The Road Transport of Large Boilers.
Page 19
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A VEItY common sight about Christ...1A. mas-time among the factories of Yorkshire and Lancashire is a giant tractor hauling a boiler of considerable size. The work of installing such plant is almost invariably effected at holidaytime in order to avoid a stoppage of work at the factory concerned, and as the break between the summer holiday and the Christmas vacation is the longest of the year, it means that there are usually more boilers on the road just before and even during the latter holiday than at any other time.
The Work of boiler removal was ore .af the first to be taken in hand by mechanical vehicles, and it is some time now since teams of horses were em
ployed for this task. The job is highly specialized one, not only on account of the outfit and tackle required, but on account of the difficul ties encountered in transferring the load to the narrow confines of the boiler house. Often it is necessary to take out an old boiler first. The simplest of tackle is invariably used to deal with loads of from thirty to fifty tons, steel plates, jacks, rollers and pulley blocks being the only articles carried. Permanent lifting apparatus is not of much use in such cases as it is usually years before another load has to be discharged in the same place.
The accompanying picture shows a boiler, on an eight-wheeled trailer, being towed by a steam tractor owned. by Messrs. H. Bentley and Co., of Bradford, who are specialists in boiler haulage and similar heavy work, as witness the job they pluckily tackled of hauffing the big rotor from Birmingham to London, which attracted so much publicity recently. The tractor which is illustrated is one of those which were used on the journey to London.
In the instance which forms the subject of the illustration, a Yorkshire boiler of 24 ft. by 9 ft. dimensions. s.nd weighing about ',if) tons, was hauled on a steel trailer made by Messrs. Bentley themselves. The manmuvring of this load down a narrow lane only just wide enough to take the engine and trailer in line was a difficult piece of work, bat such jobs are tackled almost daily, and a trie judgment has been cultivated.
It is the custom to roll the boilers from the trailers after they have been hauled as near as possible to the prepared bed, and then to move them on milers into position.
Nothing can be done in a hurry with such big loads, but it is amazing how rapidly work progresses with a alibimum of waste effort Turning and steering a bulky load -such as a boiler present problems to the uninitiated, especially when there are only inches to spare at each side, but apparently impossible feats are often accomplished in this line of work.