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Why Mechanical Horses are Replacing Animals
Page 108
Page 109
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WHEN, in the middle of 1930, Karrier Motors, Ltd., Huddersfield, put the first real mechanical horse, the Cob, on the market, there were many who were sceptical of its successes. So far as precedents could be taken as a guide, they were justified, for, although there was no precedent for the Cob, the fate of the unorthodox in motor-vehicle design has often been unfortunate.
To-day, although the market is now shared between two manufacturers, Scammell Lorries, Ltd., High Holborn House, High Holborn, London, W.C.1, having taken a hand, the demand can hardly be met. The secret of this success is the convenience and economy of the outfit, and in those two characteristics are contained all that is essential to the success of any mechanical appliance.
That it was convenient, that it satisfactorily performed . all that a horse could do and more, were quickly apparent. Proof of its economy waited, of necessity, on time. We have occasionally taken the opportunity of indicating the effectiveness of this type of commercial motor in that respect.
The authentic experiences of users recounted in this article confirm our views, in many cases exceeding our expectations. Some of the comparisons with horse costs are most illuminating, showing economies, in spheres of operation hitherto regarded as suitable only for horsed transport, of as much as 50 per cent.
Of the railway companies as users of this outfit we need write nothing, beyond pointing out the obvious fact that only on definite proof of superiority over horses would they have purchased such large numbers of these vehicles.
D42 Of the examples of economical service which lie before us, perhaps the most interesting, having in mind direct comparisons with horses, is that of Ruston and Hornsby, Ltd., Lincoln. In this case a Karrier Cob is used simply for inter-works transport over a total distance of 14 mile. Here is an instance where even the keenest of mechanicaltransport enthusiasts would have hesitated to recommend anything but horses. The work is the cartage of a variety of materials between eight different workshops, all situated within the radius of 1i mile. The cost of horsed transport was 2s. 10d. per ton. The cost, using a Karrier Cob under precisely the same conditions, is 1s. Rd. per ton. A close investigation of the conditions revealed the fact that the economy was due, in part, to the greater speed of the motor, but also—and this must come in the nature of a surprise—as the outcome of its better manceuvrability.
Lloyds Packing Warehouses, Ltd., one of the largest transport operators in Manchester, used horses extensively for the conveyance of cotton and general merchandise to and from the docks and railway stations of Manchester to warehouses in that city. Cobs are now being bought steadily at the rate of one per month.
In the experience of that concern, a Karrier Cob suffices to do the work of two horse-drawn drays. Its cost -is from £6 10s. to £6 15s. per week. Each horse-drawn dray costs from £4 10s. to £5 per week. Instead, therefore, of a weekly expenditure of 29 to £10, only £6 10s. to £6 15s. is needed when the mechanical horse is substituted for the animal.
Ramsgate Corporation used to employ 5-ton lorries for the transport of coal from the harbour to the gasworks, less than a mile away, and substituted, for: four of those lorries, two Karrier Cobs, each with' two trailers. The authority uses the Cobs also for the transport of coke from the gasworks to a boiler house, " across the road." In this case, the saving in taxation alone was equivalent to a reasonable return per annum on the sum invested in the mechanical horses. •
The quantity of material moved is as much as 175 tons in a 'day and in a month 1,699 tons were hauled. Precise figures for cost were not so readily obtainable -in this instance, but an all-round figure of 7d. per tOn is stated to
he slightly in excess of actuality. • •
Turning now to examples where, as is so often the case, precise details of cost are not available, the experience of a London haulage contractor and coal merchant are of interest. Messrs. G. J. Palmer and Sons, Kingston-onThames, prefer . Karrier Cobs to horses and use them
• purely for the house-to-house delivery of coal and for the delivery of loads of coal to order.
The reason is that—we use their own words—" they are morn economical and much more convenient." Asked what was meant by the term "convenient," we were informed that the Cobs are faster than horses, do not go sick and are not troubled by frosty roads or steep hills. As a result, the risk of delay in delivery is a thing of the past, Thomas Allen, Ltd., is a well-known London concern of hau age contractors with an important business in the short-distance transport of general merchandise. For this purpose horses were at one time used. For the transport of beer from the docks over a distance up to 15 miles or sc, another prominent phase of the company's activities, heavy motor vehicles were employed. Now the work is handed by 20 Scammell mechanical horses of 3-ton and 6-ton capacity.
Peek Freon and Co., Ltd., finds that the economy of its Scammell mechanical horses is such that five of them replace 12 horses. This concern employs the Scarnmells for dock work and for deliveries to shops from its factories in 'Bermondsey.
The vehicles are used in the most economical way, each in conjunction with two trailers, one 'of winch is being loaded while the other is making deliveries. The average reile&ge per vehicle approximates to 35 per day.
1-ky's Wharf Cartage Co., Ltd., finds the mechanical horse to be particularly valuable on the dock and wharf haulage business which forms so considerable a proportion of the company's activities. In the fleet there are five Scammells and all are used within a radius of 10-12 miles on work which, at one time, was largely carried out by horses.