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Keeping !Nearside
Page 100
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CLEAN AN TIDY
by Derek Moses
With a population of about 250,000 people, Sunderland, Co. Durham, has vast modem housing estates, excellent modern schools, and tower flats; including luxury blocks. Although the town suffered badly in the slump of the twenties and thirties, the civic authorities worked hard to provide the finest municipal services in the country. Unemployed shipyard workers could travel on new luxury tramcars and modern buses for a return fare of 2d, or ride all day for 9d; the municipal electricity undertaking had the lowest tariff in England; and the cleansing department established a reputation for being in the forefront in its field.
Indeed, the latter department became a recognized proving ground for new models of refuse collectors, gulley emptiers and the like before the Second World War. As a Wearsider (the colloquial name for Sunderland folk) one of my earliest recollections is of a Karrier gulley emptier which operated on trade plates, although it was in full Sunderland livery, including the county borough's coat of arms.
This vehicle, later taken officially into the fleet of Sunderland Cleansing Department, was the forerunner of many Commer /Kerner refuse collectors and allied vehicles which currently amount to 61, out of a total fleet of 107 units. (The balance includes electric trucks, loading shovels, light pick-up trucks, vans and snow clearing equipment.) Mr D. W. Jackson, who has been superintendent of the public cleansing department for 20 years, and who is a Fellow of the Institute of Public Cleansing, confirmed when I visited him earlier this year that Wearside had been a proving ground for many years, and that many of the models tried-out in Sunderland were based on Karrier chassis. One of the reasons for this was the department's interest in transport, and its close association with The Minories Garages Ltd, Chrysler main dealer in North East England.
Indeed, Mr Jackson claimed that Sunderland Cleansing Department had pioneered the use of diesel engines in Karrier chassis. Tests had been conducted with both the Rootes two-stroke engine and Perkins diesel engines, and also with Shelvoke and Drewry SD refuse collectors, a number of which have been introduced from time to time. An attraction of the SD vehicles was the Pakamatic compaction bodies, compacting refuse collectors having been used since about 1950.
So reliable was the Commer TS3 engine, however, that the majority of vehicles purchased in recent years have been Karriers fitted with this unit, and Karrier chassis form the basis of three 50 cu yd capacity refuse collectors with SD Pakamatic bodies in the present fleet! However, the latest compaction vehicles are eight Karriers with Musketeer bodies by Glover, Webb and LiVersidge.
Refuse collectors do not operate in the most ideal conditions, and it would be of little value to compare their performance with commercial vehicles operating on more normal haulage work. Frequent stopping and starting, and the use of the engine to drive the compaction machinery place a burden on the unit but despite this Mr Jackson told me that he found the Commer TS3 engine ideal. Its fuel consumption was reasonably low, allowing for the continuous engine running, it was easy to maintain, and had a long life between overhauls. Some of the Karriers still contained the original engine, which had never been out of the frame after 12 years' service.
Mileage is not so important a factor in vehicles averaging between only 6000 and 10,000 miles a year, and the emphasis is on regular inspection of vehicles, and frequent changes of oil filters and the engine oil itself to reduce dust contamination to the minimum. Sunderland relies largely on the inspection system, and each driver is allocated his own vehicle, which is his personal responsibility from the day it enters the fleet until it is eventually replaced or converted to a gritter, usually after a life of about 10 years.
Twice daily wash
Each driver is responsible for washing and ordinary routine servicing. On an average day, the vehicle will work a morning shift, then drive to the town's refuse tip located in old quarries to the north of Sunderland. It then returns to base for the lunch-hour break, and the vehicle is given a good hosing down, before setting out on the afternoon collection run. This is completed with a second run to the tip, then returning to base for another hosing down.
Each vehicle is taken out of service for one day once a quarter, then first given a four-mile road test and a brake test. This is followed by a full inspection, and an inspection report is completed which is passed to the driver; it is based on the Army AB406 report. This report carries the driver's name, the inspector's name, date of inspection and speedometer reading. Any minor defects which show up on examination are corrected within the same day, but notes of more serious defects or attention required are entered under the heading of "for action by", which may be the responsibility of the driver, or may come under the heading of "workshops".
In the latter case, a date is agreed for the workshops to attend to the vehicle: while his own vehicle is undergoing repair the driver is able to work on a spare float vehicle. During the first quarterly inspection by the workshops the engine oil and gearbox oil is changed, the engine and rear-axle oil are changed at the second inspection, and the engine oil is also changed between each inspection—eight changes a year. Mr Jackson told me that they were not using any more oil than before this practice was adopted, and the extra cost for filters was recompensed by down-time saved in the long run.
The drivers also carry defect books, and any trouble arising is quickly attended to. This system gives the department plenty of warning so that any necessary spares are obtained in good time. A strict discipline is also applied to the cleanliness of the fuel, and altogether a fleet availability of 95 per cent is achieved.
Although highly satisfied with the performance of his Karrier vehicles, Mr Jackson admitted that he was never particularly happy about the standard door furniture. "I go for the old sliding windows and slam locks when available", he said, Many of the vehicles are fitted with crew cabs, and with a six-man crew the door gets a hammering.
Looking out of the window of the superintendent's office in the new civic centre, a prominent sight is a new chimney which is reaching for the sky. This is on the site where a huge new incinerator is being constructed as part of a comprehensive scheme to provide Sunderland with refuse disposal facilities in keeping with the late twentieth century, and to replace the stinking dust bowl of the old-style town dump.
In addition to the dramatic pit into which the refuse collectors will tip their loads of garbage, two new garages, a workshop and stores, four greasing bays, a sunken workshop, a paint shop, and a special washing machine through which the vehicles will drive twice a day will be provided, thus replacing the dated and rather cramped workshops which have been in use for many years.
Despite the old premises, however, the fleet is maintained in first-class condition. Each vehicle is repainted in the department's red and cream livery every two to three years, and a coach shop finish is always aimed at. The introduction of modern vehicles has also helped to keep down costs. For example, the collection of trade refuse, now undertaken by special containers on Karrier chassis. has been cut to 25 to 30p a ton, compared with £3 a ton before.
Even when their refuse collection days are over, many of the Karriers find a new lease of life as gritters to tackle northern winters—these vehicles are fitted with radio to assist in keeping Wearside's traffic moving.