The Motor Omnibus World.
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The London and .Port Talbot -Motor Company, Limited, has been.registered with an authorised. capital of ,4;10,000 in Li shares. The preliminary steps in connection with, this company were reported in our issues of the loth and 24th October, and its registered office is at Bank Chambers, Aberavon, South Wales.
A London Office.
The Atlas Engineering Company, of Levenshulme, Manchester, has taken offices at iii, Piccadilly, London, W., in the same building as that occupied by the Motor Supply Company, Limited. At this new address, it will have on view all classes of wheels, detachable rims, flanges, etc., and the composite road wheel in which this company specialises.
Our Census.
We have frequently pointed out that our fortnightly census of London's motcrbuses includes all vehicles vehich our records show to be still " in commission." The figures include all machines which are undergoing repair, or which are in depot prefatory to presentation at the annual re-licensing. Readers who follow these tables may care to know that the approximate pmportion of vehicles out on the road in service, in relation to the total given, is 67 per cent, at any one time.
An Encouraging Suggestion.
An interesting remedy has been proposed, by a correspondent in the "Daily Mirror," for excessive speed on motor vehicles in traffic. This gentleman says : " It is quite a simple matter to put a switch or switches in any position on all classes of petrol-engined vehicles. This would enable passengers, or a conductor in the case of a motor omnibus, to stop the engine from producing power by cutting off the ignition. The engine would also then act as a brake." Such an interesting suggestion should surely be elaborated .to the extent of placing a separate switch for each passenger. Nervous old ladies, we fancy, would keep their particular switches busy, but we question whether any bus, with such a passenger, would ever reach its destination.
Detachable Mudguards.
With the object of minimising the risk of mud being splashed over foot passengers, the Brussels Tramways Company, as we reported and illustrated in our issue of the 17th October, Ifitted to its motorbuses a neat mudguard, which is built up of a metal frame, on which a leather apron is fixed by means of twelve small screws. The metal frame is attached to the wing-irons of the mudguards by means of two bolts. The removal of the fitting is effected solely by the unscrewing of the two bolts from the wingirons, or the leather apron can be removed separately by the undoing of 'the twelve screws, the whole operation, in either case, taking only a few minutes. A • similar arrangement is used for the front wheels, but is fitted !so as to turn with the wheels.
Fare Revision.
We are officially advised by Sir George Gibb that no agreement was reached at the conference between railway, tube, and omnibus delegates, at Hamilton House, on Monday last. The discussion was adjourned, and the an nouncements in Monday evening's papers were premature. The above-named meeting, under Sir George Gibb's chairmanship, took place at 3.30 p.m., but there had been an earlier conference, between Sir Henry Oakley, Chairman of the Central London Ry. Co., and three representatives of London omnibus companies, at noon the same day. At this earlier conference, it was definitely agreed that penny fares should not be instituted on the old "Twopenny Tube," but that the interested omnibus companies should materially shorten the length of their penny stages on the Cheapside-Holborn-Oxford Street-Bayswater line of omnibuses.
The Great Western Railway Company fully realises the advertisement value of motor vehicles, and one of its largest Milnes-Daimlers has been touring the country in the interests of its owners. Upwards of 5,000 miles have already been covered on this particular trip.
A Vanguard Dance.
The Vanguard Social Club will hold a subscription dance on Friday, 6th December, at the Holborn Restaurant, and particulars regarding tickets of admission, etc., may he obtained from Mr. A. W. Norris, at Albany House, Albany Street, N.W.
From the Leyland Works.
We include in this issue a photograph of the motorbus which has been put in service between Haslingden and FIelmshore by the Corporation of Haslingden. The chassis is one of the standard 35h.p., "X " type, constructed by the Lancashire Steam Motor Company, Limited, of Leyland. It is fitted with Eisemann, high-tension, magneto ignition and the wheels are shod with Shrewsbury and Challiner tires. The fare for the whole distance, either way, is 2d., and 14 trips, from Haslingden to Helmshore and back, are made each day. These arrangements are, however, merely temporary ones. It is hoped that the service will be of considerable advantage to inhabitants of Helmshore, who have hitherto been forced to put up with a railway service, in which trains were run only at intervals of about two hours, passengers being landed at Haslingden Station, which is a considerable distance from the centre of the town. The motorbus will enable them to save much time, and to travel more conveniently from point to point. Crouch End Buses.
Although the present service of omnibuses between Crouch End and Victoria is conducted with horseLdrawn vehicles, we understand that motorbuses are likely to take up this road at an early date.
Direetc ra' Fees.
We desireto point out that, owing to the delay over the commencement of their services, the directors of the London Electrobus Company, Limited, drew fees only at the rate of X,soo per annum, to the r5th. July last, and not at the full rates to which they are entitled under the termsof the original prospec tus, i.e., oo for the Chairman, and .47,3oo for each other director, per annum.
Top-deck Illumination.
A refinement in motorbus furniture, and one that will be much appreciated by top-deck passengers, is the neat and effective electric-light standard which the Electrobus Company intends to fit to all its vehicles. The standard is mounted at the near-side, rear corner of the top, rail, and three incandescent lamps, with a large, saucer-shaped, reflector, throw forward a nicely-diffused light of sufficient candle-power to enable every passenger on the top deck to read without difficulty. All other lights in the vicinity were switched off, when our photograph was taken on Friday night, leaving the rosette of three lamps, with the reflector, to illuminate the top-deck, with what success we leave our readers to judge from the illustration on page 289. The other view shows the front of the standard, which, by the way, is jointed near its base, and may be lowered into a horizontal position for passing beneath the arches within the company's depdt, or when not required for use.
This company has, for some time past, been negotiating for the acquirement of the Langton Road garage, at Cricklewood, but its present depot, at Horseferry Road, Westminster, S.W., is conveniently situated and equipped for both storage and battery-changing purposes. Two of our illustrations show the essential procedure in connec_ tion with this change, which occupies only a few minutes. The accumulator galleries are suitably intersected by trolley lines, with turn-tables at several points, and the transference of a set of 44 cells, weighing something like 3ocwt., to or from the remote end of any gallery, is expeditiously carried out by means of this system.
An omnibus, on entering the garage, runs up a small ramp, and is brought to rest over the hydraulic ram. As soon as the ram, with a trolley upon it, is bearing the weight of the battery box, the supports are disconnected, and the used set of cells is rapidly dropped to the level of the trolley lines, the exchange of the old for the new then taking place. A new set of 44. cells is ready waiting, and the trolley upon which they are carried is immediately pushed under the omnibus, and elevated by the hydraulic ram. The interval, small as it is, allows a thorough inspection of the chassis to be made, so that loose bolts, or any other matters requiring attention, are highly unlikely to be missed. If anything does require adjustment or replacement, the necessary extra time is allowed, before the new set of cells is put in position and secured, this opportunity for examination being a valuable feature in the organisation of an accumulator-propelled system.
Our examination of the garage on Wednesday of last week, at the invitation of the directors of the company, justifies our saying that the electrical equipment is well arranged, and that every precaution is taken to ensure the proper charging, handling, and maintenance of the cells. It is interestingto learn that the average energy oonsump_ tion, under full load, at 12 miles per hour on the level, is 742 watts per carmile. The company purchases its current from the local electric supply company, and receives it at 400 volts, which necessitates transformation to the lower voltage of 100-120 for charging purposes. One penny per unit is paid, this cost falling upon the Electrobus Company, which also pays the battery makers 2d per mile for the supply and maintenance of the batteries.
We have not space to deal with the contents of an illustrated pamphlet, descriptive of this depot, which the Electrobus Company published a fortnight ago for the information of its shareholders and others.
Thornyeroit Orders.
Amongst recent orders received by John L Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., is a repeat one from Mr. Win. Rees, of the Emlvn Arms Hotel, NewcastleErnlyn, Wales, for a light lorry or bus chassis, fitted with a side entrance body of the shooting-brake type. Mr. Rees is well satisfied with his first vehicle of this make, which was fitted with a " composite," station-bus body and was illustrated in our issue of the 6th of June last. Another order received by this maker, and which can be directly traced to the capital record put up by the Thornycroft team during the recent trials, is from Capt. the Hon. Ottway-Cuff, of Kilkenny, who has ordered a similar chassis, fitted with a van body, for use in connection with some cabinet-making works in which that gentleman is interested. The latter vehicle will be fitted to run on paraffin, in precisely the same manner as did the Class C, gold medallist_
Commercial Cars, Limited, of Luton, has been submitting one of its 36h.p., double-deck cars for trial at Stafford, and we understand that one of its chassis has been ordered, but that this will be fitted with a special type of single-deck body. The double-deck ye_ hide, which has been carrying passengers at the rate of close upon 7,000 a week, will continue in service pending delivery of the other vehicle.
Franco-.British Exhibition.
A large number of representatives of the French and British Press were entertained to lunchoon, on Thursday last, in one or the buildings in the grounds of the Franco-British Exhibition, at Shepherd's Bush, which is to be opened in May, and an early view of the works, which are now well under way, was afforded to them. The temporary entrance for the occasion, in Wood Lane, being some distance from the tube station, a fleet of six Vanguard motorbuses had been specially chartered to convey the guests, who numbered some 400, to and from the Shepherd's Bush Station and the Exhibition grounds. The Exhibition will cover a site some 40 acres in extent.
An Australian Service.
The adjoining illustration is of a 4oh.p. Dennis bus which plys between Glen Innes and Inyerell, 509 miles north of Sydney, New South Wales. The journey is 42 miles each way, and, Inverell being 2,000 feet above Glen Innes, some steep gradients are encountered en route. The daily trip there and back is done in 7 hours, and accommodation is provided for 19 passengers and half-a-ton of luggage.