Ran some

12th November 1929, Page 176

12th November 1929

Page 176

Page 176, 12th November 1929 — Ran some

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INTENDED to carry 60 passengers, the Ransome trolley-bus exhibit is one of a fleet of six chassis built to the order of the Nottingham Corporation transport department.

The chassis is a six-wheeler mounted on 36-in. by 8-in. Dunlop tyres. Hightensile steel is used for the main frame members, Which are braced by tubularsteel cross-members. The bogie is constructed on the Thornycroft patent system, two inverted semi-elliptic springs being used on each side, and these take the torque reaction of the axle of the bogie. The spring ends are articulated to !he axles by trunnion brackets, so that the rise of one axle relative to that in front of or behind it does not tend to splay out the spring leaves.

In addition to the two lateral differentials, there is a longitudinal one embodied in the forward axle of the bogie ; 1138 this is provided to distribute the drive equally over the four wheels, and it is claimed to increase the life of the tyres and to effect a reduction in power consumption under service conditions.

Semi-elliptic springs, flat under load, are used for the suspension of both ends of the chassis, and steering is by a Marles cam-and-roller gear with a wellraked column.

An 80 b.h.p. twin-armature Ransome motor forms the unit for propulsion ; it is arranged for series-parallel control. Westinghouse pneumatic braking is installed. When the pedal is depressed a Ransome patent cam gear comes into operation, and this causes both sets of shoes inthe brake drums to be applied. When the hand lever is pulled, however, only one set of shoes in each drum is operated. This means that the braking effort is distributed over a large area of facing material, causing lengthened life consequent upon the low pressure per unit of area, and the brake-drum shoe-tracks wear at the same rate.