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News of the Week.

30th March 1905, Page 3
30th March 1905
Page 3
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Page 3, 30th March 1905 — News of the Week.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

"No. " was "sold out" on the day of publication. Newsagents orders exceeded %ono copies.

The prospects before the light electric delivery van do not appear very rosy. Mr. T. G. Chambers states that the cost will be from f3oo to L'35o exclusive of tyres and batteries.

Members of the Motor Van and Wagou Users' Association now receive a copy of this journal each week, an advantage of membership which should be noted by users and others interested in commercial motors who are about to join the society. Messrs. W. Worby Beaumont and Walter H. Willcox have been elected to the Executive Committee of the Association.

The Adams Express Company, of New York, after experimenting with steam and electric delivery vans, have now purchased a number of petrol vans for trial.

The greater freedom allowed to heavy motor cars has had the effect of making some owners of traction engines jealous. At a recent conference held in Perth suggestions were made to abolish the third man, to permit greater speeds and to sanction spikes in the tyres.

The General Petroleum Company, Limited, request us to state that the differences in price between Borneo motor spirit and ordinary grades of" Shell "spirit cannot be quoted by them. We ourselves shall press with all our power to see the price of the commercial grade kept down when the inevitable rise comes in the price of ordinary grades.

Upwards of 3,000 copies containing the special u-page Indian and Colonial Supplement were mailed to selected merchants and others in our great dependency, the Dominion of Canada, Australasia, and other Colonies. Our next Special Supplement will be included in Our issue of April 13th and will fully describe vehicles suitable for the requirements of the brewing trades.

Motorcar accessory manufacturers are proving quick to recognise that they must follow the commercial motor by providing suitable parts and sundries. We have perused the new list of the Doherty Motor Accessories Co., Ltd., of Coventry, and find the radiators, lubricators, and bonnets ti) be well designed for delivery vans and lorries using internal combustion engines. Their lighter branches should be suitable for parcel carriers of the cycle type.

This is the time of year when horse breeders in the northern counties have their annual sales upon the different farms. This spring has seen a great difference in the prices obtained and the number sold. General opinion in the districts affected points to one reason for the cessation of demand, more particularly for heavy draught animals, and this reason is the prominence which motor traction has assumed wherever it has been introduced. "No. 5 " will be a special issue largely devoted to the use of motors in the brewing, trades.

Current orders for delivery vans are second only to the business in oninibuses and public service vehicles. Makers who are not ready to supply should hasten their announcements.

Mr. Percy J. Sheldon, the County Surveyor, in the recent case of the Essex County Council v. Charles Hall, Limited (Gray's County Court), for road damage by traction engines, made the interesting statement in the course of his evidence that loads exceeding 13 or 14 tons in weight were excessive. The point is that loaded motor wagon weights are always less than /2 tons.

Canada realises the value of the ambulatory motor for advertising purposes. We shall shortly see one touring rural Britain in the interests of the Dominion Government.

It is proposed to purchase Thornycroft vehicles for a combined passenger and goods service between Midleton, Ballinacurra, Cloyne, Shanagarry and Ballycotton. The Rev. John O'Riordan, the parish priest of Cloyne, is the moving spirit.

We know a gentleman, resident in Coventry, who is desirous of representing a Continental firm for motor parts or accessories. He is familiar with French, German, Italian, and other languages, which would greatly facilitate correspondence with any manufacturer whose goods he may be handling. It is an exceptional opportunity for any firm desirous of arranging Midland representation.

The proposed May Day Parade of Motor Vehicles was referred by the Automobile Club to the Motor Van and Wagon Users' Association. A recommendation was made against the parade, on the grounds thdt it had fulfilled its purpose in 1903 and Dana, and that the vehicles were too useful to their owners to be given up even for a few hours. No parade will be organised by the Club in consequence of this decision.

We learn that the Vienna Town Council has decided in principle to re-organise the municipal fire brigade on a motor basis. Altogether, over so motor-driven engines are to be purchased at a cost of 83o,000 crowns, or some ;636,000. It appears that the Town Council has been induced to abolish the horse-drawn machines by the success of the Hanover fire brigade motor system. Messrs. Merryweather and other British specialists might get a foothold here, but they should bear in mind that early next year Austro-Hungary's new tariff comes into force, in which most of the duties have been screwed up considerably in comparison with existing rates. British goods would come in at the same rate as German under the "most favoured" nation clause, and our makers must not let the Germans have it all their own way at Vienna.

Probably the best evidence of our success is to be found in the statements which are being made in various quarters in connecti3n with the launching of other weekly journals " devoted to the interests " of the commercial motor. The trade, of course, views the prospect with delight.

Messrs. Robert Cort and Son, of Lower Bland Street, Great Dover Street, S.E., are doing a large business in van and lorry repairs.

A discount of 5 per cent. is allowed to all members of the M.V. and W.U.A. who effect insurances direct wi..th the Car and General Insurance Corporation, Ltd., to the head office, r, Queen Victoria Street. This arrangement has just been concluded, but omnibuses and public service vehicles arc not included in its operation.

The Metropolitan Water Board announced several months ago that they would grant licenses to practically any person who applied for permission to take water through a meter for the purpose of supplying motor wagons. As unexpected di,ficulties have arisen, the M.V. and W.U.A. are taking the matter up. Any user in the Mteropolitan area who is experiencing trouble over the replenishment of his steam wagons should advise Mr. Rees Jeffreys, in, Down Street, W., forthwith.

The daily range of motor vans and lorries is so much greater than of horse-drawn vehicles that we occasionally hear of drivers who gut lost in districts to which they are strangers. This experience befell some of the men who were in charge of the new omnibuses for the London Motor Omnibus Company, on Friday last, in the trip from Regent's Park to Newington. The failure of the L.C.C. to be ready for the weighing preliminaries on this occasion should serve as a warning to others to ascertain in advance, as there is no use going to be weighed unless the necessary officials are in attendance.

The president of the Hackney Carriage Proprietors Provident Association stated, at the annual festival on the 23rd instant, that the motor must now be looked upon in a commercial aspect. it was no longer an object of derision or the plaything of the elite. He prophesied that at least two-lifths of the public vehicles on the streets of London would be propelled by mechanical power within the next five years. We might point out to cab-owners that their charge of us. 3d. a day is more than enough to cover the cost of a motor cab, which is capable of earning much more money than the horsed cab. They should place orders for some of these machines before they get left behind, for the example of the big omnibus companies must find a parallel in all branches of hackney carriage business. The Woodside Hotel, Doune, N.B., are using Albion wagonettes for hotel and. station service. The machines are also hired out for runs of leo miles per day and upwards.

The Motor-Car Syndicate, Ltd., of Paisley, N.B., who build the Arrol-Johnston commercial motor vans and, public service vehicles, have opened a London Showroom at io6, New Bond Street, W., under the management of Mr. J. Stenbury.

The slow and clumsy bullock carts in Calcutta and other Indian cities are being challenged by motor vans, and wagons. But for the floating bridge over the Hooghly, where the limit of weight per wheel is one ton, the days of animal haulage would be numbered and few.

The seventh edition of the " Motor Manual," published by the Temple I'ress, Ltd., 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, E.C., has been issued. It should be in the hands of every driver or owner of a petrol vehicle, which is easily possible in view of the low price at which it is sold—rs• 2d. post free.

Some recent instances of convictions obviously bad in law, and due to imperfect knowledge of the pleas that might have been raised in defence, lead us to advise any user who receives a sumo-ions to communicate immediately, with the secretary of the Motor Van and Wagon Users' Association.

A special committee of the M.V. and W.U.A. has for some time past been engaged in considering the question of extraordinary traffic claims, and a conference has now been arranged with a sub-committee of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. This .matter is one of great importance to all users of heavy lorries.

The latest additions to the membership roll of the Motor Van and Wagon Users' Association are :—The Colchester Brewery Co., Eagle Brewery, Colchester; P. Campbell, Cement Works, Jarrow-on-Tyne; Parker Bros., Ltd., millers, Mildenhall; Glover Bros., Ltd., 28, Cleveland Street, W. ; The French Asphalie Co., Suffolk House, E.C.; J. Gater and Co., West End, Southampton; The Edison and Swan United E.L. Co., Ltd., Ponders End; W. Arnold and Sons, East Peckham, Kent; The Tynedale Coal Co., Ltd., Hexhain ; T. Balinforth and Co., Luton, Beds.

The tug-of-war between representatives of the various railway companies and municipal corporations still arouses interest. The companies seek power to run motor omnibuses. to and from any of their stations " and otherwise." The corporations are unanimous in their decision to oppose the granting of unrestricted powers, but have deferred the question of detailed amendment until the committee stage of the Bills. The tussle that is proceeding demonstrates that both contestants recognise that the day is near at hand when the possession of Parliamentary authorisation to run motor ornnibus.es will be extremely valuable to the fortunate holders.


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