Silencing Bus Windows.
Page 50
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ONE of the greatest difficulties in the 1.../construction of bodies for passenger vehicles occurs in the fitting of windows, and chiefly those at the sides, because these are of considerable weight and, consequently, exercise what amounts to a pounding action under the effects of road vibration. The noise which is set up in many bodies after even a short period of service is sometimes most irritating, apart from the risk of vibration shattering the glass.
Many of the silencing and retaining devices employed do nob seem to have a lengthy life, and, apart from the wear resulting from vibration, much of the trouble has been found to be due to the passage of water down the windows and into the window channels. This water cannot he extracted, and, soaking into the wood framing, causes this to rot or become spongy, and the pounding of the window then quickly wears away the bottom of the frame, so that the whole window becomes loose.
The ordinary form of rubber channel is fairly satisfactory at first, but even this permits the percolation of water.
To avoid this trouble, Mr. H. Orme White, A.M.I.E.E., manager and engineer to the Great Grimsby Street Tramways Co., has patented an improved form of rubber chaenel, which certainly appears to meet the requirements better than anything else of this type which we have examined so far. That this is not only our opinion is •shown by the fact that Guy Motors, Ltd., of Wolverhampton, have recently standardized this channel on all their passenger vehicles.
One of the merits of the device is its simplicity. Its construction can clearly be seen from the accompanying illustration. It should be noted that instead of the ordinary rectangular channel the new one has water-deflecting lips which rest on the sills and carry any water, which may trickle down the glass, away from the channel. The lower portion is (ormed as a pneumatic tube, which acts as a most effective cushioning device for absorbing road vibrations and such body movements as might cause straining of the glass.
The new' material is fitted in exactly the same manner as the ordinary channel and is constructed from fine quality super-resilient rubber. The cost should be but little more than the ordinary pattern, and inquiries regarding it should be _addressed to Mr. Orme White. It was first tested on one of the Grimsby tramcars running over a somewhat rough section of line, and resulted in complete silencing of the chattering which had previously been noted.