EYE VIEW
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ry Intriguing The agreed shares swop veen the THC and Leylands, announced last week, leads dl sorts of intriguing possibilities now that Bristol and W productions will be available on the open market. vould appear that not only will former Tilling group ipanies be free to buy Leyland or indeed, for that ter, any make of buses, but that Eastern Coach Works also be able to fit bodies to any make of chassis. So may see in the future not only ECW-bodied Leylands, Park Royal-bodied Bristols, but also such intriguing tbinations as Daimler FleetIines with Eastern Coach rks bodies.
Vhile to Wait Such interesting conjecture
hat above must, of course, be fairly mediumto long'. At the moment, ECW are committed to a full pro. nme of bodying Bristol SU, MW and RE single-decker Nis for the Tilling Group, and also Lodekka doubleter chassis for both Tilling and Scottish Bus Group ertakings. it may be a little while before Joe Bloggs, ., will he able to avail himself of a new Bristol/ECW RE :h.
inei Boom The cross-Channel ferry
m, which was highlighted in The Commercial Motor ntly and which was quoted in the Yorkshire LA's rt last week, is not the only boom taking place in iection with international travel. There is also a tel boom. As recorded in our news pages a fortnight , the Mont Blanc tunnel has now been officially opened
restricted use for commercial vehicles. This is ape's second Alpine tunnel, the Great St. Bernard being first to be opened some 16 months previously. Apart 3 these two tunnels (which are only about 25 miles .0 six schemes have been formulated. There is the us Tunnel, linking France and Italy; the San Bernar
between Northern Italy and Bavaria; and a road tel to run alongside the existing St. Gotthard rail route witzerland, to mention but three.
rful Competition As in the case of the ferries, more tunnels that are constructed, the greater the int ige to " routiers international ". For whilst the tel operatas have in mind the thousands of motorists cross the mountains, it is certain that in the winter n the ease of the ferries) the numbers will diminish to tail trickle and in order to remain solvent the tunnel panics will have to do something about attracting .ht vehicles. Three cheers for competition. Straight or 'lee? For a variety of reasons the
much-publicized Cummins VAL and VALE V6 and VE diesel engines have yet to make their debut in British fleets, other than in pre-production test installations. They received so much publicity at last year's Commercial Motor Show that, in retrospect; Cummins must almost feel they received too much. However, interest in these novel engines revived recently when the Chrysler-Cummins factory at Darlington was opened. It was, therefore, with more than a passing interest that our Editor. Alan Havard, paid a flying visit to the Cummins distributors in Belgium, Luxemburg and France.
Ed Deicers, commercial director of Cummins' Distributor-Belgium S.A., told Alan that most of the 2,000 Cummins engines in Belgium and Luxemburg were in-lines, with a few of the larger VIM and VINE Vee engines. Ed, whose company have been Cummins distributors since 1935, felt there was not much demand in his country for vee engines.
.French Progress Later, in Paris, Jean-Pierre Houdiniere, regional manager for all three countries, disclosed that the biggest demand was for the American company's in-line engines, sales of which were steadily improving. These in-lines, incidentally, are mainly produced in Scotland. They are now being fitted as original equipment in Berliet TI8 and T25 dumpers. Jean-Pierre also seemed a little uncertain about demand for vee configurations.
Strangely enough, the French Army have shown interest (being traditionally users of petrol engines) and have two VAL engines on test.
Specific Exclusion While there will probably he
keening and wailing and gnashing of teeth by some motor sport enthusiasts at the restrictions imposed by The Motor Vehicles (Competitions and Trials) (England) Regulations 1965. which take effect on September 1, there may also be some apprehension in Lorry Driver of the Year competition circles about its effects. Be reassured. One of the specific exclusions (which get automatic authorization) refers to "an event which, as respects such part of the event as is held on a public highway, no merit attaches to a competitor's performance except in relation to good road behaviour and compliance with the Highway Code."
Which is just about as good a description of the road section of an LDOY eliminating contest as could be conjured up in legalistic terms.