The Motor's Part in Excavating Work.
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THE WALLASEY Haulage Co., of Wallasey, who operate a substantial fleet of Sentinel steam wagons, particu•larly in connection with the building trades, put into service a few months ago a mechanical excavator running on chain track. By using this remarkable plant in connection with the preparation of ground for building purposes, the company have been able to establish records for expeditious excavations. It is reckoned that a steain wagon can be loaded up by means of this type of excavator in five minutes.
The method of working is as follows ; the ground and is forced upwards. The bucket, by the time it reaches the top, is loaded to its full capacity. The crane is then swung round over the top of the steam wagon, which is in waiting, and when directly over the body, the hinged bottom of the bucket is opened and the load is thus released. These operations are repeated about half a dozen times in order to provide a full load for the steam wagon. The crane is operated by one man, and with the driver and second man of the steamer, a staff of three persons is sufficient to enable most efficient clearances to be effected.
About the same time that these observations were made, it was noticed that at another excavation job in Liverpool, where more primitive methods of loading were employed, not only was the wairing time for the motor greater, but the staff engaged on the work was considerably larger. Three. men were working below the street level, filling with earth the box, which was raised and lowered by the steam crane, whilst there was one crane man and two men on the steam wagon. In this case the time taken to load a wagon to capacity was about 20 minutes.