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WHEELS OF INDUSTRY.

"The wheels of wealth will be slowed by all difficulties of transport at whatever points arising, as a carriage is by the roughness of the roads over which it rans."—John I3eattie Crozier, Road Fund Accounts.

The following items are taken from the abstract account of the receipts and expenditure of the Road Fund for the year ended March 31st, 1928.

Receipts :---,Motor vehicles, etc., duties, £19,665,580; interest, £360,406.

Payments :—Administration expenses, £123,422; London Traffic Committee, £20,972: motor tax revenue collection costs £400,501; experimental work, £18,844 ; compensation to local authorities, £47,132; grants towards local surveyors' salaries, etc., £212,293; grants for maintenance and improvement of classified roads and bridges £8,586,382; grants for unclassified roads in rural areas, £1,587,062; grants for general purposes, £3,102,687; programme in unemployment areas, 14,256,225.

The balance of the Road Fund, which stood at £19,512,122 at March 31st, 1926, was reduced to £1,417,124 at March 31st. 1928, following upon the transfer to the Exchequer of £7,000,000 in 1926 and £12,000,000 in 1927. under the Finance Acts. The commitments of the fund at March 31st, 1928, in anticipation of future revenue, amounted to £23,717,000, including 111,005,000 on account of road works expedited for the relief of unemployment.

Guy Motors Increased Profits.

The annual report of (lay Motors, Ltd.' for the year ended September 30thlast, shows that a profit of 160,263 was made, as against £50,832 a year earlier. As a sum of £47,835 was brought into the accounts, the total

available is £108,098. A dividend of 15 per cent., less tax is proposed, and this will absorb 144;607, as compared with a 10 per cent, dividend in the previous year, which accounted for £23,060. There is no transfer to the reserve this year, hut £50,000 was allocated to this fund in the previous year. The amount to be carried forward is £63,491.

A Demonstration of Farm Tractors. On Tuesday aud Wednesday,. March 12th and 13th. a spring demonstration of the latest types of 'farm tractor and imolement will be held from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. at the Harper Adams Agricultural College, Newport. Salop. • It is hoped tc in-Aude road-haulage equipment, which should be of particular iuteresi: to growers of sugar beet. Matrufacturers and others desiring particulars should write to the Engineering Dipartment a the College.

An Improved All-weather Head.

A neat but effective all-weather head with a handle-operated roof is being made in two types, a fixed back and a drop-back, by the Warwick Motor Body Building Co., of. Warwick Works, White City, Old Trafford, Manchester. It is known as the Walman.

In each type, care has been taken to preserve the saloon appearance of the vehicle. The cant rails are rounded to conform with the shape ttf the roof and they Extend into the body, thus allowing parcel racks to be fitted underneath them ; also, the sticks, being practically straight, the hood can be lined if required.

The opening in the roof has a width of approximately 5 ft. 3 ins. in the case of the drop-back bead. The back, from the waist line to the top corner, is a light, shaped frame, metal-panelled or fabric-covered, as required.

In the operation of the head, the back,

which is hinged from above the waist line, drops outwards and into it the head fitting and cloth fall neatly. There are no turn-buttons or other fittings required on the cloth, and the whole device is operated from the driver's seat.

" The C.M." at the British Industries Fair. • The Cammercial Motor and its associated journals are included in the exhibit of the Periodical Trade Press andWeekly Newspaper Proprietors' Association at the British Industries Fair, which is being held at the ,White City from February 18th to March 1st, and copies of the journals and all information concerning them can be obtained from the clerk in charge of the stand.

Crossley Report.

According to the latest report issued by Crossley Motors, Ltd., in respect of the financial year ended October 31st, 1928, the profit -for the period in question was £120,711 3s. 4d. Deducting the loss of 137,031 4s. 5d. shown in the previous accounts and an appropriation of £80,000 to the reserve fund, the balance to be carried forward is £3,679 18s. 1.1.d.

A Paper on Metal Bus Bodywork.

At ameeting of the London Graduates of the Institution -of Automobile Engineers to be held on March 12th .Mr. D. Swallow is to read a paper on " Metal Omnibus and Car Bodywork." L.G.O.Co.'s 1928 Report:

For the financial year ended December 31st, 1928, a final dividend of 4-i• per cent, was paid to the ordinary shareholders of the London General Onjuibus Co., Ltd.. This brings the total distribution for the year up to 8 per cent., tax free, which is an increase of 1 per cent. compared with 1927. The sum involved was £275,000. The sum of /390,000 was appropriated to the reserve fund for contingencies and renewals, an increase of 145,000. The traffic receipts were £9,591,876. The expenditure was £8,894,462, the net receipts showing an increase of £211,941.

The total number of passengers carried during 1928 was 1,434,517,654, this being 111,093,835 more than in 1927, whilst the daily passenger total averaged 4,237,866, or 328,194 more than the corresponding figure of 1927.

The number of road-miles covered by the company's buses was 1,029, the bus miles being 158,324,711. The latter figure shows an increase of 12,040,748. The bus fleet now numbers 4,065.

Progress of an Old-established Bodybuilding Concern.

The motor bodybuilding business carried en by A. Dixon, Ltd., at West Bromwich, has recently been removed to new and commodious premises in Roebuck Lane. This concern was established in 3835 and for the past 20 years has been carried on by Mr. A. Dixon, who is the present managing director. Mr. W. Boult has joined the • concern . in the capacity of manager. It • is the intention of .the company largely to concentrate on producing public-service vehicles.

New Welding Progress.

The New Welding Co. some six months ago took over larger and much better-equipped premises which are known as Hanover Works, 32-34, HanOver Street, Islington, 'London, N.1, where, apart from the works, the company has a large space where it can carry out welding repairs to chassis, etc. We draw particular attention to this change, as goods for repair are still being addressed to the old premises in Rosobery Avenue.

One of the results of the extreme frost experienced recently is that the muffle furnaces, are being filled three times daily and, unless much machining is necessary, a 24-hour service for cracked water jackets, which are tested and guaranteed, can be given.

The company specializes also in Scammell repairs, particularly the building up of valve seatings and the fitting of new sleeves to cylinders. The !deetrical side is also being developed.

K.L.G. Plugs on the Kalahari Expedition.

It is interesting to note that the eugines of the Morris-Commercial sixwheeled vehicles used in the Government Expeeition across the Kalahari Desert were especially equipped with K.L.G. sparking plugs, which have so often proved their wonderful reliability.

Sentinel Trading.

The report of the Sentinel Waggon Works, Ltd., for the year ended December 31st last, shows a profit, after meeting interest, directors' fees, etc., of £23,381, to which has to be added £2,170 brought in from the previous year. A sum of 113,706 has been provided for depreciation and the writing doivn of patents expenditure, so that a balance of £11,845 remains, this figure being increased to £23,845 by a sum of £12,000 transferred from the reserve.

The dividend for the half-year on the preference shares absorbed £11,250 and the payment of a dividend on those shares for the other half-year, at 7i. Per cent. per annum, will absorb a similar sum. After making these allocations, £1,345 remains to be carried forward.

On Thursday of this week an extraordinary general meeting of the company is being held, at which consideration will be given to the reduction of the capital of the company from £600,000 (divided into 300,000 preference shares of £1 each and 300,000 ordinary shares of £1 each) to 1550,000 (divided into 300,000 preference shares of £1 each, 100,000 ordinary shares of £1 each and 200,000 ordinary shares of .15s. each). Upon this reduction taking effect, a resolution is to be considered for increasing the capital to its former amount by the creation of 50,000 new ordinary shares of £1 each.

A Huge Transport Task.

We have received some interesting details from the British ThomsonHouston Co., Ltd., of Rugby, concerning the recent shipment of a large turboalternator to Japan, and of the part played by a large number of spescially constructed motor vehicles in dealing with the transport of the loads. In our next issue we shall publish some details and illustrations of the task of transportation and the way in which it was performed.

Gifford Representation.

We learn that Mr. J. N. Webster has opened in business as J. N. Webster and Co., at 56, Worcester Street, Wolverhampton. Mr. Webster was for a number of years with C. H. Mason and Co., Ltd., of Gateshead-on-Tyne, and, we are told, was responsible for the introduction of the Gifford commercial chassis in this part of the country.

After several successful seasons with the Gilford vehicle, Mr. Webster felt encouraged to concentrate on this chassis, and he is now distributing agent for Shropshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

Mr. W. D. Snowdon, who has acted as a Gilford service engineer in the north, is associated with Mr. Webster in this new venture. It might be added that a full range of spares will be held at Wolverhampton and servie6 will be a strong feature of the company's activities.

The Harrow Industrial Co., Ltd., informs us that it has received sit order from the Great Western Railway Co. for four Harrow 6-ton low-loading trailers.

Personal Pars.

We publish on this page a portrait of Mr. L. MacKinnon, the general manager of the Glasgow Corporation Tramways. Mr. MacKinnon has lived practically all his life in the City of Glasgow and entered the service of the corporation (in the city cleansing department) as lung ago as January, 1887.

The tramways of Glasgow have always been the property of the corporation, but, for the first 21 years, were leased to the Glasgow Tramway and Omnibus Co., Ltd. The lease:expired in June, 1894, and, as the corporation and the company could not arrive at a satisfactory settlement, the corporation decided th'itt it would operate, as well as own, the city tramways. This entailed the formation of a new department and Mr. John Young, who was then the superintendent of cleansing for the .city, was appointed the first general manager of the Glasgow Corporation Tramways.

Mr. MacKinnon acted as Mr. Young's confidential clerk from 1892, and other posts which he has held are chief traffic clerk, assistant traffic manager, head of purchasing and contracts department, traffic manager, deputy general manager and, now, general manager of the undertaking.

Apart from other interestis, be is a J.P. of the City and County of Glasgow; a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers ; a member of the Institute of Transport and a member of the execattive of the Scottish Tramways and Transport Association.

Mr. J. B. Skyrme has been appointed to the position of assistant general manager of the Belfast Omnibus Co., Ltd. For the past three years he has been with the United Automobile Services, Ltd., as district traffic superintendent of the company's eastern district with headquarters at Norwich.

Previous to joining this concern, Mr. Skyrme, soon after the war, started a bus company at King's Lynn, this being known as Norfolk Road Services, Ltd., of which he was the managing director. Under his guidance the concern Made much progress and was ultimately purchased as a going concern by the United Automobile Services, Ltd., in 1926, Mr. Skyrme then joining that company.

Mr. R. E. H. Allen, A.M.I.A.E., M.1.Ae.E., has recently been appointed managing director of Karrier Motors (Eastern), Ltd., Bombay. Mr. Allen has for the past few years been technical adviser on mechanical transport to the Royal Air Force and is the inventor of several specialized forms of technical vehicle evolved as a result of his experience.

Mr. George Mitchell, Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Paviors, has recently been elected a member of the National Council of the Roads Improvement Association, as the representative of the Asphalt Roads Association, Mr. H. MeNaul, who held the dual managership under the Gellygaer of the Electricity Department and the Omnibus Services, has resigned the bus service managership and the council is to appoint a manager for this department to fill the vacancy thes created. .

First:aid Outfits for Passenger Vehicles.

In view of the fact that considerable attention is now being paid to the equipment of certain types of passengercarrying vehicle with first-aid outfits, it is interesting to learn that Minimax, Ltd., Feltham, Middlesex, supplie,s an outfit of this kind. The contents are housed in a dust-proof metal box and are wrapped in waxed airtight envelopes so labelled that no undue time is taken in sorting out the required dressing. The equipment comprises iodine, bandages of various types, finger dressings, large wound dressings, ointment, plaster and other essentials.

An Efficient Hydraulic Jack.

The addition of pneumatic tyres to many comparatively heavy commercial vehicles, and in particular to the passenger type, has enforced the provision of really satisfactory jacks by which the time occupied during involuntary stops due to tyre trouble may be reduced to the minimum.

In this connection, it may be pointed Out that the Skyhi • hydraulic jack manufactured by Henry Miller and Co., Mileometer Works, Weimer Road, London, W.11, has been adopted as standard equipment by many of the leading chassis manufacturers. It is claimed by the maker that this device has solved the problem of jacking up the modern, low-built passenger vehicle, and we know from experience that it is well made and highly efficient. • G.W.B. Bus-licence Applications.

The Great Western Railway Co. has applied for licences to run motorbus services on the following roads, under the powers conferred upon it by the recent Act

,(1) Moreton-in-Marsh to Shipstonon Stour.

(2) Shipston-on-Stour, Ilmington, Armseott, Treddington, and Shipston-on-Stour.

(3) Shipstou-on-Stour, Treddington, Newbold, and Stratfordon-Avon.

The application is at present before the Warwickshire County Highways Committee, in so far as the Warwickshire portion of the routes is concerned, and the committee has replied stating that it has no objection to the first two mutes, but offers a criticism of the proposal for the third route as the district :Wears to be adequately served already.

The T.E. System for Heating and Ventilating Passenger Vehicles.

• It is well known that the Corporation of Glasgow has a large number of Leyland Titan buses in service. These are equipped with a special system of heating and ventilation which is known as the T.E., and is manufactured by Messrs. John Kay and Graham, 260, Main Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow, S.E.

Hot air is taken from behind the radiator and conducted to suitable outlets in both the lower and upper compartments. It is found that the supplY of heat can be made more than ample. There is DO difficulty in raising the temperature throughout a bus of any size to 30 degrees F. above that of the atmosphere outside, and this is actually more than is generally required.

Important Bus Amalgamation in the Isle of Man.

Three companies that have been in competition for passenger traffic in the Isle of Man, namely, the ManxIand Bus Services, Ltd., Manx Motors, Ltd., and the Isle of Man Road Services, have, it is understood, recently been amalgamated by the Isle of Man Railway Co., the sum involved being, it is said, £100.000.

Useful Passenger-vehicle Accessories.

S. Smith and Sons (Motor Accessories), Ltd., Cricklewood Works, London, .N.W.2, has sent us a comprehensive booklet dealing with its many accessories for passenger and other types of vehicle, these including speedometers and mileage recorders, clocks, petrol gauges, filters, tandem screen wipers, tyre pumps, spot lights and the special types of jack for which the company is well known.

We are advised that Stuart-son (Insurance), Ltd., an insurance agent and broker, 101, Leadenhall Street, London, E.C.3, has taken over the insurances previously effected by ..Stitartson, Ltd.

Remarkable Mileages with Pneumatic Tyres.

It is really surprising what remarkable mileages are being obtained from the modern pneumatic tyre specially designed for use on comparatively heavy commercial vehicles. For instance, some Seiberling Special Service tyres have been giving exceptionally good results on certain Leyland Titan double-deck buses, mileages in excess of 35,000 having been recorded ; in fact, the highest • figure is only just under the 40,000 mark, and with but few exceptions these particular tyres are still running.

They were supplied by the Seiberling Tyre Co. (Great Britain), Ltd., 140148, Tennant Street, Birmingham. They are all of 34-in. by 7-in. dimensions. The Casings are of exceedingly strong construction with 12 plies, and it is claimed that no service within the loadcarrying capacity of the tyres can be too severe ; in fact, they are recommended by the makers for the most exacting duties.

A Bus Fleet Wanted in Sweden.

In our issue dated February 5th we mentioned that the Stockhohns Centrala Omnibusaktiebolag was inviting tenders for SO motorbuses. We understand that six-cylinder machines are required and that the seating capacities must be for from 40-50 persons. Those in a position to offr British chassis -or bodies can obtain further particulars from the Department of Overseas Trade, 35, Old Queen Street, London, S.W.1, quoting reference AX. 7494. It should be mentioned that tenders have to be delivered by to-morrow, February 20th.

No Licence Without Insurance.

At a meeting of the Rotherham Watch Committee the town clerk reported that the council had now obtained powers in its discretion to refuse to grant hackney-carriage licences if the applicant fails to keep on foot an insurance with a responsible company for third-party insurance. The chief constable was was instructed to ascertain prior to the granting of any licence of this kind that the applicant has in force a third-party insurance with a company of which he approves.