Glasgow Haulier to Standardize on Macks at £13 1 500 Each
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(Right) Pictured this week at Baillieston, Glasgow, one of the new P. & S. Contracts fleet of MackilVorthern articulated outfits. The message on the hamper reflects the company's views.
'FOUR Mack Nix-wheeled 1 tractive units imported from the U.S.A. which have been operating since the beginning of November with P. & S. Contracts Ltd., Glasgow, are to be joined by live more in March next year. The company's eventual aim is to replace all its existing trunk vehicles (Atkinson eight-wheelers and articulated outfits) with Macks, making a fleet total of 17, plus one or two shortdistance vehicles of British make.
The four existing P. & S. Wicks are being used on A licence all over the U.K., but principally on Glasgow-Sheffield trunking with Northern tandem-axle semi-trailers, the outfits running at a maximum gross train weight rating of 32 tons. The Mack six-wheelers are B-61IRS models with Mack 211 b.h.p. Type END711 diesel engines and 10-speed gearboxes.
Although some ex-army Macks have been used in the U.K., the new P. & S. veh:cles are the first of this make specifically imported into this country for commercial service. The Glasgow company's managing director, Mr. G. A. Paterson. told The Commercial Motor this week that they held the Mack in exceptionally
high regard. There had originally been a decision by the company to buy either Scania-Vabis or Mack, but eventually the language question, and the avoidance of metric measurements on dimensions and so forth swayed the decision firmly in favour of Mack. The Mack six-wheelers had cost the company about £8,500 each, ready for the road, said Mr. Paterson. but although they would be financially written off over four years, the intention was to retain them in service for 10 to 12 years. He commented on the vehicles' ruggedness which he was confident would show up in long working life. Together with the Northern semitrailers, the complete five-axle outfits cost about £10,500 each. •
They will prove very good for motor way work, Mr_ Paterson believes, as they can attain 55-60 m.p.h. without trouble, and he believes that having vehicles of well over 200 b.h.p. (giving over 6 h.h.p. per laden ton at the max. gross) will stand the company in good stead when powerto-weight regulations come into force in Britain. He is very pleased with their performance to date, except that the 10speed gearboxes are apparently taking some getting used to and fuel consumption is averaging about 6-25 m.p.g.; he is hoping for around 7 m.p.g. when the drivers become familiar with the vehicles.
Spares are obtainable from the U.S.A. (the company services its own lorries) but Mr. Patersol_ pointed out that emergeney parts could be flown in from the Mack's associate in Paris in two hours.