Passing Comments
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Church Army's Mobile OME time ago we dealt in
Chapel to Go to our pages with a mobile
France chapel in the services )f, the
Church Army. We learn that this vehicle, which has seen considerable service in this country, is now going to France and will be in the charge of Canon J. G Lister, rural dean and vicar of Wendover. He is referred to as the mobile rural dean, in that he has driven this vehicle in the Southampton area since August, 1943, visiting 386 separate units. No fewer than 3,901 entertainments have been given and 3,664 have been present at the services. The total mileage covered was approximately 6,000.
Pointers in a Letter nNE of our re6.clers has sent Received from Kenya `--"us some extracts from a by a Reader. . . . letter received from a friend
who is in the Services in Kenya. The writer says that copies of " The Commercial Motor" are particularly welcome. After read. ing them he, personally, passes them to a man who used to drive a heavy vehicle on the Great North Road. The latter says that the journal is not only interesting from the technical point of view, but seems to bring home a breath of the Old Country. It appears that the roads there are in a very bad condition, some mere mud tracks, which develop a ripple on the surface with a pitch of about 18 ins. At a certain speed, coinciding with the vehicle spring frequency, a man may. be thrown clean out of his vehicle, but if the driver cares to risk about 40 m.p.h. the effect diminishes. The risks in other directions are, however, pretty grim. Nairobi appears
to be a good place to got a taxi, the streets being full of them, mostly driven by natives. To shout " taxi " there is to invite a major traffic jami If a man goes for a stroll in the outskirts of the town there will usually be a follower in the shape of a crawling vehicle, the owner of which is apparently hoping the stroller 'nay prefer to ride back.
Giant Tyres Which iNCLUDED in our news Really Justify Their Ipages will be found an illus.
Name tration of p. huge pneumatic tyre which dwarfs the 6 ft. 2 in. of Mr. Walter A. Hazlett, managing directot of the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Co. (Gt. Britain), Ltd., whichproduced this giant type. A great dal has been heard of our large aeroplanes, bulldozers, tractors, etc., but few people realize that without tyres commensurate with their work their use would have been impossible. Over 25 years ago the Goodyear Co. pioneered and developed the first giant pneumatic for large lorries, thus promoting increases in loads and speeds, as well as in the life of the vehicles. Reverting to the particular tyre illustrated, the assembly weight is 1,794 lb., the cover weighing 1,671 lb, and the .inner tube 77,6 lb. The amount of crude rubber required was 387 lb. and the production cost is 36 times that of the ordinary 9.00 by 20 commercial tyre. Designed to takea load of 3,200 lb., it stands 6 ft. 10 ins, high and has a width of 2 ft 2 iris Even With these dimensions this is not the largest tyre made by the company, for that produced for certain bombers is 9 ft. 2 ins, in overall diameter. Appreciations :of the A "AD
, transport engineer 1.R.T.E. from Overfrom South Africa writes seas to congratulate the sponsors of the proposed Institute of Road Transport Engineert upon their initiative. He remarks, as he says, to use an old Scottish expression, " It certainly warms the cockles of the heart" to read of a body of men attempting to raise the status of these engineers to a plane commensurate with their monetary and social worldly value, and he wishes the Institute a. successful future.' This is only one of several other communications received from abroad in connection with the Institute, the idea of which appears to be just as popular there as it is nearer home. Incidentally, some potential members have complained that during the past few weeks not much has been said concerning the projected body. This is because it has now reached the stage of being under final consideration by the Board of Trade, and until that Department gives its sanction, further progress. except in detail, cannot be made.
British Company -qPEAKING at the 46th Maintains Lisbon's *-Jo.g.m. of the Lisbon Electric Passenger Transport Tramways, Ltd., the chairman referred to the way in which a full and uninterrupted service had been maintained for' the public of Lisbon. So far as the trams wee concerned it was 4ritish coal which had saved the position from being disastrous. He congratulated Mr. Harvey, the transport manager, and his staff, on the way in which they had made the most of such materials and spare parts as they had been able to obtain. Most of the. vehicles, are, of course; trams, but a small bus service FaS inaugurated last April, at the request of the authorities, but the obtaining of more buses is at present most difficult, whilst many of the older streets have a pave' surface which makes bus travel far from comfortable. It is interesting to note, howeyer, that this British company has received no complaints from representatives of the people it serves, which is a silent tribute to the organization as a whole.