Turkish Mission Sees Bus Overhauling
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ONE of the interesting visits paid by the Turkish Production Mission was to London Transport's central bus overhaul ,works, where the members were welcomed by Messrs. W. T. Blair Jacting works engineer), H. L. Steffan (assistant works engineer) and Mr. N. H. Charles (engineering superintendent). The party was accompanied by varresentatives from the M. of W.T. and M. of I.
le should be remembered drat Turkey purchases its buses from various countries, and a great variety of repair and maintenance problems has, therefore, to be tackled by the Turkish engineers. The overhaul works occupy 32 acres, the buildisgs cover 12 acres and embody a skid track on whip] drivere, are trained.
The main building covers 7 acres and is of concrete slabs with a steel-truss roof with asbestos' tiles. The works tire laid out to deal with the overhaul and maintenance of some 6,500 buses and coaches, 500 lorries and miscellaneous vehicles and 120 cars. Even the present weekly output is:—Overhauls, 60; engines. 120; gearboxes, 100; front and rear axles, 150; radiators, 150; other units being in proportion. The equivalent of 20 complete overhauls per week for outside undertakings is also carried out.
Current practice is to collect into groups all the machines, of whatever kind, necessary for the repair of a component. Previously, it passed from shoti to shop until the work concerned was completed. Overhead runner's are amongst the numerous labour-saving devices in use, and pneumatic tools and machines of the latest design are installed.
Progressive dismantling of chassis for overhauling is employed. After removihg the body, any petrol is drained off into an underground tank after being filtered. Tile chassis is then attached to a moving ropeway whith extends along one wall of the factory and travels.at 1 ft. per Minute. Here it is examined and a list, made of the work" necessary: Parts requiring renewal are
stripped off, together with radiator, steering, front and rear axles complete With wheels, and springs. The chassis is then paced on a conveyor and reassembled with overhauled units, then being transferred to the mount shop, where the original body is fitted. The system of unit overhaul is adopted, the units being stripped and completely losing their identity.
After cleaning, the components go to the viewing benchet. for careful inspection, wear being checked by jigs and gauges, whilst important parts are subjected to a magnetic test. Each is • classified by a dale of paint—green denoting immediate fitness, blue that a ' repair is nectssary, red that the part will require replacement.
As a result of shortage-pf spare parts, reconditioning has been extensively developed, welding, the deposition of nickel and chforne, and spraying by copper and steZ1 being Utilized. It is important to note that this practice. will be continued to a considerable extent after the war.