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The Motor Omnibus World.

6th June 1907, Page 7
6th June 1907
Page 7
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Page 7, 6th June 1907 — The Motor Omnibus World.
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Tramway Influence Again.

Trouble appears to be brewing at Hull about the motorbus service to which we referred on page 323 of our last issue. Reactionary members of the Hull Corporation Tramways Committee are endeavouring to upset the licenses for Mr. W. Nettleton's motor_ buses, or, alternatively, to restrict the routes upon which they may ply for hire in the district.

London Body-work for Russia.

J. Liversidge and Son, Limited, whose bodies are so widely used upon all classes of motor chassis, and whose factories at Old Street, Old.Kent Road, and Spencer Place, are splendidly equipped for production, is not resting content with home trade alone, and the accompanying illustration shows the type of omnibus body which it is exhibitingat the St. Petersburg Exhibition. This exhibit is placed upon a Saurer chassis, which model is built in England by J. and E. Hall, Limited.

Hill-climbing Entries.

Any makers who desire to show the paces of their motorbuses up Captain Kydd's Hill, on the 22nd instant, are requested to communicate at once with Mr. S. W. Phillpott, of the Southern Motor Club, 18, Gosberton Road, Balham, S.W. We would point out to the organisers of this event that, if a sufficient entry is received, motorbuses take up a lot of room on the road, and climb hills at comparatively low speeds. We do not, in any event, see that a useful purpose will be served by the regular inclusion of a motor-omnibus class, although we should be interested to see a number of these vehicles meet in friendly competition on the occasion under notice. We understand that Dennis Brothers, Limited, of Guildford, sent in the first entry. A New Route.

The Road Car Company's Hammersmith to Charing Cross service has now been extended to Shoritch. This company, on Monday last, put zo motorbuses on to a new route, this being between Fulham and East Ham, via King's Road, Sloane Square, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Piccadilly, Holborn, Bank, Commercial Road and Poplar.

Rayner's Non-skidding Wheel.

A wheel, built on quite novel lines, is made by the Standard Steam Lorry and Omnibus Company, of Rayleigh, Essex, the general ..appearance of which is as illustrated. 4 is made of cast steel; and strongly enough for 5ton loads. The wheel is constructed with a series of cylinders, of which there are a single row for front wheels, and a double row for driving wheels. The bottoms of all these cylinders communicate with each other, and each cylinder is provided with •a plunger, having a cup-shaped packing at its inner end, whilst the outer end of the plunger is formed as a shoe for the reception of a block of hardwood or other suitable material. Each plunger is provided with a slot in its side, into which a set screw engages, so as to limit the stroke of the plunger and to retain it in its cylinder. The bottom of the cylinders, and the communicating passages, are filled with a suitable fat, and air under compression. As the wheel revolves, the shoe of each plunger in succession comes in contact with the ground, and the weight of the vehicle forces the plunger inwards, thereby forcing the mixture into the other cylinders or chambers, and further compressing it.

Llandudno Motors.

Popularity for Dennis vehicles seems to be assured at the hands of the Llandudno Motor Garage Company, whose principal shareholders are influential Manchester men. Six Dennis chars-abanes will shortly be conveying tourists through the beautiful scenery of North Wales, from Llandudno and Colwyn Bay, as bases, and the local company's magnificent garage at Llandudno, which is capable of holding 2oo motor vehicles, should prove most useful.

Interesting Tire Case.

Messrs. Wallington, Weston and Company, Indiarubber Manufacturers, of Frame, have successfully resisted the appeal of the Sirdar Rubber Company, Limited. in regard to an action for alleged infringement of tire patents. The final decision was given by the House of Lords on the 14th ultimo, and this litigation has been before the Courts since December, 1903. The respondents denied infringement,. and alleged that their procedure in fitting a new rubber tire to a rim sold by the appellants was a repair which they were lawfully entitled to carry out, whilst they also denied the validity of the. Sirdar Company's letters patent.

False Inferences.

The " Daily Mail " has been interviewing the officers of certain small motorbus operating companies in London, and it has drawn the most remarkable. inferences from the information supplied to it. We fail to see that the present position of the companies which operate the vehicles designated by the hieroglyphs " Standard " and " Ensign " has any reference whatever to the situation or prospects of the larger companies, whether they be the older London companies or the newer and purely motorbus undertakings. One might as well forecast the future of the g.o-ahead northern railway companies from observations based upon the conditions and circumstances of certain small and hampered railways in the country.

A Good Crankshaft Lathe.

We have been requested to give some particulars of the " Tindel-Albrecht " crankshaft lathe which was illustrated in our last issue, and, as this machine tool is very little known in England, it may interest practical men to know that the results obtained by it, and which are claimed to be remarkable, are due to (t) its extreme rigidity ; (2) the crankshaft is driven at three points, thus avoiding any torsion in the work ; (3) the crankshaft is balanced at both ends ; (4) the centre-drive is close to the cut, enabling large cuts to be taken ; and (5) the crankshaft requires one setting only. Ludw.. Loewe and Co., Ltd., Farringdon Road, Clerkenwell, E.C., who are the sole agent§ for the tool in this country, will be pleased to forward a descriptive pamphlet to any of out readers who may be interested in modern crankshaft manufacture.

At Brighton.

A correspondent in the " Sussex Daily News " urges visitors to Worthing or Brighton to patronise the motorbuses which are running between the two places via the Lower Shoreham Road, and deplores the fact that permission to extend the route to Rotting dean has been refused by the local authorities.

Omnibus Engineers.

The first of the summer visits for this year, of the Society of Motor Omnibus Engineers, took place on Wednesday, the 29th ultimo, as was briefly reported by us last week. By the courtesy of C. II. Churchwarcl, Esq., the Members and Associates were enabled to make an inspection of the locomotive works of the Great Western Railway Company at Swindon. A first-class saloon carriage was attached to the to.so a.m. train from Paddington, and the following are the names of the gentlemen who took part in thetrip :—Messrs. E. B. Aston (Cammell,. Laird and Co., Ltd.); J. A. Bonsor (Darracq-Serpollet Omnibus Co., Ltd.); J W. Cann (London and South Coast Motor Service, Ltd.); C. H. Challiner (Shrewsbury and Challiner Tyre Co., Ltd.); J. H. Fooks-Bale (late L.G.O. Company); A. E. Hartley (Sussex. Motor Road Car Co., Ltd.); E. W. Hart (the Hart-Durtnall Syndicate, Ltd.); Bernard Metz (Falconnet-Perocleaud Tires); W. Peto (Peto and Radford, Ltd.); T. T. Heaton and B. 'Heaton (the Steel Barrel Co., Ltd.); Fredk. Tlaoresby (Car and General Insurance Corporation, Ltd.); and J. Nieitch Wilson (Price's Patent Candle Co., Ltd.).

Luncheon was served in the Masonic at Swindon Station, and the )arty afterwards presented itself at the 1.ondon Road entrance of the Works, vhere it was divided into three separate )ortions, each of which was in charge A a gentleman from the drawing)ffice department. Everybody was lighly interested by their examination A the many processes through which he raw materials have to pass before hey are finally incorporated in the eeneral structure of one of the milmny's locomotives, but the task of lescribing the works is impossible in he space at our disposal, as it takes rbout three days to make a complete 3uevey of the almost endless numbers A departments. The return journey vas made by the 5.10 pen. train.

A Petrol-Electric Omnibus Tour.

A 450-mile demonstration trip of the 3ritish Thomson-Houston Company's ;oh.p. Wolseley -Siddelev omnibus, vhich vehicle is fitted with the Rugby :ompany's continuous-current, petroldectric combination, was concluded in 1..ondon on Monday last, the 3rd in;tent. Starting from Rugby on the )revious Monday, the round of visits ncluded, amongst other towns, Derby, Theffield, Barnsley, Wakefield, Leeds, lradford, Dencaster, Chesterfield, Notingham, and Leicester, and a number A important tests and evolutions were 7arried•out in the presence of members end officials of the various lecal counlls, and for the guidance of a number A interested private individuals who Ire contemplating the institution of

motorbus undertakings. Some of the most extraordinary hill-climbing performances were carried out in the neighbourhood of Sheffield, on the way to which city the vehicle took the road from Baslow to the,,Otget Bar Inn. One of the numerous trial trips from Sheffield was to the Fox House Inn, on the Grindleford Road, whilst the Heavygate road was also ascended and descended in safety, during a trip to the Walklev district. Various other authorities sent reoresentatives to • inspect the bus at different points ; for example, Bradford was used as a centre to give a display to visitors from,Hall fax, Huddersfield, Keighley, etc. From our own knowledge of some of the roads over which this bus went, we can say that it frequently had to go up and down gradients as steep as i in 5, over lengths of not less than 25 or 30 yards at a time, whilst i in 7 was of common occurrence. We were afforded the opportunity of seeing the omnibus when it arrived in London, and we can testify to its excellent condition in all parts; its makers had arranged for its immediate dispatch from London to the far north on a 250-mile non-stop run, of which particulars will be given later,


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