CHAPTER X
British Subsidy Type Motors
Early Subsidy Schemes—Amount of Subsidy—Standardisation of Driving Control—Important Mechanical Features—Provision for Working in Convoy—The “Chain-Drive” Controversy—The Present Position.
In view of the peculiarly advantageous circumstances detailed in the previous chapter, the British subsidy scheme is from the pecuniary point of view less imposing, and from the practical point of view far more comprehensive than any other scheme yet attempted elsewhere. The British War Department favours in general the use of vehicles intended to carry in active service useful loads of about three tons, but as the machines also have to take four men and a considerable quantity of kit and stores, they correspond to ordinary industrial vehicles of four tons capacity. There is a parallel, but much smaller, requirement, for 30-cwt. vehicles corresponding to the ordinary commercial two tonner and capable of higher speeds than are desirable with heavier machines. These lighter cars are intended for use behind mobile and fast-moving troops, while the heavier type are for the service of the infantry, and for the carriage of ammunition supplies. In each case, the total amount of subsidy paid is from £110 to £120. A portion of this takes the form of a cash payment when the vehicle is accepted, while the remainder is an annual payment spread over a period of three years, and is conditional on periodical inspection revealing the satisfactory condition of the machine subsidised.
The agreement also provides that in the event of the War Department desiring to commandeer the vehicle in time of war, a very liberal price shall be paid to the owner, this price being of course dependent to some extent on the age of the machine. The correct amount is arrived at by deducting from the first cost of the car a certain regular percentage intended to represent the depreciation in value during every half year of normal service. After this deduction has been made, the resulting figure is increased by an agreed percentage of itself, the final result being that the price paid for any car under about two years old is very near, if not quite equal, to the original first cost.
The first move made in the direction of a subsidy scheme in Great Britain dates back to 1908. At that time it was believed that light steam tractors best filled military requirements, and a number of these were registered, the nominal payment of £2 per annum being made to their owners. The industrial petrol vehicle was at this time passing out of its period of probation, and it was not long before the military authorities came to the conclusion that it represented a more useful type, in view of the nature of the particular emergencies against which they were chiefly called upon to guard. The ordinary steam-propelled vehicle was open to certain objections, the principle of which is the fact that its carrying capacity of fuel and water is limited, and the latter must necessarily be replenished at fairly frequent intervals. This is no great drawback in commercial work, but might be a very serious matter indeed in times of war, when men and horses have a prior claim on a possibly limited water supply.
In 1911 a scheme of subsidy for transport and supply motors was authorised, and in view of the fact that no such scheme could be matured until it had been in force for several years, a provisional scheme was temporarily adopted, under which total sums ranging from £38 to £52 were paid to owners of vehicles generally of about three tons capacity. The present subsidy scheme was finally put into force in 1912 after the War Office experts had conferred on many occasions with representatives of the leading manufacturing interests. The main objects of the scheme are plainly stated in the War Office specification as follows:
(1) To make the manipulation and control of all vehicles the same: and
(2) To minimise the number of spare parts which must be carried in the field, having regard to the number of different makes of vehicles of which the transport columns of the army would be composed.
As to the first of these two stipulations, one would think that there could hardly be two opinions, though in point of fact it has been argued in some quarters that no standardisation of driving control is in any way essential. Such a view one imagines can only be held by those who are personally so fortunate as to have that mechanical knack which allows a man to take charge of any car, however different it may be from those to which he has been previously accustomed, and to drive it with perfect safety and efficiency even at night-time and over unknown and bad roads. We cannot assume that every transport driver possesses this instinct, and we must therefore agree that the object aimed at by the War Department is one which deserves every support. It is, in fact, worth while to go into a little detail on this point, in order to show what care has been taken to make everything as easy as possible for the driver.
First, as regards the hand control. The steering wheel must provide for 76° of movement of the front wheels of the car; that is to say, 38° of lock from the normal position on either side. In reaching the maximum lock, two complete turns of the steering wheel must be made. Thus, a driver who is used to getting a certain effect by turning his wheel through a certain distance, will find if he is put on to a subsidy car of another make that the same effect is still produced by the same amount of movement. This, of course, helps to make him immediately a safe driver in traffic or at sharp corners. The four-speed change-speed gear is operated by means of a lever in a gate. This gate must be formed of two slots and two selectors, the reverse being a continuation of the first speed slot. The hand-brake lever must be arranged to push on, and must be well away from the change-speed lever and to the right of it. Furthermore, the brake lever must be 6 inches longer, and must have a plain cylindrical handle, whereas the change-speed lever is finished off with a circular knob. Thus, any confusion between these two levers in sudden emergency, or in the dark, is completely prevented. The throttle and ignition levers must be placed underneath and to the right of the steering wheel, their movement being independent of any movement of the steering column. Increased engine speed must in each case be produced by moving the levers forward. The total movement must be 90°, and the handles must be at right angles to the main axis of the vehicle when in the centre of their travel. This, again, means that a driver who is accustomed to producing a given effect upon his engine by a given movement of the ignition or throttle is in no way confused by being put on to a different car. The only point in which any variation in driving control is permitted is in regard to the accelerator pedal, the presence of which is optional. However, if a foot accelerator is provided, it must be so combined with the hand throttle that on releasing the accelerator, the throttle valve returns to the position set by the hand lever. The clutch- and foot-brake pedals are marked C. and B. respectively, and the clutch pedal must be on the left, the brake pedal on the right, the travel in each case being about 3-1/2 inches. From these details it will be seen how carefully every item in the driving control has been considered, with a view to facilitating the work of drivers who may have to be moved frequently from one machine to another. As to whether the arrangement adopted is a good one, we have strong evidence of a favourable character in the statement of Mr. J. E. Thornycroft, to the effect that his firm has adopted the War Office system of control as a standard for all their vehicles whether of subsidy model or not.
At a rather later date it may be well worth while to consider whether experience has not demonstrated the possibility of combining with a full subsidy scheme a modified scheme insisting only on vehicles of the right load capacity, and the adoption of all details of the standard control. In this way, if the true subsidy model continues to be somewhat unpopular amongst commercial users, a very fairly adequate reserve will be brought into being without any considerable trouble.