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156 
I MUNICIPAL SPOTLIGHT
Page 66
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BY ASHLEY TAYLOR,
Quick Release
AS minutes are precious for those who who have the job of releasing trapped victims of accidents, any device that will expedite or simplify progress is certain of close attention from the authorities.
Demonstrated to representatives of fire brigades and police forces just recently, the Cutmaster Imp is a machine for this purpose, but at the same time it has a variety of other uses. With a total weight of only 241b., it is self-contained and draws its power from a smooth 70 c.c. two-stroke engine that develops 31 h.p. at 6,000 r.p.m. The abrasive cutting wheel is driven by a nylon belt I witnessed the Cutmaster open up a damaged vehicle body, carving out a 3ft5 aperture in just over a minute and slicing through a stout bumper in a matter of seconds. It seems equally at home with steel bars, concrete paving stones and asbestos sheets. The Cutmaster Imp is a product of Francis W. Birkett and Sons Ltd., Cleckheaton, Yorks.
Hotting up
EMPHASIS in most mobile establishments is, if anything, on keeping the contents cool, but in a new school library for Worcestershire very special consideration has been given to internal temperatures and hot air is blown through three ducts at floor level of the library section. The vehicle, carried on an Austin two-ton chassis, has recently been completed by J. H. Jennings and Sons Ltd., Sandbach.
When the library visits a school it is opened up at a convenient point in the playground, pupils select their books from the shelves and return them on the next visit. Overall length is 18 ft. 9 in. with a maximum of 6 ft. 6 in. interior headroom. Entrance is from the forward nearside of the vehicle, a fall-down step being arranged so that it can be left in place even if the door is closed.
Cab seats have double-padded backrests which fall down fiat to form seats at the counter. Bookshelves and the various lockers are finished in polished n32
sapele. Translucent glass-fibre panels are used in the roof and there is fluorescent lighting. Thermal insulation is provided between the exterior alloy and interior timber panelling. The heating installation is a Smith's Webasto oil burner. A librarian travels with the vehicle and is assisted with the issue of books by the driver.
Weighing Things Up
FOUR shires will be served by a new weighbridge tester, on a Leyland Octopus chassis, which has just been acquired by the Worcester County Council Weights and Measures Department. The bodywork has been built by Carmichael and Sons (Worcester) Ltd. and incorporates a series of 10-cwt. rollers which are carried in groups of four in troughs located on the floor. By means of a hydraulic gantry crane, four 10-cwt. units can be lifted at the same time and traversed to any section of the body, or on to the ground at the rear of the vehicle, for testing purposes.
The process of checking a 20-ton weighbridge for accuracy occupies only 20 minutes with this machine and it will, therefore, cover not only Worcestershire but Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and Herefordshire as well. Operation of the crane is carried out from a control panel
inside the body, a decompressor and starting device being fitted at this point, together with a remote accelerator.
Instant Action
AT the beginning of October teams of ambulance workers will be meeting in Plymouth for the final of the first-aid competition run by the National Road Passenger Transport Ambulance Association. Plymouth City Transport's general manager and engineer, Mr. J. G. Timpson, is this year's NRPTAA president.
In the road transport world everybody nowadays knows about the Lorry Driver of the Year contest, but outside the ranks of those immediately concerned few are even conscious of the existence of the ambulance competition mentioned.
Preliminary rounds are held in northern and southern districts early in the summer and this time the highest score was by the Edinburgh Corporation Transport team which, competing at Huddersfield, scored 280 points out of 400, beating Glasgow by only six. Huddersfield came third with 257.
The test was of a practical nature with realistic scenery provided by the local repertory company. Best in the southern and midland area round which was held at Cardiff were London Transport who, with 2611, beat Plymouth.
242. Birmingham City Transport were a close third with 2401.