Correspondence.
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Inaccurate Information.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—In a recent issue of your paper a prominent advertisement put in by Messrs. Sidney Straker and Squire, Etd., stated that the Western Road Carrying Co., Ltd., using 18 " Straker " lorries, paid a dividend of 7 per cent. Our attention has been drawn to this advertisement, and we shall be glad if you will kindly insert this letter in your next issue, in order to rectify the false impression, which has been made as to the present position of the company.
From. the advertisement, one would conclude that 7 per cent. had been paid on all the capital of the company, whereas the true facts. ofthe case are that, after four years' won-k, the company has paid a first and only dividend on the 7 per cent, preference shares, one half only of the capital of the company. As these shares are " cumulative," the preference dividend is. still three years in arrears. Ordinary shareholders have received no dividend since the formation clf the COMpany.—Yours faithfully, For the WESTERN ROAD CARRYING CO., LIMITED, C. W. DAVEY, Secretary.
32, Queen Square, Bristol, 23rd January, igo8.
rWe have communuicat.d the contents of this letter to Messr.t. Sidney Straker and Squire, who infor,,, us that they appear, from this letter, to have 1)een misinformed by one of the shareholders of the Western Road Carrying Co., Ltd., a Let which they naturally regret.—n...t
Successful Resilient Wheels.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Being, a worker in the same field myself, T was much interested in your re.sume of the paper read by Mr. G. Stuart Ogilvie to the R.A.C. The truth of your statement, that the word " spring wheel " is anathema to many people, cannot be gainsaid, and, on trying to arrive at the reason for this, one is forced to the conclusion that there must be a good deal of truth in Mr. Ogilvie 's remark that the pressing need for a cheaper form of tire has produced a too prolific crop of faulty or impracticable devices in the past. That the need exists is beyond question, as every user will agree, and it is surely only common sense on the part of those who would benefit by any improvement in this important detail, to give their serious consideration to any device which has proved itself in practical tests, and not pass it over simply because earlier devices have failed.
It is only too clear, from the reports of the various companies, that London motorbuses are being run at a loss, and a device which can show a saving of 5o per cent. on the tire bill may well mean, having in view the magnitude of that bill, all the difference between deficit and dividend.
For that reason, therefore, I must dissent from your opinion that no improvement in any one particular is likely
to bring salvation. Haying been in it from the very bcginning, the cost of tire upkeep has always appeared to me the point where a really great saving could he cltezted, and for several years I have been experimenting, with the result that the " Novae '' tire is now a thoroughly practical ptoposition offering a saying of 5o per cent, on tire maintenance over the present average. A further advantage of these tires is that they can be made with any sort of tread-rubber, wood, metal, or composite, to suit any class of traffic, whilst their running even with -steel treads is extremely quiet and smooth. A proposal, which has already received a considerabb amount of support, is on foot to form a syndicate to place this tire on the market, and I shall be pleased to forward illustrations and particulars to anyone taking a practical interest in it.Yours faithfully, J. B. TODD. Hesley, Coleshill Road, Teddington.
2 7 th January, 1908.
[We await a promised. opportunity of testing the "Novae " tire and its speeial
"Sudden Inventions."
The Editor," THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Your remarks on " investment prospects," undtr the heading " The Motor Omnibus World," in your last issue, touch upon a subject of great interest and vast importance to the comniercial-ic industry generally. Contrarily to your disagreement with the opinions of Mr. C. Duguid, which you quote, we are inclined to think that they exactly stare the situation. Whilst we agree with you that, with an improved revenue and a diminution of repair costs, the crisis appears to be surmounted, we fear the position reached thereby is merely an inter-stage, with an absence of actual anxiety, perhaps, but certainly also with the absence of any positive indications of prosperity.
Before a state of general commercial prosperity can be attained, the still abnormally-heavy costs of repair and upkeep and the big item of " depreciation " will have to be further and substantially reduced. To effect such a reduction on a scale sufficiently large to beneficially influence the commercial aspect, radical improvements of mechanism and construction will be necessary, and we do not consider it at all unlikely that such will result from some sudden invention or discovery. Does not the remarkable activity on the part of " petrel-electric " pioneers go to show that not only is the present bus admitted to be far from satisfactory, mechanically, hut that a remedy is sought for, not so much in the direction of improvements and perfection of mechanism and construction along. the present lines, but in the invention of some substitute for the present mechanieal resources. Indei:d, we have recently been acquainted with
an entirely new " petrol-electric " transmission gear which, by the way, is fully protected, has been thoroughly tested, theoretically, by a number of well-known consulting engineers and which is to be subjected to exhaustive practical tests during the coming year. This system will, we believe, entirely revolutionise the present method of transmission and control, will give a sustained mechanical efficiency of 70 per cent. and, as from 6o per cent. to 70 per cent, of the engine power can be applied to the mad wheels when starting from rest, the important item " depreciation," resulting from the wear and tear, shock and strain on mechanical parts, especially when stopping, starting, and accelerating, under present conditions, wilt be very substantially reduced. It is, therefore, safe to say, we think, that the aspect of the commercial prospects of motor-omnibus companies in particular will greatly benefit by the ultimate adoption of this new system, which, after all, is a " sudden invention," and will bring upon the face of the omnibus world a happy smile of contentment and prosperity.—We are, dear sir, yours very truly, PLATTE, SCHEELE, AND CO. IS and ro, Oueenhithe, London, E.C. 25th January.
Lwo do not recognise, evidence of an y "Sudden Invention" in the few points named above, but we shall be happy to learn more of the system in which our correspondents arc interested—Eta] Graphite in Crankcases.
The Editor, " THE CommEEcim, MoToR."
Sir :—Being fully alive to the many theoretical advantages of graphite as a lubricant, I have made in the past many experiments on its use in the crankcase, but always with the same result, i.e., however small may be the quantity used, it gradually accumulates behind the rings and spoils their " spring," and the results are : bad compression ; breakage of rings ; and uneven wear.
Lately, I have again used graphite in the crankcase in order to observe its effect on the cylinder deposit, a subject to which I ant devoting myself. I have found that, with graphite, the deposit forms far more rapidly than is the case when oil alone is employed, and an examination immediately reveals to the eye (without a magnifyingglass) the presence of a large proportion of sinning particles of graphite.
It is obvious that, as graphite will not distil or evaporate, it must, just as road dust, be caught by the oil on the walls and piston head as on a fly paper, the oil continually distilling away, whilst the graphite and dust accumulate, becoming gradually bound into a solid mass by the carbonaceous residue which is a production of the decomposition of that small proportion of the oil which does not distil.— yours truly, A. DUCE I EAM Wharf, West Ferry Road, Millwalt, London, E. January 25th, 1908.
Were the Motorbuses Missed?
The Editor. "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—Those people, who take a peculiar delight in slandering the motorbus, tell us that there are already too many of these vehicles on the streets and that they are practically empty all day. If this iS true, then, during the recent strike, the Road Car Company's vehicles should not have been missed by the average, short-stage traveller. As one who travels about London chiefly by motorbus, at all hours of the day, I can say most emphatically that the absence of these motorbuses was noticeable in several ways. On the first day of the strike, and before J knew anything about it, I walked down Cheapside about 9 a.m., and it struck me then that there were fewer motorbuses about than usual, I did not attach much importance to this, for the services along this particular street are not very reliable. I expect that several of your readers have noticed that it is frequently necessary to wait at least five minutes at such a place as the General Post Office for a motorbus, and then, perhaps, some four or five will come along all at once—then there will be another long wait. I believe that this highly unsatisfactory state of affairs is due to the reprehensible practice of loitering on the " points " until a rival vehicle comes in sight. A day or two before the strike, the latest Road Car service, from Hammersmith to Stoke Newington via Oxford Street, was altered to run via Chancery Lane and Victoria, thus coming into direct competition with the " Favourite " horsebus line. This was a great blessing to those who really hadn't got an hour to spare to spend on a journey from " The Angel " to Victoria Station. The motorbus line was suspended and the many people who do this journey twice a day, had to be satisfied with six miles an hour and a " rest " of a couple of minutes or so at every " point," on a horsebus. Perhaps the most popular line of motorbuses in London is that between Clapham Junction and Highbury Barn, and I noticed that the Road Car Company had apparently put all their available vehicles on this particular route. Even then one had to wait some twenty minutes for a bus to come along and it was usually full of passengers travelling the whole distance, or the major part of it. The shortstage passenger who wanted to travel, say; from Tottenham Court Road to Holborn Town Hall, had to get into a horse-bus (if he were so fortunate as to find one) or else walk. Here, then, are two routes where the suspension of one, and the partial suspension of the other, have been very keenly felt. Along the Strand, with its large number of motorbuses per hour, perhaps the loss has not been so apparent, especially in the number of vehicles running westward, for plenty of " Vanguards " feed Victoria and the West End. In the other direction, none of the buses run beyond Shoreditch Church except those " Union Jacks " plying between Putney and Bow Bridge. These turn. off at the Bank and run through Leadenhall. Street and Mile End Road. These buses are always well filled, and, during the busy hours of the evening-as each bus draws up at the Bank—it is besieged by a crowd, perhaps thirty strong, all hoping that somebody will get down and leave a vacant seat. The suspension of this service put a lot of people to great inconvenience, and many of these could ill afford to take an underground train to Whitechapel and then Continue the journey to the East London districts by tram. This also applies to the East Ham and Swiss Cottage service, which feeds PlaiStow and the surrounding districts. The " Great Eastern " buses running between Oxford Circus and Upton Park follow the same route for a large part of the way, but the number of vehicles, always inadequate, during the busy hours of the day, to carry the people who want to go out as far as, or come in from, Upton Park, could not hope to cope with the Road Car traffic. That the Road Car services in various parts of the Metropolis fill a real want, and are extensively patronised, is shown by the rapidly increasing receipts of the company, and, since they are extensively patronised, they must have been missed to a corresponding degree.—Yours faithfully,
" COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER." Wandsworth Common, S.W., oi.th January, 1908.
A German Appreciation of Street Cleansing Motors.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir notice, on page 430, in your issue of 16th
January, that you make mention of the fact that Berlin is to have dust-suction motor vehicles to help to clean its streets. I also notice with regret that, as far as has been ascertained, the only manufacturer of a machine expressly designed for the purpose hails from, or rather will hail from, Cologne. English manufacturers are, I am afraid, given to bewail the depressing state of the market in all directions connected with self-propelled vehicles, and they appear to confine themselves to the production, and sale, of vehicles which are of ordinary types. Your Berlin correspondent's remark at the foot of the paragraph in question will, I hope, have a salutary effect upon the dormant energies of some of our motor manufacturers, and will be a means whereby some ambition to get out new designs wilt be engendered. There are many budding engineers and draughtsmen in Great Britain who could easily draw up eome efficient design for a dust suction vehicle, which, even if it were not used, would only cost the company a small proportion of the designer's salary, plus the cost of drawing paper .and pencils. Your Berlin page is to Erie personally one of the most interesting that appears in your journal. Would it not be possible to have American, Frriich, and Italian pages, as I am sure the latest news of what is being done by foreign firms to further the heavy-motor movement would act as an incentive to British manufacturers.—Yours
JAMES &MEE.