Belfast Bus Bodybuilder's Rapid Growth
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THE recommendation, reported in last week's issue of The Commercial Motor, of the Belfast Corporation Transport Department to purchase a further 63 Daimler Fleetlines with 77-seat bodywork by M.1-1. Cars Ltd., of Belfast, is a further step in the rapid progress of the latter concern's bus bodybuilding activities.
When the original contract for 88 bodies on Fleetline chassis for Belfast Corporation was awarded to M.H. Cars Ltd. in 1961 it had then never built a bits body, its activities being in the retail car trade. A complete assembly building had to be erected, men had to be recruited and trained as well as the setting in motion of the normal process of manufacture for a contract of this kind. A total of 74 vehicles has now been delivered, all within the specified times, and a further nine are in course of construction, leaving only five outstanding from the complete contract.
The originator and driving force behind the project is Mr. Miles Humphries. Once the decision was taken to try to obtain this business following the Corporation's invitation to submit tenders, the first move was to acquire the services of Mr. W. S. Robinson, who had been the chief body draughtsman of the Ulster Transport Authority. With two assistants he prepared a number of alternative designs for consideration by the Corporation Transport Department, and one of these was accepted together with the relevant tender. Less than a year passed between then and the delivery of the first complete vehicle—well within the period stipulated in the contract.
The assembly building is a Coseley prefabricated structure, 282 ft. long, 70 ft. wide and with a height to the eaves of 20 ft. The supply of this was itself something of a feat, for it was manufactured and delivered to the site within five weeks of the order being received. The main assembly area is fed by ancillary subsections within the same building, with the stores at one end and small trim shop above. About 100 people are employed on the bus bodybuilding side of the concern's activities.
Belfast Corporation's specification called for a vehicle built with the intention of remaining in service for 20 years. The tilt test requirements were also particularly severe. A contribution to the solution to both problems was found in the careful selection of the body framing, which was supplied by Metal Sections Ltd., Oldbury, and the elimination of body under-framing. The body framework was mounted directly on the chassis side-members, the accuracy of the latter being sufficient to eliminate the need for packing anywhere alcing their length. The entrance platform is only 14.5 in. from ground level and the floor is flat.
The body framing is built up from subassemblies fabricated on jigs placed near the main assembly area and is put together on the chassis. The aluminiumalloy outer panelling is then fitted, with liberal use of plastic foam anti-drum pads. The floors. are of resin-bonded plywood, 12 mm. and 15 mm. thick for upper and lower decks respectively. The window frames are also of aluminium alloy and carry 26-oz. toughened glass.
The interior makes extensive use of plastics and laminates to provide a bright And durable finish. The ceilings in both salocins are in Darvie, with dome corners
moulded on the premises to continue the double-skin roof into the extremities of the upper deck. The seats are manufactured in the trim shop, using lightweight tubing and have leather upholstery on foam rubber cushions and plastic foam squabs. Two heaters are fitted in each saloon together with a five-outlet demister unit for the driver. The electrically operated folding doors are operated from the gear selector switch with devices to prevent opening until the vehicle is stationary and driving with the doors open. Fluorescent lighting is provided by six 20w tubes in each saloon, with additional units for the front destination indicators.
Transport Museum Opens THE large exhibits section of the 1 Museum of British Transport in Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4, was opened to the public last week. A collection of more than 30 motor vehicles and trolleybuses built between 1912 and 1948 is now in the care of the Museum and many of these are on display, together with railway locomotives and rolling• stock, ,trams and some horse-drawn vehicles.