inions and Queries
Page 57
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• New Outlook on Coach Design iPPOSE that all of .us, big or small, are interested in ich other's ideas and views where they concern road sport, and all are striving to "improve the breed" for general benefit. With this in mind I venture to write with my idea for an entirely new principle for coaches. have in mind an integral and rigid lightweight metal v similar to a section of aircraft fuselage, with sealed lows and ventilated mechanically. In the four positions suited for suspension would be four built-in cylinders riding vertically from the floor line to the roof quarter -5.. These would receive pistons or rams and form the to which the wheel assemblies would be attached, the ens ion being maintained by springs and compressed
All this is similar to an aircraft.
ttached to the base of each leg would be the carrier, I would resemble a fork except that on the inward there would be a saddle. The wheel assemblies would : comprise an electric motor with built-in two-speed yclic gear. The driving shaft would extend to carry a
plate to which would be attached the road wheel in usual way, except that the bolts would extend a little ler tip carry a-brake disc. The saddle already mentioned id bolt to the motor, whilst the fork would carry a ing tO support the outer end of the driving shaft. This
would also carry the hydraulic brake gear.
far, we have -a body mounted on motorized wheels suspended on compressed-air legs. The steering for 'arrangement could be orthodox, except that all four els could be arranged to steer both through a small as and for moving bodily sideways diagonally.
to supplying power I envisage an air-cooled engine ave in . mind such a type as that on the commercial swagen) direct coupled to a D.C. generator. This t would be mounted on a two-wheeled trailer and vn behind the coach. The engine would run at constant d, generating, Say, about 180 volts al 40 amps.
us current would be fed direct to charge 12 12-volt ries connected in series. The batteries would be led on shelves underneath the coach floor and arranged mi. each side, in line and utilizing as much length as ible within the wheelbase to distribute the weight so the lightweight body would not require special ;ning.
le wheel mators would draw their power from these ries through a foot-operated controller. The controller being underneath the floor in a midway position. two-speed epicyclic gear incorporated in each motor d probably be controlled manually when starting and matically when running.
s the body would be roughly sealed, mainly for cheapand weight, warm air could be bled from the aired engine cowling in cold weather.
s a basis of calculation, although I must add that I no mathematician, I think such a vehicle with a body t. in length, giving seating for 28-30 passengers, and a elbase of 13 ft., would operate satisfactorily if each sic motor was 3-h.p., continuous rating, shunt wound. lieve that a top speed on the level of 45 m.p.h. would iossible.
was prompted to consider-such a vehicle because, it led to me that coaches show such a disproportionate lit of chassis and body to actual weight carried, and
e we have to stick to what amounts to a commercial chassis with a body built on it, this state of affairs will :r really improve. In the case of coaches, minor troubles which could, in other vehicles, normally be overlooked until some convenient time such as week-ends, must be attended to at once and in consequence, if the operator is at all conscious of his duty to the public for their maximum safety, the vehicle is taken off the road.
I need not go into the details of all this and the time involved except to say that it can be a real headache, and so I started listing, what, in my opinion, would be the most desirable features for a coach. These are as follows.— Reduction of running costs, maintenance costs, and number of parts; elimination of twin wheels at the rear; lower transmission losses; four-wheel drive; four-wheel steering at will; ability to move vehicle diagonally; constant engine speed; improved and variable suspension; temporary mobility without engine; better braking power; unit overhaul without vehicle being laid up; less noise and greater accessibility.
If such a vehicle as I have outlined were practicable then the features listed above would be realised. Better braking would result not only from the reduced overall weight and the use of discs, but also from the fact that electrical regenerative braking should be possible.
With regard to the general figures mentioned for power.
would add that these are based on an overall weight, with 28 passengers, of 4 tons; reduction ratios of 5 to 1 and 8 to I, and 32 by 6 tyres. The constant charge rate of 40 amps. and the maximum discharge of 60 amps. at full power demand against zero demand at "coasting," are pure guesswork but appear to me, from ordinary motor experience, to be well on the safe side.
Jersey, C.I. S. G. Ln MAY.
Sir Walter Hannay Replies to "Vapour Trails"
VOUR excellent leading article of February 20 criticizing mine on "Air Pollution by Diesel Fumes" in the January 30 issue of the Petroleum Times cannot fail to convey to your readers, who may not have read my article, that such fumes are not a health hazard.
It is, however, common knowledge that concentrated smoke can cause death by smothering and it follows, therefore, that lesser concentrations of such fumes must he harmful to health. In fact, soot has long been recognized as a major factor in the causation of chronic bronchitis and its allied respiratory diseases.
The annual loss of some 30 million working days in this country from air pollution and the increase in respiratory diseases, with the death of about 30,000 from bronchitis last year, rather than the causation of lung cancer was the theme of my article.
The claim that it is less injurious to health to breathe the diesel-fume-polluted atmosphere of a London bus garage than to sit on the roof of that same garage is based on an analysis of the chemical constituents of such air, and totally disregards the physical properties of the carbon and oil globules present in diesel fumes.
In order to prove the injurious effects on health from diesel fumes. I have invited the Minister of Health, and any scientific gentlemen he may select, to meet me any evening at 6 o'clock in the centre of the Rotherhithe or Blackwall Tunnel to enjoy the salubrious (sic) atmosphere of concentrated acrimonious diesel fumes. May I, also. invite you to join this party ?
London, W. I. W. FERGUSSON HANNAY. 1523