The Crown Agents' Watering Wagons.
Page 9
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On a glorious morning of last week a member of the Editorial staff of this journal met a representative of John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., at the offices of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, in Whitehall Gardens. It had been arranged overnight that we were to witness the inspection and trial of two road-watering wagons, which had been constructed by that company for service in the Malay States.
The machines were due to leave Basingstoke at 6.15 a.m., and should have arrived in Richmond at 9.30. A saving of five minutes was made on this scheduled time, however, and it should further be noted that the mun was made with 700 gallons of wat in each tank, together with full tanks of fuel supplies and, in addition, the official Crown Agents' observe's.
There is no scarcity of hills in the immediate district of Richmond which are well known for steepness. One hill in particular -a short steep
stretch of 1 in in great demand by motorcyclists for the purpose of testing their machines. Both the wagons took this incline fully loaded without difficulty, and they then proceeded to Ham Common, where tests of running, control, and spraying, were conducted. A spray of the total width of :lb ft. was specified, and this was easily obtained. I% e reproduce a photograph of the sprayers in use on the machines. These are equipped with two-speed gears, located on the rear part of the tank, and they can be worked either independently or together.
in addition to the two speeds of the sprayers, the water supply to each can be regulated. Accordingly, a large range of speeds and feeds is given. With the wagon travelling at its top speed, and the water fully on to both the paddles, two miles of road can he watered. On the other hand, the feed can be greatly cut down and a correspondingly greater length of
road surface covered. The chassis design is of the Thornycroft Subsidy type, which performed so well in the recent War Office Trials. A few minor alterations have been incorporated, the chief of which is that smaller tires, of 850 mm., instead of 1010 mm., are used on the rear wheels.