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News of the Week

29th January 1943
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Page 18, 29th January 1943 — News of the Week
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NEW ASSOCIATION'S PROGRAMME OF MEETINGS

'THE following meetings in support of L Hauliers' Mutual Federation, the new association for hauliers, have been, or are being arranged:Nottingham.-2.3O p.m., on Tuesday, February 2.

Leeds.-2.30 p.m.,, on Wednesday, February 3, at the Metropole Hotel.

Liverpool.-2:30 p.m., on Thursday, February 4, at the Common Hall, Hackins Hey.

1 Reading.-2.30 p.m., on Tuesday, February 9, or Thursday, February 11, probably at the Jacobean Resta`urant,Cheapside. Bristol.-2.30 p.m,, on Wednesday, FebrUary 10.

The venue for the meeting at Bristol has not yet been decided. Arrangements are in hand for further meetings at Exeter, Plymouth, Norwich, Birmingham, Wolverhampton and in the north-eastern counties, as well as in London.

The meeting at Nottingham is a semiprivate one at which a sub-commiLtee , of the provisional Council of the Federation will meet officials of a numbek. of iota] associations, whom it is hoped to interest in the work of the Federation. .

All meetings other than that at Nottingham are public.

DISPOSING OF WORN-OUT VEHICLES , WHERE a licence is granted with VV which to acquire a new vehicle to replace one worn out, the M. of W.T. has agreed that the holder may have the option of offering the old vehicle to its manufacturer or to a car breaker who is on the Ministry of Works and 'Planning's list of approved car breakers. The maker may, if he desires, nominate a distributor or dealer to pmahase the vehicle; but, in any case, it must he broken down to salvage the useful spares and dispose of the scrap; and in no circumstances may it be used again on the road.

Operators who are in a position to treat their own vehicles in this manner will be allowed to do so.

Those who have already received licences to acquire and have not yet disposed of their old vehicles, may offer them to manufacturers on .submitting the necessary form of offer (V.C.13) from the Ministry of War Transport. Road Transport Division (B), 2, Fitzmaurice Place, BerkeleY Squarg, London, W.1.

BRADFORD GROUPING MOVE FOR SMALL OPERATORS

THE Transport Section of the Bradford and District Chamber of Trade decided, at a meeting last week "ander the chairmanship of Mr. W. Wilson, to explore the possibilities of forming a road haulage operational groap composed of smaller operators in the city.

An indication had been given, it was

stated, that operators grouped on a suitable basis might he accepted to operate collectively as a ' controlled undertaking under the Government's new scheme. When the point was made that members of the Section are chiefly concerned with short-distance haulage, whereas the Government scheme at present covers only long-distance haulage, prospects of the scheme's extension to shorter laaulage -were stressed.

Certain large transport concerns in the West .Riding,, which are reported not to have been selected to be con trolled undertakings, were stated to be inviting smaller operators to co-operate with them in the formation of groups. It 'was argued, however, that smaller hauliers would do better to forth groups among themselves rather than to link up with larger operators. , The Section decided, as a first step, to seek advice based on experience elsewhere in the formation of operational groups.

LIVERPOOL HAULIERS' REQUEST TO THE S.J.C.

LIVERPOOL hauliers, at a meeting .1.-+ held under the auspices of the North-Western Area Committee of A.R.O., on Monday last, decided to send the following telegram to the ' Standing Joint Committee which was due to meet in London on the following day:— " This meeting of Liverpool hauliers requests the Standing Joint Committee not to agree to the terms of the Government's proposals (for the operation of long-distance haulage) until the scheme is known as a whole and the hiring charges for uncontrolled vehicles are circulated to the industry."

Mr. Tom Lawrenson, who presided, said operators had . been assured that the Government scheme was for the duration of hostilities. He hoped that there would be no reason to question the value of that assurance.

Mr. Sewill, national director of A.R,O., discussed the negotiations which promised to result in the unification of the national transport associations. The matter, he said, was now " red hot." He described the proposed scheme of organization and expressed the hope that details would, be put before the constituent membership in the near future, POST-WAR PLOUGHING

ON February 3, at 1.45 p.m., at the Royal Society of Arts, the fourth lecture, "Maintaining the Ploughed-up Area after the War," will be given by G. H. Bates, D.Sc., in the series, "Agriculture...To-day and To-morrow."

SAVE PAPER IN ALL FORMS

C)UR readers are reminded that all forms of paper, excluding that which is greasy, are required for recovery. Cartons, cardboard and other packing materials made from paper' are also essential.

TOWING HOOKS NOT INCLUDED IN UNLADEN WEIGHT

A S a precaution against the possitibility of vehicles being unable tomove under their own power because of frost, snow, or ice on the roads, operators are urged by. the Minister of War Transport to have their vehicles fitted at the front and, if necessary, at the rear, with towing hooks, or other similar devices, go as to enable them to be taken in tow, or to -tow other vehicles.

It has been, agreed, as a war-time measure, that for the purpose of assessing the unladen weight of a vehicle for taxation, extra weight caused by the fitting of hooks for this purpose may be ignored up to an addition of 1 cwt, in the case of an attachment at one end of the vehicle, and 2 cwt. where attachments are providedat both ends, R.T.C. REDUCES RATES FOR COTTON .

SEVEN cotton spinning companies appealed recently to the R.T.C. for the North-Western Region under the Road Haulage •and Hire (Charges) Order, 1942, in respect of charges made by hauliers for the carriage of cotton in bales from Liverpool to Oldham, Royton and Bury at 14s. per ton, and from Manchester Docks to the same venues at Ss, .6d. per ton._ Attempts had been made between the two parties. to arrive at agreed charges, but had

• . proved unsuccessful, The applicants claimed that the charges exceed by 33k per cent. and 54f per cent. respectively, those operative in 1940, viz., 10s. 6d. from Liverpool and -5s. 6d. from Manchester.

The hauliers contended that up to July, 1940, cotton had been carried at unremunerative rates.

The Commissioner was unable to satisfy himself, however that the hauliers had, in' fact, been running at a loss prior to that date, and called for financial statements from the hauliers'

associations. These showed that the rates at October, 1940, were not unreasonable, and after consultation -with the assessors, the Commissioner decided that an increase of n per cent. was warranted to cover. increased oper ating costs. He, therefore, directed that the charges should be 11s. 3d. per ton and 5s. 10d. per, ton, respectiVely.

GLASGOW EFFORT TO STOP HACKNEY-CARR1AGE ABUSES

FOUND guilty, at Glasgow Sheriff Court, of letting a hackney carriage, for hire in Waterloo Street, Glasgow, without having a licence and for using the 'vehicle without cover for thirdparty -insurance, a driver employed by a Glasgow motor-hiring firm was

recently fined and disqualified from driving for one year.

" There has been a great deal of this sort of .thing," said the Sheriff, " and airs determined to put a stop to it." He understood it to be the custom of certain drivers to choose naval' ratings and Americans as passengers, in prefer-. mice to civilians, because they paid more money.

DEATH OF LORD HIRSAT Wregret to rItcord the death of ard Hirst, chairman and managing director of the General Electric Co., Ltd., which occurred last week._ He was 79 years of age, and was one of the founders of,. the company over 50 years ago, becoming managing director in 1900 and chairman in 1910. He was a great industrialist and controlled a world-wide organization employing over 50,000 people

MAJOR EASTWOOD RAISES FUND FOR MERCHANT NAVY

AN appeal is being made to operators by Major F. S. Eastwood, NorthEastern Regional Transport Commissioner, to buy a specially designed windscreen badge in aid of the Mer

chant Navy charities. In the past Major Eastwood has raised funds for various war charities and already has obtained £300 for the Merchant Navy by two the dansants held this winter.

The badge, which is being sold at one guinea (minimum), is made of plastics and shows a British tanker, picked out in colour, with the slogan ' Help the Merchant Navy." It is a little larger than the holder which. normally carries The Road Fund Licence or the A,.B or C carrier's licence or permit.

Already, road operators of the Rotherham Sub-District of the Ministry of War Transport Emergency Organization have raised £1,854 for the badges. One operator who has only three vehicles has subscribed £50.

II other districts show the same enthusiasm the minimum of £5,000, which Major Eastwood hopes,to raise by the spring, will easily be passed.

HENLEY'S SCHEME FOR EDUCATION IN INDUSTRY ' VOUTHS employed by Henley's Tyre

and Rubber Co., Ltd., are taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by an education scheme inaugurated by the directors of W. T. Henley's Telegraph Works, Co., Ltd., the parent company, and its subsidiaries. With about 150 other lads up to is years of age employed by the Henley concerns, they have just entered the second term of this simple but progressive scheme, of which Mr. W. C. Gibbs, general manager of Henley's, Tyre and Rubber Co., is an enthusiastic advocate.

From him we learn that any boy who can demonstrate his willingness n d ability to profit by the training, and will guarantee to give at least onetvening of . his own time to attend classes, is granted one day's leave of absence each week to attend a conveni_ ently situated educational establishment. The boy is paid his day's wages for the day at school, his class fees are raid by the company, and at the end of term he becomes eligible for special 'prizes authorized by the directors.

The basis of the day curriculum is vocational—technical drawing, general science and mathematics. Every boy also takes a course in nglish, and in physical training where facilities 'ate available. This set of subjects is corn . pulsory. RESEARCH FARM AIDS TRACTOR USERS

ENGINEERING workshops for the testing and development of tractors and other agricultural machinery are being established at the headquarters in Yorkshire of the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering. This organization, founded by the Agricultural Machinery Development Board, was-lormerly housed at Oxford. With the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, it was transferred last year to a research farm in Yorkshire, which is conducted under the joint auspices of the West Riding and East Riding County Councils and Leeds,

University. Mr. S. J. Wright is in charge. .

One of the immediate objects is to assist farmers who have little or no previous experience in the use of trac tors. Agricultural machinery officers are now being trained at the Institute, for service on the staffs of county war agricultural committees.

IN COMMEMORATION OF A METALLURGICAL CENTENARY

TO commemorate the birth, on March 3, 1843, of the distinguished metallurgist, Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, a lecture on his life and work will be given by Dr. S. W. Smith, C.B.E., on March 3 at 5.30 p.m. at the Institutien of Mechanical Engineers, Store )Ps Gate, London, S.W.!: The lecture is being arranged jointly by that Institution,' the Iron and Steel Institute and the Itstitute of Metals.

Sir W. C. Roberts-Austen conducted a notable series of researches for the alloys research committee of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was a past-president of the Iron and Steel Institute and -his name is perpetuated in the literature of ferrous metallurgy by the word " austenite."

TANKS AND TANK-FOLK ILLUSTRATED

A BOOK, beautifully produced and

entitled, "Tanks and Tank-Folk," has been written and illustrated by Eric Kennington.. It is being distributed by Country Life, Ltd., Covent Garden, London, W,C.2, for Vauxhall Motors, Ltd. Incidentally, it includes a foreword by, the managing director of the latter company. Priced at 2s. 6d. net, all proceeds will go to the Royal Tank Regiment Benevolent Fund, the Royal Armoured Corps Assistance Fund and the British Red Cross Society, the whole of the cost of production being borne by Vauxhall Motors, Ltd.

WOMEN HAVE SURPRISED THE ENGINEERS

Ot-INE of the factOrs in production L./which Sir Miles Thomas, vicechairman of the Nuffield 'Organization, stressed in a broadcast to America in the early hours of last Tuesday morn, ing, was the unexpected adaptability of women in highly technical war industries. He admitted that two years ago he looked upon the intioduction of Women into factories with considerable trepidation.

" They have done a magnificent job of engineering, as operatives of machine tools, as welders, and as Al tz •

fitters," said Sir Miles. "Women seem to have a patience and adaptability that is given to very few men.

" If you plan your shop so that the proper weight-lifting tackle is there to suit the job for the limited strength of a woman, tell her exactly what .she has to do, and give her a decent set of gauges, she will go on turning out the stuff consistently and to a standard of accuracy which will surprise you.

"Equally. the combination or women's spirit and their manipulative adaptability cuts down operation times on machine tools very considerably. That is why our output has, in almost every case, exceeded what the shops were planned for."

LONDON TRANSPORT SCHOOL FOR MILITARY DRIVERS

ANEW London Transport school for the training of military drivers, was recently opened in a town on the outskirts of London' and 60 drivers will begin training there. Since February, 1940, two such schools have been in existence for the training of military personnel in driving and maintenance work. To date, 430 officers and 3,000 other ranks—British and Canadian— have passed through the school.

' WEYBURN GOVERNOR ADJUSTMENT RANGE

COMMENTrNG upon an ingenious ...adjustment featurt of the engine governor made by the Weyburn Engineering Co., Ltd., Elstead, Surrey. in our issue dated December 18, 1942, in which a short description of this 'unit. appeared. we remarked that the device for altering the spring strength, independently of tensinn, effected this purpose at only one tension value.

We now learn that the ' maker standardizes two spring strengths, each of which is quickly and easily adjustable even when the governor is running. The range of the first is 1,000 e.o.m. 'to 1,600 r.p.m., and of the second 1400 r.p.m. to 2,300 r.p.m. of the governor spindle.

YORKSHIRE SOCIETYKEEPS UP THE GOOD WORK MOTWITHSTANDING war time / difficulties, the Yorkshire Transport Society has, during the past year, sueceSsfully maintained its policy of serving a nucleus of activities ,which can be readily extended after the war. -At. its annual meeting last week it was reported that membership and attendances at lectures were satisfactory in the circumstances, . and that the financial position was healthy. The prize which the Society awards annually to one of the transport students at the Bradford Technical College had, been gained by Mr. William Peace, an inspector in Braclford Corporation's passenger transport department.

Mr. C. R. Tattam, general manager of the Bradford municipal-transport undertaking, was re-elected president and Mr. Charles Bragg (L.N.E.R.) remains chairman. Me. R. E. Cox, assistant rolling-stekk engineer in the Bradford undertaking, was elected to share the vice-chairmanship with Mr. Harold Mann, assistant' traffic super.intendent in that organization. BID TO LOWER TRADERS' . INSURANCE 'PREMIUMS

BRADFORD Technical College has introduced a course ot evening instruction for apprentice • motor engineers. At the January meeting of the Bradford Section of the Motor Agents' Association, which suggeSted this step, it was reported that approxi-• mately 30 pupils bad been enrolled.

Another subject which came before the meeting was that of motor traders', insurance policies. The Section recom'mended that the M.A.A. should seek a reduction in the basic rate of premiums for such policies, in view of the fact that owing to war-time shrinkage of trade the risks of motor traders are fewer.

FORD VEHICLES PRAISED FOR DESERT SERVICE

AMESSAGE recently received from Cairo by the Ministry of Supply ruus as follows:—" The advance of 750 miles from El Alamein to El Agheila only rendered possible by excellent work done by mechanized transport: 60 per cent. of total tonnage required for maintenance of Forces consists of petrol transport.

"Thousands of lorries employed, as endless chain between Tobruk and Benghazi alone. Maintenance," the message adds, " has not been easy and spare parts are soon required in large quantities. All concerned here are only too ready to pay tribute to the sterling qualities of British workmanship."

The message ends with particular praise for Ford vehicles.

HAULIER TAKES A LONG VIEW ON TRANSPORT

I N an address last week to the

Bootle Rotary ,Club, Mr. T. Wilson, 'a haulage contractor, said', that " Mechanical road transport was subject to a greater number of legal restrictions than existed in any other form of transport. It was the only trade the tools of which were taxed.

" There can be little doubt," he added, "that the Nation made a bad bargain when it began to economize on roads and to pocket the many millions a year in taxes from a machine which alone is adequate to distribute goods and peoples by road. Surely the efficient distribution of goods and materials ensures a better distribution of wealth and helps to raise the standard of living for all? " he asked.

" The future will witness great, improvements in the design and efficiency of road vehicles," he continued, " and we may witness the. reservation of particulaghighways for commercial use only. Possibly we may see trailers, or 'semitrailers, becoming as interchangeable as railway trucks, particularly if ,the law governing sizes and weights of commercial vehicles becomes standardized.

At the present time, the organization of transport and the suggested unification of our transport system— embracing railways, canals, coastwise shipping, air aid road services—appear to be fair game for every writer of an economic treatise, often without the most elementary knoa ledge or practical experience."


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