INTER-TOWN TRANSPORT AND DELIVERY.
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The Selection of Vehicles Suited to the Particular Sections of the Work of Transport and of Delivery Services.
By Chief Engineer.
THERE ARE MANY districts in this country where an efficient system for the collection, transport and delivery of goods might be inaugurated with advantage, bath to the \ owners and the general public. One might instance Birmingham as a centre with the many important towns in the immediate neighbourhood i or, similarly, Newcastleon-Tyne and various other districts, and anyorie interested in the suggestion which follows will have no difficulty in selectingta district in his own mind, where such, a scheme might be put in operation with every chance of success.
To secure the greatest advantage, the following points are essential; The most rapid and economical heavy transport for long-distance work is essential, hut for the collection and delivery an altogether different type of vehicle is required. In each of the large towns selected as the main points of the transport system it would be necessary to have depots carefully laid out and suitably arranged, so that demountable bodies could easily be removed from an incoming long-distance wagon, and a full one put in its place for the return journey, or transport to another centre, as the case may be. These depotswould be usedas sorting rooms, from which smaller vehicles would he loaded, to take charge of the detail delivery of the loads brought in by the heavy vehicles, and also to collect goods for delivery to the depots.
A careful selection would have to be made of the type of vehicle most suited to any particular district. Taking a. neighbourhood like Birmingham, one would be inclined to select a quick-running steam wagon for the main delivery of loads between this town and Walsall, Wolverhampton, etc., etc., and, consistently with a reliable make, speed and load-carrying capacity should be given prominence in making a selection. As there would be regular services, a point that should have consideration is the comfort of the driver, so that whatever the state of the weather, he would not have to endure avoidable inconvenience. All these points appear to be met by the undertype of steam wagon. This latter type lends itself more readily to such refinements as a glass weather screen and side doors to the cab, which are a decided advantage in cold wintry weather. In the case of petrol wagons, practically ail, except those of the elevated seat type, can be made cosy for the driver.
For the immediate town delivery work it would he difficult to find a, more satisfactory form of transport
vehicle than the electric wagon. The particular advantages of this class of wagon for detailed town delivery work are : (1) Ease of control in traffic. (2) Quick acceleration. (3) No power wasted when. vehicle is standing. (4) Absence of smell. (5) Absence of sparks. (6) Silence.. (7) Cleanliness. (8) Economy. (9) Less experienced driver required.
These vehicles are driven by a, motor and storage battery,; and 'the latter, having only a limited _capacity per charge, allows of only a certain radius of action before re-charging of the battery becomes
necessary. The mileage per charge varies somewhat with 'different sizes and makeS of vehicle,. but it may be taken at roughly 35 to 40 miles on good hard. roads with average gradients. It has been found by many users that, in ordinary town delivery work it is difficult to cover more than 20 to 25 -miles a clay, whatever the capacity of the battery may be, because the running time is so small a proportion of the total time for this sort of work: The greater proportion of the day's work consists of the actual delivery 'of the goods, loading„ collecting, and getting deliverynotes
signed, etc. Therefore, a capacity of 35to 40 miles per charge gives an ample margin. In order to cover a district thoroughly a further class of transport must be provided for, in order to link up the various villages lying some distance away, and, far this work, the medium or light farms of commercial petrol wagons would find their place.
The carrying capacity of the various vehicles employed will depend upon the particular area in which they will be used, and it will need judgment to. decide this point, which only an intimate knowledge of the district can guide. in a short article only an outline of such a scheme can be given; but there is much interesting detail connected therewith that needs careful thought. One
matter is the question of obtaining loads. In the ease of a email scheme, no doubt personal canvassing would suffice ; but, with a more ambitious one, a campaign of advertisingwould be necessary. There would also be the question of arranging time tables, and as punctuality and regularity are 'absolutely essential to the success of such a scheme, it would be imperative to have a certain number of spare vehicles, which could be used in ease of the regular vehicles being held up for repairs. Nevertheless,. these spare vehicles need not be idle, but era& be used for special work it being always borne in mind that the regular running work has the first call upon them. Then the matter Of aarges would need careful investigaticn. The cost per mile for running a 5 ton steam wagon would be approximately one shilling, providing it could be arranged to keep the annual mileage up to' not less than 14,000, .while an electric wagon of 2 to 2i• tens capacity could be run for about one shilling and eightpence per mile, given an annual mileage of 6,000 to 6,500. If the district happens to be a well-populated one, it will probably be found that, with regular loads of average weight goods can be, carried at an average cost of about 0.3 pence to 0.4 pence per pound; small parcels, of course, being more costly than the average, and large. ones being less. Parcels of a lb. and • under would be charged at Bd. and 7d., whilst those weighing, say 2 cwt., might be charged at, say 5s. to 6s., providing the distances are within a 12 mile radius of any depot. In any case every district must be judged on its merits, and great care given to the proper selection of the vehicles used.