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Promoting a CommerA SHORT time ago the corn
cial Vehicle Parade in mercial motor users' asso Holland ciation of Holland thought that it would like to hold a parade of vehicles similar to those organized in England, and as the country naturally does not possess so many vehicles it was considered advisable to encourage drivers to attend by promising each 6s. and the petrol used for the journey. The result was an almost overwhelming parade of 900 vehicles, and the judging proved to be a matter of much difficulty.
A CERTAIN type of ticket1--1 issuing machine that is being tried out by a bus company is proving unsatisfactory —from the conductors' point of view. The men complain that its recording mechanism is sometimes erratic, and their grievance is that when there is a surplus of money in their wallets the company takes it, but when there is a deficit the conductor is expected to make it good. The men are consequently often some shillings out of pocket at the end of a week's journeys. Bus Company's" Heads I Win, Tails You Lose"
Policy on Carelessly Driven
Enforced Speed Limit AN interesting scheme for artificially restricting the
speed of motor vehicles in Vehicles cases where motor drivers are said to have endangered other road users, is being adopted in Germany. As an experiment it will be applied in a few of the big towns. The offending vehicle will have a plug inserted in the carburation system similar to that originally used in Morris vehicles for preventing over-driving when new. The operator will be required to present his vehicle for inspection each week while punishment by this form of control is in force.
A Regrettable OverVRANCE has a reputation sight at the Paris I for politeness, but we Motor Show . . . thought it an unusual slip on
the part of his advisers for the President to miss paying a visit to the Austin stand, which was the first he passed on entering the hall, particularly as Lord Austin was present, and there was a fine representation of Austin products. We well remember Herr Hitler's courtesy in similar circumstances at the Berlin Show.
Are Oil Engines BeA T the Model Engineer Exyond Powers of the rm. hibition there were many Model Maker ? . . wonderful examples of British
craftsmanship, including working petrol engines of a few c.c. capacity. One enthusiastic amateur was showing a four-cylindered unit of 1-in, bore by 1-in. stroke. However, no one appears yet to have made a model compressionignition engine. Metering the fuel and forming the nozzle orifices is a difficult enough job in the fullsized machines.
A Warning to Those THERE have been quections Visiting Engineering I in this country as to the ad Works visability of inviting visitors to
• works. In 'this connection the Junkers concern has a somewhat drastic method of dealing with the difficulty. Each visitor is required to sign a card with wording to the following effect : " If I say anything about these works I am a traitor." Added to this is the injunction: "Forget everything seen." Incidentally, as indicating the progress made with the development of oil engines for aeroplanes, a new motor is put on test every seven to eight minutes throughout the 24 hours. An American Boy's A TYPICAL American and Observation on. Lon4-1. his 'intelligent-looking offdon Buses . . . . spring were riding on top of a
London bus. The boy kept up a running commentary on everything he saw, and as the vehicle approached Bond Street he turned to his father and said: "I am glad to see that London buses are American." The father replied: " How do you make it?" "Well, dad," said the boy, "that bus in front has.' Old Ford' on it."'
A New Gaseous Mix'THERE' is an interesting Sure CO Improve Weld1 background to Sopromo, ing Practice . . , . the new coal-gas, acetylene and
oxygen welding mixture. The melting point of iron is about 1,500 degrees C., and it boils at a temperature of about 2,500 degrees C. It is generally accepted that the temperature of the inner cone of an oxy-acetylene flame is between 3,300 and 3,500 degrees C., which is needlessly high. As long ago as 1903, Fouche and Picard, two great pioneers of oxy-acetylene welding, recognized that mixing a percentage of coal gas with acetylene before it is, in turn, mixed with oxygen, reduces the flame
temperature to 2,600 degrees C. Thus, after heat losses, The flame temperature is below boiling point, Yet well above melting point. Fouche and Picard could not devise a satisfactory mixer for the gas, but this has recently been accomplished by Barimar, Ltd., and Sopromo is the result. Remarkable purity of the weld, the avoidance of carbonization and bubbling, and the reduced risk of oxidation, arc the advantages of the new process, according to the claims of its sponsor.
New False • Floor for THE Ford Motor Show, the Albert Hall Ford 1 which opens on October 15
Show at the Royal Albert Hall, will
be staged on a new floor, which in itself is a remarkable engineering work. because, actually, it is false, and beneath it, entirely concealed, is the great arena of the hall with over 2,000 seats. In the structure there are hundreds of steel sections overlaid with wood, and the strength must be great to sustain the weight of a large number of vehicles and crowds of visitors. This new floor replaces a wood one which has been used for many years. '