News and Comment.
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r'77-, This journal fosters, represents, and chronicles commercial motoring in all its branches; our regular weekly circulation exceeds 8,000 copies, exclusive of any extra mailings of special issues.
Nearly half of this issue is devoted to. the forthcoming trials. •
Mr.. Henry Sturm cy,
M.I.A.E., contributes an article to-day (pages 642 and 643), in the course of which he discusses certain structural anomalies which, according to the competitors' specification forms, will be found to exist as, between different competingvehicles in certain classes.
Time Schedules.
Mr. Orde has carefully arranged the hours of departure, with a view to the successive arrival of the competing vehicles at the stoppingplace each afternoon. Vehicles will he dispatched as follows : In classes F, G, and H, at 7.30 a.m. ; class D, at 8.30 a.m. ; class C, at 8.45 a.m. ; class. E .(half of), at 9 a.m. ; class A; at 9.30 a.m.. ; class B, at 9.45 a.m.; and class E (half of), at to am. ft is 'expected that fhe. ,arrivals will begin about_ 2.36 .p. m.. and continue, bar acciden ts, until about 5 p.rn.. ori each day, Punctual Starting.
We are glad to note that the Club has '.i1Cclded to 'offer in money, and a silver medal, in each class, and that these awards will be -given._ to the drivers. It is a great thing to instil the quality of punctuality,. and the encouragement which the 'Club thus gives is sufficient to provide the:necessary extra incentive. It is also worthy of note that it is intended to require. .that no vehicles shall arrive before certain specified times, as this will prot:cnt the scandalous racing which .has eharacterised recent competitions of tbelz.ind in France. Nothing is so essential to success as uniform running and steady. driving: early arrivals will he penalised.
Interesting Functions.
The .competitors, judges, and observers are invited to meet the Trials Cormiaittee, at the Royal Automobile
Club, / Piccadilly, W., to-morrow (Friday) at 6 o'clock p.m., and the inaugural dinner will, as we have previously announced, take place the following night (Saturday) at the Trocadero Restaurant, It is not too late to secure -a ti-C.ket for this dinner, and any supporter of commercial motoring who desires to be present can secure one by seeiog• that his instructions, together with a remittance at the rate of one, guinea .per seat, are in the hands of the Secretary of the Club by not later than noon to-morrow. (Friday).
The first of the lectures by the Editor of this journal, in connection with the Trials, is announced on page 626.
No Local Committees.
We are sorry that it has not been found practicable to arrange local committees at any of the larger towns through which the trials will pass. We understand that certain tentative efforts in this direction were made, and there were, no doubt, good reasons for not proceeding further, as some contemplated branch of the organisation has invariably to be abandoned in a matter of this kind. At the same time, having regard to the great assistance that was rendered by influential local committees at the time of the third Liverpool Trials, we can only express our regret at the absence of this feature on the present occasion.
Water Analyses.
We are gratified to find that a number of owners of wagons and tractors have already availed themselves of our offer to undertake the analysis of water with a view to the furnishing of a report as to the best procedure to secure a reasonable degree of softening before use in any boiler. We have been congratulated upon this new facility, and we hope it may be possible hereafter to reduce the special terms which we have secured in the interests of our readers.
Next Commercial Show.
'The Second International Commercial Motor Exhibition of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders will be held, at Olympia, from the 26th March to the 4th April next, and the first ballot for space is to take place on the 17th proximo.
Back from Belfast.
A standard 6-ton " Sentinel " wagon by Alley and MacLellan, Limited, of Polmadie, Glasgow, has just been shipped from Belfast by the Midland Railway Company, as the machine is now required elsewhere, the strike of carters having terminated.
An Offer Pending.
The first meeting of creditors of the Motor Car Emporium, Limited, was held at the office of the Official Receiver in Carey Street, W.C., on Tuesday last, when a committee of three was appointed to consider an offer from the company, whose directors hope to make the necessary arrangements to continue the business. At Untertiirkheim, the Daimler engineers have been trying a 16-axle motor train built for the Prussian War Office. It will see service in the forthcoming manceuvres, and will be afterwards consigned to a detachment of the Transport Service in Berlin.
Better Roads.
The " South American Journal" reports that the old wagon-road between Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and the Pacific port of San Lorenzo has now been permanently opened to public use, after very thorough repairs with a view to its being made suitable for the passage of automobiles. The distance between the two places named is about 75 miles, but we are unable to gather whether the strength of the road is such as to fit it for heavy goods traffic or only for private cars. It is,
however, interesting to note that during the last three years of President Bonilla's administration close upon one million dollars have been exiferided on the improvement of this main road, and there appears to be .a tendency to
spend money freely in this direction in other parts of Central and South American republics.
On Hire.
We learn that a Scheibler chassis, which at one time was carrying passengers for the London Motor Omnibus Company, Limited, has been fitted with a Milnes-Daimler engine and hired out to Barclay, Perkins and Company, Limited, for the cartage of beer. It takes a four-ton load, and we are informed that it is carrying out its jobbing work very satisfactorily, the rate of payment being upon a mileage basis with a minimum guarantee per week.
Tractor Business.
Robey and Company, Limited, of Globe Works, Lincoln, is rapidly finding good markets for its tractors, and rhe latest shipment is of two sets. One of these, to the order of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, is illustrated below. We hope, in an early issue, to be able to give a detailed description of the Robey tractor, which machine attracted a considerable amount of attention at Lincoln on the occasion of the Royal Agricultural Society's Show in June.
This Lincoln company also builds a good type of five-ton steam wagon, and it is now giving an increasing amount of attention to the demands of the roadlocomotive department. Illustrations to Hand.
We referred last week to recent Lacre deliveries, including the vans for John Line and Company, Limited, of Tottenham Court Road, W., and the South Metropolitan Gas Company, Limited, and we are now able to illustrate these utility machines.
An August Registration.
The New Engine (Motor) Company, Limited, was incorporated on the 22nd ultimo, with its registered office at Acton Tlill Works, Acton, W., with an authorised capital of E,5o,00a divided into i shares, its principal object being the adoption of an agreement with Messrs. J. C. and G. F. Mart.
French Manceuvres.
As has already been stated in " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," a number of•commercial vehicles will undertake the heavy haulage and transport of provisions in the important Army manceuvres which will lake place in the South of France from September • 12th fo the 18th. These-vehicles were carried by a special train on Sunday last to Bor
deaux, the base of operations. Here they will be stationed during the manoeuvres, proceeding to the points indicated daily by the Commander-in-Chief of the troops. The following makes have been selected by the Minister of War to serve the commissariat :—Berliet (six vehicles), De Dion-Bout:on (four), Purrey (four), Cohendet (three), Darra Serpollet, E. Brilffe, Lorraine Dietrich, and Pantz (two each); Orion, Mors, Peugeot, Panhard-Lcyassor, Turgan, Delaugere-Clayette, Emress, and Aries (one each) -a total of no less than 34.
Motorcab Profits.
Accounts from both Paris and Berlin show that the prosperity of the early days of motorcab operation has given place to that inevitable period of depressiin which follows excessive optimism in any class Of industrial work. Dri*I'S have been finding their tips dwindle lower and lower, as an increasing number of cabs were brought into competition, and many amateur proprietors are struggling with repair and maintenance charges which did not assert themselves _during the first twelve
monthsof "London -companies • may expect similar experiences, although the lesser charges in this country for petroleum spirit, and the more systematic manner in which the business is being tackled by the principal Metropolitan companies, should avert the financial ruin which has already overtaken a -number of the smaller ov,•nerS in I the FiTrich and GErtruan. capitals.
Red Bdok.
The latest " Red book " (No. 122) of the British Fire Prevention Committee is of special interest to users of petrol or other highly inflammable or explosive fluids. Although primarily concerned with tests in corinection with modern methods of building construction, the committee has recently under_ taken a series of tests with safety
devices fitted to petrol tanks. One of these comprised a combination of a metal safety plug and an interior, wiregauze safety tube, constructed on the well-known principle of the Davy lamp. The device was submitted to the committee by Cairn's Patents, Ltd., of London It would appear from the various tests that the metal safety plug, as applied to the stopper or cap of a petrol tank, or other metal vessel containing petrol, is of great value as a safeguard against -explosion,for the plug effectually prevents the bursting of closed vessels when in a fire, and the consequent dispersal of their contents. The safety tube of gauze is intended to prevent the explosion of vapour and air in a vessel on the application of a flame. To note the effect of fire, metal vessels containing 2.641 quarts of petrol were placed in a bon-fire of wood-wool and wood. In no instance did the petrol tanks fitted with the safety plug and .gauze tube explode or burst, when subjected to the above test, whereas vessels not fitted with the safety device did explode and scattered their contents over a considerable. area... In one of the latter cases,. the flay-ic7li7avelNd. Cfeet along a Pc-inch pipe and caused the explosion of more petrol vapour. We commend the book to the notice of our readers, as it contains much of interest in its 24 pages. The price is two shillings and sixpence and the book may be obtained at the office of the Corninittee, t, Waterloo Place, Pall Mall, S.W. There is certainly no excuse for the omission of the simple precautions which it so tersely explains.