.TRANSPORTING A 70-TON STEAM LAUNCH.
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A Difficult Haulage Task for which a Special Trailer was Used.
WE are indebted to the Highway Trailer Co., of Edgerton, Wis., U.S.A., for the accompanying illustration depicting a somewhat unusual haulage task—that of transporting a 70-ton steam launch. This company specializes in the con.Strue
tion of trailers for carrying loads up to 40 tons, but in this case the contractor took the risk of a 75 Per cent. overload. The work of conveying the launch a distance of about a mile and a half through city
streets to Lake Erie, including the time taken for loading, was accomplished in approximately five hours.
A standard 5-ton Mack lorry was employed as the prime mover. Needless to say, these heavy-duty trailers are of special construction, and, as a separate picture shows, they are fitted with eight wheels, these being shod with 36-in. by 14-in. solid rubber tyres; there are four wheels at the front and four at the rear. Each pair of wheels is mounted on a separate axle, this arrangement having been adopted to allow them to conform with the road contour and so equalize the load pressure, as well as to facilitate turning, it being claimed that a right or left-band turn can be made, without reversing, in thoroughfares only 25 ft. wide, Which,' it will be readily realized, is no mean performance.
The axles of the two front pairs Of wheels are pivotally mounted so that they can be steered similarly to the front wheels of a motor vehicle, the steering gear being independent of the drawbar. The frame of the trailer is built up of I-section steel girders. The platform, which measures 11 ft. by 15 ft., has a loading height of 23 ins. It may be added that each of the four rear wheels is provided with internal-expanding brakes.