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Rapid and Cheap Transport for -ton Load

26th February 1954
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Page 40, 26th February 1954 — Rapid and Cheap Transport for -ton Load
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by Laurence J. Cotton,

NI.I.R.T.E.

CONDITIONS could scarcely have been worse for carrying out fuel-consumption tests than on the day chosen to assess the performance of an Austin-Carrimore articulated outfit powered by a Meadows four-cylindered oil engine. Fog and ice-covered roads in the morning and driving snow later in the day must have taken its toll in fuel, yet the consumption rates worked out to 17.4 m.p.g. when operating light and 12.3 m.p.g. with a 9-ton load, both trips being made at over 20 m.p.h. average speed. This consumption rate represents marked economy over the performance of a petrol-engined vehicle under similar conditions, especially as it was achieved while maintaining a time schedule.

Derated to 73 b.h.p.

The Meadows engine and kit were supplied by G. E. Neville and Son Ltd., Mansfield. Notts. the engine being derated to give 73 b.h.p. at 2,200 r.p.m. and 180 lb.-ft. torque, so keeping within the capacity of the transmission. The conversion kit comprises engine support brackets for attachment to the front crossmember, and rear mounting brackets with a connecting underslung crossmember. Metalastik engine mounts are supplied, together with a set of brackets for attachment to the engine.

A cast-iron housing connects the engine and standard Austin gearbox and an 11-in.-diameter clutch is employed. An air-inlet pipe and air cleaner are fitted to the engine and convolute water hoses and a flexible • -exhaust pipe are used to connect with the existing units. An additional filter is provided between the fuel tank and lift pump and flexible connections are fitted in the feed and return pipes and in the pipe to the oil pressure gauge.

Other components include a bracket and lever with connecting link between the accelerator pedal and governor control, and a wooden case for the 24-v. battery. A resistance is supplied for connecting the normal 12-volt fuel-tank gauge.

The complete kit costs £73 I0s., whilst the engine in derated form, with 24-v. dynamo, starter and control, costs 1439 7s. An installation charge of £45 is standard and in the case of the Austin with vacuum-servo braking equipment there is also a Clayton Dewandre exhauster, costing £17 10s., and a vacuum reservoir, gauge, pipes and clips, totalling £9. to be provided. Altogether, the conversion costs £584 7s. 6d.. Which may be slightly offset by the disposal of the replaced petrol engine.

The replacement engine and components add about 3 cwt. to the unladen weight of the vehicle, the Austin short-wheelbase tractor with 20 gal. of fuel weighing 2 tons 151 cwt. With a 4-ft. headboard fitted to the Carrimore semigrailer used for the trials, its unladen weight was 2 tons 4 cwt.. making a total of 4 tons 191 cwt. for the complete outfit.

This articulated unit is operated by A. J. Mackaness Ltd., Billing. Northampton, its main purpose being for potato collection from farms in Lincolnshire and as far afield as Sot.tth Wales, Cornwall and the South Coast. There are about 50 vehicles in the Mackaness fleet, mostly of Austin make, so that the replaced petrol engine has been retained as a spare unit.

The Austin was on light duty during the test, following a longdistance run the previous day. After hitching up the empty Carrimore unit and filling the fuel tank, the outfit was driven from the depot at Billing, on the outskirts of Northampton. to Whittlesey, which is near Peterborough. Although there are many gradients between these two points. this part of the journey proved to be a top-gear effort, indirect ratios being used only when starting from traffic halts.

Fast Driving on Ice

I had a certain amount of apprehension. admittedly without foundation, of being in an articulated vehicle in bad weather, but 42 miles of fast driving on ice-covered roads was responsible for relieving it as there was never an anxious moment. Whittlesey was reached in 1 hr. 351. min., corresponding to 26.4 m.p.h., and 191 pints of fuel were used, which is equal to a consumption rate of 17.4 m.p.g. Without load the Austin was ovet-powered for the most economical operation. and a higher-ratio axle, or a twospeed axle, would tend to greater economy.

At Whittlesey. instructions were received to collect 9 tons of bagged potatoes from Grange Farm. Gyhirrn, which is midway between Peterborough and Wisbech. This 9-mile journey in the Fenland. with its long flat roads, provided opportunity of determining the 'maximum speed in third gear as being 18 m.p.h. and in direct drive, 33 m.p.h. For oil-engine operation it would be preferable to have closer spacing of the topand third-gear ratios, with resultant benefit in economy, and flexibility.

Travelling to the potato fields and shunting for loading used another Si pints of fuel, corresponding to 14.1 m.p.g. The return load, 180 bags of potatoes, was loaded, and after the lunch break the Austin was headed towards Northampton. Acceleration tests made on the way indicated that from 0-20 m.p.h. occupied 34 sec. and, because of the low speed at which direct gear is engaged, it took 80 sec. to reach 30 m.p.h.

The undulations between Peterborough and Northampton necessitated frequent use of the intermediate gears with the 9-ton load, and many of the declines called for extra caution with full use of the gearbox to prevent wheel locking on the snowand ice-covered roads. It was cold in the cab, the noise-isolating sheets attached to the engine cowl being; in addition, particularly effective in insulating the heat. The day temperature was 34' F., and the highest recorded in the cab was 40" F. With such a low ambient reading the engine was overcooled, a feature that militated against fuel economy.

Because the return journey was more direct, only 50 miles were recorded, the fuel used being 324 pints, corresponding to 12.3 m.p.g. The average speed was 21.2 m.p.h., which is a fast pace for an articulated outfit having a low powerweight ratio and operating under appalling weather conditions. For journeys in which the AustinCarrimore travels out light and returns with a 9-ton load, the average consumption, according to the operator's records, is just over 16 m.p.g. In my test the mean fuel return was 14.85 m.p.g., the difference probabl. being due to faster driving, the engine being overcooled and the exceptionally heavy going.

My general impression of the unit was that the acceleration and hillclimbing were possibly slightly slower than with a petrol engine in peak condition, and to get the best possible performance with the oilengine conversion it would be preferable to employ a two-speed axle or a five-speed direct-drive-top close-ratio gearbox. With its present mountings the engine runs smoothly and, when warm, its idling causes no undue vibration on the chassis frame.

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