Newspaper Delivery by Motor Van,
Page 5
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The Lacre one-ton ioh.p. van which is illustrated on this page is one that has a splendid record. For two years it has been running continuously in the service of the makers, and has given demonstrations to a very large number of important London firms, such as Shoolbred's ; Maple and Company ; Wallis and Company ; Dewar and Son, Harrods, Limited; the Brixton Bon Marche; Jones Brothers; and Twining's. These firms have placed orders with the Lacre Motor Car Company, Limited, as a result of its excellent performances. This van also gave demonstrations in many of the large towns of England and Wales, making a tour which finished up in Scotland at Glasgow. From this city it made a non-stop run to London, a distance of 420 miles, with a full load and three passengers, in thirty hours. During the past month the van has undergone a test by the " Daily Mail," during which it was employed in delivering copies of that paper to agents in Margate, Brighton, Eastbourne, etc. It has been found in practice that, when the delivery of newspapers is carried out by motor services, a considerable saving in time is possible, and, particularly, in those cases where country towns within a hundred miles of London are to be served, the trains are often beaten.
In this instance of motor newspaper-delivery, the bundle., were taken from the printing office, and loaded straight into the van, which started on the road about 1.30 each morning. It arrived at Brighton about 4.30 a.m., Lewes about 5.50 a.m., and Eastbourne about 6.5o a.m.; it thus was able to deliver its cargo in these towns more than an hour before the newspaper train arrived. In addition to this gain in time in reaching a desired destination, all the villages en route can be supplied with their morning papers, an im.. ['tense convenience when one remembers that these villages are generally very badly served both by the railway companies, and in the 'natter of postal deliveries; many of them, in fact, having no communication whatever with the railway lines other than by slow-moving market-carts. On the runs to Brighton the speed of the van, including the time lost in making deliveries of the newspapers, worked out at about 15 miles per hour. On the Margate route, traversed alternately with that to Brighton, the van left London at x.3o a.m., and arrived at Ramsgate about 6.30 a.m., Margate being reached an hour later, and Westgate and Birchington about 7.30 a.m. The daily distance covered on this route averaged 160 miles, and the van did close upon x,000 miles per week regularly.
Before undergoing these trials by the " Daily Mail," the van had covered over 20,000 miles, and dozens of men had learnt to drive on it; nevertheless, in spite of all this hard work, the makers boast that it has never once been stopped on the road through mechanical trouble. The gears have
never been touched, and it has only twice b en into the TAN. rks, on the occasions of its annual overhaul. The De Neyers grooved tires, which are fitted to the van, have given every satisfaction to the makers. They are found to be wonderfully resilient, and minimise, to a great extent, the shocks which the engine would receive from ordinary solid tires when travelling over very bad roads.
The zacwt. van, of which an illustration also appears on This page.; was used by the " Daily Mirror "to deliver their 'papers to Margate on their " gala day "there. This is also a 16h.p. vehicle, and it has travelled, up to the present, about 7,000 miles, a great part of the mileage having been run in giving demonstrations. It is stated by the company that this vehicle also has not suffered any mechanical trouble on the road occasioning an involuntary stoppage during the entire time it has been on the road.