WHEELS of INDUSTRY
Page 34
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'The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport, at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it runs."---John Beattie Crozier.
VEHICLES EXEMPTED FROM SECTION 1 OF THE ACT.
The Minister of Transport has just issued the Road and Rail Traffic Act (Exemption) Provisional Regulations, 1935. These revoke similar Regulations of 1934, and the amendment of these which followed in the same year.
The provisions of Section 1 of the Act (licensing, inspection, recordkeeping, etc.) do not now apply to:— '(a) Any vehicle while hired directly or indirectly by the Admiralty. War Department, Air Council, Territorial Army, Auxiliary Air Force, etc., for naval, military or SAT force purposes in connection with manteuvres, exercises or training. Where a vehicle is so hired, the hire period shall be deemed to include its journeys to and from the area concerned,
Up) Any vehicle with no permanent body used only for carrying burden either solely for test purposes or consisting of articles and equipment which will farm part of the completed vehicle when the body is constructed.
fel Any vehicle used on a road only in passing from one part of a works OT private premises to another belonging to the same person in the immediate neighbourhood, if the road distance travelled does not exceed six miles in any week.
(di A trailer not constructed primarily for goods, but used incidentally for that purpose in connection with the construction, maintenance or repair of roads.
(el Any tower wagon. (f) Any vehicle under the direction of H.M. Coastguard or of the Royal National Lifeboat institution for the carriage of lifeboats, appliances, or crew.
Any vehicle used by a highway authority for the purposes of Section 27 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930 fin connection with the weighing of vehicles).
Railways as Big Buyers of Mechanical Horses.
During August, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Co. placed its ninth repeat order for Scammell mechanical horses, whilst the London and North Eastern Railway Co. and the Great Western Railway Co. each placed their seventh repeat order for similar machines. The L.M.S. order is for 100 motive units and 287 trailers, whilst the L.N.E.R. order comprises 40 motive units and 90 trailers, and the G.W.R. order 118 motive units and 211 trailers. In each case the trailers will be equipped with the Scammell patent automatic coupling gear.
The total orders to date, including the above, placed with Scammell' Lorries, Ltd., by the four main-line railway companies, amount to 1,880 mechanical-horse motive units and 3,250 trailers.
A New-type Aerial for Radioequipped Vehicles.
Philips Lamps, Ltd., 145, 'Charing Cross Road, London, W.C.2, has recently introduced a new type of under-vehicle aerial for use in connection with its radio equipment for motor vehicles. The efficiency of an aerial of this type depends, to a large extent, on the ease with which it can be fitted near to ground level, the difficulty being that danger sometimes arises %viler' humped-back bridges, ramps or rough roads are being negotiated. The new Philips aerial, known as type 4329, is mounted so that, when any obstacle 820 is encountered, the whole aerial swings upwards on its solid rubber distance pieces; it is thus possible to fit it close to the ground without danger. , Engine interference has also been considered and the aerial is of the dipole type, which functions as a wave trap on frequencies at which interference occurs. The price is 15s.
Minister to Open the Show.
The Minister of Transport, Mr. Leslie Hore-Belisha, has accepted the invitation of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to open the Commercial Motor Exhibition at Olympia on November 7.
The Position of Halley Motors.
In a circular sent to the shareholders of Halley Motors, Ltd., a few days ago, it is intimated that a special meeting of the company will be called for September 11, at which a winding-up motion will be formally moved. At present, the deficit at profit and loss account stands at £76,000, and the annual report shows a loss for the past year of £11,880.
Somerset Haulier's Licence Revoked.
At a public inquiry held at Bristol last week, Mr. A. F. Nicholson, the Licensing Authority for the Western Area, made an investigation into offences alleged to have been committed by Mr. S. G. Watts, a haulier of Leigh-on-Mendip. It was alleged that the haulier had carried goods outside the permitted' radius and had used a vehicle while it was under a prohibition hotice.
On behalf of the haulier, it was said that he did not realize that the distance to Salisbury exceeded 25 miles. It transpired that a warning had already been given to Mr. Watts, and Mr. Nicholson said he was satisfied that the conditions of the licence had been contravened.
Announcing his decision to revoke Mr. Watts's licence, the Licensing Authority said that the revocation would take effect on September 16. GENERAL MANAGER FOR ULSTER TRANSPORT BOARD.
It was officialy announced, on August 29, that Mr. James McCrea, M.Inst.T.', general manager of the Belfast Omnibus Co., Ltd., has been appointed general manager of the recently formed Northern Ireland Transport Board. Mr. McCrea took up his new duties at the beginning of this week.
Mr. McCrea was associated with Spence's Auto Service Co., which ran a service from Belfast to Dromore in the early nineteen twenties. In 1927, the Belfast Omnibus Co. was formed, mainly through the efforts of Mr. McCrea. In December, 1927, Mr. McCrea was appointed resident manager of the concern, and in October, 1928, he became general manager.
Mr. McCrea played an important part in the solution of passenger-transport problems in Northern Ireland in 1928, the outcome of which. was the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act (N.I.), • 1929. He is a member of the Northern Ireland Roads Advisory Committee and of the Traffic Advisory Committee of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce.
A New Association for Road-vehicle Drivers.
Drivers of goods and passenger vehicles will be interested in the announcement of the formation of a new association, known as the Professional Drivers' Association. The president is Sir Malcolm Campbell, M.B.E. and Lieut.-Col. Charles Jarrott, is the chairman. Lieut.-Col. Jarrott, who has founded the association, told us that one of the main objects is to further the interests of professional drivers who are, he says, controlled by regulations regarding which their opinion is not consulted.
A further object will be the formation of an employment bureau for the assistance of members.
To ensure a high standard of membership, it has been decided that only drivers having a three years' clean record -will be admitted. Offences against the speed limit, however, do not disqualify a driver from membership. The subscription is 10s. a year.
We understand from Colonel Jarrott that since the first announcement of the new body a week ago, many applications for membership have been received. The address of the Professional Drivers' Association is Columbia House, Aldwych, London, W.C.2.
Popularity of the Regent Double decker.
Since the Regent double-deck bus was introduced in 1929 by the Ass°, elated Equipment Co., Ltd., no fewer than 3,905 vehicles of this type have been sold to municipal, public and private transport organizations.