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THE SUCCESS OF SOUTHDOWN SERVICES
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Rapid Growth Resulting from Careful Management. The Development of Express Services and Long Tours. Centralization of the Maintenance Work. Tools, Appliances and Methods which Promote Efficiency
ONE of the romances of passenger transport by road is the remarkable growth of that well-known concern, Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., the headcuarters of which are at Steine Street, Brighton. It was constituted in January, 1915, from three small concerns operating in Worthing and Brighton, and its first depot was built in Freshfield Road, Brighton, which was expanded from time to time as the need occurred and is now used entirely as the motor coach garage, another garage having been erected for the bus
side of the business. Its maximum capacity is 87 coaches.
The total Southdown fleet is 540 vehicles, comprising 160 double-deckers, all of which, with the exception of 15 older Leylands, being of the Leyland Titan model ; 154 single-deckers, mostly of the T.S. Express model, with a sprinkling of Dennis machines ; and 226 coaches, chiefly Leyland Tiger and T.S. Express .types.
Fifty-five of the double-deckers present the unusual feature of folding roofs to the upper deck, the type employed being the Waimea, whilst about 10 coaches are allotted to long-distance tours covering England, Scotland and Wales. We shall say more about this Part of the business later, but, for the moment, will refer only to the vehicles themselves. These. carry 20 passengers and are fitted with very comfortable armchair seats, three in a row, and roofs which open for the full width;
Those coaches which are used on shorter distances embody a very effective method of staggering the seats in pairs, what may be termed the offsetting amounting to some 4 ins. This may, at first, strike the observer. as presenting a somewhat curious Appearance, but it is eminently practicable, and gives the same effect as if the seats were 4 ins. wider. The arms of the occupants slightly overlap, so that the two people in each pair of seats are not continuously bumping against one another. These are utilized on the services to and from London, and on the Margate-to-Bournemouth service.
In the summer, of course, many excursion coaches can be lined along the promenade, but the buses must have some good centre, and to obtain this, the company shares with the municipal authorities a property known as Royal York Buildings, which was formerly the Royal York Hotel. The municipality has the front portion, whilst the Southdown concern occupies the back arid basement. These are utilized as waiting rooms, cashier's offices, accountancy department, equipment stores and a mess-room for drivers and conductors. At the back are stances for seven buses.
The station for London services and express-service vehicles is in Steine Street, and, here, during the busy periods, 35 to 40 coaches are loaded per hour. Also summer services belonging to Maidstone and District Motor Services, Ltd., Aldershot and District Traction Co., Ltd., East Surrey Traction Co., Ltd., use this station.
On the London-Brighton service, with but two exceptions, at present, a vehicle leaves at every hour, but next summer a complete hourly service from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Brighton and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. from London, will be run. The total route mileage of the bus services is 720 and that of the express services 598.
Great importance is now attached to _ the development of the long-distance E47 tours through England, Scotland and Wales. It is notable that in these tours about two-thirds of the fee paid is expended by Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., in giving clients firstclass hotel accommodation, the cost of operating the vehicle and the profit being taken out of the remaining third.
The vehicles, as mentioned previously, hold 20 people, but tours are run if not fewer than eight bookings be obtained. Each touring coach carries a set of spares, including a magneto. The machines are Leyland Lionesses.
The average inclusive cost to the tourist is II 15s. per day, but this includes such hotels as Gleneagles. Approximately half the touring business is built up from personal recommendations, some clients travelling hundreds of miles to join the vehicles. Where necessary, as at Oxford, qualified guides are hired.
Specific examples of the tours are seven days to Devon and Cornwall, 12 days to the Lake District and Scotland, 19 days to John o' Groat's (including a whole day in Edinburgh), and numerous others, there also being four-day tours to the Wye Valley and the Shakespeare Country. The prices include fare, hotel accommodation, full board and all gratuities at the hotel, but not admission to places of interest. Each passenger is allowed a reasonable amount of luggage.
Reverting to the Brighton-London serVice, persons coming from London must change their tickets at one of the Southdown booking offices for return tickets. In each book used for a journey there are only 30 tickets, so that no coach can be over-booked. A passenger knows exactly by what vehicle he will return. He can, if he so desires, return by train, handing his original coach ticket to the railway or Southdown booking clerk, together with an additional 2s. This is part of the scheme of co-operation between the rail and road companies as the Southern Railway, holds one-third of the total number of shares.
One of the most useful express services run by the company is that between Margate and Bournemouth, the route being Folkestone, Hastings, Eastbourne. Brighton, Worthing, Arundel, Chichester, Portsmouth, Southampton and the New Forest, convenient stops being permitted for meals. The departure time from Bournemouth is 8.30 a.m. and from Margate 8.15 the total journey time being 12 hours and 5 minutes in the first instance, and 12 hours 20 minutes in the second. There are also intermediate services between Bournemouth and Eastbourne, and Worthing and Margate. They are run by Southdown Motor Services, Ltd., and the East Kent Road Car Co., Ltd., in association with the Southern Railway.
There are six main Southdown depots other than that at Brighton, these being at Eastbourne, where there are 40 vehicles; Worthing, which has 70 machines; Littlehampton, with 29 vehicles, Bognor, with 45, Chichester, with 18, and Portsmouth with 105. Each of these depots banks its own cash, but sends mileage returns and cash returns to the head office for summarizing. In addition, a certain number of the buses operating to Brighton from outlying areas is garaged out, but each day an opportunity is given to each to visit the main bus garage for attention.
There is a central repair works at Portslade. This is of modern construction, having been built only two years ago, and particular attention has been paid to obtaining as much daylight as possible. This depot does all the work for the fleet, even the valve grinding.
The vehicles are brought in for complete overhaul after having run between 75,000 miles and 80,000 miles (representing an average of 18 months' work). The bodies are not removed, but. overhauled units are substituted for those which have performed their service, overhead cranes being used to lift the front or rear of the vehicle so that the axles, etc., can be run in or out. It is not to be presumed that the vehicle does not receive attention between overhauls. After half the overhaul mileage it would probably have been brought in for touching-up, whilst valve grinding and small running repairs are carried out as required. For instance, the cylinder heads of the Titan buses are removed at intervals of approximately 15,000 miles.
At the first overhaul a vehicle loses its separate entity and becomes a collection of units, every one of which carries a brass plate bearing a number. A complete overhaul
of a vehicle would, in the ordinary course, take about three weeks, but by the unit method it can be carried out in a fortnight. Actually, it is the bodywork and finishing that take the time; a chassis could be rebuilt in two or three days. To avoid confusion, the various parts are overhauled in separate sections, and a stock is always maintained from which to draw.
Where the valve seats are badly worn these are renewed. The later Leylands have detachable seats, but in the older models the seatings are cut out and new ones fitted.
The stores at the Portslade works are not only extensive, but most carefully arranged. First, second and third standards in various parts are indicated in the colours, red. white and blue, red being the original. For piSton rings, mixed coheirs are employed because they may vary in width as welt as in diameter so that red and white might include the original diameter but a second standard width, or red and blue the original but with third standard width, and so on.
The Leyland stub axles are stocked in two standardsizes, and. if there be any wear beyond the second standard then the axle is Fescolized. This process has been found excellent where a good fit is required, but not where shocks are experienced.
On a wall of the stores is a list of cramps and drawers for wheels, etc., each bearing its particular number. The various depots have similar lists, and all demands for such items are made: by as number thus avoiding confusion, which might occur if the article wererequisitioned by name. These lists, are subdivided into those. for general use, the machine shop or the enginefitters..
Every jet is calibrated against a master jet on a.Brown and Barlow flow meter in case any jet has been tampered with. After overhaul, every engine is tested out with a Heenan and Froude dynamometer. It is started up on the belt and then tested. under the brake until it conforms with, a standard power curve.
The company makes its own cylinder liners from Sheepbridge Stokes centri fugal castings. A notable point is that these are bored out in one operation by three staggered cutters mounted on the one bar. Worthy of mention also is the fact that the liners themselves, when worn, are not Immediately replaced, but are bored out to 25-thousandths oversike and new pistons. fitted.
Cylinder voring is done with a machine built by the Storm Manufacturing Co. This. requires practically no attention, but is merely set to the amount of cut and left; it stops automatically when the job, is dune. Three thousand bores have already been ersa= cessfully :carried out in this manner,
A Branner pneumatic .machine is used for' Valve grinding. It costs only four guineas, gives a reversing motion
and saves a great deal of time. For valives With :tulip heads, such as are now being used in some of the Leyiands,
what is known as a rubber blob is used in the grinder, and this gives an ade
quate grip on the valve. When the grinding is mmpleted a bar carrying a number of set-screws -is mounted above the valves, and a simple but effective testing device is utilized. It consists of a case with an open base carrying a rubber ring,. at. one side of the ease being a pressure gauge, and at the other a tyre valve which is connected to an ordinary foot pump, which, however,, is Operated by hand. The case is pressed on to the cylinder-head face so as to enclose the valve and 60411. pressure is applied. If the seating be good, the pressure svill hold, but if there. be any sign of leakage, further grinding is resorted to. It is of interest to note that cylinder heads from new engines have shown as many as five leaking
valves out of 12, so that the advantages of a test are obvious.
The staff has mostly grown up with the company, and the only training that is carried out is in the case of conductors, who, after three years' service, are given the opportunity of qualifying as drivers.
The arrangements in case of breakdown are quite simple. Each depot has its own breakdown lorry. It is not equipped with cranes, but carries jacks, etc. Each depot also has a Morris 15cwt. service van which can deal with small repair work, such as magnetos, carburetters, etc. In the case of a breakdown, a telephone message for assistance is put through to the nearest depot.
Tyres are purchased on a mileage basis, and part of the original depot at Freshfield Road is utilized as a store and for repair work in this connection.
Reverting to the splitting up of chassis into main units, these are considered as engine, gearbox, front axle, back axle, steering column and differential. A complete record is kept of the numbers of each of these, the vehicles to which they are allotted and the mileage in each instance. It might be that in a bus brought in for overhaul, for some reason or other the engine was changed only a few thousand miles before, and this is immediately noted so that there is no risk of duplicating the work.
Another item to wirich great attention is devoted is tyres, of which careful records are kept. These are essential because of the method of purchasing on a mileage basis. The weekly tyre statements arc sent to PorteIade from the various depots. The repair works are built on a piece of ground of about two acres. Already the original sections, built two years ago, have had to be extended, and it is probable that the whole area will soon be occupied.