1,500 Garments Carried Without Creasing
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ARECENT addition to the fleet of vehicles operated by the ,Sketchley 133,e Works, of which the peoptietor is A. E. Hawley and Co., Ltd., is an articulated pantechnicon outfit. The tractive unit is a Fordson Thames model ET, and the body a Carrimore mounted on a Carrimore close-coupled, semi-trailer, having a retractor turntable and Quickfit coupling gear.
The interior of the body has been arranged so that about 1,500 garments can be carried without need for folding or packing, which means that they can be kept fresh, and free from creasing during transit. The processed clothing is carried on rails in the rear portion of the body, whilst at the forward end, the garments, as collected from the depots, are carried in special skips. Access to the front is gained through roller shutters, of which there is one on each side. The goods which are being delivered are loaded on to a high-level centre rail and pushed down the body, and thereafter distributed into the side sections.
By this arrangement, considerable time is saved when delivering to depots, as the assistant is able to go straight to the section or sections in which any particular depot's goods are hung. All that the depot staff has to do" is to hang the garments straight on to rails to ensure that the customers receive them just as they left the works.
The main function of this outfit lies in the distribution of articles of clothing which have been processed at the Park Royal works of the company to its numerous branches in the London area: With a light-green finish to the upper half, and black below the waist rail, the vehicle is of most attractive appearance. It was supplied to the operator by Paynes Garages, Ltd., Hill Street, Hinckley, Leicestershire.
At its main depot in Hinckley, the operator is building up a fleet of Fordson vehicles. At present it comprises two 5-cwt, and 12 10-cwt. vans, eight 4-ton Luton-type vans, and the pantechnicon vehicle just described. For coaling the boilers at this depot the company uses a Chaseside Super High-lift shovel, based on a Fordson tractor, whilst the concern's fire engine is a Ford Thames outfit, having a Sulzer 900 g.p.m. pump powered by a Ford V8 engine.