Opinions from Others.
Page 16
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A Question of Performance.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
Sir,—Which is the better, one four-ton vehicle or two two-ton vehicles, for the transport of four-ton loads ? Of the two, better results can oftentimes be obtained from the two smaller vehicles. How will this work out? A four-ton vehicle should have, to obtain dispatch, a driver and two loaders ; two two-ton vehicles will require two drivers and two loaders. In delivering four tons to a certain spot, the two two-ton vehicles will generally be loaded and away, and unloaded and returned, before the fourton vehicle, but the great point is that, if the fourton vehicle breaks down, the user is without means of transport, whereas, with the two two-ton vehicles, if one breaks down, the user still has a vehicle available for transport service. The conditions are more in favour of the two-ton vehicles, when a four-ton load is delayed on the journey, or when there are several " drops " to be made. The proportionate costs are not much more, when the capabilities of the two plants are considered ; moreover, the wear and tear on the roads and tires is considerably reduced.
An instance I have before me of such a case is that in which the user is dealing with loads where the only difference in "out and in,' weights carried is but one cwt. in four tons. The railway charges out and back are at present 4d. per ton-mile, and these prices can be reduced by means of mechanical road transport. But, so soon as the reduction is made by these means, in the face of such competition, the railways will reduce their rates. As the goods are of an explosive nature, they are peculiarly suitable to road transport, since the risk of attaching 10 tons of explosives to a goods or passenger train increases the rate of carriage, in order to protect the interests of the remainder of the train. Not so with road transport, since the load travels as a separate unit, and is not connected with or run with other goods of value. An explosion, should it occur, would not block the main line, and would not do the same amount of damage as if the load were attached to a train of valuable merchandise.—Yours faithfully,
"NOT ALL IN ONE BASKET."
Skidding and Skidders.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,342] Sir,—You recently published some notes by Mr. Francis Wood, the Borough Surveyor of Fulham, on the subject of skidding, and I should like to add a few remarks to those of Mr. Wood.
I think that your contributor's suggestion, that the grease of our roadways is composed of the soot that is brought down by rainfall, is a ridiculous one. If there be anything in his theory, why is it possible for us to walk about on such days, while the mud is being formed, and yet not to present the appearance of sweeps in active service? Wayfarers would be as black as nigger minstrels in a few minutes, if sufficient soot were washed down by a shower to account for all the mud in the streets on a greasy day. No, Mr. Wood, sand, road chinpings, horse refuse, and the dust and dirt inseparable from the nature of our city industries are the principal ingredients.
Why should it be necessary to turn out watercarts to wash down the streets ? Why not suitably-connected hose and water nozzles ?
Mr. Wood's theories with regard to skidding do
not convince me. Clearly, on a cambered road, while the inner edges of the near-side wheels may be conceded to wear more rapidly, it is the ctio-er edges of the off-side wheels which should show similar signs. As a matter of fact, I have, with considerable experience, detected little of this uneven wear. I
have, however, noticed that the off-side tires, on a vehicle running on grit-strewn roads, wear more rapidly than do the near-side ones. 1. do not think Mr. Wood appreciates the fact that, the smaller the area of the tire which is in contact with the road, the greater the local intensity of pressure. A very-wide tire, all in contact with the road, will be called upon to sustain a low pressure per square inch, often, in fact, insufficient to squeeze out the film of lubricant beneath it. The wide tire is, on many road surfaces, more liable to skid than a narrow one, as the latter will, owing to its narrow hearing and high pressure per square inch, be pushed through the lubricant on to the hard road. Inclined back axles involve considerable constructional difficulties. —Yours faithfully,
SK1DDAW.''
Types of Drivers.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
1.1,343] Sir,—There is a considerable difference between the appearance, habits, and peculiarities of the drivers of suction-engined vehicles, compared with those of the older traction-engine school. The training of the traction-engine driver has comprised a long course of experience as an attendant, before the days of his being allowed to drive, and the slowbut-sure methods of this type of machine is portrayed in the whole appearance, manner, and bearing of those who attend to them. Certainly, a traction-engine driver should become an efficient motorvehicle driver, but there are doubts as to the converse results to be obtained. The whole training of the heavy-road-engine driver makes him self-reliant under all circumstances, and the necessity of providing for—at the right moment—the varying requirements of the heavy vehicle cause him to have the necessary outlook on the road, which is so useful, whatever the method of transport. Of necessity, with the steam vehicle, he has learnt to begin to prepare for the road at least two hours before the time . for starting his journey. Nothing will hurry him in these preparations, for he knows the many and divers things that have to be looked to, before he can consider his engine ready for hauling. With the suction-engine man, smoking probably a cigarette, he will appear at the depot some five minutes before the time for being on the road, and he is away just as punctually as, and perhaps much more so than, his heavier brother, to whom five minutes one way or the other are not worth considering.
Nearly always, both types of drivers, if skilled men, put on fat, and increase in size, and it is a good rule, in choosing a driver of the fat or thin, to go
for the man of the stouter build. If, under the severe conditions of working, a man can gain in weight. he is constitutionally the better man. He naturally does not overwork or strain the machinery in his charge, and, whatever the trouble, he overcomes it with a facility and sweetness that his wiry fellow does not seem to be capable of. Again, the traction-engine driver usually works with a mate, and it makes a considerable difference to his day's work to have a mate who is capable, and one on whom he can rely. The suction-engine driver usually works alone, his mate generally being a loader or tallyman. To watch .both types is interesting, and, although the traction-engine man seems to be doing more for his money, or because he is slow moving is more interesting to watch, the suction-ermine man, to get the best from his engine, must bs infinitely-more attiek of the hand, eye and brain. For my part, I think a combination of the two trainings will produce the best type of driver.—Yours faithfully,
Birmingham.
T. C. AVELING.