MOTOR NOTES. By "Accumulator."

Progress, Volume II, Issue 3, 2 January 1907, Page 100

MOTOR NOTES. By " Accumulator."

I have received from the Scott Motor & Cycle Co. an illustrated brochure in commemoration of the opening of the new Argyll works at Alexandria, near Glasgow. ****** The use of motor vans for mail purposes is being extensively tried by the British Post Office They have been already adopted in several places Hastings, Brighton, Eastbourne, Redhill, Epsom, Epping, Romford, Hitchin, and elsewhere. Their general use all over the Kingdom is considered now to be only a question of time. ****** Unnecessary horn blowing has been attracting attention in the English press of late, and not without reason, for there is hardly anything which annoys other road users so much as the constant use of the horn. Such abuse of the warning signal tends to give the public the idea that car drivers want all the road, and it is the " get off the earth " attitude which other road users resent. ****** Experiments with spraying cold tar upon the roads under pressure have been recently made at Birmingham, under the supervision of the City Engineer. The advantages claimed for this method are that it is not only effective, but the cheapest yet devised for fixing surface dust with tar. It is asserted that it is possible to coat roads with tar and render them dustproof at considerably less cost than by watering. ****** Dunlop tyres were recently booming in the Isle of Man, for not satisfied with having a large percentage of their tyres on competing cars, the makers had a couple of captive balloons in the grounds of Mona Palace These balloons when up in the air tell you at once that their object is to advertise Dunlops. Mr. Spencer was m charge of one which was fitted with a basket, and those who wished to undertake the delights of a balloon voyage could do so at a very nominal charge. % % H* # H* In order to extend the motor bus' trade of England and Scotland, negotiations have been completed for a combine between Argyll Motors Ltd., one of the largest manufacturing firms in the British Isles, and Scott, Stirling & Co., of Pioneer motor 'bus fame. The extension of the Argyll Works on the banks of Loch Lomond will enable twenty 'buses to be produced in a week, at such a low price that foreign competition can be combated. The new company is to be known as Argylls and Stirling Commercial Motors Ltd. The Argyll firm will continue to produce their very popular lighter vehicles in even greater numbers than previously. ****** A peculiar incident occurred in a garage recently. A car was being overhauled, an' 1 for very good reasons naked lights were not being used In their place the ordinary hand electric lamp with a length of cable was placed under the car and the work carried out by its light. One of the mechanics happened to tread on this cable connected to the lamp, when there was a sudden flash and a small explosion. The explanation given was that the pressure of the man's weight in treading on the cable had set up a short circuit between the wires, producing a spark which ignited local petrol fumes. It could hardly be the case for petrol fumes to remain in the air for any length of time, but it is possible it was so ; I should be more inclined to think that the crack, referred to as the explosion, was due to the electrical discharge brought about by the high voltage electric "current The point to bring out is this, that even with an electric lamp care must be exercised, as on the lines mentioned above, even with the usual precautions, it is possible to cause a fire or explosion.