Opinions from Others.
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The Editor invites corresPondence on all subjects connected with the use of commercial motors. Leiters should be on one side of the paper only, and type-written by preference. The right of abbreviation is reserved, and no responsibility for the views expressed is accepted. In the case of experiences, names of towns or localities may be withheld.
Users Experiences.
Vic Editor, "IdE COMMERCIAL MOTOR
J,058] Sir, —In your interesting article on • User ' ot the Road from Opposite View Points," you say : True, all the roads in the United Kingdom were deelared open. in 1896, to the vehicle of three-ton unladen weight, and in 1904 to the vehicle of five-ton unladen weight, but ' user ' is allowed only in accordance with statutory provisions, and upon due regard for a variety of apparentlycomplex, yet natural obligations towards the general body of ratepayers." Now, Sir, if you will he good enough to explain what these " apparently-complex yet natural obligations are, you will have rendered a service, not only to motor-wagon owners and users, but to the general public.
I think I am right in saying that, up to the present, motor-wagon carriers have started their businesses in ignorance of these qualifications, which I ask you to explain. I have certainly come aeross cases where individuals have atssumed that sueli limitations existed, and I will give too examples to show how the same were interpreted to the disadvantage of users." I once heard it stated by counsel, and the statement was allowed to pass uncontradicted, that motor-wagon drivers were required to use extraordinary precautions against injury to others on the road, owing to the dangerous character of the machines they drove, and that whit+ might not be considered negligence in a driver of a horse vehicle might become negligence in the case of a motor-wagon driver. This statement, if allowed to stand, practically destroys the possibility of a motor-wagon driver's defending him self against the charge of negligence. Again. I have several times heard it stated, by a solicitor prosecuting for a certain borough, that motor-wagons are constructed to come just muter the fire-ton tare weight in order to evade the licence duty of traction engines, which is comparable with saying that motorcycles are built with two wheels to avoid the tax of a four-wheeled maellide!
The argument, however, is put forward evidently with the intent to convey the idea that motor-wagon to,ers have a natural obligation to ratepayers beyond those stated in the laws regulating the use and construction.of their machines. By way of emphasizing this point. Sir. you again state in your article that you are obliged to impress upon the " user " the fact that he cannot send heavy motor-wagons upon the roads indiscriminately, unless he be prepared to " take the consequences." If motor haulage is to progress, as seems bound to be the case, all uncertainties as to our !focus standi on the roads must be removed, and we look to you. Sir, as our representative in the Press, not, to rest content until our rights and privileges are clearly defined. Not only do we demand this of you, but insuranee companies are looking to you for the same guidance, as, at present. they have to base their premiums on the assumption that every case they fight they must expect. to lose.
There is, at the present moment, far too much scope for magistrates or chief constables to exercise their natural bias in dealing with motor-wagons. and the cases I have quoted show the freedom with %Odell solicitors and eounsel handle their " facts." Nwow that the question of taxation is under consideration, commercial-motor-vehiele owners must insist that they have freedom of action in developing their sphere of action. The present system of licensing machines, and then persecuting the unfortunate owners for using them " to excess," is only lit for a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. T wish to add, in conclusion, that my own experience with regard to " prosecutions " has been particnlarly fortunate, and that the views I express embody an experi
ence which is free from the bitterness engendered by personal loss.
Our log sheet for the week is as follows: earnings, £67; tonnage, 147; mileage, 752; percentage of work done, 93: coke used, 8 tons 10 cwt.; oil (gear), 12 gallons; oil (cylinder), 51 gallons. Yours faithfully,
" MOTOR-WAGON CA RRIER. '
I Our eorrespondeut is taking a view which we ;consider distinctly and unnecessarily pessimistic. Practically esery branch of industry is conducted under risks and contingencies which exist but never coma to ahead: for example, it is illegal, under the Highways Act to leave a horse
hiy the roadside unattended, yet the enforcement of that would mean serious financial hiss to every tradesman in the country. It is a " dead letter," but any attempt to repeal it would be resisted. Similarly, certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts are ludicrous, and every shipowner knows the " shifts " to which they are put in order to comply with the letter of the Board of Trade and other regulations. It is, very often, bettor to continent to work with a measure of indefiniteness over awe's head, than to have uncertainties definitely settled against one. Every fresh buyer of a motor wagon strengthens the cage for fair treatment, and we would urge upon "Motor-wagon Carrier" and other supporters of this journal a consideration for that point Of view. We accept the invitation to deal at further length—in an early issue with the matter of the obligations which we consider rest upon the owner of any heavy wagon, hut we can hardly promise to enter into every complexity of the 'Locomotive and Motor Car Acts, because we should have to presuppose a sufficient number of hypothetical cases, in order to deal with every likel) contingency, to at least one week's issue of this Journal.—En. I The C.M.U.A. Parade : A Word for a Driver. Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,059] Sir,—As most of your readers are doubtless aware of the varied performances of steam wagons_ in the hands of different drivers, many like myself will be interested and pleased to see that the " special mechanival ability " of driver J. W. Parkinson, who was with his Thornycroft steamer in the C.M.U.A. Parade, has been recognized officially. The recent record of the above wagon in driver Parkinson's hands is most interesting.
Some years ago, when I got in touch with Mr, Seth Taylor, the owner of the vehicle, 1 was informed that the machine's performance was not on the whole satisfactory, and therefore not worth troubling about. Later on, however, when the present driver took it in hand, this remarkable old vehicle was kept on the road during eighteen months without an involuntary stop, covering 12,870 miles, after he had practically rebuilt her. She was then (February of this year) overlauled during 14 days, and she has since had another nine months of work without a hitch, while covering a further 8,000 miles. Up to February last, the machine had done 42,000 miles, but I see, in the details of the vehicles for tile C.MX.,.k. Parade, her present total is given as 50,000. Out of this high figure, this old steamer, which first went into service in 1901, has covered 20,870 miles with only a fortnight's break for repairs. This does seem quite a unique record, especially as the vehicle is of the old three-ton type, and usually works With a trailer. In the view which I send
[Reproduced.El).], it is shown on a more-or-less country run, delivering flour at the Coombe Bakery, Raynes Park.
With reference to the C.M.U.A. Parade itself, may 1 suggest that some of us, who arc more or less " out, eiders " as far as the Association is concerned, he allowed to subscribe to the prize fund? Not that I want to suggest that the money is actually needed, as it may not be, but there are some who, getting their living from the commercial-vehicle business, or through their being enthusiastic in what they consider a good cause, might like to subscribe towards the next one.—Yours faithfully,
ARTHUR E. A. M. TURNER.
[It might tie a gond plan to open such i ubsctiptiOn list next yeRE.—En.,
The Life of Commercial Motors.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL Maros.
[1,060j Sir,—The very satisfactory results which have been obtained by the use of commercial-motor vehicles by Messrs. J. Shoolbred and Co., as is recorded in Mr. Leycaster Barwell's letter in your last week's issue, should re-assure many business men managers of large drapery and furnishing houses—who, although recognizing that the employment of motorvans is a business necessity, were harassed by fears that the cost of maintenance was high and that a liberal allowance must annually be made for depreciation of the vehicles. Mr. Barwell, who is, undoubtedly, a very busy man, deserves the sincere thanks of everyone interested in the use of industrial motors for his having so carefully-compiled, and placed before your readers, such important and convincing figures relating to the cost for the running of his fleet. These records, given by a gentleman wholly unconnected with either the sale or manufacture of motor vehicles but as a user only, are of infinitely more value than many of the imaginary estimates of running costs, so often given by makers and dealers. I should like to hear of other gentlemen, holding similar positions in the business world, taking an equal interest in the working of the despatch departments of their respective house. Carefully kept accounts of running costs enable one to see, at a glance, exactly which parts of a chassis are the most expensive for upkeep, and I fail to understand that any harm to a man's business can result from the occasional publication of interesting and instructive extracts from such books. I know that all business men do not take such a charitable view of the matter, hence many concerns are obliged to commence the employment of motors, or any other form of machinery, with but little data other than that supplied by the makers, dealers, or advertised " experts"—
Yours faithfully, Tnos. MIDDLETON. Kingston, 8th November, 1909.
The Trolleybus.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,061] Sir,—We note the comments of your correspondent, " S.D.H.," in your issue of the 28th October, and take this opportunity of replying to same. The excessive weight and horse-power of the motors are due to the fact that the car in question was designed to operate under very severe conditions over a soft and unmetalled road, which also includes a heavy gradient, res.ching a maximum of one in nine. Moreover, standard tramcar motors were utilized as being quite suitable for the special conditions of these trials, and also for the reason that they could be relied upon to be immune from breakdown, and would therefore enable us to devote our attention to the special purpose of the trial runs, i.e., the testing of the special devices which we have developed for making contact with the overhead wires.
On a smaller and lighter car, using smaller and higherspeed motors, it will be possible to dispense with the bevel gears, but we believe that your ()correspondent will agree with Messrs. James and Browne and ourselves, that its adoption for the car at Hendon was unavoidable. Your correspondent is, no doubt, aware that the battery-driven 'buses, to which he refers, also have a double reduction between the motors and the driven wheels.
With your correspondent's remarks as to the absence of necessity for a coupling device in the bevel gear, we are quite in accord; but, as the arrangement of bevel gears in the gearbox is symmetrical, the addition of this feature does not entail any extra expense, and it has been introduced in the present case merely to meet the views of one or two engineers, who have suggested that it might, under certain circumstances, be found. desirable.
We regret that the argument in favour of the threewire trolley line is not clear to your correspondent, and, if he will communicate with us, we shall have much pleasure in forwarding to him our illustrated pamphlet, in which this point is fully brought out. As your correspondent points out, three wires are not a necessity, but there is much to be said in their favour.—Yours faithfully,
For Tim RAILLESS ELECTRIC TRACTION CO., LTD_,
B. DOUGLAS Fox. 56, Moorgate Street, E.C.