimler type, and it may, therefore, be justly recorded that this model is as low in first cost as that of any approved make. Intending buyers of one-ton vehicles should net fail to take this machine into their reckoning.
Foster's Tractor in the R.A.C. Trials.
The " Wellington ' tractor which ran throughout the recent trial, did not, during that round, show to the best advantage; in both fuel and water consumption, the performance of this machine was much above the rate of consumption at which we know it will work. On enquiring into the cause of this, we find that .1.he low-pressure valve has a somewhat large exhaust-chamber, and, to support the core in the mould, a chaplet is used. The particular casting of the low-pressure cylinder used on the trials vehicle appeared to be quite sound, but the chaplet had evidently been covered by a mere film of iron, which ultimately formed a "scab." During the preliminary tests, near the maker's works, the valve worked very well. The flaw was not revealed until the day before the tractor set out for London, when, on the opening-upof the valve-chests for the final inspection, a hole, about 5-16 of an inch in diameter, leading from the low-pressure steamchest to the exhaust steam-passage was discovered; the thin film of iron had given out, and the chaplet was missing. At such a late hour, it was impossible to replace the casting in time for the machine to take part in the trials. It was decided to tap the hole, to fit a .1-inch gas plug, and to hope for the best in the 66o-mile trial.
All seemed to go well until Gloucester was reached; it was there realised that the plug had becomeloose. From that stage, to the end of the trials, the engine ran with this hole permitting a direct and continuous escape of a considerable quantity of low-pressure steam. It is to be regretted that the flaw was not discovered earlier, in order that it might have been remedied before leaving the works. Under such adverse conditions, the performance of the " Wellington " tractor was an excellent one, and the machine well merited the silver medal awarded to it.
Two of its Wellington. tractors are il_ lustrated at the foot of this page. That for Pickford's, Limited, is one of a repeat order, and it will be observed that the machine is fitted with the Tangent Company's wheels_ The other tractor, of the Colonial type, has recently been shipped to Tasmania. It is fitted with a large-size fire-hex, for the consumption of inferior fuel, and has speciallywide wheels, in order to facilitate travelling over sandy ground. The watertank capacity is sufficient for a 20-mile jeorney, with a full load of 8 tons behind the drawbar, and upon heavy roads.
A New Field for the Cab "Tout."
One of the interesting points demonstrated by the Olympia Show which finished last week was the new field which has recently been opened to the cab "tout." The practical unanimity with which members of the public chose the motorcab as a means of conveyance to the Motor Show was most noticeable, and motorcabs were, during the entire fortnight, at a distinct premium. So much was this the case, that the egress of passengers from the one side of the cab was simultaneous with the ingress of fresh fares on the other side. In this way, few vehicles were left for those passengers who had walked a few yards from the building, and, at the top of the cal de sac leading from the main entrance, quite a battalion of " touts " assailed possible fares with the query, " Taxi, sir? " It was no doubt an easier sphere, too, for the class of man to whom we refer, than that which existed in the days of the horse-drawn cab ; with the latter, there was generally a trunk or two to carry. The results of the Olympia fortnight must certainly have swelled the pockets of both the motorcab companies and the drivers of the cabs. Paris Show.
Our 61-page, illustrated report of the Commercial Vehicle exhibits at the Paris Show was completed last week. Throughout all the exhibits, increased attention to the design of small details is much more evident than at any former show. Lubrication of spring shackles and other parts, that are subjected to the greater or lesser sliding and semi-rotary movements, were formerly left to the tender mercies of the average driver, and it is safe to say that in many cases they never, from the date of leaving the works of the maker, received any lubrication whatever. We were pleased to see that such parts are now provided with some form of greaser or oil-cap, so as both to retain a reserve of the lubricant and to keep out much of the dust and mud. The majority of such fittings as were seen on the Continental vehicles are made on this side of the channel and they included many of the excellent Rotheram lubricators, and Lucas oilcaps. Vacuum oils are in evidence on very many of the stands. British tire-makers are represented by the De Nevers, grooved solids, and the Palmer-Cord pneumatics for cab or small van work. The former are exhibited by J. Liversidge and Sons, Ltd., of 196, Old Street, E.C., and the latter are shown by The Palmer Tyre Company, Limited.