ONE-SIDE PARKING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20176, 9 February 1929, Page 12 (Supplement)

ONE-SIDE PARKING.

AN! IDEA FROM 1845.

Some Auckland motorists have complained of the restrictions imposed last year in respect to parking on only one sido of some narrow city streets. Although the partial prohibition may have the effect of driving some cars into already congested streets it is essential that some semblance of thoroughfare should be maintained in these confined areas. One-side parking appears to date from 1845, when it was proposed for Paris by Alphonse Karr, a novelist, who was concerned with the nuisance caused by large horse vehicles He urged that the larger waggons should bo kept off the streets at "busy" periods and advocated the driving of private carriages into courtyards instead of permitting them to monopolise the kerbside. The idea for the control of the more cumbersome vehicles was distinctly bright coming from a traffic critic of 84 years ago. During the" last few years such restrictions have been imposed in advanced cities and in certain parts of America horse drawn vehicles are barred from the congested areas during business hours. Motorists will remember the outcry from carriers when restrictions on horse vehicles in Queen Street were proposed about a year ago. Motor legislation has always lumbered in the wake rather than anticipated traffic development, and here again it failed to overtake.

THE MILLER SPECIAL. Following the announcement of the impending sale of the Thomas Special, it is reported that the Miller straight eight which ran at Muriwai last year is also on the market. The car is a 1922 model originally, built for board track racing in America. It was acquired by Count Zboroski who was killed while racing about three years ago. Later it' was successful in beach racing in England. The Miller has a small bore engine of 120 cubic inches. The bore is 2£ins. and the stroke, There are four speeds and the engine is said to give its peak power at 5800 revolutions. • Speeds up to 112 m.p.h. a,re claimed. Followers of beach racing are hoping that both these machines will find new owners in time for entry at Muriwai on February 9. • -

TWO TOP GEARS. Quite a number of the large and powerful class of German chassis are this year fitted with what is called the Schnellgang gearbox, built under licence from the famous Maybach concern. This gearbox is placed behind the orthodox threespeed or four-speed transmission unit and is intended solely for the purpose of providing the driver with an alternative over-speed top gear for use on fast stretches of road to reduce the revolution speed of the engine. Because it provides two equally silent top-gear ratios, this new German gearbox is to some extent similar to the " twin-high " transmission brought out in America some time ago and now fitted to a six-cylinder car. Here the similarity ends, however, because in the " twinhigh " box direct drive is obtained on the highest ratio of about 3.6 to 1, the next ratio, of about 5 to 1, being provided indirectly through silent-running internal gears. In the Maybach system, on the contrary, a back axle ratio of about 5 to I is retained with the direct drive through the auxiliary gearbox. When this gearbox is brought, into use by the driver it af/ords what might be called a negative ratio of about 1.6 to 1, so giving an overall ratio of about 3to 1. Furthermore, spur gears with spiral teeth in constant mesh are employed instead of internal gears.