Mr. Henry Sturmey's Views on Motorcabs.
Page 3
Page 4
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The fittingof a taximeter does not necessarily make a taxicab, and, whilst it is not obligatory everywhere to fit the taximeter upon a cab, either motor or horse propelled, neither is one compelled, to use always just exactly the same sort of vehicle, when a taximeter, for cabwork, is in question. Efforts have recently been made to arrive at some sort of a standard in regard to rnotorcab construction, and some manufacturers are inclined to argue for the establishment of one standard specification, to which everyone could work. This would be no doubt, a great advantage from a manufacturing point of view, and it would be an advantage from the users point of view too, provided that the conditions of cab work were everywhere the same; but this is not so, and no one knows it better to-day than the horsecab proprietor. I think it would be a calamity for any one universal model to be adopted as suitable for all places. The operations, therefore, of one or more large companies, running cabs throughout the Provinces, all of one type and one model, are scarcely calculated to be altogether successful, to say nothing of the fact—which some local authorities are, I am glad to see, recognising—that local interests require some consideration. Of course, if the whole of the horse-cab proprietors in any town are so much behind the times as to refuse to give the public the benefit of motor conveyance, then the "big London Company," in fairness to the public, should have a look in. If, however, the local proprietors are willing to supply the demand, in common fairness they should have the first consideration.
Beware of Cheapness and Complication.
In the first place, the fact must be kept well in view that the motorcab, like the horse cab, is a commercial proposition, and it is not merely necessary to provide a pretty vehicle, or one that merely " takes one's fancy," for, after all, the most important question for the cab owner to consider is the vital question of cost of upkeep, running, and repairs. The unduly cheap cab may always be looked upon with suspicion, for the manufacture of medium-powered motor vehicles of all kinds has now got down to such a rock-bottom basis that great price reductions can only be made by great differences in the materials employed. It will be found that most of the cabs offered to the public come out at pretty much the same price, and the purchaser can rest assured that, in this price competition, a good article has about found its level. As has before now been remarked in these columns, simplicity is a virtue, in cab construction particularly, not only so far as constructional details are concerned, but also in the methods of control. Methods which are all right, and give quire the best results in the hands of the skilled and specially-trained chauffeur, or of the enthusiastic and practical amateur, are not necessarily, by any means, the best to adopt for vehicles which will be placed in the charge of men who are neither highly paid, nor highly skilled. The fewer the operations calling for exact judgment, and exact knowledge of cause and effect, the better. The cabs are likely to last longer and to give better results. In regard to constructional details, too, this same point of simplicity is important, because of the one great and ever-present fact, in mechanical matters, that every additional part is a possible source of weakness; so that, the fewer the parts, and especially the working parts, which are embodied in the mechanical construction of the vehicle, the better.
Two or Four Cylinders?
I agree that four-cylindered vehicles will be required, for certain classes of work, but, at the same time, I would point out that such work usually calls for a different vehicle from a cab. It is livery-stable work, rather than cab work, and calls for what may be termed livery cars, which will probably be of greater capacity, both in seating and power, and with greater refinements of fitting, than will be necessary or desirable in the cab proper. This is a side of the business which the lc-cal proprietor will have to consider, but he will have to consider it separately from the question of
cabs as such. I regard the two-cylinder engine, which, today, is chiefly used in cab construction, as a much sounder business proposition than the four-cylinder engine for legitimate cab work.
Unnecessary Speed.
I suppose that, wherever cabs may be used, high speed is not necessarily a factor of really high importance. I was much struck, at the Olympia Exhibition, at the call for speed made by the large number of taxicab drivers who visited the show. " l-low fast will it go? " was the chief question with many of them, their one idea seeming to be to possess or drive a cab which could knock out "the other fellow's." Now, whilst there may be a call for what I may term " Express Cab " service, it must be remembered— and kept in view very strongly too—that, all other things being equal, speed means heavier upkeep costs. A cab which can go fast, will be made to go fast. Of that we may be certain, and, more especially in the hands of comparatively unskilled drivers, speed means possible trouble all round. The faster a car, the greater the danger from collision and from side-slips. It is probably of more importance still, that high speed also means greater expense in upkeep and renewal of parts, more particularly in regard to tires. A fast cab will be pulled up quickly and started quickly, and the wear and tear on tires will be great ; and, when all is said and done, does the public really want highspeed cabs? I do not mean the man who uses a cab in place of his own car, but I mean members of the general public who are not motorists, but are used to horse cabs. Accustomed to the more sedate speed of the horse vehicle, high speed frightens them, and, seeing that, at 2o miles an hour, they are getting to their destinations three times as quickly as they would with a horse vehiCle, there is no reason why they should be taken along at 30. Cab proprietors are not running their vehicles for the fun of the thing, and their cabs should be designed to run at a speed which, whilst giving the public all reasonable facilities in that direction, shall be as little productive of expenditure to the owner as possible.
A Plea I or the Solid Tire.
It stands to reason, of course, that a cab which will often be heavily loaded requires sufficient power to deal with severe gradients, and this question of power will be more important according to the locality, whether it is hilly or otherwise. A cab which would be perfectly satisfactory in Lincolnshire, or London, for instance, would be less so in, say, Leeds or Sheffield. And, especially for station work, where probably four-seated bodies and large baggage accommodation will be features in demand, I do not think it is at all necessary to have pneumatic tires. Of course, to be a success with solid tires, a vehicle must be built for them, and this, very few indeed are. The makers know it, and consequently either refuse to fit solids, or strongly discourage their use; but, to the cab proprietor with vehicles averaging, say, 60 miles per day, the choice between pneumatic tires and solids will
probably mean anything from to ;6:too a year to him in tire upkeep. It will probably be argued by the advocates of pneumatics, that what is saved in tire upkeep will be spent in chassis repairs. This would be undoubtedly true, where a chassis designed for use with pneumatics is mounted upon solid tires ; but, even so, a very extensive series of chassis repairs can be done for Zioo—in fact, both engine and gear, and differential, could be entirely replaced for the figure in most factories. If solids are used, the pace must be kept down. It is pace that kills, and pace which has killed with solid tires on pleasure cars, because, having the pace, the driver has always used it, regardless of his tires. Satisfactory running on solid tires requires that a cab must not be capable —by reason of its gearing—of travelling at a greater speed than 20 miles an hour. If this i8 arranged for, and a chassis selected which has been designed for use with solids, satisfaction may be looked for, but, otherwise, the reverse. For ordinary station work, however, and for use in most towns, such pace as this is ample, and, of course, a low-geared car is, power for power and weight for weight, a better hill climber, and this will be important in very hilly districts. Luggage Accommodation.
Finally, there comes the question of baggage capacity, and here the motorcab as generally known has, in the past, been considerably deficient. It is, indeed, a difficult matter to get large baggage room with the cramped conditions necessitated by the Scotland-Yard regulations, but the elimination of the second scat in front of the vehicle—which Scotland Yard now calls for—gives baggage space which did not exist before, and this, too, in quite the right place for baggage, which is thus placed under the observation of the driver, a condition which cannot obtain when baggage is carried upon a luggage grid at the rear of the vehicle, which is another place where it may be taken.
The idea of putting heavy baggage on the roof, either of the vehicle itself, or on a driver's canopy, certainly does not commend itself to me. There are several objections to this
course. In the first place, especially if placed over the driver's head, it renders the car top heavy. With a " growler" type of body,without a canopy, baggage can be satisfactorily taken on the roof, but anything forward of this may upset the balance of the car considerably ; besides which, it is difficult to see how heavy baggage can be placed on a canopy top without considerable acrobatic capability on the part of the driver. Anyway, an arrangement which may be suitable for light baggage in a touring car, where any amount of time can be taken up in getting it there and removing it, once only in a day, is quite unsuited for cab work, where expedition is necessary, and where baggage will have to be taken on and off constantly, and any disposition which can be made for the provision of baggage space, should he settled as much for the rapid and easy stowage and removal of it as for its bulk. I especially wish to point out that a suitable vehicle spells SUCCESS, and an unsuitable one failure.