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EASTBOURNE'S MUNICIPAL MOTORS
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EASTBOURNE, with Its resi dential population of some 60,000 and its great Inflow of people during the holiday season, has many problems with which to contend in respect of its municipal services, but the officials find that their difficulties are greatly lessened by the efficient employment of a considerable fleet of motor vehicles and appliances.
%Mr. Leslie Roseveare, the borough engineer and building surveyor, has a number of these under his control, employed for the collection of house refuse, the cleansing of the streets, gully-emptying, work in connection with roadmaking and the upkeep of the pleasure grounds, and even vehicles and appliances for the farms owned by the corporation in the Downs Preservation Area. The fleet employed for dust collection consists of six Thornycroft J-type lorries, which were purchased from the War Department in 1919 and are still giving excellent service. These have enclosed bodies with flap lids, which were constructed by the department, and there are six S.D. Freighters, the older typ4s with canvas covers, but the latest with mechanically operated shutters for dustless loading.
The town is divided into " dusting " districts for the different vehicles, and collection is made weekly, except during the months of July, August and September, when the Inflow of visitors calls for more frequent attention. In addition, hotels, schools and boarding houses are dealt with separately, as required, during the whole year.
As to the disposal of the refuse, this is all burnt in a destructor after sorting for anything of value. The destructor is at the eastern end of the town, and not long ago was on the outskirt§, but the town has now grown half a mile beyond it. The dust is entirely self-consuming, a forced-draught plant being em ployed. The resulting clinker is used for road foundations, and any left over is sold to builders, whilst the ashes are utilized under footpath slabs.
For the year ended March 31st, 1931, the amount of refuse collected was 21,578 tons, and the cost of collection worked out at us. 34d. per ton, with an additional disposalcost of Os. 5.1d., making a total of 17s. 8i1. per ton.
For general-purpose work there are one Thornycroft J-type, two Leyland 4-tonners, which have been P44 in service since 1923, and three Morris light vans, bought between 1926 and 1927. These are used for road-repair work, the cartage of clinker, etc. One Morris light van has been in service for the pleasure ground department since 1930, its chief work being the transport of plants to and from the greenhouses.
In 1927 a }Carrier sweeper and collector was purchased. This covers 6,000 miles per year, sweeping a width of 7 ft., and, as it is used chiefly for the channels, this represents 3,000 miles of road. It is employed principally in connec
tion with the main thoroughfares; the remainder are cleaned by men with hand barrows. The dust Is dumped on allotments, etc.
Gully-emptying is performed by a Dennis machine of the vacuum type, which has been in service since 1927. It has a capacity of 750 gallons of sludge, with a sealing tank of 350 gallons of water. This deals with 40 gullies per day, and the sludge is tipped on the outskirts of the town at an average distance of 1i mile.
For road work there are four steam rollers of Aveling and Porter make, of which three are 10-tonners with three rolls, but there is a 6ton tandem type for asphalt, etc.
The corporation farms employ a Morris boxvan, which conveys food, etc., for the sheep and cattle, and there are two Fordson tractors for ploughing, whilst a Pattison Beta tractor, built with the Ford T-type 1-tonner as a basis, is used for pulling triple mowers, which can, when required, be carried in the body. This machine is, normally, on pneumatic tyres all round, but spiked rear wheels are.available.
The Police Department has a few private cars, but the only commercial vehicle is a Morris 10-cwt. van, [bought in 1930 and equipped with longitudinal seats, which is utilized for prison work, etc. Under police control, however, is an ambulance utilizing a Morris Commercial 15.9 h.p. 30-cwt. chassis. The body carries two superiMposed stretchers and gives accommodation for four sitting cases; this was bought in 1928. It is guaranteed that this machine will be on the road within 15 secs. of a call, and it is interesting to note that last year there were 470 calls, of which 184 were for accidents. Street-accident cases are carried free of charge, but a considerable amount of private work is done for conveying patients to their homes or hospitals, in which case a charge of 10s. is made for the ambulance if the run be only .within the borough boundary, with an addition of Is, 3d. per mile outside the boundary.
We did not catch Mr. D. W. Spence, the chief officer of the fire brigade, at quite a happy time, because the new equipment which has been ordered is awaiting the approval of the Ministry of Health, but, subject to this, Eastbourne will soon have cause to be proud of a 95-ft. Merryweather turntable ladder with a 60-gallon first-aid tank and searchlight with tripod and cables, and a 70 h.p. escape van of Morris-Commercial make, which Is also being equipped with a 60gallon first-aid tank.
The existing plant consists of a Dennis 60 h.p. machine, with the
special Dennis two-stage turbine pump, combined with a 50-ft. Bailey escape. This machine, which was I ought in 1924, was recently converted to pneumatic tyres, which alteration has greatly improved its utility. The second fire pump is a Leyland 60 h.p. machine bought in 1912. This has a Mather and Platt centrifugal pump of a very powerful type, and the vehicle runs on solid tyres.
The chief officer has made a number of improvements since he took over the position last June. For instance, he has converted all the oldtype round-thread connections to instantaneous couplings. Since June 1st last there have been 55 calls, not one of them a false alarm.
Much progress is being made in the bus department, which has been for many years under the .able control of Mr. P. Ellison, M.LM.E. The fleet now comprises 54 vehicles, 16 of which are Titan double-saloon vehicles, whilst the rest are nearly all Leyland Lions, except for one or two older-type Leylands. The latter are mostly 'single-deckers, but there are still a few of the old models with open tops. Five more double-saloon Titan buses have just been ordered.
Some of the double-saloon vehicles are equipped with bodies designed by Mr. Ellison, who, incidentally, claims to have built, in 1906, the first bus with cross seats, 'All bus repairs, as well as the maintenance of dust-carts, highway lorries, lire-engines and the police ambulance, are carried out at the works and garage in the Archery district. There is an iron foundry with a coke-fired cupola for castings per mile, and the petrol consumption averages slightly under 6 m.p:g. The average number of passengers per car-mile is 12, and the all-in cost per vehicle-mile (including loan charges and depreciation) is approximately 14d. The net profit averages 1.3d. per vehicle-mile, and totalled £6,708 last year.