AN OIL-ENGINED COACH FLEE SHOWS SPLENDID ECONOMY
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pRIMARILY notable, in connecwith the coach services run by the City Coach Co., Ltd., Zr2-84 Leighton Road, Kentish Town, London, N.W.5, is the use, almost exclusively, of oil-engined vehicles. A large number of Leyland six-wheeled and four-wheeled oilers is at the present time employed, and the latest addition to a splendid fleet is a Leyland Gnu (a four-wheel-steering coach) with an oil engine, and this was described in a recent issue of The Commercial Motor. With its modern design, striking appearance and obvious luxury, it reflects the policy of the company which has put it into operation, and is certainly a great credit to the concern.
Started as Bus Operator.
It is our mission to impart to our readers the knowledge of how the company itself came into being, how it was the natural descendant of a London bus company, and how it has progressed, through nearly 16 years, to its present size. For that reason we must temporarily put aside the consideration of what is nearly an all-oiler fleet, and go back to the time when 10 Leyland petrol-engined buses formed the rolling stock of the City Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., a title which, of course, later became extinct.
Expansion was soon urgently sought by the company. This took the form of the purchase of existing businesses of other operators, and among the first to be bought were the Veleta, Empire's Best, Wilson and Fairlop bus concerns. Next came the purchase of a small coach company called New Empress Saloons, Ltd., which operated between Camden Town and Southend, and had been formed to carry on a business operated by Mr. A. H. Young in 1927. At the time of the change-over the company had a capital of only 21,500.
By 1932, 17 Leyland Lion 32-seaters were owned by the City Motor Omnibus
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Co., Ltd., but many of the buses taken over had been discarded, It was in November, 1934, that the turning point came in the history of City services. That month saw the compulsory acquisition, by the London Passenger Transport Board, of its London buses. What was the result? The company was well aware of the true value of road passenger transport, and made a start by concentrating on the coach business. That was when the present London-Southend services really came into existence, and their success.has proved that the judgment and determination of Mr. W. F. Mallen der (director) • were anything but misguided:
• 'Between January, 1935, and the end of 1936; considerable shopping " was done by the company. A service was acquired between • Wood Green and Sduthemi, from The Westcliff Motor .Se'rvices, Ltd., and • added 14 vehicles to the City fleet. Other concerns acquired were the Brentwood and Dis, trict Motor Services, Ltd., the Old Tom Motor Services Co. (of Laindon) and the service of Mr. Nugus, of Brentwood. . More important, however, is the fact that, in July, 1989, the first of the City. company's, Leyland .six-wheeled oil-engined coaches (seating 43 passengers) was purchased. Vehicles of this specific type have since become a 'prominent feature of the City fleet, and have proved to be a great asset in dealing with the morning and evening workmen's traffic.
In 1936 the City Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., was wound up, and in order to preserve the fleet .name "City," the name of New Empress Saloons, Ltd., ISM, by consent of the Board of Trade and Registrar of Companies, changed to City Coach Co., Ltd. In the same year, 18 more Leyland oilers, of the six-wheeled type, were acquired, whilst 12 were added in 1937.
To-day, the fleet comprises 62 coaches. There are 86 of the sixwheelers, 13 Leyland Tiger oil-engined 92-seaters, five 20-seater Bedfords, six 20-seater Dodges, one 26-seater Bedford and, of course, the latest Leyland Gnu.
It might be convenient, too, to mention at this juncture that there are two service lorries, one a venerable Leyland and the other a. recently purchased Bedford, Luxury Bodies.
Practically all the bodies are of Duple manufacture, finished in the colours which decorated the original City buses—namely, Spanish brown, tan and cream. For the 32-seaters, and smaller buses, . front entrances are employed: the 40 and 43-seaters have central doors.
With the extensive use of oil-engined vehicles, remarkable running economy is a factor'which plays a large part in the concern's attivities. It is of interest to note that the weekly 'fleet average, In the Matter of oil-fuel ,consumption, is equivalent to 12.3 rn.p.g fur' sixwheelers and IS m.p.g. for • fourw.heelers. Regent fuel is used exclusively.
., 'Engine lubricating oil, ,in the case of the larger oil:engined vehicles; is con . . . ruined at the rate of 1,000 m.p.g., which figure is certainly good for that type of power unit.
The company attributes this economy in fuel to its system of frequently testing and adjusting injectors and pumps; there is a special testing room at the London garage for this purpose. Both Bosch and Simms equipment are employed, and valuable service is given to the company by the respective manufacturers of this apparatus.
In the old City Omnibus days, the main depot was at Astbury Road, Peckham. To-day, the headquarters (which include a large garage, workshop atea and offices) are at Leighton Road, whilst there are other garages at Southend, Wood Green and Brentwood -(two at the last-mentioned town).
Comprehensive Maintenance.
Save for the bigger jobs, such as reboring and crankshaft grinding, the company does all its own mechanical repairs and the workshops . are generously equipped. Each vehicle is overhauled annually, whilst it is put in dock each month for minor attentions and for a general check-over. All body maintenance, such as structural repairs, reupholstering, repainting and so on, is done by the staff, and washing and polishing are carried out by a special staff of cleaners.
Reliability of the fleet has been exceptional, due no doubt, in a consider able degree, to the company's good systegi of maintenance. Looking through the service records for many months back, it is difficult to find any lost mileage due to mechanical faults. Before leaving the mechanical aspect, it is of interest to mention that Layrub universal joints are being fitted to many of the vehicles in .the fleet.
Between London and Southend (the main route covered) about 5,000,000 passengers are carried per year; only a small proportion of this traffic is " all the way," however, as is indicated by the fact that the a'verage fare paid, per passenger, is now only 5.88d. In other words, most people travel, say, from London to Romford, Romford to Brentwood, and by even shqrter stages on the 26-mile section Brentwood to Southend. On a single day as many as 20,000 passengers have been handled, The 'average City coach covers about 1,500 miles per week, and the first of the Leyland six-wheelers has now covered 194,477 miles (in three years) Many local services are, of course, run by the company in the Brentwood, Billericay and Laindon districts.
City drivers are a happy crowd, and their work is made easier by an absence of irksome restrictions and "red tape" from their employers. Conductors, incidentally, find their task lightened by the Setright automatic ticket punches which are employed. In conclusion, a few words about Mr. W. F. Mallender, director of the company, are by no means out of place. Mr. Mallender, himself a qualified engineer, took a three-years' courie in the engineering department of University College, Nottingham, before he joined the Lancashire Steam Motor Co., Ltd. (forerunner of the Leyland concern), where he spent a year in the shops and drawing office.
Mr. Mallender Takes Charge.
In 1903 he was sent to Capetown for two years., to take charge of a fleet of steam wagons for Edmund Nuttall and Co., and on his return was made London manager of Leyland Motors, Ltd. He soon became interested in bus operation, however, as Leylands held a contract with the London Central Omnibus Co., Ltd., for the maintenance of a fleet of London buses working the famous Chalk Farm-Camberwell Gteen route. In charge of this fleet was Mr. Walter Crook, who later was one of the founders of the City Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd.
Upon the liquidation of the City Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., Mr. Walter Crook retired from business life, but he still takes much interest in the affairs of the company, and Mr. Mallender is now assisted by his son, Mr. W. J: Mallender, B.A., and Mr. H. A. Bridge in the direction of the ceinpany.