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Groundnuts Scheme HEADED by a new Maudslay 10-tonner, an impressive convoy of mixed vehicles made a 6.30 a.m. start from the Rochester works of Blaw Knox, Ltd., last week, with Liverpool as its destination. This was just another road transport link with the Government's groundnuts scheme in East Africa, for the 17 vehicles comprising the convoy were carrying 70 tons. of equipment in the form of root cutters and rakes.
Root cutters, incidentally, represent entirely new pieces of equipment in land-clearing operations. They have to deal with both lateral and vertical roots and may have to uplift tree stumps. These operations they perform in one pass over the ground, the final clearance being left to the rakes.
" The Commercial Motor" was informed by Blaw Knox, Ltd., that the rake prototype was finally approved only in May, so that no time has been lost by the company in getting down to production. Whilst treedozers and stumpers--used for felling and clearing trees---are designed for forward mount ing on the tractors, root cutters and rakes are towed.
The converted Sherman Mk. Ill Tanks, which are being sent to Africa, have proved highly successful in operating the land-clearing appliances. These Tanks were powered by two G.M.C. two-stroke engines, but in the tractor version only one unit is used. The governed speed has been reduced from 2.100 r.p.m. to 1,500 r.p.m., the output at this speed being about 179 b.h.p. The second engine, in each case, is reconditioned and goes with the tractor as a spare, The vehicles in the convoy, in addition to the Maudslay. were six BedfordScammells: three Albions with trailers and one Albion 6-tonner; two E.R.E. 10-tonners, an Atkinson and a Foden, both 15-tonners; one International 6-tonner, and a Bedford 5-tonner. The vehicles were supplied by Gamman and Dicker. Ltd., a subsidiary of Transport Services (B.T.C.), Ltd., in conjunction with the latter's subsidiary concerns, W. f3radbrook and Sons. Ltd., and South-Eastern Roadways, Ltd.