IMPROVED SEATING ON A NEW LONDON BUS.
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Details of a Dennis H-type Bus with Hickman Double-saloon Body Affording Comfort which is Above the Average.
IN producing to the order of the Gretna Oninibus Co., Ltd., a large doable-saloon bus for service in the Metropolis, the Hickman Body Building Co., Ltd., Grove Road, London, S.W.12, has made an .effort to ensure for passengers a degree of seating and general comfort which cannot ordinarily be obtained when the operator's objective is to accommodate the largest possible number of passengers which the chassis will safely carry within the regulation weight limit.
Mr. A. H. Martin, managing director of the Gretna Omnibus Co., Ltd., has co-operated with Mr. Hickman's concern in the design of this new 55-seater, with a most Creditable result.
The chassis is the Dennis H-type, a four-wheeled model having a fourcylindered engine of 110 ram. bore and 150 mm. stroke, and it is shod with 38in. by 7-in, pneumatic tyres, twin tyres being fitted to the rear wheels. The overall length is 26 ft, and the width 7 ft. 2 ins.
The Hickman body accommodates 26 passengers, in the lower saloon and 29 on the upper deck, and the staircase is enclosed so that, once aboard the platform, passengers are fully protected from the weather. The platform and the interior floor are on the same level—a very sound arrangement—and one step is provided below this level for mounting and. dismounting. With such a low loading height it has been necessary to dome the flooring slightly over the differential case, but as a stanchion is fixed centrally on the raised portion this is not a feature which will inconvenience passengers.
Of the 26 seats in the lower compartment, 20 or them are of the regular transverse pattern, and are arranged on each side of a central gangway. Over each wheel-arch is a seat facing sideways for two persons, as well as a single seat facing forward. The scats are mounted on steel frames with wooden uprights to the back rests. They are of the springetype with padded backsupports and are upholstered in real leather. Their width and roominess are featnrcla which will be quickly noticed by passengers. Six Hickman drop-windows are fitted in the lower saloon, each light having a glass louvre above it. Doverite-covered stanchions and grab-handles are provided.
A. capacious stairway leads to the• upper saloon, where there are transverse seats for 29 persons, including a single seat at the rear on the near side. The overall height of the vehicle is 14 ft. and the side pancls of the upper portion of the body have been designed to slope inwards to the eitent of 5 ins. so as to afford added security from tilting against tremears and other buses when at very close quarters. The feature is a commendable one. The seating on the upper deck is equally as generous as it is in the lower saloon, and sliding windows are part of the equipmen t.
than seven lakes. The inclusive fare is f3 10s., whieh provides for first-class hotel accommodation and a motorlaunch tour around Lake Derwentwater.
Scotland, Devon and North Wales are the venues of other popular five and seven-day excursions, and the masterpiece of the programme from the ' standpoint of organization and as a thoroughly enjoyable holiday on the open road is the 14-day tour of the choicest sceuery in England and Wales. This covers a mileage of over 1,500.
Below is a list of the principal extended tours to be worked, together with the number of each to be run during the season and the inclusive fares