Correspondence.
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Traction-engine Restrictions.
The Editor, "Tins COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I am surprised at the apparent delight in the supposed curtailment of traction-engine traffic in London. As a matter of fact, the coming by-laws will have no Such effect, but will come as a relief to traction-engine owners after eight years of suspense. Under the first set drawn up by the L.C.C., in which it was proposed to close some roads by day, and others by night, it would have taken an engine 3L. days to get across London. We traction-engine owners protested, and the L.C.C. saw the absurdity of its action.
I am beginning to think that motorists are utterly selfish and only want their particular, class of vehicle to run; anyway, they must remember that the motor can never do the class of work that the traction-engine does, and, also, that the traction-engine is heavily taxed : I have paid as much as ,4,-so per annum on one engine. The English traction-engine building trade is on a much more substantial footing than the commercial vehicle.
With regard to resilient wheels and tires, how does " Roller" suppose a 30-ton boiler is going to be carried on these, or even on springs? If the traction-engine is run off the road, this class of work must be done by horses, and this, in modern times, seems somewhat retrograde. With regard to noise and vibration, the modern road locomotive is not such an offender as the motorbus, for the simple reason that the weight is constant, and the springs can be adjusted for it ; also, the large-diameter wheels pass over " squats " and ruts where the strialler wheels fall in. Resilient tires are out of the question for weight-carrying at present. Perhaps " Roller " will invent something? I trust you will insert this, as someone must stand up for the most useful form of mechanical road transport. The motorist must live and let live.—Yours faithfully, F. J. BRETEERION.
West Kensington, 23rd May, 1904.
Why Motorbuses are Unsatisfactory.
_ The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—It is no uncommon sight to see a motor omnibus come to an involuntary stop in the thick of the London traffic, and the conductor request the passengers to take advantage of the next motor omnibus coming along, arrangements having apparently been made between all the companies to assist each other in this direction. [This is the first we have heard of any such benevolent arrangement.— En.] The passengers, doubtless, change their seats with the thought in their minds that that particular make of bus is unreliable, but I venture to assert that, in nine cases out of ten, indeed I might say ninety-nine cases out of one hundred, the stoppage is due either to inattention on the part of the owners, or to the penny-wise and pound-foolish policy of using imitation parts instead of those supplied by the manufacturers.
As an instance of this, while driving my 2411.p. De Dion car in London about a week ago, I came across a De Dion omnibus " stranded " in one of the busy thoroughfares. As T usually carry a few spares about with me, and knowing the omnibus was fitted with a similar engine to the one in my car, I stopped to see if I could be of any assistance. The driver and conductor, not seeing my car, looked suspiciously at me at first, when I asked the cause of their trouble, until I explained how I might assist them. Their countenances changed immediately, and I was told the contact-blade had broken, and they hadn't a spare. I asked to look at the broken one, and was not surprised it had broken, considering that it was a very poor imitation, being only about half as thick as a genuine blade, and so soft that one could easily bend it about with the fingers.
The Editor invites correspondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Letters should be on one side of the paper only, and type-written by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no re sponsibility for the views expressed is accepted. The genuine blades are made by people who know exactly the purpose for which they are required. The reason for the imitation blade, worth only a few coppers, is because the bus companies buy them for about one-fifth of the cost of the genuine Dc Dion blade; but, when the progress of The bus depends upon this blade, the short-sighted policy isapparent. The contact-breaker was also very loose on itsbearing, by reason of long wear, but, when the " official. repairer " arrived, he soon made this a tight fit with a bus ticket, and in such a manner that one could easily see it was not the first time bearings had been rebushed in thisway. I know for a fact that bus companies make, or have made for them, a large assortment of imitation parts, without the: knowledge which is necessary, and the frequent involuntary stoppages of buses on the road are due in a great measureto this cause, as well as to the fact that very little supervision is given to them when "off duty."—Yours faithfully,. DE DION-BOLITON (1907), LIMITED. J. W. STOCKS, Manager.
so, Great Marlborough Street, London, W.
Business with Van Builders.
The Editor, "THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—In reply to the letter of " Van Trader " on thesubject of credit business, if " Van Trader " has sufficient capital to pay cash to the manufacturer for his chassis,. and to give his customer the credit required, we, personally,. have no objection to his doing so, but the natural consequence of doing this is that others, not in so good a position to do so, follow suit, and then ask the manufacturer to help them. Manufacturers, however, require all their capital for building, and are unable to finance either a longcredit business or a van-running business, as we are often asked to do, and when we say this we speak generally as regards the entire trade. -" Van Trader " asks—" Do motor builders pay cash before delivery for their motor bodies?" In our case, certainly, we do, because we have hitherto built our own, and, of course, when you build your own, you have to pay for them as they are constructed. Our experience in buying car bodies has been that the builders of theon have not had capital themselves to give credit, and, if payment before delivery has not been made,. it has had tti be made very shortly after. The reason the motor trade started selling on a cash .basis was that it is. no more reasonable to ask a manufacturer of an expensive article like a motorcar to construct without payment, than for a builder to build a house and give credit for it. lithe motor trade were required to give extended. credit in their business, not a single house in the trade could do anything like the amount of business which they do to-day. Half their capital would be locked up "on the books." In regard to the latter portion of the letter from " Van Trader," if he will refer to Mr. Sturme.y's article again, he will see that he did not suggest that there should be a separate class for vehicles carrying 5 cwt., but that vehicles. in the competition constructed to carry this load should be allowed to do so. As to the usefulness of such a vehicle,. there can be no doubt, as quite a large number of vehicles. carrying from 5 to so cwt. are in use to-day, and paying their users, although we fully recognise the fact that, in competition against a 4'25 horse and cart, the motor vehiclehas something pretty heavy to " buck up" against. Thegain to the user of these small vehicles is found in thesaving of time and the quicker delivery, rather than in thegreater capacity of his cart.—Yours faithfully,
STURMEY MOTORS, LIMITED. Lotis Works, Coventry.
Motorbus Direction Roards.
The Editor, " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR."
Sir :—I must express my thanks for your sympathetic. notice (page 216) of my article (page 134 In my last letter (page 206), I perhaps animadverted unduly on the signs at the rear of the bus, especially as they are in accordance with the police regulations. No doubt they are useful to persons coming up behind the vehicle when
:at rest. May I be taken to mean that their importance is very small in comparison with names on the front.
As to the illumination of my larger hoards at night, may I submit that, however desirable this may be, it is ..altogether another question. It is not thought necessary to illuminate the present signs on the sides of the bus. If .they are considered sufficiently legible at all times, so would be mine. In any case, purely the illumination of a .larger board would not be a problem insurmountable to the ,engineer with oil, electricity, various forms of gas, and .even the optical lantern at his disposal.
Since writing my article, I have had, through the favour of your introductions, opportunities of hearing further views .on my proposal, the objections to which chiefly arise from .a want of appreciation of the difficulties of strangers in London. The imperative need, however, of something ..more efficient than the old system seems to be felt, and .especially the desirability of haying information on the front of the bus. This, I understand, is being in some .degree attended to. The need for the alphabetical arrangement is scarcely understood, and it seems difficult to realise the importance of my point that it is physically -impossible to read a dozen names distributed promiscuously over the side of a bus in less than 20 seconds, whilst the passing bus only allows 5 seconds! Yet, in an alphabetically-arranged list of the same places, one may find a .carne, or note its absence, in a to 3 seconds.
The bus companies are evidently, at heart, aware of the .need of quicker methods of indicating the destinations of Their buses. These seem to develop in the direction of ,shifting the responsibility on to the policeman. How he ,carries in his head the various numbers, colours, flags, fancy names, etc., and attaches each unerringly to the -various streets on its route is a marvel. Why the rate;payers consent to pay for the time so spent in translating and instructing the public on the meaning of the bus hiero.glyph is also a marvel. By and by, when motorbuses multiply with hieroglyphs to correspond, we shall want a man in blue at every corner. One company indicates its -routes by a numeral—a terse and businesslike plan; but one must have a guide, and time, to study it throughout, or apply to the usual policeman. Indeed it seems tacitly assumed that the stranger habitually seeks this help, forgetting that there are various degrees of intelligence, and
that, even among provincials, some have brains enough to Lind their way, if given a chance such as I propose! Other companies (both horse and motor) rely on the colour of their buses. I am told because this is traditional, and the Londoner understands it. On this ground, there should be no motorbuses, because horses are traditional. The colour plan, like the numerals or the fancy names, such as Favorite" or " Royal Blue," involve to the visitor a wearing effort of memory to connect an utterly inconsistent idea with a certain route. One suspects in the Londoner's bosom a cherished affection for this form of Metropolitan puerility, and a half-concealed contempt for his country cousin's inability to appreciate it. In the original article, I have already referred to a possible objection to my plan on the grounds of interference with advertisement space. May I remind your readers that the whole of the side of the vehicle would become available for advertisements, including the panel carrying the hieroglyph of the name of the company, such as " General," or " Vanguard." About 20 square feet would thus be gained, opposite 15 square feet occupied by the alphabetical arrangement. Take into account, also, the additional passenger traffic probably arising. One must appreciate the claims of the Acme destination indicator, for distinctness, legibility, and position on front and rear of the vehicle. It indicates, as I understand, the ultimate destination of the bus, and is thus a step beyond such distinguishing marks as " Royal Blue," etc.; but what fraction of the passengers want to go to the ultimate destination, even in small towns? Of the remainder, those who are strangers must be taken charge of by the police, who can explain the hieroglyph of the particular bus that will meet their ends. iNly scheme, on the contrary, may indicate readily a dozen destinations. The opinion of your correspondents that the alphabetical order of these is of no consequence will not, I think, be held by anyone who takes the trouble to follow my reasoning carefully, and I need scarcely add that I have no pecuniary interest in my proposal, which is made merely out of sympathy with my brother-provincials, and myself.—Yours faithfully, J. BROWN, F.R.S.,
President Irish Roads Imprcvement Association. Longhurst, ,Dunmurry, Belfast.
24th May, 1907.