Passing Comments
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TROUBLES which have been experienced with the bearings of some oil engines have caused something of a revolution in ideas on this subject, and following steel-backed white metal, we now have duralumin rods bearing direct on hardened crankpins. The results are very promising.
IN a letter recently sent to the Press by Sir Josiah Stamp, he stated that it was the wish of the railways that there should be a proper allocation of road costs, so that private cars and light trade vehicles should mot subsidize heavy, trade vehicles. Such sympathy, for the first two classes of road user is indeed touching. IN his anxiety to tax the fuel of compression-igni tion engines used for road transport, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has placed a far heavier burden upon many other interests, which have taken up the cudgels against the imposition., AN amusing incident occurred, at a recent .sitting of the Southern Traffic Commissioners, at Bournemouth, when a police constable requested those in the court to. remove their cars from the street, as they were obstructing the traffic. In this connection, it may be pointed out that one of the functions of the Traffic Commissioners is to avoid congestion . M. E. HILLMAN'S fine fleet of wireless-equipped De Havilland Dragon aircraft serves many good purposes. At present Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Mollison are utilizing these machines and the Hillman Romford aerodrome for test flights in a Dragon in connection with their proposed flight across the Atlantic.
IN a recent issue we mentioned the stimulus given to the goods haulier by slum clearance. No less does it stimulate the passenger-carrying side of the industry. Houses to accommodate the former slum dwellers, or those higher up the social scale—the previous occupants of the dwellings into which the inhabitants of the slums have rnigratedare being built on large areas on the outskirts of towns, and this obviously necessitates new bus services or the enlargement of eXisting ones.
THE National Union of Manufacturers is not sparing in its condemnation of those forces which are attempting to arrest the development of road transport. In a recent issue of its journal, the Union remarked that the attempt to arrest road-. transport progress at a particular point, in the interests of Nit declining form of transport is a negation of the principles which have led to the growth of our industry during the past century, including that of the railways, and is "a sin against the light."
MAKERS Of oil vaporizers are still encountering a good deal of prejudice against devices of this class, but not so much from vehicle proprietors as from drivers. We are informed that an operator who recently decided to change over to oil as fuel, employing vaporizers, raised the wages of his drivers in order to assure himself of their co-operation in the new departure. The economy effected by the use of this fuel enabled him, we understand, to increase his operating costs. in this way and still be in pocket. ANY doubt as to the success of the oil engine and the service it can give should be dispelled by the fact. that, in public-service work alone, A.E.C. • oilengined vehicles have covered over 9,000,000 miles.
IN 1932 the new members elected into the Royal
Automobile Club numbered 440. This -worldrenowned club continues, in its many departments, conscientiously to serve the road user—the benefits of its competitions, its legal and technical work, its highway patrols and signs being enjoyed by members and non-members alike.
IT is quite possible that Mancboukuo, formerly known as Manchuria, a vast country of over 30,000,000 people, may one day be a useful field for British trade. Lieut.-Colonel H. St. Clair Smallwood, who planned the first air routes ever organized in China, has recently stated that it is quite utitrue that the Manchoukuo Government has imposed a ban on foreign traders other than the Japanese. He also stated that half the inhabitants have migrated from China since Japan suppressed lawlessness and developed mines, roads and other public works.
IT costs too much to travel by taxi, and the busi ness would be better if it were possible to reduce the rates. With the ordinary taxicab that is hardly practicable, and the question arises as to whether there is scope for a vehicle allowing lower operating costs. The three-wheeler offers obvious possibilities, and one maker has produced a saloon model admirably suited to taxi service. It is understood that Scotland Yard is, so far, unwilling to license it, but that difficulty should not be insuperable. If three-wheeled taxis become popular in the Provinces, their adoption in London should be only a matter of time.