The Motor Drivers News.
Page 19
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Packing for Steam Joints.
" R.O." (Glasgow) writes :—" Will some driver tell me what he considers the best, all-round packing to use for steam joints, such as cylinder covers, steam cocks, and other fittings, on a boiler? I have tried different sorts of packing, but I don't seem to get satisfactory results out of any of them. I have been using asbestos packing for my cylinder covers, but it gives way in a comparatively short time."
Side-slipping Motorbuses.
" H.K." (London) writes :—" I have read your recent statements about the greater care which drivers take in driving motorbuses, and I agree that many of us, drivers know how to balance the vehicles better than we did. I hardly think it is fair to suggest that we did not take such care before the magistrates and judges settled that they would not accept side-slip as an inevitable accident, or the "act of God," because most of us always did our best in every case. It is simply that we have now had the necessary experience to enable us to judge matters better than we did a year or two ago, and I am glad to say that drivers in some companies are able to run their own insurance funds against accidents at a profit."
Tips on Lubricators.
" G.G." (Bradford) writes the following letter :—" The steam wagon which I drive is fitted with several pin, or needle, lubricators. They had worked extremely well for a long time, giving a steady, and constant feed, but, lately, owing to the natural wearing of the pins, too much oil had been passed into the bearings. I decided to fit new pins, after I had tried the usual dodge of putting a little waste in the bottom of the lubricator; this is seldom really satisfactory in work. Well, while I was busy unscrewing the lubricators, preparatory to repairing them, a gentleman came into my shed and asked me what I was doing. I explained to him what I had done, and what I was going to do, to the lubricators. He advised me to press a little Stauffer grease upon the bottom of each lubricator, and then put the pins back again. I thanked him, and did as he had advised me and got splendid results. The grease, in course of time, worked through to a certain extent, and it is necessary to replenish it at certain periods. I found Out, afterwards, that my informant was the designer and patentee of a well-known wagon." A Gearless and Brakeless Two-tonner.
W.S." (Brixton) writes—'' I am a driver of a two-ton van, and I think the following little incident may interest the readers of this page. We were travellingalong the road one night, when we heard a loud, grinding noise in the gear box. I declutched and then the vehicle came to a dead stop with a jerk. I proceeded to remove the cover of the gear box, and make an examination of the interior. Of course, there was not much to be seen, but on feeling round I found that the bolts that held the third and fourth gears together had worked loose and had finally dropped out into the bottom of the box. I had to crawl underneath the vehicle and take the carder] shaft down, and, while doing so, I found that I had no brakes on the back wheels, as they had seized at some time or other and had been taken away from the drums and never replaced. We had to get another van to pull us, and we got a pole and placed it lengthways between the two vehicles and then roped them together. But the pole kept slipping when the rope stretched, which was a nuisance. There is nothing like having reliable brakes upon the back wheels," A Broken Eccentric Strap.
" J.B." (Wandsworth) sends the following letter concerning his steam wagon :—" A short time ago I was driving my wagon and, while it was climbing a hill, which was pretty steep, in the vicinity of Manchester, the engine suddenly came to a dead stop. On getting down to discover what the reason was, I found that an eccentric strap had broken. After considering what was the best thing to be done under the circumstances, I set to work, and disconnected the eccentric rod, and then removed the cover over the slide valve. I took three g-inch nuts from my tool box and placed them behind one end of the slide valve, so as to make it immovable. Then, I tightened up the gland of the stuffing box, so as to grip the valve spindle and to prevent its moving. I then replaced the cover of the valve chest and tightened up the nuts. After this, I got back on my wagon and started the engine. I had to go a further sixty yards up the hill before I ()mid deliver my load, and then a further three miles before I got home, but I succeeded in doing the distance without any trouble'. The load that the engine had to pull up the incline was 6 tons, 2 CWti I may say that, at this time, I was working for the Vulcan Haulage Company, of Manchester."