News of the Week
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
M.O.W.T. DEFENDS R.H.O. PERSONNEL
THE M.O.W.T. has replied to certain criticisms of its Road Haulage Organization published in the Report of the Select Committee on National Expenditure. In particular, it defends lorry drivers and unit controllers, claiming that whilst economy in mileage in the summer months may have borne hardly on many drivers who had previously been earning overtime and
. could no longer do so, under existing • conditions they have every reason and encouragement to work intensively, and it cannot be accepted is a general statement that drivers are losing heart.
The Ministry strongly disagrees with the suggestion that unit controllers have signally failed in their operational duties, and cannot accept as just to them the suggestion that they are not interested in observing economy on any particular journeys because they have no financial incentive. Freight charges will be examined as suggested by the Committee, but it is pointed out that to average the different charges of controlled undertakings throughout the country would accentuate the difficqlties of the industry.
The Ministry is satisfied that, in the main, concerning the work of divisional and area road haulage officers, the staffs are giving of their best under conditions of pressure.
PROGRESS OF HAULIERS' CO-OPERATIVE POOL
THEgrowth of Barnsley and District Transport, a Yorkshire road haulage operators' co-operative pool, the formation of which was reported in this journal a few months ago, is indicated by a newspaper advertisement in Which the undertaking invites applications for the position of traffic manager. According to this announcement, the organization is now operating with some 200 vehicles. It was formed for the purpose of carrying Yorkshire outcrop coal obtained under, the Government scheme for the development of surface coal workings.
That part of its operations which concerns the transport of the coal from excavation sites to the screening points, preparatory to sorting for distribution, comes under the gis of the M.O.W.T. Road Haulage Organization. The chairman of the pool, which has offices at 19, Regent Street, Barnsley, is Mr. J. T. Rodwell, of Messrs. Rodwell and Sons, Wombwell, near Barnsley.
PROPOSED I.R.T.E. PROGRESS DROSPECTIVE members of the 1 Institute of Ro ad Transport Engineers, which is in the process of formation, will be glad to learn of the progress which is being made.
The draft memorandum and articles of association, prepared by the solicitor under the instructions of the subcommittee; are being duplicated for despatch to all members of the organizing committee. These documents, with any amendments suggested, will be considered at a meeting to be held at an early date.
A.R.O. BRINGS LIBEL ACTION I N an action for libel brought by
Associated Road Operators, Ltd., in which the defendants were the proprietors, printers and the two editors of the monthly journal, " Transport Management," a settlement was reached out of court, the matter being merely " mentioned," each counsel making a statement.
The defendants have apologized and have agreed to publish a full report of thearoceedings in the next issue of the journal in question, also to indemnify plaintiff in respect of costs.
The statement concerned in the action was published in the issue for January,' 1944, and suggested that A.R.O. was not properly protecting the interests or safeguarding the welfare of its members, in particular, its smaller haulier members. Counsel for the defendants said they recognized that the statement should not have been published and that the suggestions made were unwarranted. SHORT-DISTANCE HAULIERS' PANEL OF S.J.C. SOUGHT
A SUGGESTION that a shortt 'I distance hauliers' panel of the Standing Joint Committee be formed was put before Mr. R. W. Sesvill, National Director, Associated Road Operators at a Leeds meeting of Yorkshire members of the Association on Monday last. The suggestion was coupled with complaints of Yorkshire cases in which short-distance hauliers were said to be robbed of traffic by the M:O.W.T. road-haulage-organization vehicles. Declaring that to keep them employed such vehicles were doing jobs outside their scope under the Government scheme, one speaker asserted that 5-ton lorries were employed on work suitable for horse transport. Pleading for a short-distance hauliers' panel, Mr. R. Peddy, of Hull, said this would afford a direct channel through which they could put such complaints before the Ministry. Mr. SewilI said that the use of Ministty vehicles as stated in complaints was negation of intentions of Government scheme, He had recently made representations to the Ministry about a similar instance in the Metropolitan area. As to the suggested short-distance hauliers' panel, he thought that there was adequate Association machinery for putting forward their complaints.
Mr. Sewill mentioned that the S.J.C. was negotiating with the National Farmers' Union on national rates for harvest transport.
BODY DESIGNER-DRAUGHTSMAN REQUIRED
ASWANSEA concern requires the services of a first-class designerdraughtsman capable of dealing with designing and costing bus and coach bodies. A good salary will be paid. Letters should be addressed " Designer Draughtsman," care of the Editor,
KEEPING ASSOCIATION MEMBERS INFORMED
FOLLOWING the letter from Mr. 1. Denis F. Pilkington, published in our issue dated Jane 30, in which he supported the suggestion that all members of the new National Road Transport Federation and its associations should be supplied with a bulletin, we have received a comment from Mr. G. W. Quick Smith.
The latter • tells us that he has had this idea in mind for a long time, but when there were so many different bodies it would have been difficult to attain. However, now that the number is to be so greatly reduced, it is the intention that members shall be kept fully informed by a bulletin, whilst in all probability more detailed information will be circulated to area committees. Members will certainly be pleased to hear of this projected arrangement. ENORMOUS DEVELOPMENT OF ROAD TRANSPORT PROPHESIED
ADDRESSING the National Union of Railwaymen at Edinburgh last Monday, Mr. F. J. Burrows, the president, said that the development of road transport would be so enormous, with everything in its favour, that the railways as at present constituted
• cannot hope to compete in the scramble for traffic.
He, of course, used this in an endeavour to put forward a convincing argument that only complete public ownership of transport would save the railwaymen froth disaster. GLASGOW CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF TRANSPORT
ONJuly 1. Glasgow celebrated its 50th year of corporation transport. No fewerthan 3,000 horses formed the " fleet " in the initial years and, to-day, the transport department of the corporation has in service 1,500 vehicles which are responsible for carrying 700,000,000 passengers a year; in 1894 the total tarried was 61,000,000.
The fleet includes trams and oil. engined and petrol buses, many' of the oilers having been converted for producer-gas operation. Petrol-eng,ined buses were first introduced in 1924, when 14 machines were installed at Larkfield; the number to-day -is 400. ,
Fares have been maintained at a low level throughout and the transport department is justifiably proud of the fact that, notwithstanding, its operations ire financially sound.
The present general manager is Mr. E. R. L. Fitzpayne, who transferred to Glasgow from Edinburgh in 1938: SPEEDING UP PAYMENT OF OPERATORS' ACCOUNTS
COMPLAINTS against the Road Haulage organization of the M.O.W.T.; because of the delays in the payment of operators' accounts, including demurrage charges, were referred to by Mr. G. J. Mullany, at last week's meeting of the Council of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce. He said that an officer of the Ministry had given him a verbal assurance that, owing to the publicity given to this matter since it was raised at a meeting of the Road Transport Section, it was now receiving
special attention. He was informed that outstanding accounts would be disposed of within the next five or six weeks.
The Road Transport Section of the Chamber reported that representations had been made to the Divisional Road Haulage Officer, who indicated that accounts outstanding for 1943 were the subject of unusual circumstances but that, if the Section would submit details of accounts overdue, an investigation would be made.
Operators stated that they could not
submit accounts to the Ministry immediately work was completed because they cannot obtain from the Ministry the rate permitted to be' charged for the various classes of haulage ; also that this position was peculiar to the Liverpool Area office and, despite representations over a period of more than 12 months, there had been no improvement in the position. The suggestion was made that the present unsatisfactory position arose from the Ministry's inability to secure sufficient trained personnel to handle the accounts.
.INSURANCE OF MOTOR GOODS VEHICLES
'INSURERS of motor goods vehicles /employed within a gioup scheme, despite the removal of certain restrictions on A. B and C licences and other concessions, have agreed to the arrangements being kept in force until September 30.
OBITUARY
It is with regret that we announce the death of MR. L. M. TURNHAM, general manager of London Coastal Coaches, Ltd., and Samuelson New -Transport Co., Ltd. It will be remembered that he had a great deal to do with the building of the well-known coach station at Victoria; which, until the period of the war, did so much to bring the advantages of coach travel to the attention of the public.
We regret to annotince the death of MR. CHARLES PERCY BEET HAM, transport manager to the Bradford Dyers' Association. He had been transport chief for 25 years and was a past-chairman of the Yorkshire Section of the Institute. of Transport. He had control of the motor vehicles of some 30 concerns in the B.D.A. and, apart from his duties in connection with organization and maintenance, he took pains to encourage drivers to seek safe-driving awards under the scheme of the National Council for the Prevention of accidents. He had had engineering experience at motor-Vehicle works in England, France, Italy and the United States. . REGIONAL TALK ON I.M.T.
EDUCATIONAL POLICY •
V'VIEWS on the question of impleV menting the educational policy which the Institute of the Motor Trade has adopted for promoting improvement in educational and training facilities for the personnel of the retail, side of the motor industry, were exchanged at a recent inter-regional I.M.T. conference representative of: Yorkshire, East Lancashire, Cheshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The conference, at Nottingham, was, under the chairmanship of the Institute's .president, Mr. Stanley Dawes, of Southampton.
TRIBUTE TO M.A.A. DIVISIONAL .CHAIRMAN
*TRIBUTE to the services which have
been rendered to the Motor Agents' Association by Mr. P. R: Baugh, of the Lodestar Motot Co., commercial-vehicle specialist, Sheffield, was voiced at a presentation which members of the Yorkshire Divisional Committee made to him in Leeds, last week, in appreciation of his chairmanship qf the Yorkshire Division last year. For several years he was chairman of the Division's commercial-vehicle committee until its disbandment in 1943. The gift, a gold fountain pen, was handed to Mr. Baugh by his successor as divisional chairman, W. I. White, of Holtby; White and Co., Bridlington.
BOOKLET ON MACHINING ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
BULLETIN No. 7, issued by the Wrought Light Alloys Development Association, Union Chambers,. 63, Temple Row, Birmingham, 2, is entitled "Machining of Wrought Aluminium Alloys." This subject is of great importance because of the large number of factories and employees engaged upon this work. It -is claimed to present the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of current practice yet published in English.
It includes hitherto unpublished data supplied by the leading makers of machine tools especially designed for use with these alloys. Copies are obtainable, at is., from the above address.