From Our Berlin Correspondent.
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The Upper Erz Gebirge District.
The parishes in the Platten district are considering the advisability of linking Barringen and Schmiedeberg by a motorbus line, which would also serve to connect up the railway lines Johanngeorgenstadt-Karlsbad and Weipert-Kornotau.
Refuse Wagons for Hamburg.
At a recent sitting of the Hamburg Btirgerschaft [120 citizens, elected for a period of six years, who, with the Senate, form the Government of Hamburg] it was the duty of one of the committees to report on the introduction of an up-to-date system of removing refuse. It transpired that the members had visited England for the purpose of studying the various systems in vogue there, and found that in some instances self-propelled vehicles were at work. The committee strongly recommended the Government to lose no time in adopting automobiles for the removal of Hamburg's dust, etc.
British firms who have supplied such vehicles to corporations at home would do well not to lose sight of Hamburg, where business is likely to be done, as the area of the City justifies the placing .-of large orders.
Gold Medals All Round.
Further to my telegraphic advice of last week, in which I gave a list of the awards in the German commercial vehicle trials, you should note that
three other awards have since been made :—The Scheibler vehicle in class la (omnibuses to carry up to 20 passengers) was the recipient of a commendatory acknowledgment ; The Berliner Motorwagen-Fabrik lorry in class II (lorries for 15 to 20 cwt.), and the vehicle entered, by the .Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft in class IV (for lorries to carry a to 3 tons), were each awarded a gold medal.
It may also interest your readers to know on what formula the fuelconsumption award was based. Four factors were taken into account, and these were : total fuel consumption in kilogrammes ; a uniform price per kilogramme for each of the three grades of fuel which were used (benzol, petrol and " motonaptha ") ; the useful load in tons, exclusive of the weight of the driver, but including that of the observer ; and the distance covered in kilometres. The first two factors were multiplied together and divided by the product of the last two factors.
The wide dispensation of awards has attracted some comment.
Self.propelled Fire Brigade Vehicles.
The accompanying illustration of, arid notes regarding, the three new self -propelled firebrigade vehicles which have been acquired by the corporation of Charlottenburg were unavoidably held over from our issue for last week. In this innovation, Charlottenburg treads in the steps of Schiineberg, with the exception that the former has elected to use electricity as a motive power in lieu of the steam employed by the latter. The: three vehicles form the main equipment of
the new fire station in the Suarezstrasse, and each has a front-wheel drive and a battery capacity sufficient for a working radius of about 20 miles. The fleet consists of a first-aid engine, an escape and a steam fire-engine. On the first mentioned, seating accommodation is provided for 12 firemen. On the second, the battery has a double duty to perform as, in addition to supplying current for the propulsion of the vehicle, it is employed for the purpose of raising the ladder by means of drums driven by an ele.ctromotor. The' third vehicle, also electrically-propelled, has a steam-driven pump with a capacity of some 400 gallons per minute. Solid tires with non-slipping arrangements have been fitted to all four wheels in each case. Wurtemberg Motorbus Project.
Since the opening of the Hardtsfeldbahn, there has been no direct postal communication between Bopfingen and Neresheim, and it is proposed to meet this want by means of a motorbus line. Gaggenau singledeckers have been tried over the road, but no decision appears to have been arrived at as to the make eventually to be adopted. The above towns are not far from the border, between Nuremberg and Stuttgart.
An Electrical Road Train.
I hear that Bussing, of Brunswick, is now engaged on the construction of a 5oh.p. petrol tractor for the German military authorities. The tractor carries a generator which dis tributes electrical energy to each trailer somewhat on the lines of the Renard train. The motors drive direct on to differential countershafts, and from thence, by side chains, to each driving wheel of the trailers. Should the 5oh.p. model prove a success, a larger one, of tooh.p., will be put in hand for the same departfnent of the Government. Its completion and trial is eagerly awaited by both military and civil engineers.