MOTOR TRANSPORT A 1NDON'S GAS SUPPLY.
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THE EFFICIENT operation of an extensive fleet of commercial vehicles is primarily dependent on two predominating factors—mechanical condition being of no lees import than systematic organization. The former can be disposed of without further ado, it being safe to assume that its importance is fully appreciated by anyone who is responsible for fleet maintenance and control, but the latter will vary according to the particular character of the work and the ability and personal influence of the organizer.
One of the most necessary points to observe in the organization of the duties of a fleet of mechanical vehicles is the passibility of overlapping. This should not occur if pains be taken to . study minutely the i operations of each single unit, but if t does—and it must sooner or later make its presence felt, as a result of a change of conditions, entailing unremunerative operation—it either suggests the employment of vehicles surplus to actual needs, or that the duties of the concern are seemingly not being allocated to the best advantage. It is granted, of course, that spare vehicles may always be needed to meet contingencies.
The general efficiency of the whole fleet hinges on the efficiency of individual units. The inefficiency of any single vehicle may adversely affect the operation of the remainder and seriously disorganize their working, for every vehicle is a. necessary cog in the machine of efficiency. We are led to write in this manner after having had an excellent opportunity afforded us for a complete insight into the organization at the back of the operation of the miscellaneous fleet of mechanical vehicles run by the Gas Light and Coke Co., Ltd. The organization is divided into two main sections. The operation of the vehicles is directly under the control and supervision of Mr. W. McDowell, the chief of the stores department, whilst the repair and maintenance of the fleet is entrusted to the chief engineer's department, of which Mr. A. Thompson is the responsible official. Each department is distinct and has its individual duties to perform, although the harmony prevailing between them is are aid to the common end—transport efficiency. •
The operation of the fleet being, perhaps, the more important of the two sections we will deal with that first. Fifty-seven vehicles comprise the present commercial fleet, and its composition is made up of 44 petrol vehicles and 13 steamers. Twelve of the latter are Garretts, the remaining vehicle being a. product of the National -Steam Car Co., Ltd. whilst eight of them have each a carrying capacity of 3 tons, four of 4 tons; the last vehicle being a, 5-tcsn.ner which hauls a 2-ton trailer. It will thus be seen that, with one exception, the steamers are standardized on one make, the National having been bought mainly as an experimental vehicle.
With the petrol vehicles, however, the case is entirely different. They comprise a medley of makes, the capacities ranging from 15 cwt. to 5 tons. The company are fully alive to the inevitable difficulties which accompany the use of vehicles of a diversity of makes, but. their desire in this matter, however, was,
perforce, compelled to be subservient: ' to national requirements created by the War; in fact, their position was one of Hobson's choice. In. the early days of August, 1914, a large proportion of their fleet was commandeered, with the result that, in order to be able to " carry on" at, all, vehicles, irrespective of their makes and often of their sizes, were brought into service. Happily, their miscellaneous character has not affected the efficiency of the fleet.
It is the company's intention to standardize eventually on one particular make of petrol vehicle for all requirements, but they are not prepared to sacrifice the present mixed fleet (to acquire which an immense amount, of money has been spent) which ia doing so remarkably well, and this latter remark applies to the several converted touring cars, equally as well as to models built for commercial use. It will be well to mention here the number of vehicles of each capacity, as well as the number of different makes, for, apart from portraying the infinite variety of the fleet, it will serve as the raison (rare for the description of their various duties. The makes are as follow :—Nine Halleys, seven Scouts, seven Straker-Squires, five Fiats three Common Cars, three Unics two Napiers, and one each of the following makes: ifilnes-Dauriler, British-Ensign, Da.rracq, Wolseley, Arrol-Johnston, Clement-Talbot, Lancia, and Crossley, the latter being an ambulance which is held in readiness at the Beckton works for any call. So far as capacities are concerned, eight 15-cwt., four 1-tonners, five 30-cwt., four 2-tonners, one 50-cwt., seven 3-tonners, twelve 4-tonners, and two 5-tormers are employed.
We will now proceed with a description of the multifariousduties of the fleet. Five vehicles—all of them Fiats—of 30-ewt. and 1-ton types, are used for copper collection, that is, coin collected from pennyin-the-slot meters. On this work, between £20,000 and 230,000 is collected per week. The vehicles do not collect from house to house—this would be unremunerative—but at specified points they meet, the collectors who do this work, and relieve them of their burden. 4These vehicles are fitted with box van bodies and are stationed at the company's depots at Westminster, Shoreditch, and Stratford. The money collected is then taken by these vans and partly exchanged for coin at the different banks, any balance being lodged at the company's various district offices, from whence, in turn, it is cleared, from day, to day, by a 30 cwt. Napier van and exchanged for coin at banks according to a. pre-arranged plan. This work is termed " copper exchange" as distinct from "copper collecting." The five Fiats have a total mileage to their credit of close on 180,000.
In passing, we might fittingly refer to these depots. There are in all nine centres of operation, these being situated at Stratford,•Shereditch, Westminster, Haggerston, Goswell Road, Kemal Green, Harwood Ters race, Fulham, and at the Tar Works. Each. centre is provided with the necessary garage accommodation for housing the vehicles operating if rein that centre.
Six vehicles, all of the 15-cwt. variety (three tinies, one Napier, and converted Wolseley and BritishEnsign touring cars), are used on what the company term an internal postal service. Four of these are in regular service, the other two being held as spares so that, should any of the regular maehines, break down, the service will not become disorganized. This service was inaugurated seven years ago, and it has resulted in the entire supersession of foot messengers, as well as a great saving in money. It can readily be understood that, in. a concern of the size of the Gas Light and Coke Co., the number
of inter-departmental letters and parcels in constant circulation is tremendous. As the depots are somewhat scattered and many of the letters are of extreme importance and urgency, the motor vehicles have been found of the utmost service and far more satisfactory than the old system. When we state that 800,000 packets a year are distributed by these f our vans (of these, 30,000 are registered), the size. of the undertaking will be readily gathered. The company, it will be seen, acts to a large extent as its own post office.
Four circuits are mapped out. On each circuit
three journeys are 'undertaken each day. The vehicles work to a definite schedule, and areavery punctual in their duties ; in-fact, so much so, that watches and clocks can be correctly set to their schedules.
The Napier 15-cwt. vehicle, which has been engaged on this work since 1912, has covered nearly 110,000 miles, and it has the best mileage record of the whole fleet.
Each van averages 50 miles per day for five days
per week on this postal service work, and 30emiles on a Saturday. The body interiors are fitted with a. series of pigeon holes, which are labelled to correspond with the various stations on the itinerary of the van.
Three vehicles are utilized for stores distribution, two from the Central Stores at Westminster, a,nd one from the Eastern Stores at Stratford. Two of these are 3-ton Garrett steamers, the other machine being a 3-ton Scout fitted with a box van body.
As may well be imagined, a considerable propor
tion of the fleet is engaged on coke distribution—in all, 23 vehicles--1.0 of them being steamers (nine Garretts and a National) and 13 petrol lorries, made up as follow :—Six 4-ton Scouts, two 2-ton Commer Cars, two 2-ton Halleys, two 3-4-ton Straker-Squires, and a 30-ewt. Lancia,. The Commer Cars are fitted with tipping bodies, whilst the other vehicles have ors dmary open lorry bodies. This miscellaneous fleet distributes 36,000 tans of coke per annum. The steamers are, of course, run on coke.
The area of gas supplied by the Gas Light and Coke Co. is 125 square miles, the equivalent of a belt of land 12 miles long by 10 miles wide, and it will therefore not come as a surprise to our readers when we state that 700;000 customers are on their books ad users of stoves and. meters. These stoves and meters naturally require periodical renewal and replacement, and for this work nine vehicles are set aside,, these being four flalleys (three 3-tonners and one 30-ewt.), three 3-4-ton Straker-Squires, a Commer Car and an Arrol-Johnston.
Quantities of the chemicals produced from coal are exported, and, for their conveyance to the docks for shipment overseas, as well as for the supplies delivered in London, two of the heaviest vehicles are employed. These are 5-tonners, one a Xiines-Daimler and the other a, Straker-Squire. 'They both operate from the Tar Works.
The company control and maintain 2,600 miles of gas mains, and, for the very necessary work connected with the laying down of new mains and the repair of those already installed, two Halley lorries with tipping bodies are allocated. We have now accounted for the duties of 51
vehicles. Of the remaining six, three vehicles of varying capacity are held as spares—quite' a necessary provision where so many vehicles are concerned —and these take over the duties of certain other vehicles should they be in for repair, or, through any other cause, be unable to accomplish their ordinary duties. A 15-ewt. Darracq acts as a. breakdown van, and this is held in constant readiness at the repair depot at Imperial Road, Fulham, for any call of distress received from vehicles on. the road. The final two vehicles are used on special duties. One is a. Crossle.y ambulance, to which we have already referred, whilst the other vehicle is a 5-ton Garrett steamer with a trailer, delivered, through E. W. Rudd and Co., Ltd., in February, 1912, and which s engaged on pumping work at Beekton. We have now disposed of the whole of the fleet, and will pass on to another phase of the operations. One of the most important phases in the operation of a big fleet—and this is most essential when it is made up-of miscellaneous types and sizes—is that of costs, and this receives very close attentionat the hands of the company. It is the only manner in which a reliable check can be kept upon the general efficiency of individual units. The average cost of running for last year, in order of capacity, makes instructive reading. It is as follows., in each ease being exclusive of insurance and depreciation : rt will be noticed that figures for the 50-cwt. machine and the two 5-tonners are not included, but, as these vehicles were all subjected to a, fairly lengthy overhaul, it would obviously be invidious to publish unduly inflated figures.
The fleet of petrol vehicles totals a mileage of approximately 200,000. per annum, and the steamers, roughly, 50,000 in the same period. As might. be expected, the vehicles use benzole as a fuel, although during the war, when the Government was demanding increased production of this fuel for military uses a mix tiwe of petrol and benzole was resorted to. The latter proved quite satisfactory in the circumstances, after the necessary carburetter jet adjustments had been made, but, obviously, the company, in their, own interests, returned to the use of benzole alone as soon as possible. The company produce much more than enough benzoie for their own requirements, the surplus spirit being sold to the National Benzole Co. for whole sale and retail distribution. The Gas Light and Coke Co. store and sell some of this spirit on behalf of the N.B.C. at their premises in Monek Street, and it is no uncommon sight to see a. long line of taxi drivers with their cabs waiting for supplies.
• It might he thought, in the ease of a large fleet, that the makes of solid and pneumatic tyres used would be as miscellaneous as the vehicles themselves, but this is not the case, although many makes have
been tried. The Dunlop Rubber Co., Ltd., have the contracts for solids, while various Makers are favoured for pneumatics. "No importance is attached to the tyre mileage guarantee, it being fairly obvious that it is in the interests of the tyre manufacturers to give of their best where so large a fleet is concerned.
Whilst on the question of tyres, we might suitably refer to an interesting point in connection with the inflation of pneumatics. It is a well-known fact that, to secure good service from a tyre, both as regards reliability and longevity, it is necessary to maintain the air pressure at a. fairly constant level. Correct inflation is also, in many instances, the keynote of
resiliency. Realizing that even the best foot or hand air pump is not a very satisfactory tool at the best of times, one of the company's employees, with commendable ingenuity, devised a better means. Several h.p. Keith-Blackman gas engines had been returned to stores, and he conceived the idea of -using one of these compact little machines for the purpose. A description of the manner by which he discovered the means of compressing air with it would occupy far too much space, but suffice it to say that it works most satisfactorily and will pump up a tyre freern flat to 80 lb. pressure in 21 minutes. The pneumatic tyres on the company's yans are pumped up every morning, the air pressure being kept at about 75 lb. per square inch. Several vans can be dealt with at the same time, as a supply pipe
runs the length of one side of the garage ana has a series of connections at regular intervals
Before proceeding to describe briefly the organize,tion behind, the repair and maintenance of the vehicles, we might add that the growth of the fleet has by no means reached its apex. The consumption of gas, in the 'wide area supplied by the company, is steadily on the increase; in fact, .last year a 15 per cent. increase was registered, which would be sufficient to meet all the requirements of the town of Newcastle so far as gas is concerned. The great problem which the company have to consider is, not how to extend their business, but how to endeavour to keep supplies level with the demand.
The repair and maintenance depot is situated_ at
Imperial Road, Fulham. It comprises a fine, airy, and well-lighted building, which is thoroughly equipped with modern machine plant, including lathes, drilling. machines, grinders, millers, mechanical saw, etc. Four inspection pits, • each over 30 ft. long, are provided, and a 2-ton overhead crane runs the full length of the shop. A 50 h.p. National gas engine is used for power supply, whilst a little 8 h.p. engine is brought into use when electric light only is wanted. A rheostat, for charging is installed.
Five per cent. of the petrol vehicle fleet is usually in dock-for repair or overhaul. A very complete record is kept of the period when each vehicle is in for repair, and a dock sheet is kept, so that it is possible to tell at a glance the mechanioal condition of any of the vehicles. The items on this sheet are transferred to what is termed a history sheet. This shows, in book form, each time a vehicle is in for repair, the reason, whether the fault was due to the
driver' or the mechanic who may possibly have repaired the trouble on a previous occasion, or to bad designs If the fault is traced to either the driver or the mechanic, they are acquainted with the fact.
Directly a vehicle comes into dock for repair, its
number becomes: the work 'order number. A mechae•nice' record is kept, which shows the number of hours
, spent on a repair. By these various means it is possible to allocate maintenance charges to each department, according to the record ,sheet.
The company manufacture many of their own spare parts, such as spur gears, this being rendered_necess sary by the inability of some manufacturers to supply in a rea.sona,ble length of time. By keeping a record of the amount of material used for the job and the time &pent on its execution, it is possible to arrive at the prime cost of each spare made, and also to ascertain whether it is profitable to make the component or to purchase it from the manufacturers. Where it is unprofitable to make parts, the company sometimes get the manufacturers no dispatch the rough casting for machining in their own shops. An acetylene welding plant by Thorn and Hoddle is in'stalled, as well as a Fletcher-Russell gas furnace for tempering, beat treatment, etc. When spare parts are delivered or made, or tools received, they are taken into stores. Spare parts are delivered on the foreman's authority only and when a tool is borrowed for any job a chit has to be given to the storekeeper by the operative. The stores
themselves are well the card-indexing principle being used. The bins are numbered to correspond with the cards, which show at a glance the state of the stock, as well as where it late be found. A benzole return from each centre of operation is received weekly, sitnilar to the specimen form which we publish on this page. From this sheet it is possible to arrive at the m.p.g. of fuel and the amount of lubricating oil consumed by each vehicle, and the average figures for these two items are transferred to a wall chart. When the speedometer of a vehicle is out of order and it is only possible for the driver to estimate his weekly mileage, he fills in, in that column, the word "estimated," and gives the reason in the "remarks column." Whilst the speedometer is under repair, the average mileage of the vehicle over a preceding period is credited to it.
A very careful cheek is kept upon fuel consumption, andsa special chart is kept to show the weekly consumption of benzole and oil, ka well as mileage. The best _consumption of fuel attained at some time or another on each vehicle is set as the standard of efficiency for that vehicle, and it is up-to the driver to see that he constantly approaches as near as \possible to that figure. If oil or benzoic), consumption is much above the maximum set, then an inquiry as to the cause is at once instituted. The seasons, of course, make a difference, and allowance is made for this, the highest mileage peak being reached about the middle of July.
A full monthly record of the general average work of the whole fleet and the monthly cost for benzale, oil, grease, labour, and material is kept. One of the main reasons why the company are in possession of a reliable and efficient fleet is because each man takes a live interest in his job. This spirit is fostered by the responsible officials, who pay close study to the requirements of their employees. For the lads going through the shops, Mir. Thompson holds weekly:classes, where they receive technical instruction relating to the repair and maintenance department. An annual examination is held and the employees' ability for promotion is thus judged. We cannot fittingly conclude this article without a word of thanks to Mr. W. McDowall and Mr. A. Thompson for their generous courtesy in extending to us every possible facility for securing details of the operation of the vehicles. The splendid running of the vehicles reflects much commendation on the innate organizing powers of Mr. McDowell and on the chief engineer's department for the remarkable condition of repair in which the vehicles are maintained.