THE LORRY'S PART IN PIONEER TELEPHONE WORK.
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A Phase of Activity in which the Modern Motor Vehicle Excels.
EMPIRE communications mean something more than the construction of roads and the placing of motor lorries upon them. They also mean more than the construction of railways, As new parts of the Dominions are opened up, for instance, it, is often necessary to construet.telephone systems in orderithat settlers may not be cut off entirely from. the outer world. Generally, for a, considerable time after young communities are founded, roads that are little more than badly formed trails are the ;sole means of connection between one point and another, and over these pack horses and ox teams must operate until more permanent communications can le constructed. Until this can be done the stream of commerce remains a mere trickle, only becoming a broad river of economic prosperity when railways and motor roads have been built.
So far as the inauguration of telephonic communication is concerned, it is interesting to study the methods adopted in the less settled parts of the United States, for they may have their counterpart in parts of the far-flung British Empire. An instance that can be quoted in this connection is Logan, a little hamlet in the State of West Virginia. Nestling in a secluded valley and surrounded by mountains, it is far removed from the great centres of American business and industry. The roads approaching the village are virtually impassable throughout the greater part of the year, but, nevertheless, the sole avenue of communication, i.e., the telephone, is rapidly bringing about a change in its oommercial life, and the village is developing into quite a prosperous mining district. Literally thousands of miles of teleplitne lines have been constructed to link up Logan and the surrounding districts with the rest of the world, and the building and maintenance of these lines would have been impossible had it not been for the motor lorry. The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co., the contractors undertaking this work, possess a fleet of approximately 200 meter vehicles, of which about. twothirds are White lorries. The work imposed upon this fleet is most severe in that much of it is carried on, not only in the mountainous regions of Virginia hod West Virginia, but in other sections where roads are exceedingly had. In many parts, indeed, the gradients are so steep that only lorries with highpowered engines and incorporating special features in design are able to negotiate them.
Often it is found necessary, in order to avoid wide detours, to leave the roads and to carry the wires in a straight line between two points over open country. The construction of telephone lines over these monntairsa is someWhat similar to the system adopted in the construction of tunnels. Gangs are set to work from both ends simultaneously, joining the line either in the centre or at the top of the mountain. • The lorries proved of inestimable value in this connection by carrying materials, and, by the aid of the winch equipment with which they are equipped, they are able to haul the poles up the mountain sides.
The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. were among the first of American telephone companies to recognize the value of fitting winch and derrick equipment to their motor lorries. They consider that, next to the lorry itself, the winch constitutes the greatest contribution of the lorry manufacturer to the telephone 'induEstry. Indeed, one of the officials declares that the modern motor lorry has completely revolutionized line construction and maintenance work for the telephone companies.
Before the company embodied winch and pole derrick equipment on their fleet of lorries crews of seven to nine men were necessary for line construction work, whilst, with winch and derrick; a crew of but four men is employed. Moreover, by the use of this equipment the four men do from two to three times the amount of work accomplished before these labour-saying devices were introduced.
The company have also discovered that it is much more economical to restrict their fleet to a few well-known makes of vehicle. When many makes of lorries were operated the company found it necessary to carry an' unusually, large stock of parts, but, since working along the lines of standardization, the parts inventory has been reduced by over 70 per cent,. This factor is of prime importance when operations are carried out aver undeveloped country.
Another economy is that the company's men are trained to know one make of lorry, and soon become expert in its operation. The same has been realized in connection with repairs. It is easy to imagine that a mechanic can rapidly become exceptionally efficient when called upon to keep one make of lorry in repair, whereas if he be continually called upon to tackle a variety of makes a reverse result may readily be produced. Because the men are now thoroughly familiar with the construction of the standardized makes of vehicle they are
now able to turn out repair work in a fraction of the time which was formerly occupied, a natural consequence being that the repair shop casts have been reduced by about one-half.
The system employed by the company in servicing its big fleet of lorries is decidedly interesting. By employing skilled mechanics under intelligent supervision exceptional efficiency has been secured, and this makes for the dependable performance of every machine. The unit repair base is situated at Washington, D.C., where stocks of parts and completely assembled lorry units are carried. In addition, service stations, carrying stocks of parts, are located at strategic points throughout the territory over which the company operates. This complete maintenance system ensures
that the lorries are always on the road, and therein_lies the main secret of this company's efficient fleet operation. A vehicle is never off the road for more than a day, and rarely for that length of time, except. when it is withdrawn for periodical overhaul. Minor repairs are made at the service stations or on the road, whilst in the case of untoward accidenta efforts are made to get the vehicle bank into service again within 24 hours, even if a complete engine or rear axle has to be telephoned for to Washington and forwarded by train.
Another feature of the company's policy is to keep the lorries in first-class working condition at all times, besides having them equipped with all modern labour-saving devices. In addition, the bodies fitted to the Chesapeake and Potemac Telephone Co.'s lorries are made in the company's own workshops.
It is true that a number of telephone construction -companies, both in the United States and elsewhere, are great users of mechanical transport vehicles, hut the difficult conditions under which the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Co. work are those which may possibly fall to the lot of contractors similarly engaged in the back areas of Canada, Australia, South Africa' or India. This company's activities, therefore, are well worthy the attention of those pioneering firms whose business it is to connect up the Empire outposts with civilization by telephone.