Bird's Eye View BY THE HAWK
Page 65
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A Word For It
MPs are growing restive about what they consider the slow progress of working parties considering technical aspects of vehicle development; from lighting to noise. Allegations of delay were firmly rejected by John Morris, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport.
But one particularly restive Tory MP was adamant. He suggested in the Commons that they should be called "shirking parties".
Trolleybus Deal
T LEARN that the National Trolleybus Association is saving 1 hard to buy a Glasgow Corporation trolleybus. It is one of a unique fleet built in 1958 and subsequently operated under a special dispensation. When introduced, the 35-ft. BUT singledeckers were the longest two-axle vehicles operating in Britain.
If the Association is successful the trolleybus will be installed in an operating museum planned for Derbyshire. But it's not cash the Association needs. It's kind—nearly half a million S and H Pink Stamps. If you have any to spare, I am sure R. S. Cromwell, of "The Spinney", Beech Avenue, Effingham, Surrey, will be pleased to receive them.
Tough Bargaining
IT is no secret that many substantial firms are doing a lot of agonizingly painful rate calculations arising from the imminent boom in containerization, particularly across the North Atlantic.
Faced by sharply rising operating costs and with a pay claim in the offing, the backroom boys are pitting their wits against the hard logic of American computers. With the increasing trend towards "throughout" quotations, road hauliers offering competitive long-term rates could easily burn their fingers badly. Yet what large operator can afford to miss the container boat?
Anion Alertness
T GUESS we've all experienced it: that long-journey drowsiness 1 that rolls over one in a motor vehicle like a blanket. But do you know why? Bulgarian-born Americans Dr. Cristo Cristofv and his son George think they have found the cause—and a cure for it.
They say that a positive, electric-power field encircles the earth and that all living matter is dependent upon it and affected by it. But shielded from it in vehicles, we become mentally fatigued and drowsy.
So they have patented equipment which generates and blows
Clippie Trainer
rE man who trained Torquay's first bus conductresses has etired after 42 years' service with the Devon General. During the war he dealt with an intake of nearly 100 clippies—known then as conductorettes—measured them for their khaki dustcoats with scarlet trimming and navy-blue soft peak caps and put them through a three-week training course.
"Some were easy to train, others difficult", Harry told me. "In the end they were as quick and efficient as the men. They were on the same footing as the conductors, working about eight hours a day and averaging about £2 10s. to £3 10s. a week plus a war bonus of 5s. a week."
There are clippies still working on the buses today who trained under Harry Jackson—Mrs. Doris Tucker, of Newton Abbot, for Qne.
M1—by Benz
TATELY homes up and down the country are hot rivals at LI this time of the year, for coach customers who can make a big difference to the total takings. Fun fairs, fine art, period furnishings —and lions—arc the attractions.
Turning off M6 a few days ago, I looked in at Tatton Hall, Cheshire. "What do most passengers best recall after a visit?" I asked some of the regular drivers. The vote went in favour of MI—the first car owned by the last Lord Egerton of Tatton, which is to be seen among the relics in the old Tenants' Hall. It is a Benz, first registered in 1900. In immaculate condition, it is a regular entrant in the Veteran Car Run to Brighton, powered by its one-cylinder engine.
Meet the Boss
rHICLES in the Ford D1000 series, ranging up to 28 tons ross, are sold by Thomas S. Whitney of Liverpool. Which is not surprising since they are Ford specialist commercial dealers. But call for a really authoritative ruling on one of the technical aspects of vehicle purchase and you are liable to be confronted by petite and vivacious Patricia Cowie (pictured here)—the 33-year-old managing director who only 10 years ago knew very little about cars, let alone commercials.
After trying life in an insurance office and then having a spell as supervisor for a national football pool, Mrs. Cowie joined Whitney as an assistant to the sales manager. In 1961, after only three years, she was on the board. The secret of her success? "Sometimes men fall into the trap of forgetting I am not just a woman but a business woman," says Mrs. Cowie.