OPINIONS and QUERIES
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A Reply to Our Trenchant Indictment of the Railways. An Oilengined Car Capable of a Speed of 100 m.p.h.
The Railways' Case.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3444] Sir,--In your issue of June 2nd "A Railway Expert" argues that high railway rates cannot be excused by the plea of big expenditure, but the figures he has given do not agree with the published records.
The increase of 100 per cent, in railway rates in 1.920 was made under a statutory order of the Minister of Transport while the railways were still under Government control, the decision of the Minister being doubtless influenced by the fact that, whilst the cost of materials had gone up by 200 per cent, and the wages bill by 250 per cent., railway rates throughout the war and after had remained at pre-war levels, with the result that the Government was faced with a very heavy deficit. The railways had no option in the matter, and it is only fair to add that after decontrol successive reductions were made in the rates as costs of operation fell. To-day, although the general level is 60 per-cent, over pre-war a very large proportion of the traffic is carried at exceptional rates, which are considerably below this level and in many cases are at or near the pre-war figures. It is to be remembered that the wages bill of the railways is about 140 per cent. over 1914.
The high cost of railway construction, including the purchase of land and Parliamentary and other legal charges in this country is undoubtedly a heavy burden. In Great Britain this capital cost was £50050 per mile, as against £39,205 in Belgium, £29,567 in France and £25,450 in Germany. It may be added that part of our higher post of construction was due to the necessity of acquiring land at high prices, providing high platforms at all stations, and building bridges in lieu of levelcrossings in many instances.
The British railway companies do not complain of having to pay for the upkeep of their track at a cost of £21,000,000 per annum. What they do contend, however, is that the motor road user, having been provided with his track (the highways) at the public expense, should at least bear the cost of maintaining and signalling it. As it is, of the annual amount of 150,000,000 to £50,000,000 spent on maintenance of our highways, only £26,000,000 is received from the taxation of motor vehicles, and of this £12,000,000 is from cars taxed on horse-power and only about £11,000,000 from goods vehicles and motor hackneys, so that the ratepayer and private car owner pay the greater part of the cost of maintaining the roads, while the commercial user of the public highways, with little or no overhead charges, is considerably assisted in his competition with the railways with what is virtually a subsidy from the ordinary citizen. I am not overlooking the petrol fax imposed within the last year or two, but even this has been largely offset by successive drops in the price of petrol.
As to taxation of railway, whilst in France and
Germany the amount paid per route mile is higher than in this country, in Belgium it is £13, in Italy £110 and the United States £40 per mile, as compared with £350 in Great Britain. As to the Government control or interference referred to, there is probably no country in the world where the railways have, since their incep tion, been subject to more stringent regulations and restrktions by Parliament and Government departments than in Great Britain.
With regard to private owners' wagons, the expense and trouble of working these is far greater than any saving in interest on capital which would have been entailed by the building of the wagons by the railways themselves. It may be added that on the Continent
none of the special vehicles for exceptional traffic, which are part of the railways' stock in this country, is provided by the railway administrations but has to be found by the traders themselves..
London, S.W.1. A. W. ARTHTIRTON. (British Railways' Press Bureau.)
[We have made no deletions in this letter from Mr. Arthurton, but we consider that some of the statements that he makes ought to be challenged, and we will welcome the opinions of road-transport interests concerning them.
Much vital information concerning the proportion of road cost borne by the road user is contained in the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Transport, it being pointed out therein that about £5,000,000 of the proceeds of taxation on private cars and motorcycles does not go to the Road Fund. In addition, the £14,000,000 received from the petrol tax [which, with the recently imposed increase in the tax will rise to well over f20,000,000] is used mainly for derating, by which the railways benefit considerably, whereas the garage proprietor receives no advantage.
It should also be remembered that practically every road user is a ratepayer and contributes to the roads in that capacity, so that in effect he is paying twice for the same thing. In all the taxation of motor vehicles 'covers over three-quarters of the cost of road maintenance.--En.)
The Cummins 100 m.p.h. Oil-engined Car.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3445] Sir,—As the matter is of very great interest to many people in this country at the present time, may I be allowed to amplify your article in "Loose Leaves" in The Commercial Motor for June 9th, concerning the oil-engined car in the 500-Mile Race at Indianapolis. The remarkable point is that in the qualifying test this Cummins car attained the great speed of 96.871 m.p.h.—only a little short of the 100 m.p.h. mark.
The average speed of this car during the race was 86.170 m.p.h., but owing to heavy rain and several accidents the whole field had to slow down to 70 m.p.h. for about 100 miles, otherwise its average speed would have been much higher.
This, together with the fact that it was the only car which made a non-stop run for the whole 500 miles, is a very remarkable testimony to the reliability of the n37
oil engine, a point which people are asking about. In this race -no fewer than 22 of the petrol cars were eliminated through accident or failure, and the winner's average speed was only 10.459 m.p.h. more than the Cummins. When we have oil-engined cars at Brooklands (and it may be very soon now) there will be no need for replenishment and repair pits and a whole lot of highly paid expert mechanics.
Leeds. W. H. GODDARD.
Useful Advice from a Certifying Officer.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3446] Sir,—I attach hereto copies of circular letter forms Nos. T.M.P. 44 and 45, which I have sent to the owners. of public-service vehicles in this area. I trust you will find them of sufficient interest to repeat in your publication, as I feel it is essential that such information be widely distributed in order that the working of the Act may be facilitated.
I should bemuch obliged if you would publish a note to the effect that owners must return the P.S.V. 1 and P.S.V. 3 application forms in duplicate before requesting -new vehicles to be inspected for a certificate of fitness, as I find that in many eases this procedure is not carried out, the consequence being a large amount of unnecessary correspondence and a waste of time.
T. E. B. CHALMERS, Certifying Officer, Southern Area, Scotland. Edinburgh.
"Purchase of Second-hand Vehicles.
" T.M.F. 44.
"You are requested to pay particular attention when purchasing second-hand vehicles in order to make quite sure that they comply with the regulations under the Road Traffic Act, 1930, before you actually complete the purchase.
"I have found numerous cases of hardship where owners have bought second-hand vehicles which did not cOmply with these regulations, and they have thereafter been put to considerable expense' in having them
altered. In some cases the cost of alteration was actually more than the price paid.
"By insisting that the vehicle which you purchase complies in every respect with the regulations, you will save yourself a very considerable amount of trouble and expense."
"Certification. of New Vehicles.
" 45 (c.f. 39).
"In view of the fact that there are many owners who desire to have new vehicles passed for a certificate of fitness with as little delay as possible, I have arranged to inspect such vehicles at the following centres:—
"Edinburgh, July 13th.
"Glasgow, July 6th, July 27th.
"Dumfries, July 20th.
"Should you desire to avail yourself of those facili ties you should give me at least seven days' clear notice to enable the necessary arrangements to be made. Such notice to be in addition to the forms of application, Nos. P.S.V. 1 and P.S.V. 3.
" Owners in outlying districts and in the islands are strongly recommaded to have their vehicles passed by me at one of the above centres before taking them to their own garages."
Work Which Would Pay with a 6-tonner.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3447] Sir,---As an appreciative reader of your invaluable paper for a number of years, I would be glad to have your views on the following:— I was thinking of starting in the haulage business with either a second-hand 6-tonner or a new 2-tonner, the cost of either would be about the same-020. The following details may help :—I will drive myself, but will employ an assistant at 35s. per week ; the garage rent will be £20 per annum; the rates of other men at similar work are 9s. and 10s. per ton; distance, 18-20 1338 miles; nature of work, general farm produce, shop goods, manures, coal, etc.; loading will be mostly one way, two trips per day for most of the time; all repairs will be undertaken by myself, as I am a mechanic.
Please let me have your opinion as to the possibility of making a success. Further, I may add that I will be in a position, even at the start, to secure a fair share of work. Please send me your Operating Costs Tables.
MECHANIC. [You should be able to make the work you have in view
ay if you use a 6-ton lorry, but not with a 2-tonner.
With the smaller machine your operating costs would be from 6.2d. to 7.3& per mile, depending upon the weekly mileage. For a 40-mile trip the cost would therefore be from 20s. to 25s., and your revenue, at 10s. per ton, only
20s. (The figures for cost are those for the lorry only,
with no allowance for establishment charges.) With the 6-ton lorry the operating cost per mile would be from 10.6d. to 11.32d. and the cost per journey from 35s. 4d. to 37s. 8d. Revenue, at 10s. per ton, would be 60s.
Bear in mind that these figures only apply if you obtain full loads one way each trip.-8.T.R.]
A Claim for Loss of Use Due to Accident.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[34481 Sir,—Please send me your Tables of Operating Costs for various size lorries.
What would be a fair charge per week for the loss of use of a 3-3i-ton lorry caused by an accident acknow ledged to be the fault of the other party? F.T. Boston.
[A copy of our Tables of Operating Costs has been sent. A 3-3i-ton lorry in your area should be capable of earning a gross profit of 22s. 6d. to 25s. per day, and that is the amount you should claim.—S.T.R.] Carrying Passengers in a Lorry.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3449] Sire—For the past five years I have been a regular reader of your valuable journal. I am running a 2-ton Dennis and am using this as a goods vehicle and hackney carriage for 14 seats for week-end parties. For the past few weeks I have noticed in your journal that no lorries are allowed to carry persons for reward. Well, I already have this lorry licensed for 14 seats and am insured for passengers. Am I still allowed to
carry them? G. E. PURTON. London, E.15.
[The Road Traffic Act, 1930, requires that, in conneo• _don with any vehicle which is used to carry more than seven persons, a certificate of fitness must be obtained, which means that it must be passed by the Traffic Commissioners' inspectors; a public service vehicle licence is also necessary.—En.]
Claims for Damage Resulting from Collision.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[3450] Sir,—We shall be obliged if you will kindly answer the following query :— Is the proposed claimant for damage caused through a collision with his horse-drawn vehicle legally compelled to give notice of his claim or of the accident to the person against whom such claim is to be preferred at all or within any specified time before actually making the claim?
GEORGE C. BRISTOW, Governing Director, For GEORGE BRISTOW,. LTD.
Kingston-on-Thames.
[A person who proposes to make a claim for damage caused through a collision with his horse-drawn vehicle is not legally compelled to give notice of his claim, or of the accident, to the person against whom the claim is to be made, before commencing 'proceedings for the recovery of. the damages which be alleges he has sustained. The claim must, however, be commenced within six years from the date of the accident, unless it is against a public authority, which comes -within the provisions of the Public Anthorities Protection Act, 1893, in which case the proceedings must be commenced within six months from the date of the accident..—En.]