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Bird's Eye View

26th October 1962
Page 49
Page 49, 26th October 1962 — Bird's Eye View
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

nNE of the funniest stories told to the Hawk during the

Road Haulage Association conference at Bournemouth came from a well-known County Durham haulier. He assures me that this is true. Apparently, he received a letter from a local colliery complaining that one of his vehicles had been parked outside the colliery all night blocking the entrance and causing inconvenience, etc. Checking up on the movements of the vehicle concerned (the colliery had given the registration number), it appeared that the instructions to the driver were that he should stay the night away from the area and continue the next day to deliver his return load.

At the end of the week it became apparent that the driver had drawn his lodging allowance for staying away from home the night, and that he had falsified his records, etc.

On being told that he would be suspehded for a fortnight because of his misdemeanours (drawing money under false pretences, forgery; etc.), the driver said that he was going to get the police because he wanted to sue his boss for defamation of character! When he was taken into the office and shown the letter from the colliery, the driver said "All right, boss. It's a fair cop. But will somebody please tell me what is the percentage of fiddle allowed in this firm?"

Rotary Steam Engine

1t4R. J. R. HARDING, of Station Road, Wylde Green, -"I-Sutton Coldfield, is an electrical engineer by profession and a steam enthusiast by inclination. Moreover, he is an acknowledged authority on the subject of road-vehicle steam engines and has had a number of inquiries from overseas, notably from the Far East, regarding conversion of commercial vehicles as well as cars to steam power.

In Mr. Harding's view, the internal-combustion rotary engine is near ideal for steam motivation and would make an efficient road-vehicle engine if used in conjunction with the type of boiler developed for steam-heating on locomotives. Such power units could burn a variety of fuels, including the old sump oil of diesel and petrol engines. In a conversation with Mr. Harding, I was unable to provoke him into forecasting the possible specific fuel consumption of such a unit, but his confidence that it could find a place in the haulage industry was temporarily convincing. If it could produce a high stalling torque he might be right.

In 150 B.C. . . .

wHILST the automotive gas turbine looks as though it is

only just going to start to make any appreciable impact, as evidenced by the Chrysler Corporation's engine described in last week's issue, the idea is not quite as new as all that. As with all turbines, the true development history starts in 150 B.C., with Hero of Alexandria, followed by Leonardo da Vinci's 1150 chimney jack, widely used for turning roasting spits. The really interesting part of the gas turbine's history stems from 1791, when a Mr. John Barber of Nuneaton took out British Patent Specification No. 1833 describing the thermodynamic cycle of the modern gas turbine and suggesting its use for jet propulsion. The first gas turbine of the modern type was designed in 1872 by Stolze, but its component efficiencies were too low for the machine to run under its own power, and the first turbine capable of delivering external power was built in 1905 by Sociele des Turbomoteurs, of Paris. In 1920 a Holzwarth gas turbine was supplied to the Prussian State Railways, whilst in 1936 a Brown Boveri gas turbine was put into use at a catalytic oil-cracking plant in the U.S.A. The first flight of a turbojet aircraft was made by the German Heinkel concern in 1939, with the first flight of the Whittle engine in 1941. Hero certainly started something!

Ideas for Trailers

THEIdea of the Year" Competition promoted by Crane Fruehauf Trailers, Ltd., is, I understand, meeting with a very good response.

In this competition drivers are asked to place a list of 11 advantages claimed for semi-trailers in order of importance: in addition entrants are asked to supply one further idea (in not more than 100 words) for improving semis.

The competition closes on October 31—first prize is £50.

Take Care

PARTICULARLY now that winter is approaching, lorry -1 drivers will be using various petrol/ether mixtures which are on sale to ease cold starts. That is fine, if they want to, but I would recommend that they take very much to heart the moral in this tale.

A few weeks ago, a driver was considerably startled (and, fortunately, only received minor burns) when a tin of such mixture, which he was carrying in his cab, fell across the terminals of the battery behind his seat. There was a short, and the contents ignited. He was lucky to get off so lightly.

For goodness' sake ensure that your drivers take care with such inflammables. if they must carry them.


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