SPECIALIZED USES FOR Iv IPAL MOTOR APPLIANCES.
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Details of Certain Types of Machine I Which Are Not Neces ive Been Built to Meet Requirements nmon to All Districts.
evidence is to be found in the various .tlsections of this Special Issue of the value and all-round utility of the motor vehicle and the powerdriven appliance in the many defined channels of municipal activity, but, in most cases, they can be termed orthodox machines, in which any one maker's products closely approximates, in general design, those of his various competitors. This statement must be interpreted in its broadest sense and proper allowances made for patented and original features of construction, but, details. apart, the main functions of almost all vehicles built to meet specific needs are controlled and effected in much the sail e way.
In general, the varied problems which have to Be faced and met by most local authorities are, individually, of a like naturez although certain differences must' necessarily exist between the ramifications of those bodies concerned with thickly peopled districts and those whose activities are mostly associated with rural areas possessing a scattered, population. It is obvious, however, that unusual local conditions, which may not have their direct counterpart in other parts of the country, may necessitate the employment of vehicles or appliances of a special type and thus enable tasks, which could not adequately and economically be performed by standard productions, to be efficiently accomplished.
Then, again, the individual preferences of local officers must receive their meed of attention, for these officials are responsible to the main authority for the working of their respective departments, which often vie with those of municipalities in other districts to secure the most favourable results. In this connection, it must be borne in mind that municipal authorities do not 'display the marked reticence to divulge figures relating to working and running cogs as do private transport users. The painstaking efforts which have been made by commercial vehicle makers as a whole to meet these varying and exacting requirements are most commendable and tributes to their versatility and flexible works organization. It is our express intention in this article to deal with some of those machines which deviate in certain respects from conventional models, but we must make it clear that it is impossible, in the space at our disposal, to deal with the activities of all manufacturers in this connection. Let it be said before proceeding, however, ' that most of the prominent makers possess the necessary facilities and experience for producing special types of vehicle and appliance, or for modifying existing chassis to carry unusual types of body.
Some of these machines can be grouped under definite headings, and merely differ in the manner in which they effect work common to all authorities, but others have been produced for special purposes.
In the categay 7:if refuse collectors, for example, we find that many novel types have been produced. .Take the case of the Pagefield system introduced by Walker Bros_ (Wigan), Ltd., which has done much to revolutionize the methods employed in this class of work. It consists of a combination of horse and motor haulage, horses being favoured for house-tohouse collection—admittedly work in which the mechanical vehicle (with the possible exception of the electric) is not used to the best advantage—and the motors being used for the express purpose of transporting the refuse to the destructor. A low-sided container accommodates the rubbish and, although its wheels are Anall, the average draughthorse can readily haul it Waded to its full capacity of 3 tons.
When filled, the container is hauled into position on the motor lorry by means of winch gearing. The main chassis • carries a tipping frame, hinged at the rear, the frame members of it being of box section and intended to serve as • rfeeptades for two ramps, up and down which the container can run.
With this system the bin-men have no idle periods, for an empty container is deposited each time a filled receptacle has to be dealt with ;, thus is considerable economy in time • effected. The Pagefield method of collection has resulted in a saving in cost per house cleared at Southport of 2s. 10d. per annum, as compared with horse haulage. In the borough of Wandsworth seven PagefieId motor wagons are used, with about 20 containers, to collect the refuse from a population of over 250,000, so ft will be seen that the system is not limited in its application.
The 1VIilnes-Daimler container-transporter method of collection is somewhat similar to that we have described. It differs in some details, notably in connection with tife use of
telescopic runway, which is extended and then lowered for the reception of the container.
Another system, in which mechanical and animal traction is combined, is that wherein two-wheeled trailers, of the type made by the Eagle EngineeringCo.. Ltd., are used on the multiple system, being horse-drawn for filling purposes and
hauled to the destructors by tractors. The Dublin Corporation has found this method satisfactory and uses Fordson units for the work.
Another specialized form of refuge collection is that adopted with success by ;he Hackney Borough Council. In this system removable tipping tubs (two to each vehicle) are mounted on Garrett electric chassis, being held in position by
cleats which can be readily released. When the vehicles reach the destructor works the tubs are lifted -by overhead transporter cranes, of a pattern built by Ransomes and Rapier, Ltd., trunnions on their sides being engaged by steel wire ropes, and carried to a convenient point in front of the furnace doors, where the contents are precipitated.
To facilitate the loading of motor vehicles engaged on the collection of domestic refuse many improvements have been introduced. The low load-line vehicle, in which the top of the body is at, or below, shoulder level, has many advocates and is, perhaps, best exemplified by the S.D. Freighter, which is a special form of vehicle normally having a small ground clearance. The standard chassis productions of many makers also have been modified to achieve this end, and those requiring further information of such vehicles will find it elsewhere in this issue.
In instances, however, where lorries of the ordinary type are utilized special arrangements are often made for loading. This is the case with the 31–ton Dennis crane wagon illustrated on the previous page. With this vehicle a rather 1:nnsual system is adopted. Cylindrical bins of Fton capacity, into which householders shoot their rubbish, are located at fixed points, each bin serving as the dump for a definite number of houses.
The men in charge of the vehicle work a set round, emptying the bins as they proceed and returning them to their original positions. The crane minimizes the task of the leaders and is power-driven off the chassis gearbox. The maximum and minimum radii of the jib are 10 ft. and 7 ft. respectively from the king post. As is usual with refuse wagons, the body is arranged for end tipping.
The chief aim of those municipal departments responsible for refuse collection and disposal is to deal with the largest loads possible on a single vehicle. For this reason heavy vehicles with bodies having a large cubic content are almost invariably employed, but this desideratum has brought into use the six-wheeler type of vehicle and, where ample space is available for collection and tipping, this class of machine has much to recommend it on the score of cost. Such a vehicle—a Garrett electric in the service of the Norwich Corporation—is illustrated.
The chassis itself consists of a standard 5-tanner, somewhat shortened, and the frame of the trailer portion receives a deep vertical drop near its front end so that the body can be made of deep proportions at the rear.
The body is tipped by Bromilow and Edwards gear, operated by a 1 h.p. electric motor, and the 16 cubic yards of refuse which it holds can be speedily discharged. A valuable asset of this particular type of vehicle is that it can be controlled from the kerbside, for which purpose the steering wheel is removed from its normal position and fixed on a shaft projecting from a position below the driver's cab.
Six-wheelers cannot be operated in congested areas, however, and even standard four-wheel vehicles cannot always be employed where space is of limited proportions. Certain manufacturers have overcome these difficulties' by producing short-wheelbase models, and the Leyland and Pagefield c34
vehicles are to the fore in this connection. Although the overall length of such machines is considerably reduced from standard by using exceptionally deep bodies, with special arrangements for loading and unloading, no loss of gross capacity is incurred.
Before leaving the Subject of refuse collection we should make some mention of those special multi-purpose vehicles which enable a single machine to End more regular use. The Thornycroft petrol-driven vehicle stands out as an ingenious example of this type, since ie enables five distinct operations to be effected by one vehicle, these being refuse collecting, road-metal delivery, street sweeping and watering and gully emptying. Only two different bodies are needed to enable these many tasks to be efficiently carried out, one being ell end-tipper and the other a tank. The popular size of vehicle for this work is one with a tipping body of 140 cubic feet (net load :11, tons) and a tank of 750 gallons capacity. The brush for road sweeping can be lifted clear of the ground when not required. The sprinkler beads for street watering are disposed ahead of the frame members. Many makers have constructed dual-purpose vehicles in which an endtipping body is interchangeable with a tank for street watering, in some cases the latter being directly fixed in the former.
It is not a far cry from domestic refuse collectors to those used for street work of a similar nature, and some of the machines designed for the latter purpose also tackle such operations as road sprinkling and sweeping. The Karrier
stands pre-eminent in this class. Its water sprinkler is fitted ahead of the machine and the main brush behind the front wheels. The elevator system is favoured for lifting the sweepings, and it comprises three geared rotors, disposed one above the other, each revolving in an opposite direction to its neighbour. The body is tipped to the side when the contents have to be discharged.
A vastly different sweeper and loader is the Meldrum, which possesses separate sweeping and collecting units. The container or loader, takes the form of a two-wheeled detachable trailer, which is connected to the sweeper by an automatic coupling. This machine can be used on the multiple system by having a number of trailing units. Three brushes are used for sweeping and they are inclined at such an angle that dirt is directed into the bucket-type elevator at the rear. A water-spraying apparatus is arranged in front of the foremost brnshes.
It will not be out of place at this point to refer to some of those appliances designed for one or more of the various Phases of road work. Tar-spraying, for example, can be efficiently carried out by special vehicles designed by Leyland Motors, Ltd_ and Mann's Patent Steam Cart and Wagon Co., Ltd. The product of the first-named is virtually tr manypurpose machine, for, although its chief function is that of tar-spraying, it can be converted to other uses. This is an advantage, for work on tarred surfaces is limited to a comparatively short period in the spring mdnths. The company's 6-ton steam-wagon chassis, forms the basis of this model, which usually carries a tank of 1,000 cubic ft. capacity.
The Mann wagon, however, is essentially a tar-sprayer, and the apparatus used for distribution of the compound is the Aitken patent. The chassis is the company's 6-tonner
fin (1. the rectangular container with which it is equipped holds about SOO gallons of tar. In addition to possessing heating coils, it is fitted with a firebox SO as to give direct heat for_ liquefying the heavy compositions now in regular use. The tar is pumped from the tank into a receiver and then forced to a distributing pipe with patent atomizing nozzles which give a fine fan-shaped spray.
In a Somewhat different category is the Fowler road-spraying and resurfacing plant, in so far as it consists of a tar tank and pump and spraying gear attached to an example of the company's standard rollers, with the addition of a special gritting machine, which is hauled. The main advantage of this combination lies in the fact that the plant is selfcontained and thus enables large areas to be covered in a short time. It is claimed that 750 superficial yards of road can be completely resurfaced in less than 10 minutes.
Whilst discoursing on road upkeep and maintenance, we must not overlook the important subject of sprinkling and watering. Petrol, steam and 'electric vehicles, of the more or less orthodox . pattern, are usually employed for this service, but special .tractor-tank types are finding favour amongst some authorities.
We illustrate a machine of this type, .which. is composed of a Halley G-type chassis and an Eagle attachment and
• washer.. The tank has a capacity of .2,000 gallons, and the centrifugal Pump is arranged to supply ;water.under pressure to five fish-tail nozzles located at a suitable angle beneath . the machine. This outfit is _equipped with Warwick patent sprinkler heads of the compen
sated type.. • The particular machine illustrated is in the service of the Corporation of Birmingham. It is used at night for cleansing the streets and has super
seded the old method of swilling down by hose connected to fire hydrants.
We have already indicated that small road tractors claim a vogue, in certain phases of municipal work, and departments concerned with street cleansing find such units of inestimable value for hauling capacious tank bodies.
. The trailer-tankers constructed by the Muir Hill Service Equipn,*nt Co., Ltd., have proved most efficient in this respect, and, as one of our pictures shows, such .machines possess a number of novel and unusual features Of design, not the least important Of which is the combined form of transverse and longitudinal suspension which is employed. Special types of tank, in various sizes and oval in crosssection, which are particularly valuable for some municipel vehicles and appliances, are manufactured by Thompson Bros.
(DiIston), Ltd. •
Many novel types of vehicle and appliance have been designed for the sundry operations associated with road construction and the maintenance and resurfacing of highways, and one of the most striking machines which falls within this . category is the Advance steam roller built by Wallis and S,teevens, Ltd. This is of comparatively recent introduction, and one .of its most interesting features concerns the rear rolls, which, being specially sprung, can automatically adjust themselves to the road camber, and the lowering of the
centre of gravity obviates sidesway. •
. • Other special machines built for this Work are of the quick-reverse tandem type, but it is difficult to particularize In so far as large numbers are available.
An interesting type of municipal vehicle built expressly for handling electric transformers and cable drums is illustrated on our centre pages and is a product of the Yorkshire Patent SteaM Wagon Co.
This machine is fitted with an overhead runway suspended from two deep arched members erected on platforms in the body itself. The block and tackle which rides in this runway ta used for lifting the transformers to a Doint at the rear of the body, after which the transformer is lowered into its pit in the ground by a wire rope paid out from a drum behind the driver's cab and carried obr. a Valley at the far end of the runway. The tackle is capable of dealing with loads up to 3 tons, and its use saves the need for the employment of :large numbers of men and horses which previonSly undertook work of this class. As the body is of the welltype it is also possible to use a vehicle of this deheription for the transporta cable drums.
We cannot, fittingly, close this survey without some reference to municipal passenger transport, and to specific types of appliance .which are used, in connection with the maintenance of overhead tramway equipment. In the category of passenger-carrying vehicles. pure and simple we have, apart from regular-service buses, promenade runabouts of the
type produced by Guy Motors, Ltd., and the Vulcan Motor and Engineering Co. (1906), Ltd. In each case these vehicles are similar, consisting of examples of the company's standard chassis which have been modified in one or tWo respects in order to se:nue a particularly low-loading line, these alterations including underslung springs and wheels of a miniature pattern.
The chassis are .fitted with open-sided bodies having fullwidth transverse seats, and there is little question that they are ideal units for summer service. They have already been run with 'considerable success and profit by the authorities of Bournemouth, Southport, Worthing, etc.
For repair and reconstruction work on overhead tramway wires the motor tower wagon is now a recognized type, and its general utility will undoubtedly be. much enhanced if the vehicle evolved by the manager of the Liverpool Corporation Tramways proves to be the success anticipated. This particular machine is so designed that it can be operated either on the road or on the tram rails. The principle of the design is quite simple. On to the frame of the ordinary chasSis four inverted rolled-steel I! brackets which form supports for four hydraulic cylinders are mounted ; the rams carry at their lower ends boxes for axles carrying flanged bracket wheels. When on the road these axles are so lifted that the track wheels are well clear of the ground..
The 'initiative and 'enterprise of municipal engineer g"anc their attitude of receptivity towards, new ideas Constitute -a. good augury for the future of motor power in the many
branches • of Municipal service. •