A STREET-WATERING TRACTOR-LORRY.
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ALTHOUGH, so far as we are aware, there is no sphere -of municipal activity into which the tractor-lorry has yet made definite incursions, this type of vehicle possesses several constructional advantages which should make special appeal to those in charge of certain municipal operations. In some classes of municipal-work it is difficult to find continuous employment for a vehicle in a single guise, and herein lies the reason for the use of interchangeable bodies by inany local authorities. By the use of puch units a vehicle can be made to give a remunerative account of itself, because the total working costs can be apportioned to various departments upon whose work itmay be engaged instead of being wholly debited against a department which is only able to find irregular ernployment for the machine.
It is conceivable that, in the course of -time, the use of interchangeable bodies will give •way to the employment of semi-trailing units built for special tasks, each of which can reaaily be connected to a hauling vehicle when the work for which it is built is to be performed.
In this country the tractor-lorry, as the combination vehicle is called, has not been sufficiently long established to supplant in municipal service the vehicle to which interchangeable bodies can be fitted, although in America such machines are employed for a diversity of tasks in many of the big cities and towns. The Street Department of the City of Buffalo, for example, uses a number of PierCe-Arrow vehicles of the type illustrated on this page. The utility of the semi-trailer vehicle is well demonstrated by the experience of the authorities in this city, who use such vehicles for street watering, snow ploughing, and hauling trailers in which garbage has been collected.
The Pierce-Arrow tractor-lorry illustrated has been adapted for street flushing and watering. The chassis is standard in most respects, except that, to meet the special requirements of the service for which it is used, it has a shorter wheelbase. The semi-trailer unit is fitted with a capacious tank, carried at its front end on a fifth-wheel attachment, which permits of an angular movement to the extent of 90 degrees.
One of the greatest needs in a machine to be used for flushing is that it should be capable of delivering a pressure of water which is adequate in volume to carry away surface debris without in any way damaging the street surface, and this requirement has received special attention in the Pierce-Arrow vehicle.
The vehicle possesses an outstanding feature so far as delivery of power to the flushing unit is concerned. Through the use of a two-speed take-off, which is built integral with the chassis, full engine power is available at all tim&, irrespective of the speed of the vehicle.
The flushing equipment is of the Hvass pattern. The pump is capable of discharging 350 gallons of water per minute at a pressure of 35 lb. per sq. M., a gauge being fitted on the dash to indicate the working of the pump. The flushing apparatus is made under the Ottofy patents, and the standard equipment comprises four nozzles, two of which are mounted in front of the vehicle, and two directly behind the driver's cab, although sprinkling heads can be interconnected with the front
flushing nozzles. • The street-watering tractor-lorry -which we have described is one of a complete range of municipal vehicles which are produced by the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Co., of Buffalo, N.Y., and for whom Mr. George Bright, of West Heath Yard, Mill lane, London, N.W.6, is the sole distributor in this country.