NEWS of the WEEK
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RATES FOR CHRISTMAS POST OFFICE HIRE
FURTHER to the paragraph on page • 226 of our issue dated October 25, when we advised operators not to enter into contracts with the. Post Office for Christmas hire, without first inquiring of the local association secretary, we now learn that at a joint meeting of A.R.O., C.M.U.A., London and Home Counties Haulage Contractors Association •and the National Association of
Furniture Warehousemen and Removers, the following rates per hour were agreed and are recommended to members for the hire of vehicles ler that purpose in the Metropolitan Area:—All vehicles up to 250 cubic ft. capacity, 13s.; 251 to 350 cubic ft:, Os. Sri.; 351 to 550 cubic ft.. 7s. ad,; over S:70 cubic ft., Ss. 6d.
It was suggested that in cases where the daily mileage exceeded 50, an additional charge at the rate of 4d. per mile should be made for vehicles of a capacity of up to 350 cubic ft., 5d. per mile for vehicles of a capacity of 351 to 550 cubic ft., and 6d. per mile for vehicles having a capacity in excess of 550 cubic ft.
For work on Sundays and Christmas Day the above rates are to be increased by the extra amount which hauliers must pay in wages, subject also to a minimum of 51 hours for which the operator must pay his driver if he turns out on those days. This schedule was laid before the responsible authority by the associations concerned, at theG.P,O., London, c n Monday of this week.
We are also asked to recommend hauliers who sent in tenders for this work before October 19 of this year, to re-tender, as the correspondence relating to that matter has been lost.
Welding Metal to Glass: Britain Perfects New Process ANEW method has been perfected in Great Britain for welding metal to glass. The glass used is of a specially toughened type and the metals are aluminium and certain alloys containing a high percentage of aluminium. The process is at present used for making electric heaters. It is also being employed for soldering metal discs or bolts on to glass.
An official of Pilkington Brothers, Ltd., of St. Helens, which has brought out the process, says that, by combining the use of toughened glass and aluminium; and, having overcome the technical difficulties of spraying, the process is now a practical one. It is difficult to describe in specific terms the various applications of the process, and, of course, it is obvious that materials will not be available for general purposes until after the war.
Rates Control: West Midland Action
THE Joint Executiv6 Committee, West Midland Area, A.R.0, and has taken immediate action, following the announcement that the Minister proposes to exercise control over increases in haulage rates. It was that actual area which appreciated that the machinery set up by the Road Rail Central eonference would be utilized
in negotiations with the Regional Transport Commissioners. In the West Midland Area, Mr. L. Patrick is secretary to the Regional Committee of the R.R. Conference.
We are informed by Mr. G. F. Goodwin, secretary of the Joint Executive Committee, that a letter has been received from the general secretary of the R.R.C.C. pointing out that any local agreement in rates may have repercussions in other areas, and asking for immediate advice of any such proposed agreements. In order that the Central Conference may be ready to deal with any situation which arises in this way, data is being collected from all areas.
Secretaries of Regional Committees should ask their members to complete a questionnaire in which they are asked to specify in which of the following traffics they are interested:—Sand and gravel, milk, bricks, agricultural, beet, coal, steel, parcels, council work, livestock, dead meat, general.
West Midland Area Suggesting Entrance Fee for New Members
ALARGE number of important firms has recently joined one or other of the two National Associations in the West Midland area, and a steady increase in strength is being maintained.
A suggestion has been made and is to be considered by the Joint Executive Committee, that, in view of the fact that the present members of the Associations have contributed, through their membership, towards the greater recognition which is now being accorded to the industry, and have contributed towards the . respectable reserve funds of the A.R.O. and C.M.U.A. in the West Midland Area, that on and from a date to be fixed, all new .members or old members rejoining should be required to pay a sulastantiar entrance fee to be placed to reserve, so as, in some small measure,. to level up their contribution. WISER USE OF ROAD TRANSPORT CALLED FOR I N its leader for November the . Monthly Bulletin of Road Information, issued by the British Road Federation, states that there are indications that the Minister of Transport is about to adopt new plans for the greater use of the powers of road transport to serve the national need. It is regretted, however, that this change of policy has been so long delayed.
The new Minister has a great opportunity of taking some action in response to a rapidly growing realization on the part of the general public that something is seriously wrong. Limitations make it impossible to serve the daily needs of those who have to use passenger transport, whilst the distribution of goods. is also. being unduly delayed.
The record of road transport since this war started has been a record of gigantic waste, not by road transport, but of it, Cutting down has resulted in slowing the movement of war materials, of goods for the vital export trade, and of supplies required by the armed forces and civilian population, whilst the loss to national efficiency has been beyond. calculation. There is a serious shortage of vehicles in many. parts and a still greater shortage of. drivers and maintenance men.
Whilst the proper use of road transport will perhaps be unpalatable to certain interests, increased efficiency in the national war effort is of supreme importance, Makers Insist an Observance of . List Prices
THERE has been an interesting sequel to a repert published several weeks ago when it was stated that certain retail motor. agents were reselling commercial-vehicle chassis to users at a figure higher than the last-known listprice operating, although they themselves had been supplied by the distributors on that list, less, of course, the customary trade discount. When the matter arose at trade meetings, there was a feeling that nothing could be done to check the extra-profit procedure, and that." get what you can " was simply the operation of the old economic law of supply and demand.
The makers have, however, interposed. They have called upon the retailers to return the extra money. and already several hundred pounds have been collected—to be returned to those who overpaid.
Watering Places for Steam Wagons
AS a result of the co-operation of the Regional Transport Commissioner, who has obtained the necessary information from county surveyors. Mr. G. F. Goodwin, secretary of the Joint Executive Committee, A.R.0.C.M.U.A., West Midland Area, is now in a position to give information regarding the watering places for steam wagons, It relates to counties in the West Midland area and any operator of steam wagons who is desirous of utilizing the information should c.oma municate with him at 35, Waterloo
Road, Wolverhampton. .
ASSOCIATION FOR AUTOELECTRICAL TECHNICIANS THE Association of Auto-electrical Technicians; incorporated on September 25 last, is not a new Association, but a continuation, under a new title, of the Society of Automotive Electrical Engineers, which was founded eight years ago. The new title was necessitated by the requirements of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies on Incorporation. The original society had a membership approaching 300, which will be automatically transferred to the new Association.
The aims and objects of the original organization will be continued by the Association, the only difference being in the title, It is a purely technical Association, covering the electrical side of automobile marine and aeronautical engineering. Branches are established in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Hull and New Zealand.
.Full particulars of the activities DI the Association may be obtained from the secretary, Mr. C. C. Feldman, A,C.A., 84, Northumberland Road; New Barnet, Ikrts.
German Motor Roads Helped Civil Transport
PARTS of Germany's road system had been of some military use, but the original planning of autobahnen was made in the pre-Nazi period, with assistance for civil transport as its main objective, Mr. Thomas H. MacDonald, U.S. Commissioner for Public Roads, told American highway engineers recently, Only occasional major changes were made in order to meet the desires of the Army authorities. Construction had been suspended when less than half way towards completion of the first network of 4,200 miles, so the Germans had not a truly national road system for either military or civil use, commented Mr. MacDonald.
Liverpool Control Speeding Up Long-distance Traffic
S0 as to facilitate the dispatch of long-distance traffic, the Port of Liverpool Road Transport Control, Ltd., has taken over office premises at 3, Crosshall Street, Liverpool, and has appointed Mr. T. A. Seatree as traffic controller. Operators who are directed by their D.T.O.'s to report to the Control authority for return loads from
Liverpool should contact with this office (Telephone number Central 5244). The address of the operating manager, Mr. James Britt, is unchanged at 20, Chapel Street, Liverpool.
Provision has been made for vehicles brought into Liverpool to undertake pool transport to receive an additional .petrol allowance in Cases where it is required), so as to enable them to do the work allotted to themThese vehicles have been allocated to a special organizers group, attached to the D.T.O., Liverpool. This is restricted to machines which have been diverted to Liverpool, but which are based in other towns.
A.E.C. Big Overseas Connection
APIECE of timely propaganda in connection with export business has recently been undertaken by the Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., which has produced a world map showing where fleets of A.E.C. vehicles
and other products of its Southall factory are being operated abroad. Some 120 cities and towns are listed in the five continents, and in many of the larger cities substantial fleets of A,E.C. vehicles are serving the public's transport requirements. The map has been prepared in collaboration with the A.E.C. branch companies and distributors; its accuracy can be vouched for.
Revised Hiring Rates for Tippers
RDEVISED day-hire rates for tipping 1 kvehicles came into operation at Liverpool on November 1. They were agreed to at a meeting of the Tipping Vehicle and Building Trade Section of the Liverpool Cart and Motor Owners Association, held under the chairmanship of Mr. Fred Wilkinson.
Liverpool Wages Application A PPLICATION has been made . by
the Liverpool Carters and Motormen's Union to the Conference of Liverpool and District Road Transport Employers for consideration to be given to the wages of carters and drivers of locally owned Class C vehicles, should the Wages Board grant a wages increase of 3s, 6d. per week to motormen operating under Class A and 15 licences. The Union requests that if the increase be granted, it should apply simultaneousgr to the two grades of. employee mentioned. TRANSPORT AS A FACTOR FOR PEACE
TRANSPORT as a factor for peace was discussed by Mr. F. H. Dutson, the Leeds commercial-vehicle specialist, during a debate entitled -" After the War " at a meeting of the Leeds Section of the Institute of the Motor Trade, Mr. Dutson and Mr. Arthur C. Richards, managing director of the Aero Piston Ring Co., Leeds, put forward their points of View as to the principles which should govern world affairs in the future,
Suggesting that transport offers one of the best mediums for the promotion of understanding between nations, Mr.. Dutson said: " Let us get more transport—cheap facilities whereby the common people of each country can visit each other and get to know each other. But for the transport we already have in this country, the English might still have been fighting the Scottish clans."
Mr. T. G. Smith, of London, presi dent of the Motor Agents' Association, who summed up the discussion, strongly endorsed Mr. Dutson's plea, and quoted his own experience of travelling in many countries abroad.
Pre-war Basis of Pay for Requisitioned Vehicles
THAT the basis of payment for vehicles requisitioned or acquired under the Defence Regulations is unfair is the contention of the Northwestern Area Committee of A.R.O., the secretary of which, Mr. John Hopkins, points out that operators are unable to' replace the vehicles at the amount payable by the authorities.
Mr. Hopkins explains that if a vehicle be requisitioned under the Army Acts the amount payable to the owner is the fair market value on the day. of requisitioning, including any appreciation due to the prevailing emergency. Under the Defence Regulations, 1939, the Government departments are given new powers of requisitioning and the compensation is very limited, • and is usually the pre-war value, no account being taken of any appreciation in values due to the war.
Consequently, vehicles requisitioned under the Defence Regulation 53 can be obtained more economically than those requisitioned under the Army Acts. It appears that no compensation is payable for incidental losses. SKILLED DRIVERS SHORTAGE: GROUP ORGANIZERS MOVE
(-WING to the difficulty of replacing "–/killed drivers who have been called up for service with the colours, inquiries are being made by the committee of 10/B/3 Group Organizers, Liverpool, to discover the extent to which vehicles have been withdrawn from normal service.
Contact is being made with other Liverpool Group organizers to find out if there are any idle vehicles in the Group, and if so, why.
If it can be established that vehicles have been laid up owing to the withdrawal of skilled drivers from industry, it is proposed to make representations to the District Transport Officer and to request the releasing of a sufficient number of men, essential to maintain services, from the Army.
Action has also been taken by the Liverpool and District Conference of Road Transport Employers. One of the working conditions in the Merseyside area is that vehicles engaged on local work and carrying upwards of four tons, shall carry a second man. Owing to the growing shortage of satisfactory drivers, the Conference has asked the Liverpool Carters and Motormen's Union to waive this condition as a war-time measure.
Busmen and Hauliers' Spitfire Contribution
LORD BEAVERBROOK haswritten to Mr. J. H. Stirk, Regional Transport Commissioner, thanking him for the contribution of £8,000 already sent on behalf of the Spitfire Fund of the Busmen and Hauliers in the East Midland Traffic Area. In his letter the Minister of Aircraft Production says: Such free spontaneous acts of patriotism point the way to disaster for our enemies, for they are proof pf a spirit in this country against which th6. legions of Hitler will destroy themselves in vain."
Merseyside Mutual Aid Scheme For Hauliers
ROM Liverpool comes news of an interesting, scheme of mutual assistance for carriers whose equipment has been damaged or destroyed as the result of enemy action.
The initiative has been taken by the Liverpool Cart and Motor Owners Association which is now giving effect to the recommendations of a sub-com
mittee. Its policy is based on the principle that everything possible should be done to preserve intact the connections and goodwill of the business of any memberwho suffers war damage, by the prompt loan or hire at a reduced rate, of sufficient rolling Stock until he has time to replace his lost equipment.
The sub-committee came to the conclusion that financial assistance from the Association would not be a solution of the difficulties of a member who suffered in this way. Hence the decision that assistance can best take the form of letting him have facilities to carry on his work upon terms which, whilst showing no loss to the helper,
A1S would yield a small profit to the distressed member. That is the guiding principle on which the mutual assistance sub-committee has acted.
It is not possible to fix more precise terms, as the nature of a member's business and other factors have abearing on the question. In the final analysis, the financial arrangements must be decided upon the merits of each case.
Membership of the mutual assistance panel is voluntary. The undertaking to be signed by joining members is worded:—" I/we undertake to become a member of the panel of members pledged to assist one another in the event of any participating member's. business being affected by enemy action."
Return Loads from London to Midlands
ANY operator carrying to London or the south of England who is prepared to carry urgent aircraft material from Slough to the Midlands should get in touch with Messrs. C. and B. Transport, 62, High Street, Slough, their telephone numbers being: Head office 21767, night 21970; garages 21995, night 22032.
Personal Pars,
MR. G. W. Roan, of Brighton, has been appointed rolling stock superintendent by Rotherham Transport Committee.
MR. W. flicicHAN, A.M.I.Mech.E., M.Inst.T., late manager of the Brush Electrical rolling-stock department, and general manager of Brush Coachwork, Ltd., is, after eight years with the company, leaving Loughborough to take Up an important executive appointment in the aircraft industry.. PETROL ECONOMIZER AND ANTIPINK PREPARATION TESTED VETE have tested recently a prepara
VV known as Carburol, which it is claimed will result in a marked reduction in pinking when mixed with Pool spirit, plus an improvement in petrol consumption. It is a pink-coloured fluid combining a volatile liquid with an upper-cylinder lubricant, Our tests have been carried out on private cars in staff use and we have found that the claims are justified. The speed at which pinking occurs is now much lower than is the case with untreated fuel. In addition, petrol consumption shows an improvement.
Another test was on a two-stroke engine and, in this case, it was flpund that the claims for easier starting and the reduction of carbon deposit are also merited, A petrol' system of lubrication is used for the two-stroke engine and the rate of carbon formation is, normally, fairly rapid.
Carburol is supplied in large quantities for fleet users; the recommendation is that it be mixed with petrol in the main storage tank at the garage anti delivered already treated from the pump into the vehicle tank.
Many well-known passenger-vehicle operators are, we learn, already employing Carburol as well as hauliers. It is supplied in gallon cans (sufficient for 240 gallons of petrol) at 17s. 6d. per gallon, and in 5-gallon drums at 14s.
gallon. It is also put up in tins at 2s. 6d. each.
The cap of the tin forms a measure holding enough for the treatment of one gallon. The tin, however, can be filled at stockists from their quantity supplies, for 25.
Carburol is a. product of Bentley Maudesley and Co., Ltd., 34, Ealing Road, Brentford. PETROL RETAILERS' SHARE OF PROFITS POOL
As many as 12,000 cheques have been sent recently to petrol retailers in " controlled " areas, representing payments from the profits pool established for the benefit of retailers whose pumps have been closed down by the military, stated Mr. T. G. Smith, of London, president of the Motor Agents' Association, in an address to the committee of the M.A.A.'s Yorkshire Division, at Leeds, last week.
Mr. Smith said the scheme, under which the retailer, whose pumps have been closed down by the military, has a share of the profits from the pumps still working in his district, was the result of collaboration between the M.A.A. and the Petroleum Board.
Avoiding Overlapping on Milk " Distribution
WITHIN -the past two weeks VI' co-operative societies in the north of Glasgow have been negotiating with a view to eliminating the duplication of transport and labour in milk distribution. The outcome will probably be the setting up of distinct and defined areas for each society. In all 13 societies are involved in the negotiations.
ROAD MOTORS BUSY ON SALVAGE WORK IGURES which serve to illustrate the volume of transport work involved in the intensified salvage operations by local authorities were quoted by Mr, H. Hinchlille, Bradford's Director of Public Cleansing and hon. salvage adviser for Yorkshire to the Ministry of Supply, in a talk at York.
In Yorkshire, during one month, said Mr. Hinchliffe, 134 authorities handled 3,224 tons of waste paper, sal. vaged 4,039 tons a metal, and collected and used for pig feeding 742 tons of kitchen waste.