From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Seized brake cable forks on chassis 7 CA, with suggestions for design improvements and handwritten commentary on problem-solving approaches.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 180\M3\M3.3\ img020 | |
| Date | 1st August 1919 | |
| OVER-REFINEMENT, an 'E' CLASSIC? ORIGINAL To EH. from E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Copy to CJ. " " PA.{Mr Paterson} " " BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} " " EPC. RE 40/50 H.P. CHASSIS BRAKE CABLE FORKS. While chassis 7 CA was being prepared for Mr. Royce's visit to the Fens, it was noticed that the brake cable forks were stiff, and that one of them had apparently seized up solid and put a bend in the cable. Mr. Royce considers that there should be more clearance in this joint, so that there would not be so much danger of it getting rusted up. This extra clearance should be standardised as soon as possible. It might further be considered advantageous, Mr. Royce thinks, to use stainless steel pins and perhaps brass bushes in the holes in the fork. [Handwritten note] There is in this suggestion, attributed to R, the ff E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} essence of gross over complication & unnecessary refinement so often levelled at late Ghost & other (up to 1939) RR chassis. It is thought that this trend to very great extent flowed from E & not R.{Sir Henry Royce} Wherever E is present & a fault is discovered the approach is completely the reverse of HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}'s 'simple commonsense' or Rs{Sir Henry Royce's Secretary} 'let us examine all the possible causes & use reason & commonsense to help us decide'. E so often comes up with one suggestion & invariably it is to find a complicated & costly solution to an essentially simple problem - 'Too clever' tactics. | ||