News and Comment.
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This journal fosters, represents, and chronicles commercial motoring in all its branches ; it has the largest and hest circulation throughout the United Kingdom, the Colonies, India, and foreign countries generally. No part of our exclusive and valuable circulation is due to the forcing of sales in useless quarters.
A new steam lorry is described and illustrated on pages 263 to 265.
Lost mileage was, at one time, thy bane of the motor user : particulars will be found on page 248, et sequenter, to show how matters have improved.
Another Halley vehicle—a two-ton lorry—has been ordered by Mr. R. D. Waddell, sausage manufacturer, of Glasgow, and this brings up his total of Halley vehicles to three.
C.M.U.A.
The December meeting of the Executive Committee of the Commercial Motor Users' Association will take place, on Wednesday next, the 9th instant, at 2.30 p.m., at 1, Albemarle Street, W.
An Argyll.
The ambulance which belongs to the St. Andrew's Ambulance Association, of Glasgow, to which we referred on page 218 of our issue of the ugh ultimo, is of Argyll manufacture, and not, as our paragraph implied, of .Mbion-make.
At Silvertown.
The AngiosAmerican Oil Company, Limited, rightly prides itself on the thoroughness of its distribution organisation, and the ease with which customers can obtain regular supplies at their very doors. Pages 260 and 2f11 contain some particulars of the company's arrangements for storage and re-distilling at Silyertown.
Tar-slag Macadam.
We regret to hear a report to the effect that the Holborn Borough Uoun cii about to lay tar-slag macadam in certain Bloomsbury streets. Unless this class of material is very carefully selected, we seriously doubt whether it is able to withstand heavy motor traffic, and it does not strike us as being modern practice to lay any material whose crushing tests cannot be shown to be high enough to bear this increas
ing traffic satisfactorily. There are, of course, certain picked slags which are sufficiently strong for the purpose, and we trust to hear that the Holborn Council has given due consideration to that factor, and has specified a suitable slag for the purpose.
Pernicious Bonuses.
We observe, with interest, the following resolution of the Committee of Maeagement of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders : " That this meeting is of opinion that the system is calculated to produce most harmful results, and, in the best interests both of the trade and users, it calls upon the suppliers of petrol forthwith to abandon the practice." Can the scheme, with regard to contractual relations, be abandoned before the 2Sth February next? 1‘..! fear not. Fastnut, Limited, is exhibiting its world-renowned washer at both the light and heavy motor shows in Paris.
A Pneumatic Transmission System.
By reason of a clerical error in our advice, we were made to state, on page 230 of our last issue, that the consumption of anthracite in the gas producer which is used in conjunction with the unique system of power transmission, as described by us, was at the rate of j lb. per gross ton-mile. The sentence should have read " I lb. per gross ton-mile."
A New Motor Roller.
The accompanying illustration shows one of Messrs. Barford and Perkins' water-ballast rollers at work on a country road in Northamptonshire. It is one of this firm's latest " E2 models, and its weight, in running order and with the rear cylinder filled with water, is seven tons. In general design, it closely resembles the smaller models of this maker, but the roller cylinders are, of course, much larger and heavier. Our readers will remember that we have on many occasions advocated the use of such machines for road-repair work ; the first cost of such a roller is low, in comparison with a steam roller, whilst, in the matters of cost of upkeep and general utility, it has great advantages over the heavy steam machines.
The type of transmission gear, as fitted to the new model, is practically the same as on all the other rollers which are turned out from Barford and Perkins' works; the gears have machine-cut teeth, are extremely well finished, and are made of a highgrade steel. So far as engine power is concerned, this roller is the most powerful that the company has introduced : the engine is a ei.h.p_ Thornycroft, with two cylinders of j inches in diameter and a piston-stroke of six inches. The engine may he fitted with either a petrol carburetter, or with a paraffin vaporiser that can be relied upon to give satisfactory results, The water circulation is maintained on the thermo-syphon principle, and a large radiator is fitted over the rear roller.
During the past year, Messrs, Barford and Perkins have turned out from their Oueen Street Works, at Peter. borough, a large number of motor rollers, for use both at home and abroad; these have varied in weight from three tons up to nine tons, and, although most of them have been intended for road-making and roadmending duties, not a few have been sold for estate work, or for service on gravel paths and grass land. The export demand, has recently been a gratifying feature, and we foresee a large requirement for South American countries and others which are develop. ing in their residential aspects. Greenwich Borough Council, at its meeting on the 25th ultimo, decided, on the motion of Councillor H. II, Newington, to consider further the question of the adoption of motor or steam tractioa for cartage purposes, and the Highways Committee is forthwith to °Main information on the subject, and
to report as soon as possible to the Council.
Heavy Motor Traffic in London. Yet Another Conference. ill 11 report just issued cencerning the resolutions passed 00 1 Antion motor traffic by the Conference convened by the Poplar Borough Council, the General Purposes Committee of Lewisham Borough Council expresses
regret that the Conference did not deal with the question of heavy motor traffic in the Metropolis. The Committee has decided, with a view to concerted action by Borou.gh Councils, in order to secure a remedy or mitigation of the an
• alleged to be caused by the passage through the streets of excessively_ heavy vehicles; to take steps to convene • cimference on the matt:Ir.