Lorry, Van or Meat Container
Page 50
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petition for road transport. On the Akureyri route buses often do not start until the owners have ascertained whether the aircraft is going or not.
In that mountainous land, where the weather alters from area to area, it is often not possible for aircraft to fly up north with safety; but except in heavy snow in winter, the bus always gets through. Of course, the saving in time by flying is enormous.. The flight time is about an hour, whereas the bus can take more than 12 hours.
The biggest order in recent months for British vehicles was for Albions (The Commercial Motor, June 18), for Albion Motors, Ltd., have a live agency at Selfoss. There was a demand for milk tankers by an organization at Selfoss which collects milk from central points near farmhouses.
Tankers then transport it to Reykjavik for processing and bottling. The processing and distributing company, known as Mjolkursamsalan, also uses two Leyland oilers for the transport of 6-ton loads on long hauls. Dodges carry the milk ' from Reykjavik to outside dairies. This company's vehicles carried 33m. litres (8.5m. gallons) of milk last year.
Iceland's Changed Economy It is sad to report that there is unlikely to be much new business for British manufacturers for some time. The economy of Iceland has recently taken a significant turn.
The refusal to allow Iceland fish to be landed at our North Sea ports—and the British trawler owners stick to the ban—has resulted in a dearth of sterling in Iceland. No sterling, it is obvious, means no British goods. Icelanders will not listen to any suggestion of compromise in this matter and have sought and found other markets for their fish.
Important among these markets is Russia, which now supplies all Iceland's requirements of motor spirit and oil. Let the visitor to Iceland not be deceived by the name of Shell still to be seen on storage tanks and petrol pumps. Whatever the name on the pump, the petrol inside is Russian.
At the time of writing, a high-level trade mission from Iceland is in Moscow, negotiating further trade exchanges, and soon motor vehicles of Russian manufacture will be running along Icelandic roads. And Iceland is one of the most important bases in the North Atlantic chain of N.A.T.O. defences.
ASED on a framework of 2-in. by 2-in. box-section pillars and roof sticks, a light-alloy cattle truck, recently completed by Carmichael and Sons (Worcester), Ltd., Worcester, is of such a design that with a few modifications it could be employed as a Luton-type furniture van or meat container. The body is 17 ft. long by 7 ft. wide by 7 ft. 5 in. high.
A Carmichael patented feature is the extruded section used for the cant rail which is of double-1J shape to receive the ends of the pillars and roof sticks. A gutter is an integral part of the section. '
The pillars are panelled on the inside with sheets of *-in. material which act as stiffening members, and front panels of the Same gauge provide torsional rigidity. At the level of the upper deck, a channel-section rail is attached to the pillars by loop clips and foot brackets which give additional strength to the structure as well as acting as supports to the top-hat bearers of the deck flooring. The method of securing the rail obviates welding and consequent loss of temper in the metal.
Seeming the Container Three quick-release screw fasteners are used on both sides to attach the container, the upper brackets being bolted inside the pillars and projecting over the chock rail of the vehicle to give transverse location.
The platform body is also of light alloy, the floor being built of corrugated sections and k-in. sheet, to which deep slats of top-hat section are riveted. The upper deck is divided into five sections which, together with the springloaded tailboard ramp, are similar in construction to the flooring. The rear section of the off side is hinged at the flout and can be used as a ramp to the upper deck. The lower deck is provided with five gates and there is a calf door on the near side behind the cab.
Other features of the body include suspension of the canopy floor from the cross-bearers, which therefore act as slats. The canopy is 51 in. long by 34 in. deep and •is divided from the interior by two reinforced sheet-metal gates. It is cantilevered from the main structure.
Mond Metal Rivets The platform body has a chock rail of standard Noral section, and is supported on channel-section members pierced with oval lightening holes between the brackets. All the section's for both the container and platform body were supplied by the Northern Aluminium Co., Ltd. Pop rivets of Monel metal are extensively employed throughout the body.
It is claimed that the use of aluminium is particularly advantageous with regard to ease of cleaning and the avoidance of fluid absorption, which can add substantially to the weight carried during the winter months when drying-out is impossible.
If the body were constructed as a meat container or furniture van, the panels would be located on the outside of the pillars. Apart from the existing equipment and features for the transport of cattle, the design of the body is otherwise basic to all three types. The robust construction of the roof and sides should enable heavy suspended loads to be carried without over-stressing any part.