Deteriorating Roads.
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. rho Durham county surveyor has informed the County Council that very serious deterioration has become apparent on many of the main roads in the county Since the wet weather set-in, and especially on those exposedto motoromnibus traffic. This, he explains, is very largely due to the fact that for the hit three years, owing to war conditions, the quantity of material, which has been applied to the roads has been quite insufficient to replace wear . and tear. Unfortunately, it is impassible., under presentocinditions, ebtain -anything, approaching the quantities , required to carry out neeeasary repairs,.. due to the shortage Of 'supplies, -aiad more partipu-, lady, the difficulty in obtaining railway wagons.
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Tram Track Maintenance.
London local authorities are .by no means anxious to relieve' the L.C.C.,:of. the cost of the maintenance 'of tramway: tracks. At a conference, of the .L.C.;C.. and' the borough councils on the subject' the following resolutions were passed
(a) That this conference, whilst in sym.
pathy with the desire of the London County Council to relieve the tramway undertaking a tha financial burden connected with the maintenance of the Toadways in which the tramways are operated, is of opinion that the proposals put forward are not such as the metropolitan borough councils are prepared to accept; further, this conference is of opinion that the London County Council should take the whole matter into consideration ones more, with a view to their seeking to obtain relief by endeavouring to secure a larger portion of the proceeds of the Petrol Tax. (h) That, in the opinion of this conference, in consideration of the general through traffic to and from all parts of country which they accommodate, the cost of the maintenance; of main roads should be a charge upon the State.
Dominion Doings.
Temporary provision for the rapidlyincreasing demand in Scotland for Dominion tyres and other lines manufactured by the India Rubber Products Co., Ltd., a large building has been purahased c16 for warehouse and office accommodation at' 48-50, Cadogan Street, Glasgow. The present premises at 18, 13othwell Street, -will be vacated by April 1st. The management of the branch will still continue under the able direction of Mr. R. A. Whyte. The India Rubber Products Co., Lid., aLso announce the opening of a branch in Birmingham at 8, Temple Row. A stock of Dominion tyres and tubes will be carried for quick distribution in that district, and, the branch will be under the able management of Mr. T. A. Wood, who has been resident representative there,for the past five years.
Railway Lorries and -Road Wear.
has reported that the introduction of a heavy motor-Vehicle service'by' the Great Eastern Railway over the roads in the district 'will, if continued, i7ery soon necessitatea heavy :expenditure for repairs, or they Will probably require reconstruction at eansiderable cost. It is suggested that the coMicil should ascertam if the service is likely: to be a permanent one, and having regard to the fact that a line of railway is only charged upon one-fourth of the rate in an urban area, the question of obtaining some pecuniary assistance from the company towards. the maintenance of the roads is worthy 'of "consideration in the event of regular service being inaugurated. One Of Our 'features this week dealing with 'the. G.E.R.road services will be read wifla added interest in view of this
report. ----_
Bus' Service.Without Permits.. . „ . 'Thu _Durham county' surveyor reports that several new omnibus servieeS have been etain-meneed on various n3atis in the county without the,' consent of the focal authority, ai required, and he is making inquiries into the matter.
Aftermath of Osterley Park.
With regard to. the Heston and Isleworth Urban District Council's claims for alleged damage to roads by traffic in connection with the Osterley Park Motor Transport Depot, theWar' Department has concurred in the proposal for a settlement by a payment of £5,792 toward work estimated to cost £11,356.
A No-name Chassis
American Motors, Ltd., advise us that from now onwards all the business of the company will be divided as follows London office will deal with all business connected with the British Dominions and British Isles, Colonies and Dependencies. The offices at 290, Avenue Brugmann, Brussels, will deal with all Continental matters, whi/st the New York headquarters will deal with bust ness from all other parts of the world. Mr. Arnott, who is now in America, has advised the London 'office that -the company will shortly be placing on the market three new models of cffirimereial vehicles. A 20 h.p. chassis fitted with electric lighting and starting outfit will also be available in quantities. 'It will be-supplied without a. name, So that any dealer wishing to establish his own trade mark and goodwill will be able to do so.
z Lorry Buses Farewell.
The canvas-topped lorrybuses which for many months past have renderedmuch assistance in relieving the passenger-traffic congestion in London have
now been taken off the streets. The
L.G.O.-'Co. have been able to supplement the existing fleet of B-type buses by some which have come out of the repair shops and by others which have been rebuilt from war emergency vehieles. The first lorrybus was put on to the streets of London on June 2nd, and by the 13th of that month 38 vehicles were in operation. The highest number run ning on any one day was 168. Although the company stated that they were losing fid. per mile on each lorry, theykept them running irrespective of this Joss-in order to relieve the situation which had become very trying for fin travelling public.
More Buses for Edinburgh.
As a result of the success which has attended the running of motorbuses in Edinburgh, a sub-committee of the town council has resolVed to recommend the purchase of 30 additional buses at a cost of £25,000. It is said that 18 months -will elapse before this number can actually be obtained. Alterations at the Shrubhill depot to _accommodate the additional vehicles will involve an ex penditure' of £4,200, '