WHEELS of INDUSTRY Dennis's Good Report.
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Once again the annual report ef Dennis Brothers, Ltd., of Guildford. makes extremely gratifying reading for the shareholders, for it shows that in the year ended September 30th last the company made a profit of £336,585, the sum available, including the carryforward, being £434,324. The directors have transferred to the general reserve a sum of £75,000 and, of the remainder, £50,082 has to be deducted in respect of an interim dividend of Sd. per share. whilst the directors now recommend the payment of a final dividend of 2s. 10d. per share which will account for a further 1212,851. After these allocations have been accounted for a sum of £06,391 will be carried forward.
• In the balance sheet sundry creditors and estimated liabilities stand at £188,911 (£22,749 in respect of the current account of White and Poppe. Ltd., a subsidiary concern) and sundry • debtors, less reserves, at £214,187. Stock on hand and work in progress stand on the credit side at 1288476. It is mentioned in the report that the directors have appointed Mr. Royston Edward Dennis to a seat on the board.
Regional Traffic Control.
The watch committee of Tynemouth Corporation has considered the report of a meeting held at Wallsend of the regional advisory committee on traffic control in the north-east-coast area, when representatives were present from Tynemouth, 131yfh and Wallsend corporations, Whitley, Monkseaton, Seaton Delaval, Longbenton, Eardon and • Bedlingtonshire urban district councils.
Consideration of the draft scheme under which the committee should function, together with a list of suggestions with regard to the more efficient control of public-service vehicles, was deferred until the next meeting. The town clerk of Tynemonth promised to ascertain from the Ministry of Transport the powers of the committee with regard to fixing a minimum age at which bus drivers and conductors may be licensed.
A Representative Required.
A well4inown maker of passenger and goods-carrying vehieles requires a representative with technical experience and an intimate knowledge of 'municipalities, etc. The position available is a most important one, • and the prospects are exceedingly good.
Applications for the post should be addressed to " Representative," care of the editor of this journal.
An Offer to an Oil Company's Shareholders.
According to announcements recently made, an offer has been made to shareholders of the Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., to exchange their holdings for shares in the Standard Oil Export Corporation, which is a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Co., of New. Jersey, its products being marketed in this country by the Anglo-American concerti.
B20 In the 12 months ended August 3rd last, S. Smith and Sons (Motor Accessories), Ltd., made a profit, after meeting all charges, of £114,089.
Parliament and the Roads.
A well-attended meeting of members • was held in the House of Commons a few days ago under the chairmanship of Major Walter Elliot, to consider questions relating to the development and improvement of roads and bridges. After a short .discussion a roads and bridges committee of the House of Commons was formally constituted. Major Walter Elliot was elected chairman, Major Lloyd George and Mr. J. H. Palin were elected vice-chairmen and Mr. D. J. Vaughan hon. secretary.
The following sub-committees wets eleetdd :--(a) Road Fund administration and unemployment; (b) road transport legislation ; (c) London traffic-London bridges and tunnels; (d) bridges, level-crossings, motorways and toll barriers ; (e) co-ordination of road and other forms of inland transport ; (f) roads in Dominions and Colonies overseas ; (g) road design and layout, road signs and signals.
At the meeting Mr. Rees Jeffreys, chairman of the Road Improvement Association, reviewed some of the more important features connected with road development that will need attention.
Controversy Over a Bus Bill.
The preamble of the Bill promoted by the Tyneside Tramways and Tramroads Co., Ltd., was recently passed by the select committee of the House of Commons. The Bill seeks power for the company to run motorbuses in place of trams, to make extensions in Northumberland, as desired, up to an eightmile radius from existing termini, and to effect a running agreement with Newcastle Corporation.
Mr. Craig Henderson, who appeared for the Tynemouth Electric Traction Co., Ltd., said that his company objected to the Bill on the grounds that certain alterations which had been made since it left the other House seriously prejudiced his company. Its only protection against the Bill lay in an appeal to the Ministry of Transport.
The Bill was ordered to be reported for third reading.
Co-ordination in the Midlands.
It is reported that the Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd., has sold an interest icy its business to the .L.M.S., G.W.R. and L.N.E.R. companies, which now own one half of the shares. The development is largely the outcome of efforts to co-ordinate services in the interests of the travelling public.
Overseas Interest in the New Singer Chassis.
Although it has only recently been announced, the new Singer 2-ton commercial vehicle has already attracted favourable notice. A representative of a South African firm was very interested in it at the Commercial Motor Show and is now in negotiation with the maker for an agency. He considers that it will do well in Sonth Africa. His firm, by the way, covers South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. Personal Pars.
We publish on this page a portrait of Mr. Cyril M. Plane, who has recently been appointed sales manager in connection with the trolley-bus side of the business of Richard Garrett and Sons, Ltd., Leiston. Mr. Plane has been closely connected with the development of the trolley-bus since its earliest days, and he has not only had considerable experience in the design and manufacture of vehicles of this type, but has also superintended their installation.
One of our oldest friends in the industry, and one who, incidentally, has had a very wide experience in it in many capacities, from draughtsman and designer to works manager and managing director, is Mr. J. W. Mills.
ALI.A..E., M.S.A.E. He was trained as an engineer, and for over 20 sears has been actively engaged on the commercial-vehicle side of the industry, having been responsible for the design, manufacture and sale of vehicles ranging in capacity from 30 cwt. to 10 tons and for passenger vehicles holding from 20 persons upwards.
He was intimately concerned with the War Department in the development of the rigid six-wheeler. Recently he severed his connection with the Ascot Motor Co., and we are sure that there is an opportunity here for some commercial-vehicle concern to obtain the services of a valuable man.
Glasgow's Popular Buses.
The buses of Glasgow Corporation are being patronized to an increasing extent, which suggests that the authorities may shortly find it necessary to purchase additional vehicles. It is not considered that the accommodation at the garages is sufficient to house the fleet, and for this reason the general manager has been authorized to prepare plans for an extension to the Larkfield garage so that an additional 100 buses can be accommodated.
Papers Before the I.A.E.
At a meeting of the Institution of Automobile Engineers, to be held at the Royal Society of Arts, John Street, London, W.C.2, to-night (Tnesday), at 7.45 p.m., Mr. J. B. Hoblye will read a paper entitled "Aluminium Alloys, from the Users' Point of View." The paper will also be read before the Coventry centre of the Institution, on January 14th, 1930.
Another paper of interest, which will be read at provincial centres, is that by Dr. B. P. Haigh, this being ,entitled "The Relative Safety of Mild and High-tensile Steels Under Alternating and Pulsating Stresses." The paper will be read at Coventry, on December 10th, and at Glasgow on January 20th, 1930.
A Yorkshire Rail Service Closes.
The London Midland and Scottish Railway Co. announces that, as from November 30th, a portion of the South Yorkshire joint line—i.e., between Maltby and Worksop—has been closed for passenger services. For some time there has been only one train in each direction per day between the two towns, the district being so well served by buses operated by the East Midland Motor Co.
The Merits of Trolley-buses.
In announcing the receipt of a further order from Wolverhampton Corporation for four six-wheeled trolleybus chassis, Guy Motors, Ltd., Fallings Park, Wolverhampton, draws our attention to the fact that this is the 19th repeat order which the company has received from this authority.
In connection with this side of its business the company has recently issued a new publication, which deals with trolley-bus progress generally and more specifically with Guy productt The first few pages are given over to a discourse upon the merits of the trolley-bus, and certain comparisons are made with other forms of transport. Then follows a brief description of outstanding features of the Guy sixwheeler and the advantages of this type are enumerated.
Before reaching the specification of Guy six-wheeled trolley-buses, attention is directed to details of the Rees. Stevens patent system of trolleyvehicle control, which is used on Guy trolley-buses. In the concluding pages there is an editorial extract from The Commercial Motor dated January 18th, 1927, this dealing with the six-wheeled trolley-bus as a substitute for the tramcar.
A Cardiff Licensing Decision.
The Ministry of Transport has notified the watch committee of Cardiff Corporation that, as a result of the inquiry into the appeals of the Great Western Express Co., Ltd., and South Mon. Motors, Ltd., against the refusal to grant licences for their South WalesLondon services, the licences should be granted. The Ministry is also of the opinion that certain conditions of licensing should be modified.
Abolishing a Leicester Level-crossing. Leicester Corporation has prepared a scheme for the abolition of the Saffron Lane level-crossing and for the construction of a new road from the junction of Aylestone Road and Saffron Lane. A plan has also been devised for the widening of a portion of Saffron Lane to Cavendish Road, as a scheme for the relief of unemployment The estimated cost is £84,300.
Leicester's Bus Bill.
The Parliamentary committee of Leicester Corporation has now prepared a Bill to enable the corporation to convert any part of the existing tramway routes to trolley-bus working. Powers are also sought to give the corporation authority to establish further trolley-bus routes, both within and beyond the city. Permission is also being asked to empower the municipality to operate buses anywhere within and, with the assent of the Ministry of Transport. beyond the city, and to enable the corporation to enter into working agreements with existing transport operators.
The Walman Sliding Head.
With regard to the reference, appearing on page 569 of our issue dated November 19th, to the Walman head for coaches, we are asked to inform our readers that Messrs. Wilfrid Overton, of Marsh Street, Walsall, are the sole makers of Walman heads for vehicles carrying more than seven passengers, whether they be of the type having fixed dome hacks or not. In the case of the Latil hotel bus shown at Olympia on the stand of the Warwick Motor Body Building Co., of Manchester, we are told that the sliding-head fittings were supplied by Messrs. Overton.
Reduced Charges on a Devon Toll At a meeting of the highways committee of Paignton Urban District Council a letter was received from the Devon County Council reporting that the Ministry of Transport had now agreed to the tolls for the use of the Teignmouth-Shaldon Bridge being retained for five years from the date of purchase, or until one-half the cost not borne by the Ministry of Transport has been recouped from the tolls, whichever event comes first. The Ministry has also agreed to the tolls being reduced by onequarter in the case of large vehicles, and by one-half in the case of smaller vehicles and pedestrians.
A Huge Output of Sparking Plugs.
The Canadian factory of the Champion Sparking Plug Co., which is entirely devoted to the manufacture of sparking plugs for the British Isles, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and India, has been extended so that it is now double its original size. The output of the factory, in conjunction with the two American factOries, is now more than 1,000,000 plugs per week.
It is interesting to learn that allBritish labour is employed in the Canadian factory, whilst British material is used almost throughout.
An Important Essex By-pass.
The Ministry of Transport, the Colchester Corporation and the Essex County Council love provisionally The link between the road motor and the airship. (Above) Refuel. Hog the giant dirigible, Los Angeles, by the use of a G.M.C. 1,300-gallon tank wagon. (Below) A.E.C. saloon coaches conveying British M.P.'s to Cardington for their intended trip in the R101, which is shown riding at the agreed upin a scheme for the by-pass road at Colchester at a cost of £272,650. Colchester is the key town to many important seaside resorts and throughout the season complete traffic blocks, lasting somethnes for as long as an hour, are of frequent occurrence. The East Gates level-crossing and the North Street corner are contributory causes, but the real reason for dislocation is due to the fact that so many important routes meet at the centre of the town. We have recently received from Ferodo, Ltd., Sovereign Mills, Chapelen-le-Frith, a copy of the Ferodo Manual—a publication which should be of particular value to garage proprietors and commercial-vehicle fleet owners. The particulars given cover the sizes of brake and clutch facings used on the majority of models of commercial vehicle and touring car built by British manufacturers, during the past six years. It also includes sizes of certain American and Continental makes, whilst, in addition, the list prices are given.
It is .a unique publication, and the claim that it is a veritable textbook on the subject of brake and clutch facings certainly appears to be justified.
Lightweights Popular in Ireland. Eighty-seven goods vehicles and four motor hackneys were registered in Northern Ireland, for the first time, during the month of October. The goods vehicles included 36 in the 12cwt.-25-cwt. class and 42 in the 25-cwt.45-cwt. class.
Manchester Seeks New Powers.
To run buses beyond the city, to carry goods and passengers and to enter into working agreements with other bus operators are some of the provisions of a Parliamentary Bill being promoted by Manchester Corporation. Permissioli is also being asked to enable the municipality to discontinue the tramways, if desired, and instead to employ trolley-buses or motorbuses. Hackney. carriage proprietors may also be required to insure against third-party risks.
A Hoyt Publication. .
" The Notched Ingot" is the somewhat quaint title given to the publication issued in the interests of the Hoyt Metal Co., of Great Britain, Ltd., Deodar Road, London, S.W.15. This is published at quarterly intervals, and in the latest issue a number of interesting articles is embodied. These include one dealing with notes on lubrication, another giving hints on lining bearings, whilst a third describes a remarkable 600-hour test of a de Mtvilland Gipsy aero engine, the bearings of which were lined with Hoyt No. 11 metal. Many useful hints are given.