OLYMPIA SHOW REPORT. Part II.
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The first two days of the Olympia Show, at the close of which this journal was made up for Press, had rendered fully evident the advance of the 1908 display over that of 1907. One complaint, and one only, had been brought to our notice, in respect of the organisation, and that referred to the Society's announcement that the buildings at Olympia would be " Open daily, io till 9," whereas a few members of the general public, including some influential friends of ours, were obliged incontinently to kick their heels at the pay gates until one o'clock on Friday last. We wonder who was responsible for this error, and we heartily sympathise with one gentleman, from the West of England, who made personal complaint to us, after his long journey, on the subject.
A Pew Open Spaces.
The ground floor of the Main Hall presents very few open spaces, the most noticeable being one where plants have been put in the position of an unoccupied stand. This particular spot, which is bounded by the Armstrong-Whitworth, Daimler, Straker-Squire and Milnes-Daimler areas, is unfortunately made slightly more apparent by the isolation of the single vehicle upon the Coventry-Daimler staging, where one " Auto-mixte " omnibus, of that company's improved pattern, obviously wants the support of a Renard train, or, say, of a couple of front-driven motorcabs. Another offender in this respect is the stand of J. A. Lawton, Limited, where two examples of the Simms-Welbeck manufacture have sufficient space at their disposal to perform sundry evolutions,, were that. permissible. The stand allotted to the Pullcar Company, of Preston, appears to have been absorbed by the Electric Vehicle Company, and other minor defections are the Chit cab, and the tractor of Wallis and Steevens, Limited, which last-named exhibit, at the last moment, was not available for exhibition. In the Gallery, too, especially on the East side, a few attrac -ive spaces are unfilled. Another " open " space, but in another sense, is this journal's stand (No. 83), at which the Editor, or members of his staff, will be happy to answer specific enquiries. A Magnificent Advance.
In making the foregoing brief criticisms, we come to the end of such references, because the exhibition cannot be re. garded otherwise than as a magnificent advance upon it predecessor. The large majority of the stands are bettei filled, the range of vehicles and chassis are generally mor( representative, and the necessity for the allotment of unduly big individual areas has already disappeared. In conversation with many of our friends in the industry, on Saturday afternoon last, we were met with a universal agreemeni that the Show had opened auspiciously, and that the indications of business, if not yet of actual orders at the stands, fully bore out the impression which was created by a scrutiny of the exhibits. An atmosphere of activity and brightness has replaced the admitted dulness and slowness of last year, for which change the admirable publicity arrangements of the Society, in which it has been heartily backed by this journal, certainly deserve their full share of credit. Large enquiries are in hand from intending buyers, both from home and abroad, and the earliest sales show that the country jobmaster is in Town to look after his interests in respect of both chars-a-banes and motorcabs.
• Steam Not Dead.
Although part of our show report, which is contained in the following 40 odd pages, deals principally with vehicles having internal-combustion engines, we may very properly remind our readers that the show tends to prove that steam is far from dead. The admirable chassis upon the Critchley-Norris stand (No. 7i),. and the latest example of Clarkson's ingenuity (stand No. 62) have been.amongst the centres of attraction, and the makers of these machines have been favoured with export enquiries, particularly from Japan, as much as have any makers of pe_rol vehicles. It has been an eye-opener to many who have been down upon steam, to learn of its recent performances in the work of the London General Omnibus Company. A Few Points.
Many of the stands are noticeable for the prominenc. -which they give to the awards and results of the recent R.A.C. trials, foremost amongst these being the Halley exhibit, alongside which are shown Mr. Worby Beaumont's salver, and two of the Club medals. One of the busiest stands, no matter at what time it comes under observation, is that of Commercial Cars, Limited, of Luton, whose gearbox from the R.A.C. trial vehicle, together with the certificates of the Club and " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR "in respect -of its sealing, attract special notice from all visitors. The Darracq stand is amongst those which present the greatest .variety of colour and lighting.
Early Business.
Orders have not been lacking, even though the Show had been open only some ^2 hours when we left it to go to Press. The New Arrd-Johnston Car Company, Limited, had sold the is-seated shooting brake upon its stand to Mr. -William Wallace, of Lairg, this being the fourth ArrolJohnston vehicle to be purchased by that gentleman ; Dennis Brothers, Limited had sold a 24-seated char-A-banes to Mrs. 'Steadman, who I-ias a flourishing jobmaster's business at Prince's Street, Doncaster, and a 3o-cwt. van to the Brad ford Dyers' Association, which company already has one of the 28h.p. two-ton Dennis vans in its service. These, no doubt, are only instances which might be multiplied.
General.
The dark corner of the show, that to the North-east, is noteworthy on this occasion for its location of the Broom and Wade paraffin wagon, shown by T. C. Aveling and Company, Limited, and the excellent finish of the vehicle on view is in pleasing contrast to the comparative obscurity of the spot which the ballot happens to have imposed upon those who show it. It is very difficult to indicate, other than in the course of our detailed report, where special points have been picked out after critical observation, features of the show which deserve still further mention, but we will essay a few. These include : Liversidge's 23-seated, single-deck omnibus, which is submitted as a proposal for consideration by London omnibus companies, and which we particularly urge directors and managers to inspect ; the latest Straker-Squire gear-box for motorbuses; AlilnesDaimler's new five-ton chassis ; the Austin cab chassis ; Lacre's 42,000-mile van lent by Messrs. J. Shoolbred and Company ; Foster's wooden treads; Thornycroft's lorry for Nigeria ; and the whole range of tire exhibits in the Gallery.