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Coat mining COAL-MINING machinery
Machinery Taken to was carried by State road Wilds of Scotland . . transport into the wilds of Sutherland recently, because the consignment was labelled for " Armadale, by Thurso, Caithness," instead of "Armadale, West Lothian." When the lorry driver, a Glasgow man, arrived in Wick with the machinery, he was worried becausa he could see no signs of heavy industry. Local people told him that there were certainly no mines in Armadale—a village of some 60 souls situated on the moors. Pressing on to Armadale, he inquired of the local postmistress, who laughed. He telephoned his depot from the post office and was then given his correct destination. After a cup of tea, he headed off back along the 300-mile trail to Armadale, West Lothian. British Road Services deliver the goods!
Canadian Coach nUR technical editor Drivers Combine •-• recently visited Canada Role of Couriers . . and was greatly impressed by the skill of the coach drivers. Public-address apparatus is fitted to most sightseeing coaches and the drivers act as couriers. In Montreal and Ottawa there are traffic conditions as dense and difficult as Piccadilly, but the Canadian driver, of his coach maintained a steady flow of information, holding a microphone in one hand and steering and changing gear with the other. One of the highlights of a drive through Montreal was when the driver competed with a car for an opening in the traffic. A running commentary of the incident, given through the speakers, ended with "We've won!" Canadian railway level crossings are not guarded by gates and all coach drivers stop their vehicles and open the doors before driving over the crossing. The doors are opened because if the springs or front axle failed the folding doors would probably jam and the only other means for exit is, in most cases, through the windows. Coaches travel at high speeds along the main roads, being often faster than cars but the speedometers are set to register a maximum of 50 m.p.h. This is done to ensure passenger confidence, because many might be alarmed to see the speedometer showing 70 m.p.h. or more.
Red, Cross Officer RED Cross personnel are Finds Unusual Job for " trained to use initiative
Jack and to improvise when
orthodox appliances are not available In one instance a radiographer, who is an officer of that body, had to X-ray an 18-stone woman who had fractured her thigh. She was in bed at home and the doctor wanted a lateral view of the injury, but the mattress had sagged so with her weight that he found her lying in a wire "basin" with the iron frame of the bed making a view from the side impossible. He therefore obtained a pastry board, which he put under the bed on top of the jack from his equipment van. Having by means of the jack raised mattress and patient to a level position, he was able to take the required photograph. 1T would appear that before long the minimum bus fare will become 2d. all over the country This would indicate in a dramatic way how the cost of living has risen in the past few years, for with the establishment of this figure, the penny would appear to be in danger of becoming an unused coin, like the farthing and even the half-penny. Neither coin will purchase anything on its own any more, and soon there will be only one thing which a penny will buy. To a member of the staff of "The Commercial Motor" the changes in the colour. of postage stamps has brought home the rise in the cost of living. Formerly the half-penny stamp was green; now it is orange— which used to be the colour of the 2d. One therefore feels that the " half-penny " stamp now costs four times as much. Similarly, the 2id. stamp now looks like the old Id. denomination and when using a red stamp for a sealed letter, one feels that it is like paying 21i times as much for a service that used to cost Id. Rising costs are forcing us all to make great efforts to adjust ourselves to a new and increasingly difficult situation.
Fares Not The Only Sign of Rising Costs Misaligned Rear Axles May Cause Much Trouble . .
A FTER following a B.R.S. r-k lorry for some distance along a trunk road, one of our staff became aware that it was moving crabwise The rear wheels appeared to be set at a considerable angle to the front wheels, even when the vehicle was travelling on the crown of the road The cause of the trouble could not, of course, be discovered, and as an isolated case the fault was not regarded as significant. In subsequent conversations with two independent 'repair specialists, however, rear-axle misalignment was described as very common, and one specialist expressed the opinion that the consequent wastage of tyre rubber throughout the country was " prOdigious." It would seem that a main-spring leaf is often replaced by one having the same overall length, but with a different spring-centre location, whilst sometimes misalignment can be attributed to a faulty repair afte an accident. Whatever may be the cause, a high rate of tyre wear is a certain indication that a fault exists, and investigation should not be delayed. Road holding, braking and the life of the transmission may also be adversely affected by an offset axle