Previous Commercial Motor Trials (VI).
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The third day's run, from Liverpool to Blackpool, was via Knowsley, Rainford, Billinge, Wigan, Chorley and Wheelton. Receptions were held by the Mayors and local committees of Wigan and Chorley, the former entertaining a large party at luncheon. Competing vehicles, which had been stored at Belle Yee on the occasion of the Manchester trip, were stored at the Blackburn Artillery Barracks on this occasion, and in three instances both delivered their Liverpool loads, and collected their return loads, before taking up quarters for the night, these being the two petrol lorries and the Leyland steam lorry. Mr. W. Birtwistle, J.P., gave a large dinner party in the evening, and a number of the official delegates to the trials stayed at his residence, Billing-e Scarr, near Blackburn.
The route for the last day of the trials, from Blackburn to Liverpool, was via Samelsbury, Preston, Ormskirk, and Aintree. The five vehicles which had not obtained their loads on the Thursday night were all ready for departure before nine o'clock on the Friday morning, and a cinematograph view of the procession was taken by Messrs. Mitchell and Kenyon, of 22, Clayton Street, Blackburn.
The market-place at Preston had been put at the disposal of the Association by the Town Council, and members and visitors were hospitably received at the Town Hall by the chairman of the local reception committee. So great were the crowds at this town, that the police had, in one instance, to turn the fire-hose upon a section of it in order to clear a path to the water casks. No instance of moment occurred on the last day of the road tests, but some amusement was caused by the fact that one of the competing steam vehicles ran short of fuel, and had to burn its empty bags, and some scraps of wood, in order to keep steam for the last mile of the run into Liverpool. Loads, on the several days, were provided by the following companies, firms, and individuals : The Anglo-American Oil Co., Ltd., Liverpool ; Joseph Appleby and Sons, Ltd., Blackburn ; Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Ltd., Manchester; D. Clifton and Co., Ltd., Stockport; Robert Crooks and Co., Liverpool; Joseph Crosfield and Sons, Ltd., Warrington ; Crossley Brothers, Ltd., Manchester; W. Dickinson and Sons, Ltd., Blackburn ; The Fine Cotton Spinners' and Doublers' Association, Ltd., Manchester; John Glynn and Son, Liverpool; Graham, Son and Hay, Liverpool; Wm. Graham and Co., Manchester ; R. B. Green and Sons, Ltd., Liverpool; William Hindle, Blackburn ; Ingram and Clarke, Liverpool; John Jennison and Co., Manchester; Henry Livesey, Ltd., Blackburn; Julius G. Neville and Co., Liverpool; Richard Shackleton and Son, Blackburn ; Simpson, Roberts and Co., Liverpool ; J. Smith and Co., Manchester ; W. T. Sutcliffe and Co., Manchester; The Star Paper Mill Co., Ltd., Blackburn ; William Tattersall, Blackburn ; Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co., Ltd., Manchester ; The Unbreakable Pulley and Mill Gearing Co., Ltd., Manchester; The United Alkali Co., Ltd., Liverpool; H. F. Whalley, Blackburn ; and Yates and Thom, Blackburn. Passing to the judges' conclusions, at which they arrived after the opening-up and examination of the competing vehicles, at the close of the road tests, it is interesting to note how nearly their findings have been borne out in practice. The experience of users has not, of course, been universally satisfactory, but that fact in no sense can be regarded as a reflection upon the correctness of the views of the gentlemen who signed the statements from which we make extracts on this and the next page.
In conformity with the extracts already given from the 1898 and 1899 reports, we publish herewith a summary of the particulars of the competitigvehicles, together with those of the factors affecting the costs per net ton-mile. It will be observed that only one of the steam vehicles, by Musker, had a liquid-fuel burner : no vehicle had a condenser. The observers' log-sheets, throughout the trials, testified to the improvement in the running of the vehicles, practically the whole of the stoppages
being for traffic delays.
Receipts and Expenditure.
The finances of the Liverpool trials have been mentioned, during the last few months, and the last occasion of their coming under notice was at the Southport meeting of the Motor Union. The conduct of the three trials, including the printing of the judges' reports, cost 43,000 as a round sum, of which 45o was contributed by the Motor Union. No less than 41,394 was collected from members of the Association and their friends, headed by the Earl of Derby, K.G., Sir David L. Salomons, Bart., Sir Alfred L. Jones, K.C.M.G., and Mr. Alfred Holt ; entrance fees accounted for 4225; sale of badges and maps brought in 431 ; bookings for seats in the light motorcars which were provided for the conveyance of visitors yielded 4192; the sale of reports yielded over 4300; the sale of utensils brought in 477; and the sale of tickets for the trials dinners amounted to 4146. There was a transfer of 4130 from the general funds of the association, and calls upon the guarantors to the extent of £110.
The most interesting of the disbursements were : awards, £225; cost of reports, 4298; cost of hiring light carriages, £287; printing and
stationary, £223; badges and diploma 465; postages and telegrams, 415: uepots and offices, £'43; utensil 4127; route maps and profiles,
advertising, 422; clerical assistanc 495; judges' and observers' out-o pocket expenses, £064; travelling e. penses, 4100; guests of the Associ. tion, £247; police attendance an gratuities, 481 ; and insurance ar claims, 417.
The El.A.S.E. Trials.
The judges' conclusions are of inte est for many reasons, not the least 4 these being the imminence of the Roy Automobile Club's competition, and quote from them at some length. B fore doing so, and in concluding our n ferences to previous commercial trial we should like again to mention tf trials that were held by the Royal Agt cultural Society of England in 1897 ar 1898. Incidents from these trials hai had space devoted to them in previa' issues of this journal, and we will col tent ourselves, now, by reproducing illustration of the r-ton Daimler w. which was awarded a gold medal 1the Birmingham Show of 1898. These Birmingham trials, the second of a competitit character to be held in England, took place on the 13th ar 14th June, 1898, a few weeks after the Liverpool trials the same year, and they were conducted over a total distam of 591 miles. The Leyland and Thornycroft vehicles hr taken part in the preceding Liverpool trials, and the on fresh vehicle to complete the two-day trial was the Daimb Motor Company's van which we illustrate. This had two-cylinder engine, of 4n.h.p. ; the cylinders were 31 inchf in diameter, and the piston-stroke was 61 inches. Panhara type gear provided forward speeds of 2, 4, 6 and 8 mil+ an hour, and there was a transverse differential shaft wii side-chain transmission to the 39-inch, rubber-tired drivin wheels. The normal engine speed was 700r.p.m., and ign tion was by heated platinum tubes. According to a series gravity tests, the engine gave 6.16 effective h.p., whe tested on a gradient, and it used a total of 3.44 gallons ( troleum spirit during the whole of the tests, with a total igrlit of car and load reaching 243 tons, at an average nning speed of a little above eight miles an hour. Gold .,,dals were awarded to the Daimler Motor Company, rnited, and to the Lancashire Steam illotor Company, mited.
Awards.
The following is from the tenth section of the judges' re.rt of the 19o1 trials, and, in publishing it, we would consent upon the fact that, on the recommendation of the )uneil of the Liverpool Self-Propelled Traffic Association,
e awards were not held over until the date of the pubation of the complete report in October, Igor.
These were published on August 14th, 1901, as follows :— )LD MEDALS :—
Crass A,—Load, 4 tons ; maximum tare, 2 tons ; minimum level platform area, 45 sq. ft. ; minimum width of driving tires, 3 inches speed, 8 miles per hour.
ficial N.
k 1 Geo. F. Milnes and Co., T.td., Motor Department,
A_ 2 f "Motoria," 17, Baldeiton Street, Oxford Street, W. CLASS B.—Load, 5 tons ; maximum tare, 3 tons ; minimum level platform area, 75 sq. ft.; minimum width of driving tires, 5 inches,' speed, 5 miles per hour.
Ecial No,
B 1—The Lancashire Steam Motor Co., 'Leyland, near Preston.
CLASS C.—Minimum load, 5 tons; no tare limit; minimum level platform area, 95 sq. ft. ; minimum width of driving tires, 6 inches ; speed, 5 miles per hour.
Eclat. No, C T.—The Thornycroft Steam Wagon Co., Ltd., Chiswick and Basingstoke.
CLASS D.—Minimum load, 4 tons; no tare limit; level platform area not specified; minimum width cf. driving tires, 4 inches ; speed, 5 miles per hour. 'Official No.
D 1—The Thornycroft Steam Wagon Co., Ltd.' D 2—T. Coulthard and Co., Ltd., Cooper Road, Preston SILVER MEDAL :—
D 3 t The Mann Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd.,1) 4 5 Canning Works, Dewsbury Road, Leeds.
Influence on the Cabinet.
Probably one of the most interesting facts in connection with this report, which contains close upon 18o pages, inclusive of 8o figures and illustrations, was that the Right lion. Walter Long, M.P., President of the Local Government Board in the Government of the day, specially travelled to Liverpool and attended a public meeting at the Liverpool Incorporated Chamber of Commerce,. in order to hear the views of the judges on the all-important question of the tare limit. Mr. Long, in reply to the arguments which were then put forward, gave a promise, which was duly fulfilled; that he would exert his influence to secure the desired increase.
Judges' Conclusions.
"We observe a gradual and marked improvement in the construction and behaviour of heavy mote: traffic vehicles, since the first trials held three years earlier than the present competition, and we now consider that reliance may be placed upon the systems, to which gold medals have been awarded, for regular employment in general haulage operations where due. care and supervision are exercised."
Internal-Combustion Engines.
"The two light vehicles propelled by internal-combustion. engines using petroleum spirit (0.680 sp. gr.) are the first examples of this type which have taken part in the Liverpool trials. They behaved satisfactorily in all respects, and their chief drawback is the heavy cost of fuel per ton-mile compared with that for solid fuel in a steam-propelled vehicle. But, where ability to travel considerable distances, at average speeds of from six to eight miles an hour, with loads not exceeding two tons, is a factor in determining the motive power to be adopted, the higher cost of fuel may be more than compensated. These vehicles were not seen to the best advantage during the trials, as they were held back at intermediate depots to let the heavier vehicles catch up."
Town Haulage.
"No risk of fire need attach to a motor vehicle by reason of discharges from the fire by the funnel, as the effective baffling of sparks, small cinders, and dust, has been accomplished without. interference with combustion. -No nuisance need aris5 from the blowing-off of steam, as the firing is under control while waiting for a load or while standing from other causes."
Distance Haulage.
The performance in ton-miles per working day depends very largely on the facility with which loading and unloading can be carried out. In good weather a motor vehicle can average five miles an hour on the road which, in a shift of twelve hours, leaves four hours for meals and the collection and delivery of goods, with a journey of 40 miles between the terminal points. In wet weather, and during portions of the winter, it will be advisable to reduce the speed or load according to circumstances. "During the trials, voluntary delays occurred at, and late departures were made from, the starting-points, in order that the competing vehicles might be seen and examined by business men during business hours. We are of opinion that the three components of transport work, via., collection, conveyance, and delivery, may generally, where the total mileage does not exceed 45 miles, be completed within 12 hours."
Maintenance.
The standardising of construction has rendered maintenance a less difficult matter since the 1898 trials took place, as users can stock spare parts or obtain immediate delivery of them from the builders. Renewals can be effected without celay and without laying-up the vehicle while work proceeds on the making and fitting of the worn or defective parts of the mechanism.
"It is probable that carelessness on the part of drivers, particularly in running the water low in the boilers when climbing long hills, with resulting damage to joints and tubes, will be one of the most serious factors in the cost of maintenance and one not easily estimated. There is no apparent reason why automatic arrangements should not be made to prevent damage arising from this cause, a cause which does not exist in the case of boilers of the 'flash' type.
" Taking into consideration the imperfections of common roads, and the fact that users will take advantage of any structural improvements in the vehicles by working them harder than before, we think it will be necessary, apart from accidents of an exceptional nature, to allow not less than £.75 per annum per vehicle for repairs and adjustments, when working a single shift of 12 hours per day, even where the mileage is regulated with discrimination according to the roads travelled over."
Maneauvring.
"The fact that a motor vehicle can travel backwards with great facility will prove of considerable advantage for entering and leaving many loading-ways, as compared with a horsedrawn vehicle, the capacity of which, for backing and manceuvring, is limited by the strength of the shaft horse and the skill of the driver in securing the leverage obtained by moving the fore_carriage about one wheel as a centre.
"The vehicles to which medals were awarded, particularly the one which took up its position in the ernbayment in one movement (the Mann cart), excelled in performance those competing in 1899. They are certainly 'capable of going anywhere that a horse-drawn vehicle carrying the same load is ordinarily required to go, and of being placed in the same positions and withdrawn therefrom without external assistance.'"
H illcl i mbin g.
"The tests at Everton confirmed the results of 1899, viz., ability to start and stop, both up and down hill, on a gradient (set pavement) of 1 in 9, with the improvement that every vehicle possessed sufficient adhesion to start promptly from rest laden or unladen. Short lengths of read as steep as 1 in 8 were included in the distance runs on two days and were climbed without difficulty fully laden."
Control.
" The powers of control possessed by the driver of a motor vehicle are particularly evident in manceuvring, and on hills, and are superior to those exhibited by the best types of horsedrawn vehicles. In descending steep hills, the normal speed can be maintained without locking a wheel or using a slipper."
Operating Gear.
"The tendency of builders to provide that vehicles must be stopped before a change of gear can be effected is to be commended. Compared with 1898 and 1899, the disposition of the various levers and valves is generally satisfactory and convenient for easy manipulation, though each maker has particular methods of arrangement, the aim clearly being to ft the machines for operation by unskilled drivers."
Wheels.
"Although the design of the driving wheels, which gave rise to the principal troubles in 1898, is now such as to render them structurally efficient, signs of undue stress, the results of the heavy shocks and vibration experienced on sets and rough roads, were not altogether wanting in the spokes and fellies of some of the wheels, which indicates that some practical means of absorbing these shocks is desirable.
"With reference to the recommendations made subsequently with regard to the increase of tare weight and the width of tires, we have to point out that the damage to road surfaces, commonly alleged as an objection to the increase of axle-load, cannot occur when the width of tires is in proportion to the load upon them, and further that the increase of load on wheels with a corresponding increase in width is, on the contrary, of direct benefit to the roads, as is demcnstrated by the action of the ordinary steam roller."
Legal Restrictions.
" The present tare limit of three -tons* has again proved to he too low if loads of above five tons are to be dealt with, even under favourable conditions, upon a single platform. Whilst one of the competing vehicles carried as much as five tons during the trials, with a tare weight of slightly less than three tons, this load will be excessive for the same vehicle in winter or wet weather, and an average load of four tons is probably the most that can be carried regularly having due regard to. the life of the machine. Such a vehicle could also haul three tons on a trailer, under favourable conditions, in addition to the load of four tons carried on its own platform.
" This third series of trials has not, therefore, resulted in the bringing to light of any new fact to indicate that the present three-ton limit or tare will meet the requirements of the trade of the country, or that improvements in design will enable builders to comply with it. "It is to be noted that no difficulty has arisen in the United Kingdom in respect of the running of individual motor wagons weighing between three and four tons unladen, of which over 100 are working at the present day. At the same time, seeing that these vehicles are employed on suffrance only, the urgency for an increase of the tare limit by the legislature is even more pressing than before and for the following principal reasons (a) Foreign countries and the United States of America have no such restrictions, and are building mere serviceable vehicles for their own use and for export to the colonies ; (b) A promising British industry is held back owing to uncertainty as to the lines of development; (c) The trade of the country is deprived of the full benefits to internal communication which it was thought the Act of 1896 would confer ;
(d) The development of motor wagons for purposes of military transport, both for the regular and auxiliary forces, is seriously hancicapped, with resulting continual excessive expenditure on horse haulage; Motor traffic is placed at a disadvantage compared with horse-drawn traffic, in many parts of the country, through being prevented from dealing with equally heavy loads per vehicle; tf I There is a present temptation to builders to reduce strength in parts of their machines, and cut down factors of safety, in order to comply with an arbitrary limit which has no real or userm sig,nincance now that it has been tentatively tried and proved wrong ; (g) The limit being placed only on the tare of the vehicle, equal total moving weights are legal or illegal according to the proportion which the tare bears to the gross weight.
We recommend (a) That a limit of 16 tons total moving weight, for any single motor vehicle, shall be substituted for the present limit upon the tare alone ; (b) That there shall be a minimum width of one inch of tire per wheel for each 12 cwt. of maximum total load upon it at any time ;
(c) That the width of tires for vehicles having a total moving weight (laden) of less than eight tons, shall coL.Linue to be regulated by Article II, section 3, of the Light Locomotives on Highways Order, 1896;
(d) That since no inconvenience follows from the absence of restrictions as to the width of horse-drawn vehicles no restrictions should be placed on the width of motor wagons.
Future Trials.
"We lay this report before the members of the Association and the public, with a full sense of the thorough manner in which the three series of Liverpool Trials have been conducted, and of the completeness of the data now available, owing to the assistance of the honorary observers, and the organising powers of the Honorary Secretary whose abilities and energetic services cannot be sufficiently recognised.
"We are of opinion that it will be unnecessary to organise trials on such a comprehensive scale for some time to come. "As other wagons of interesting construction and extreme ingenuity failed, from the causes indicated, to go through the competition and others were not completed in time to take part, trials of these and new types of vehicles can easily be conducteri separately, and the reports, of which this is the third, will furnish a basis for sound and trustworthy comparisons as to the performance of any later vehicles." (Signed) E. R. CALTHROP. S. B. COTTRELL.
H. S. HELE-SHAW.
„ BOVERTON REDWOOD.
„ HENRY H. WEST.
Royal Institution, Liverpool. October 25th, 1901.