PASSENGER TRAVEL NEWS.
Page 58
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The Latest Doings and Developments in the Bus and Coach World.
A SIX-WHEELED OBSERVATION COACH.
A 25seater Vehicle, on Giant Pneumatic Tyres, which is Used by the Bus Company of Berlin.
IATE HAVE already mentioned in V V these columns that the Allgemeine Berliner Omnibus Gesellschaft—the German equivalent to the London General Omnibus Co., Ltd.—in addition to providing Berlin with services by a large and up-to-date fleet of buses, is also catering extensively for the demand for coaching and other excursion facilities. In this connection, the latest production of the Aboag, the name by which the company is generally known, is the striking six-wheeled touring coach shown in the accompanying illustrations.
So far as the chassis is concerned, it is sufficient to say that this is one of the Bussing standard six-wheelers fitted with a 9.35 litre engine which is rated at 7-5 h.p. Interest in-the new vehicle chiefly lies in its two-tier body. Apart from the driver, whose compartment is entirely enclosed on the near side of the chassis, accommodation is provided for 25 passengers, 10 being seated in the forward, low-platform portion of the coach—this part is approximately 2 ft. 6 ins, above the ground—and 15 in the rear, raised compartment, the floor level of which is 5 ft. 5 ins, above the road. On the near side of the coach the seats are arranged in pairs and on the off side they are plachd singly, the width of the gangway being 1 ft. 31 ins.
Whilst no attempt at providing ultra luxury has been made in the finish and equipment of the interior of the body, which was built by the Aboag,'s affiliated concern, the Wagenbau-werke Gesellschaft, of Berlin, the passengers are accommodated in comfortable spring-upholstered seats.
Access from the lower to the raised compartment is by way of two steps, which are 214 ins wide, but bannister rails reduce the effective width to 171 ins. The space below the floor level of the observation section at the rear is used as a luggage compartment. This space, which is reached by way of a large door at the rear, measures 13ft.
.1340
1 in. long, 6 ft. 6 ins, wide, and 2 ft. 9 ins. deep. Below this luggage compartment is accommodation for a spare wheel and tyre, whilst below the floorboards at the front near side of the vehicle are two large tool lockers.
The coach is provided with a single door at the front off side,this being the near side, according to German road practice. The opening and closing of the door are controlled from the driver's seat.
It will be noted that the coach is flushsided, and the mounting step, which is 13 ins, above the ground level, is hidden by the closed door. An emergency door 1 ft. fli ins, wide is, however, provided at the rear of the body, above the luggage compartment. On the inside of this door is a.folding seat which serves not only to accommodate an extra passenger when necessary, bet, when the emergency door has to be brought into use, this seat can, after the door is opened, be tilted over so that it forms a step, to facilitate dismounting. At the rear of the lower portion of the vehicle is a lavatory compartment, measuring 3 ft. 3* ins. by 2 ft, 8i ins.
The road wheels are of the G.F., Simplex cast-steel, detachable-rim type, and are shod with 44-in. by 12-in, pneumatic tyres, these, together with those of the same size on the Aboag 82-seater double-deck bus (previously illustrated in these pages) being, it is claimed, the largest pneumatics used so far. Herr Quarg, the engineer to the Alai:fag concern, informs us that not only have the suspension and easy-riding qualities of the vehicle exceeded all expectations, but that these large tyres have proved extremely economical in use, the 82-seater bus having already covered about 11,250 miles without tyre trouble of any kind.
The main portion of the exterior of the body is painted in a sand-grey colour, the bands above and below the windows being in green and the exterior of the roofs in white. From the dash to the extreme rear, the body has a length of 30 ft. 11 ills., the floor length of the lower compartment being approximately 15 ft. 4 ins, and of the upper section 14 ft. 91 ins. The inside width of the coach is approximately 7 ft., the exterior width being 7 ft. 5 ins,, and the overall height 11 ft. 4 ins. The length of the vehicle is 34 ft, 1 in.