AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.

8th March 1921, Page 4
8th March 1921
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 4, 8th March 1921 — WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The wheel of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever paints arising, as a carriage is by

the roughness of the roads over which it runs."—John Beattie Crosier,

1921 Tractor Trials.

The International Tractor Trials, organized by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, will be held during the week commencing September 19th, and will be located at Shrawardine, near Shrewsbury. Entry forms and other information can be obtained from Mr. H. Scott Hall, the tractor trial organizer, at the offices of the Society, 83, -Pall Mall, London, S.W. 1. All entries must be received not later than May 31.et, 1921.

The entrants will be dia ided into eight classes embodying internal-combustion and steam farm tractors for direct traction, ploughing and belt work ; iselfcontained motor ploughs and cultivating implements; internal-combustion cable ploughing sets ; self-propelled garden ploughs and cultivators ; tractor ploughs; tractor cultivators, and disc 'harrows. These implements must be particularly for tractor use.

All self-propelled machines wiltbe under observation during the trial, and each entrant must provide a technical observer for each self-propelled machine he enters. Entrants of tractors and cable sets must provide suitable ploughs and cultivators for their machines, and entrants of self-contained ploughs must provide cultivators.

A liew and interesting feature is that each tractor, throughout the whole of the six hours' continuous ploughing test, will have a drawbar dynamometer permanently in series with the drawbar. The dynamontetem will be supplied by the S.M.M.T. • 'The maximum width of ploughing in any field shall he 12 ins, per share, and the maximum depth of furrow will be declared for each field on the day pro ceetling the trials in such fields. All maehines must be in the reception nark not later than 7 p.m. on September 16th,

The Motor Lorry as a Strike Breaker.

When the last mail left Bombay ton February 11th a strike was proceeding at the depot of the Anglo-Persian Oil Co., from which supplies of oil fuels are issued daily to the cotton mills in the district, as most of 'the engines run on oil fuel instead of coal. Had the Bombay cotton mills stopped for want of oil, some 50,000 men would have been thrown out of employment. The AngloPersian Oil Co. had already made concessions to,their men, and they finally decided to fight this strike to the end.

The motor. transport .of the R.A.S.C. lent a number of drivers in order to drive the. lorries belonging to the company, and armed police to escort the convoys were lent by the authorities, The 'various cotton mills, flnding'themSelyes, even under this arrangement, short of supplies, owing to the fact that the oil company could not maintain their' pre-strike output, began to bribe the lorry drivers and police in order to get preferential treatment, but,. after one day of this method, the representatives of the mills got together and, instead of bribing against each, other, 'arranged for combined action, the payment to the drivers and *C24

to the police being made jointly. Each mill openly declared the quantity of oil in its tanks, and those that were in the most serious position were supplied first. The M.T. men turned out to he absolute bricks. They fitted the cabs of their lorries with wire netting, so as to protect themselves from stone throwing, and the vehicles were sent out in convoys of four or six, each convoy having a lorry load of armed police in front and a Ford car of police behind. On the third day of the strike information came to hand that 2,000 strikers were preparing to march upon the oil depot, but, fortunately, they did not turn up. On that day about 30,000 gallons of oil were distributed, the normal output being about 40,000 gallons.

The English Staffs of various offices and the chief engineers from the mills were running the pumping engines which fill the tanks at the-depots from the tank steamers; and 411 of them were ready for any job that might turn up. They repaired lorries, &led them, drove them, emptied them, and, in old suits of clothes and smothered in oil, were prepared to tackle any task that offered. _Many of them learnt to drive vehicles that they had never handled before, from 4 ton lorries down to Ford. cars and motor-bicycles. The convoys had to run at high speed in order to' prevent the strikers jumping -on. and opening the taps. On the roads round Bombay this fast driving proved a strain on the vehicles, and many spring 'leaves were broken. These, again, had to be replaced by the amateur maintenance staff.

When the mail left, the back of the strike was being, broken, as much . as 40,000 gallons was being delivered, and the mills were running normally.

A Birmingham Auction.

Mr. Frederick 3, Pepper sold by auction one day last week at Birmingham 103 Vulcan Motor chassis and vans (some of which were brand new) by the direction of the Fresh Fish Supplies, Ltd. Every vehicle catalogued was sold, the total realizing nearly 250,000, the highest price realized for a chassis being 2585, and for a new van 2600, and-for tiled one 2400. It is estimated that 2,000 persons attended the sale. Prices were firm throughout.

Sixpenny Taxi Sidecars Unprofitable.

Brighton 'Watch Committee has considered a letter from Lieut.-Col. Hoskins intimating that he has given a fair trial , to the fare of 6d. a mile for sidecar taxis, and found there was no profit. He suggested. that the rate should 'be fixed at ls. for the first mile and 6d. afterwards. The committee agreed to fix the charge at is. for-the first mile and 2d. for every quarter-mile after, with a .tharge of 3d. for five minutes' waiting.

Owing to pressure on space, we have been compelled to hold over until our next issue the regular feature entitled Hints for Hauliers."

Licences Should Be Insured.

One or two instances have already occurred where a vehicle has been stolen, together with its licence • plate, and all trace of it has been lost. The insiirance company having settled the claim for the loss of the vehicle, and the owner has'log provided himself with a new vehicle, the latter person has not unnaturally asked why he should be compelled to pay another fee for the licensing of the vehicle. In fact, an owner of a single van unlucky enough to have it stolen, and having to replace it, say, every three or four weeks, might conceivably pay to the Excise authorities in the course of the year enough licence fees to cover a fleet of a dozen or more, yet only be running a single van—and that not for the whole of Ch% year, owing th the time lost in replacing the lost vehicles. Application for guidance in this matter has been made to the Ministry of Transport, and a reply has been received to the effect that it is not possible to institute a procedure for a refund of the value of the lost licence. It is recommended that the licence he regarded as an accessory, and that it be insured against less by theft, The insurance companies issuing motorcar policies are, we understand, quite willing to cover the risk, some of them without demanding a further premium.

Trolley Bus Proposal Vetoed. An interesting transport development has been stopped by the refusal of the Ministry of Transport to give authority to the Bradford City -Tramways Department to run trolley-buses on the Bolton section of the undertaking. Apparently the objection of the Ministry to give powers to run the buses on this route is based on the fact that the corporation has authority, by Act of Parliament, to run trolley-buses on certain routes in this city, but the route mentioned is not included in the list provided in tha Act. Virtually the application of the tramways department was for powers to substitute trolley-buses for tramcars in order that heavy expenditure in the renevting of worn-out track might be avoided at a time when labour and materials are at a prohibitive cost. A new type of vehicle, in the form of a trolley-bus with upper and lower saloons, and which would be capable of using the overhead equipment of the tramcars, was designed to meet the requirements of his particular case. This type of vehicle' which wa-s described and illustrated in The Commercial Motor a short time ago, carried ogt, its tests very successfully, but apparently its adoption on any but the existing trolley-bus routes will be held up until powers can he obtained by Act of Parliament. Meanwhile, the position of the tramways depagtment is becoming serious, because it is expected there will be a deficit on the year's working of the undertaking, and the present financial position consequently is such that it will not justify the huge capital expenditure necessitated by renewals of large sections of the permanent way. It was felt, however, that the adoption of trolley-buees would have presented it satisfactory way out of the difficulty

The New Subsidy Scheme.

Replying to a question in the House of Commons on March 1st as to whether any estimate had been made of the total cost of the proposed subsidy of motor lorries, Sir A. Williamson said that the proposal under consideration is to subsidize vehicles sufficient only to provide for the mobilization of a small force, in place of acquiring and maintaining in store a number of idle lorries; nothing will be spent until the vote on account fqr Army for 1921-1922 has been taken. The cost for that year would be £38,000. He took the opportunity of explaining that a similar scheme was in operation before the war, and that the forms to which reference was made were merely forms of inquiry, sent out after conferences at which the scheme had been discussed with representative makers and owners of vehicles, in order to ascertain whether the necessary numbers of vehicles would be tendered in the event of the scheme being adopted. In reply to a further question, Sir A. Williamson said it was possible to requisition lorries without subsidizing them but there, were other considerations. Requisitioning involved searching for lorries, but under an arrangement of the sort proposdd lorries are brought to the Government. •

A Musk Shop on Wheels.

A travelling Vendor of the latest musical publications, including all the popular music hall songs, is travelling the Cheshire district in a Ford van, which has been adapted to contain a piano as well as a drop-down counter upon which he exhibits his wares. At suitable places in his travels, he opens up the shop and renders selections upon his violin to the accompaniment of the lady pianist inside the van. His enterprise is usually well rewarded, and his weekly visits to the various towns are eagerly anticipated,

The Spring Races at Lincoln.

A matter discussed at the March meeting of the Lincoln City _Council was the question of monopolizing the passenger transport at the Lincoln Spring Races, and it was resolved to request the Watch Committee (a) not to issue Hackney Carriage licences for use during the races in respect of vehicles owned by persons other than the inhabitants of the city, and (b) to instruct the Chief Constable to notify persons from outside the city to whom licences had been previously granted.

Aid. Parker, moving this resolution,. said that they felt it would help the financial side of their motorbus question. Six buses would be used for the route from the town to Carholme course, and is. per head would be charged for each journey.

Steamers at Cape Town.

A secondary interest attaches to our article in last week's issue, dealing with road transport in South Africa, and based upon the report of Sir William Hoy, in connection with the illustrations of a Fowler compound road locomotive hauling a heavy girder and a Fowler compound traction engine (with jib crane) hauling a train of three Fowler traction wagons. John Fowler and Co. (Leeds), Ltd., have supplied quite a large number of traction engines, road locomotives and wagons to the dock authorities in Cape

Town, and most of them are still in active service. There is a large field of usefulness for the traction engine in South Africa, and, of course, where heavy weights have to be dealt with they are indispensable.

Big Order for Industrial Trucks.

British Electric Vehicles, Ltd., Churchtown Works, Southport, inform us that they have been favoured with an order from the Port of London Authority for 31 of their " Super Giant " electric industrial trucks. There appears to be an increasingdemand for this type of vehicle, especially amongst railway and dock authorities, and it is particularly satisfactory to note that, after exhaustive and competitive tests with various similar trucks of American manufacture, the order should have been placed with a British concern, the point in favour of the British-built trucks being, not one of price, but one of better performance combined with accessibility and simplicity, which arc features of B.E.V. trucks.

Buses or Trolley Cars for Glasgow ?

The tramways committee of the Glasgow Corporation is considering the best means of extending traffic services, and arranged to send a deputation to Leeds and Bradford to get full details

of thetrackless trolley system. Consideration is also being given to a suggestion that powers should be obtained for the running of motorbuses to link up or extend services.

In our paragraph on page 5 of the issue of February 22nd we gave some figures provided by the Scottish General Omnibug Co., Ltd., concerning their petrolelectric Tilling-Stevens buses. The distances given as being covered by buses Nos. 1 and 2, purchased about seven years ago, namely, 463,074 arsd 449,036 respectively, seem very high, but we took care to have these verified, and we have them in a copy of a written statement from the engineer of the bus company. However, an error does occur later in our paragraph, where a decimal point has got lost in the figure for the total mileage of all vehicles during the year 1920, the correct figure being 686,665.64.

The Ministry of Transport.

We refer in our first editorial note to the forthcoming alteration in the functions of the Ministry of Transport and to its possible abolition. Mr. Bonar Law, in the House of Commons on Friday last, gave a firmer foundation to the rumours current by announcing that Sir Eric Geddes was retiring from the Government at the end of August—the termination of the probationary period of two years for which the Ministry was established. it is likely, however, that Sir Eric will not leave Whitehall Gardens until early next year, because of the large number of matters that will call for attention on his part.

Standard Bodies for Fords.

We recently paid a visit to the works of the Wilson Motor and Engineering Co. Kingston-on-Thames, and we were sur

prised to find, at a time when there is a certain .amount of trade depression, that large. numbers of bodies of various types " for commercial vehicles are passing through the coachbuilding shops and being finished in the yard.

The external appearance of the works gives no indication of its actual size, the outer portion being occupied by a small Ford service depot, and the coachbuilding works being situated behind these and occupying a considerable area.

The bodies made are chiefly box vans, platform lorries and lorries with detachable sides. All the main parts are constructed in ash, whilst metal panelling is employed for the side doors and certain other parts of the box vans. Before commencing this work the companywere manefacturing aircraft, the commercial machbuilding being commenced some 18 months ago, and for this, naturally, aircraft work gave remarkably good experience. Bodies can be turned out at the maximum rate of 20 per week.

The 47th Divisional M:T. Company, one of the first Territorial Mechanical Transport Units to land in France, are holding a dinner to celebrate the sixth anniversary of their arrival in the-War Zone on March 12th at Victoria Mansions Restaurant, Victoria. Tickets can he. obtained from Mr. C. H. Glover, Mardocks, King's Hall Road, Beckenham, price 10s. 6d. each.

Electrics for Coal Cartage.

Eford Council's electrical engineer re' ports that two electric vans are now continuously engaged in coal cartage, each wagon dealing with an average of 160 tons weekly. Each vehicle is run by two m41,, who are responsible for loading, running, and delivering the coal. The present cost of 'coal cartage by these two wagons is lower than that by any other method, the average cost per ton delivered at the present time being approximately 2s. per ton, or slightly lower than the cost of horse cartage. He suggests the purchase of another electric wagon, so that they can be in a position to cart 400 to 50ti Jens weekly when necessary.

American Bullion Lorries.

In many cities throughout the United . States banking hon.ses and organizations whose business necessitates the transfer of large turns of money and valuable sectuities t..6'-ot her houies in the city are usitig keel armoured motor lorries for,,

this purpose as a protection against thieves.

In Cleveland, the Federal Reserve Bank" has adopted for this purpose the armoured vehicle shown in the illustration on this page. The steel body of the lorry is bullet proof, and keys of the door, through which entrance is gained to the car, are kept at the branch offices to he visited, or are in the possession of the guards riding inside the .vehicle. The windows, it will be seen, are heavily barred, and at the first signs of attack the guards, by pressing a button, can drop steel shutters at the windows, while through portholes, made specially for this purpose, they can fire upon the attackers.

Similar vehicles are in use in New York, Boston, Chicago; Philadelphia, and Cincinnati.

Boilerine Tablets.

Boilerine, Ltd., of 885a to 897, Old Kent Road, London, S.E., inform tie that from March 1st they have decided to supply the trade wholesale houses only with Boilerine tablets, and that these in turn will fulfil orders received from garages, accesory retailers, and the like. Prospective users will therefore have to place their orders with the garage or trade house with which they are accustomed to do business.

Mountain Road in South Australia.

The total length of the new road now being constructed in the Torrens Gorge, near Adelaide, will be 11 miles. The ruling grade will be 1 in 25, and the average grade about 1 in 80 or 90. Motor vehicles should be able to go up it on tell gear. It crosses the river five times in the 11 miles. Three of the five bridges have been built, and the fourth is well advanced. Four of these structures cross the river in a single span, the longest span being. 103 ft. The. undertaking is probably the most difficult road problem ever attempted in the Commonwealth.

The work began in 1915, but was suspended owing to financial stringency in 1916. The necessity for connecting the Mill4rdok reserimir With the Adelaide high level water mains caused a fresh start to be made in May, 1918, when a deviation from the Original scheme was decided upon, in view of the proposal to build a barrage at Kangaroo Creek to help in coping with the Reedbeds floodwaters difficulty. This deviation increased the number of bridges from three to five, and caused the level of the road to be raised about 100 ft. in one part. The original track had to be widened in order to take the water main. The cutting of the track to the reservoir was a pressing matter, and by strenuous effort was finished to schedule time in September last. A new section between the Prairie Bridge and Cudlee Creek is now well in hand.

. So much Money has been expended that the Government realizes that the most economical course is. to finish the road, and the Cudlee Creek to Gumeracha

section also is being made. It is expected that the hewing of the road and the bridge building will be finished by the end of the year. The metalling will then remain to be done. The work is being carried out departmentally under the Engineer of Roads and Bridges,' Mr. D. V. Fleming.

• Arabs and Agriculture.

Baghdad, in Asiatic Turkey,. held its first agricultural tractor competition for 15 consecutive days during the month of January last, with Austin, Fiat, Fordson, and Saunderson machines as the principal performers. The trials were followed with great interest by the Arab farmers, who were very quickly converted to the advantages of mechanical tracticin, and who placed orders for these machines without waiting for the final and technical results of the competition. The sight of these modern agricultural machines being driven and cared for bythe natives was. picturesque in the extreme.

The competition was carried through very successfully, all the machines doing good work. The trials were attended by the High Commissioner, Sir Percy Oox, by various ministers, and other officials.

Road Transport Troubles.

The Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, .1st), adopted a resolution of the Transas it would kill private enterprise on the vested in the railway companies to use the roads for the purpose of transport, roads, and while these powers were in port Committee opposing powers being at their meeting on Tuesday last (March the hands Of. the railway companies, would deprive the nation of a necessary .means of road transport in the event of a railway strike.

The Motor Traffic Committee recommended opposition to the Liverpool Corporation Omnibus Bill. Mr. A. D. Dean said that it was felt that there should be a uniform law for motorists and not one for them, when they were in Liverpool and another when in different parts of the country. The Bill would mean that no motorist could pass through Liverpool unless he had a copy of the Liverpool Omnibus Bill in his possession to guide him.

Lorry Helps to Restock theSevern with Fish.

Pursuing the policy of the Severn Conservators an restocking their watershed, the officers of the Board are netiing the lakes at Gains, Whitbourne, by permission of Mr. Tailby. The draft on the first day consisted of about 8,000 carp, ranging from 2 oz. to 8 lb., and 'including a large proportion of four and five pounders. The fish were all conveyed in tanks upon a big motor wagon to Worcester. The larger specimens, numbering thousands, were then placed in the canal basin at Diglis, and the smaller ones in the canal near Worcester gasworks. This proceeding was Watched by hundreds of anglers. On Saturday the netting was continued, and the fish captured were conveyed by motor vehicleto Evesham, and placed in the river there.

Hull Corporation Bus Scheme.

At a meeting of the Hull Corporation, the town clerk reported that the Ministry of Transport. has held an inquiry into the application of the Corporation for a Provisional Order to provide and run motor omnibuses. Certain information was specially asked for, and the Committee now decided to notify the Ministry that the only routes proposed at present are those to Stoneferry ; that it is desired to fix a minimum fare of 2d. a mile ; and to borrow £12,500, of which £10,000 is in respect of five motor omnibuses.

New Paris Buses.

After a number of tests in Paris, it has been decided that the new sixwheeled omnibuses, which are 2 metres longer than the present vehicles and 'will seat 48 passengers instead of 38, are to he Authorized to circulate on certainroutes. Experiments with the new type in the narrower streets of the city have shown that the length makes the turning of abrupt corners dangerous, so that the new omnibuses will be limited to the wide thoroughfares, where their great length will not hinder traffic nor endanger the safety of passengers. The first two routes to be served by the sixwheeled omnibuses will be Madeleine. Bastille and Hotel de Ville-Porte Maillot, both of these routes following the main arteries of the city.

Chassis Price Reductions.

F. G. R. Browne, Ltd., 13, Duke Street, St. James's, London, S.W., inform us of a reduction in the prices for Vim vehicles. The following is a tabulation of the new and old prices :— 10-15 cwt. chassis reduced from £455 to £390.

10-15 cwt. chassis reduced from 2455 to £430. • 10-15 cwt. van reduced from £535 to £465. .

11 seater char-A-bancs reduced from £625 to £490.

14 seater char.A-bancs reduced from £680 to £545.

The special Vim chassis, with extra long wheelbase of 127 ins., is reduced from £485 to £430.

We might mention that each standard Vim chasais is fitted with Westinghouse self-starter and lighting set, spare rim, and carrier, and certain other equipment. Foster and Tattersall, Ltd., 4, Great Marlborough Street, London, W. 1, ask us to state that the Day-Elder 2 ton worm-driven lorry, for which they hold the sole concession, has now been reduced to £595 in consequence of the improvement in the United •States rate of exchange.

Shims for Fords and Fordsons.

Gerrard and td., 15-19, Great

Titchfield Street, Co.,iondon, W. 1, have ,received numerous inquiries in the past for laminated shims for Ford chassis and Fordson tractors, and they inform us that they are now in a position to meet this demand.

Laminum (brass) is the material used in their construction. They are made in varying thicknesses, both for the tractor and the lorry chassis, whilst the material can also be supplied in sheets 2 ins. by 9 ins., and 6 ins. by 36 ins, of varying thicknesses. •

A Fine Catalogue. .

A very, fine catalogue has just come to hand from Leyland Motors, Ltd.., Leyland, Lancs. It is exceedingly comprehensive in Datum, and incorporates mater which cannot fail to be of' considerable interest to both present and prospective users of Leylandsvehicles. A short historical note opens the catalogue,

• which is followed by a general description of the Leyland chassis. Practically every type of commercial vehicle, both on the goods and passenger side, receives attention, The tables of coach builders' dimensions for goods and passenger models, which are supplemented by the inclusion of coach builders' drawings, present valuable information which is very often omitted from the commercial vehicle maker's catalogue. The catalogue is a high-class production in every sense of the term, and the sepia and black-and-, ,white illnstrations which are included fully maintain its quality. A very fine water-colour of a Leyland goods vehicle in the busy surroundings of a dockyard, which is reproduced in the front of the catalogue, lends attractiveness to a wellprinted production.

Bolton Tramway Affairs.

Priding itself on being the last Corporation in the country to take the action Bolton Tramways -Committee has at! last decided to increase the tram fares, as from April 4th. With the exception of workmen's fares, the penny fare now disappears.

The borough treasurer has reported that for the last eine months of the linen.cial year ended December 31st-last, the expenditure, after providing for depreciation and standing charges, was £7,000 more than the income. He further states that during the next financial year the tramways department will require an additional income of £30,000 in order to ensure that it shall not be a charge on the rates. It may, be that the new fares will produce more than that amount, if so, the surplus will go to the users of the trams.

The financial position of the undertaking is to be further reviewed after six months' working. it might be pointed out that Bolton, like so many of the Lancashire towns, is stilt without a flexible motorbus service, which, in all probability, would meet the needs of the present situation much more effectively thanthe existing tramways system.

Great success attended the dinner and social given by the directors of Leo Swain and Co., Ltd., of 237-239, Deansgate, Manchester, to their staff and friends at the Grosvenor Hotel, Deansgate, Manchester, in the latter part of last month, the company, numbering close on 100, spending a very pleasant evening.

Lccal Proceedings.

Kendal Town Council is purchasing a Sentinel steana wagon at a cost of £1,290.

The purchase oi a new motor fire-eneine is being considered by Stirling eown Council.

Dundee Public Health Committee is to spend £675 on an additional motor ambulance.

Horwich (Lancs.) Urban District Council is borrowing £407 for the purchase of a motor ambulance.

Carnarvon Town Council has asked the surveyor to obtain quotations for 2 ton and 4 ton steam and petrol-driven lorries.

Cudworth (Yorks.) Urban District Council has obtained sanction to raise a loan of £1,170 for the purchase of a motor lorry.

The advisability of purchasing a 2 ton lorry and an additional electric wagon is under the consideration of the Special Transport Committee of Ilford U.D.C. Birmingham Corporation Cleansing Comniittee is to purchase a,motorvan at a cost of about £250, to replacea horsed vehicle used in connection with the meat market.

At present no heavy vehicle can enter Stans.tead Abb-otts, and the Hertfordshire County Council. proposes to solve the problem by the provision of a new bridge at Lowbridge,

Hackney Borough Council has been recommended to purchase the five petroldriven 6 ton wagons required from Leyland Motors, Ltd., who tendered at £1,550 for each vehicle.

Manchester Health Committee has accepted the tender of Mr. Tom Johnson, Bradford, Yorkshire, for the supply of two motor ambulance bodies and one motor bedding van body.

Two Atkinson steam wagons, estimated to cost 23,000, are required by Southwark B.C., who have been recommended to purchase the vehicles from E. H. Judd, of Westminster.

The Licensing Committee of the Bournemouth Corporation refuses to license taxi sidecars, and notified Messrs. G. Gibson and H. G. Swiney, who asked for such licences, to this effect.

Exemption for Municipal Motors.

Mr. R. J. Angel, borough surveyor of Bermondsey, in a letter to local authorities, states that it has occurred to him that motor vehicles which are used upon roads for the purpose of sweeping, -watering and gulley emptying should be exempt from licensing in the same category' as steam rollers which are engaged upon the reconstruction of roads. Now there are only three classes of vehicles which are exempt., namely, fire-engines, ambulances and steam rollers, but as the latter are exempt because they are engaged on work which has the approval of the Ministry of Transport, it has occurred to the Bermondsey Borough Council that all vehicles employed on roads should also be exempt. Some colour to this contention has been given by the fact that, when the duty was charged on petrol, the vehicles in question were only charged at half the amount, but under the new order of things they are classed as ordinary eornmercial vehicles. If each borough petitioned the Ministry of Transport, some abatement might be effected.

Two Heavy Vehicle Accessories.

Two useful accessories are being produced by Dekla, Ltd., or Dekla House, Hampton Street, Birmingham. One is a mirror and the other a sprung tail lamp. The mirror is a particularly neat design, and we are given to understand that it is already being standardized by many large transport concerns including motor omnibus owners The tail lamp should find a rea4 market amongst commercial vehicle users as the spring fitment renders it much less susceptible to road shocks and vibration than the ordinary type of fixing.

Protests Against Garage Rates.

Kendal Corporation has had protests against the Proposed charges for motor chars-a-bancs standing on the open-air garage from the local Tradesmen's Association, Ratepayers' Association, and the Licensed Victuallers' Association, but the Watch Committee adheres to the charges.'

Cheaper than Horses:

The St. Helens Corporation has recently bought some new motor lorries for the transport of ashes, and at the last meeting of the Health Committee it was reported that there was a considerable saving in the cost compared with horse traction. Including the capital expense, the engineer calculated 50s. a day covered the costs of working a lorry.

It is stated from Jerusalem that a demonstration of motor ploughs and other agricultural implements was held at Jaffa on March 1st.

• Mr. E. Coleman has taken over the control of the London office of the Apollo Plug Manufacturing Co., Ltd., makers of the Apollo sparking plugs, following the resignation ot Mr. W, H. Lynas, who previously occupied that post.

Bristol Engines for the Sudan.

Striking testimony to the quality of the design and workmanship of the engine need as the power unit of the Bristol chassis made by the Bristol Tramways and Carriage Co., Ltd., is given by the fact that the Bristol engine has been adopted by the Sudan Cotton, Fuel and Industrial Development Co. (1919), Ltd., for use in conjunction with the Well portable gas producers which are used for their tractor work in the Sudan.

Buses for Walthamstow.

In his 1919-20 annual report, the Walthamstow tramways manager recalls his repeated advice with regard to securing, motorbus powers, and hopes a definite move will be made this year. A bus service would be invaluable to the tramways as an auxiliary during rush tim,es; and a great public convenience, for instance, during track reconstruction. It would also enable outlying districts to be served. The growth of the town will make the provision of further travelling facilities imperatively necessary.

Automatic and Electric Furnaces, Ltd. 281-283, Gray's Inn Road, London, inform us that Messrs. C. Lorenz Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin, have purchased the Wild-Barfield patent rights for Germany, Poland, and the former Austria Hungary. The company ha.ve already placed an order with the London concern for various parts to complete nearly 100 furnaces.


comments powered by Disqus