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bird's eye view
Page 46
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by the Hawk • Tercentenary
You thought plating was a new idea, perhaps? And that compulsory published rates were a fairly recent American or Continental device in road transport? Join me in disillusion. In 1728 a publication issued after a meeting of quarter sessions of the peace, for the City of London, included these passages:—
"That you may take the better Notice of these Carmen you must observe their Number and Mark; for every one that is Licensed has a Brass with the Number upon it, and branded with the City Arms upon the Shafts of the Cart. For if any Person works without such a Number and Mark, he shall forfeit for every Offence 13s. 4d. Also if any Carman shall carry any coals in his Cart without a good and lawful Bushel, and good and lawful Sacks, agreeing with the Bushel kept at Guildhall . . . he shall forfeit for each Offence 10s.
"No Carman is to carry above 20 Hundred Weight at one time of any Commodity whatsoever, that may be divided; and for liquid Commodities, to carry no more than one Butt, or one Pipe, or three Hogsheads, or two Puncheons in a Cart at one time, upon the Penalty of paying for the first Offence 5s., for the second 10s., and the third Offence to be disabled from working any Cart within the City of London, and Liberties thereof.
"All Carmen working with a Cart in the City of London, or the Liberties thereof, may demand and take for every load the Rates hereafter following; that is to say: From any Wharf between the Tower and London Bridge, Tower-street, Grace-church-street, Fanchurch-street, Bishopsgate-street within, to Comhill, and Places of like Distance up the Hill, with 18 Hundred Weight, not exceeding 20 Hundred Weight, 2s."
There you are; plating, weight limits, "totting-up" offences, indivisible loads, published rates, carriers' licensing—the lot. But it all sounds so much more straightforward and intelligible than today's legislation. Perhaps because they used plain English?
• These gems—and many more—are in the fascinating tercentenary publication just produced by the Worshipful Company of Carmen.
• Wide appeal
Transport through the ages, road research and the progress of passenger transport are among the contents of the Carmen's booklet, which is beautifully produced; it is linked with the tercentenary appeal for donations to the educational and charitable funds which has already raised over £50,000.
Particularly fine are coloured reproduc, lions of, for example, Moore's carriage of 1771, the Clarkson steam-bus of 1905, the 1829 Shillabeer Omnibus and the richly blue Thornycroil charabanc for Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co.
In a period when road transport has so stricken railway freight, it is salutary to see tabular comparisons of road and canal freight rates in the 18th century, showing that water traffic travelled at between a quarter and a half of the road cost (1 ton ManchesterNottingham £2 and £4 respectively) and that by the late 19th century the railways, too, were undercutting road (1 ton, LondonBristol, 26s 8d rail, 47s 6d road).
• Me, too
They say that people tend to take you at your own valuation. The man who placed this ad. recently in a container magazine couldn't be accused of underselling himself, if those. "m's" mean what I think they mean.
• Choosing people
I hear that Philip Packham is soon to take a more active role in Howard Packham & Associates (Consultants) Ltd. For the past year since his family firm A. Packham Ltd. was acquired by the Miles Druce organization, Philip has advised on assimilation problems.
The HPA consultancy team has apparently flourished in its first year and has an impressive list of clients in own-account operations as well as in professional haulage. Because so many clients ask HPA for advice and help with staff selection, a new venture in this field is planned. A recent advertisement by HPA in CM for a recruit to their consulting team brought a surprisingly large response of excellent quality.
It's good to know there's such a reservoir of talent in the industry.
• Musical coachman
No end of hidden talent in the transport world. Let me introduce Wiff Blundell, managing director of Smiths of Wigan, the coach operators. Returning from Zeebrugge last weekend by Townsend car ferry he found himself alongside a group of very obviously art students (in fact returning from a Rembrandt exhibition in Amsterdam) who began singing some way-out songs. To their obvious amazement, this well-groomed gentleman produced a mouth organ, obtained a pair of dessert spoons from the ship's restaurant, and proceeded to accompany them in a dashing virtuoso performance. Within minutes, dozens of passengers gathered round, and stayed to enjoy what must have been one of Townsend's most successful impromptu cabarets.
• Trapped
The London bus preservation group of the HCVC has a problem on its hands. In a back garden in Teignmouth, Devon, rests the last known surviving example of the AEC Renown six-wheeled single-deck 1929 LTL bus. It is in restorable condition, and some years ago the group's chairman, Prince Marshall, placed a deposit on the vehicle to get first option on its disposal. But since then a block of fiats has gone up on one side and a high wall on the other, so extrication of this valued relic before it is sold as scrap has become a headache.
Reckoning that removal will cost ,E104 and purchase perhaps another £150, the group has been asking not only for donations but also for members interested in buying £5 shares in the venture, in the hope that the shares might be saleable at par to whoever eventually buys the bus for restoration.
A costly and complicated problem— unless, of course, some kind operator with suitable lifting tackle happens to come along....
The secretary is Alan Almey, 39 Cuckoo Hill Road, Pinner.
• Tragic warning
Having executive aircraft to give company personnel mobility and make good use of their time is all very fine, but it's a facility that needs to be handled circumspectly. I recall that Winston Churchill was aghast at one period during the war when a large group of MPs was planning to take a trip in a new aircraft. He foresaw the potential loss if the machine crashed.
These sobering comments are prompted by a somewhat belated report from America that I've just been reading, recounting how five senior engineering executives of Mack Trucks were killed when their small aircraft crashed while trying to land in fog. At one fell swoop the company lost its engineering vice-president, chief truck engineer, manager of vehicle design, assistant manager of vehicle design and the senior project engineer.
Just how does a company set about making up for the simultaneous loss of so much concentrated talent, expertise and experience?