A NEW 50-CWT. STEAM WAGON.
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Atkinson and Co. Produce a New Model of Small Load Capacity Eminently Suitable for Certain Classes of Work.
WE ARE at an age when we must get oat of a rut or else give way to others who have more progressive ideas. it was, therefore, with pleasure that we had the opportunity to inspect another production of the builders ofthe UniHow steam vehicle—to wit, a 50,-cwt. Atkinson lorry. • The production of the lighter type of steamer using solid fuel is another step Into the domain of the petrol enclosure. Not that a light type. steamer is new to the motor industry, for such as the. Clarkson and the Sheppee came into being long, ago, but the departure in these days is in keeping with the exceptional enterprise Maw being exhibited by manufacturers of steam vehicles.
Some years ago• Messrs. Atkinson and Co. were approached by an eminent firm to evolve a 50-cwt: vehicle on the same lines as their celebrated 6-tonner and at the same:time placed an order for 16 of the vehicles. Deigns were got out and productionpartly proceeded with, but. war exigencies called for all the resources of the works being devoted to the production of 6-tonners. Consequently the 50-cwt had to take a back Seat. Since then this type has been completed and the first of the series tested all out to eliminate such snags as al•e usually found in a. new design. The finished product certainly is of clean design, handy and nippy. It is speedy and e.xceptionally easy to handle. Indeed, it has been driven at a speed of 35 m.p.h., but this is not as the makers desire or claim.
• One of the many new features of this wagon which will be appreciated by driver and owner is the method of firing. It is not, as is usual with vertical boilers, fired from the top, but from a , hopper situated alongside the driver. The fuel gravitates down a chute to the furnace–door, which forms part of the footplate.This ensures an entire absence from flying dust, which begrimes both driver and wagon contents when top firing is resorted to..
Au other point in which the comfort of the driver ha-s been studied, together with chassis in general, is the springing of the vehicle. The springs are of good length, being 42 ins. long, and shackled at both ends in the case of the rear springs, but, of course,, at One end in the case of the front springs. A low load-line has been kept, which will be of great advantage and a stout Claim for the particular industry in which man-handling of the goods has to be
considered. House to house coal delivery, which is one the makers' particularly havein mind, requires a loW • load-line, also a quick manceuvring vehicleThis Atkinson wagon has an exceptionally short wheelbase, -Which enables a. complete turn to be made in a roadway of 20-ft. width without any reversing. It will, therefore, be very mobile in back and side streets.
The engine is of the company's wellknown Ilniflow type, in which the inlet valves are steel balls actuated from a single camshaft through the medium of push rods, the ball valves being held in position by springs. There are
no exhaust valves, therefore there . is no need for valve grinding. The camshaft can be moved endwise,: giving a cut off in three positions
forward and one reverse. A neutral cam opens up the valves sufficiently when warming up, and a large relief valve in the pistons relieves the compression due to the uniflow system'rim two high-pressure cylinders have a bore and stroke of 6 ins. by 7 ins, respectively, giving a b.h.p. of approximately 35 at 300 r.p.m. This will take the wagon and its full load up gradients of 1 in 8 with ease.
The feed pump is driven off the end of the engine crankshaft by a.crankjain and, therefore,is of positiVe -action. A relief to this feed can be actuated by the driver through a cord movedby a. lever. This allows the Water to be passed back to the tank. An automatic operation would perhaps be preferable. A feedwater heater is fitted . which permits water. t.o pass through the inner .tube whilst surrounded by exhaust steam enclosed in an outer casing.
The boiler is a first-class job, having practically no rivets in its construction The firebox is welded to the lower part. of the outer Shell, and welding is also carried out. on'the fire door and clinker openings; The central firebox contains a number of short water tubes which are
expanded into the box. A description of the•easy method of cleaning and renovating this particular ,,type of boiler was given in a recent issue of The Coral Therciai Motor. An efficient superheater of solid drawn steel tube is fitted so that economy of .fuels is attained A run of 30 miles per tank of water is obtained. This, however-, can be greatly exceeded by the fitting of a condenser. There are three independent brakes— loot brake, working through an efficient compensating gear on to the centre of the rear axle; hand brake and the engine, which can also be used as an efficient
brake. The rear axle is asolid steei shaft, with sleeve and differential of a design similar to that adopted for the6-tonner, but in proportion to the load, the only other difference being no brake drum on the back wheels themselves. The steering and front axle also follow out the heavier wagon in design and application.
Remarks ble silence is claimed for this wagon. as there are no spur or other gears, except a roller chain which is driven from the engine crankshaft, with a 16-tooth wheel en to a 32-tooth wheel on the axle. Having wheels of such ..a
size, the chaiu certainly will have long life and silence. The unifloW engine is noted for its particularly silent exhaust. The units are built into a rolled steel frame 5i ins. by 2L ins, and overall length 17 ft. 6 ins., the total width being 6 ft.. 6 ins. The vehicle is very sturdy for the rated load, and no trouble .should be experienced from overstressed parts. The total height is 8 ft. 9 ins, and the platform area is 12 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in*. The tank has a capacity of 120 gallons.