A.E.C.s Prove Their Worth on Brick Haulage
Page 43
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WITH one or two exceptions, almost 11' the whole fleet operated by Mr. F. J. Masters, of Hemel Hempstead, is composed of A.E.C.s. A specialist brick haulier, his vehicles are called upon to face heavy work and hard going, which are inseparable from this class of transport.
His first A.E.C., a Mammoth, was
purchased in 1932, and was followed, up to 1938, by another Mammoth, three Monarchs and three Mammoth Majors, the latest acquisitions being powered by direct-injection oil engines. The 100,000 miles running registered by a Mammoth Major, purchased in 1936, is indicative of the big mileages being put up by these machines, whilst the record of another vehicle of the same type, which has lost only one day in a year's work, is typical of the service this operator is obtaining.
In 1936 he opened a depot, including a maintenance shop, at Kempston, near Bedford, adjacent to the brickfields. For one concern alone he now carries an average of 45,000 bricks a day-6,000 to 7,000 on an A.E.C. eight-wheeler—mostly for delivery to the suburban areas of London, with occasional runs to such places as Guildford, Reading and Basingstoke. ,
On the northern side of the Thames it is sometimes possible to effect two deliveries a day, but mostly one road journey only is made, the lorries being loaded up at night for a start at 4 o'clock o5. 5 o'clock the next morning.
The use of high-grade, clean engine oil (sumps are drained and refilled every 21 days) is one of this operator's maxims for reliability, and he is a believer in the method of keeping one driver to one machine, whenever practicable. All overhaul work is carried out at Kempston (including that of small vehicles he .uses in the Hemel Hempstead district)' and his maintenance staff has, before now, constructed at least one body on an A.E.C. sixwheeled chassis.