All set at Hendon for dummy heavy vehicle testing runs
Page 30
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
TRIAL runs of the heavy vehicle I testing scheme are now to start at the Hendon pilot station, using vehicles supplied by London-area operators.
This represents one of the final stages in drawing up a standard system to be used when the nationwide chain of 67 Ministry of Transport testing stations comes into operation in 1968-69. The first 55 stations were pinpointed in COMMERCIAL MOTOR last week.
The news of the starting of these dummy runs was given at Hendon on Monday by Mr. C. C. Toyne, superintending engineer, Ministry of Transport, while he was showing us over this experimental testing station in which the "hardwareand methods for the annual testing scheme have been developed over nearly two years.
Some of the test stations are already being built, and tenders for equipment will soon be invited from makers. The first supervisors (exarea examiners) are being trained at Hendon, but a special school will be opened in the London area this year to train testing-station staff. Recruiting will be mainly local.
As well as controlling the development of the heavy vehicle testing scheme, Mr. Toyne is in charge of car testing and the Ministry's winter maintenance scheme: he brings long first-hand experience to the business of devising vehicle test procedures, having been an area mechanical engineer before taking up his headquarters post in 1965.
The 67 stations, together with approved privately operated stations (such as Pointer's), will ultimately be responsible for testing all goods vehicles over 30 cwt. unladen each year. Some will work full time; some, in remote areas of Wales or Scotland, may only be open for short periods each week.
There will be four main types, categorized according to their potential vehicle throughput in a year. For example, a single-lane test station (with one standby lane) will have a nominal capacity of 10,000 vehicles a year while the big stations for densely populated areas will have up to four lanes, plus one standby, and a 40,000vehicle capacity. The standby lane in each case is not primarily to allow for future expansion but to cater for types such as twin-oscillating-axle trailers which cannot be run over the inspection pit on the main lane(s).
When the scheme starts at the beginning of next year, the oldest vehicles will be called in first. On this first test, the gross-weight and axleweight plating will be done, so that the time taken on this occasion will not be representative of the routine annual testing on subsequent occasions. It is likely to take about two years to complete the initial testing/plating programme for all existing vehicles.
When the routine testing gets under way, it is likely to take about 50 min, to deal with the average vehicle.
How will the routine work?
Operators will be notified by public announcements—on the radio and TV, in the Press and through public notices—that vehicles of a certain age and type have become due for testing, and operators will be instructed to apply to a central booking office to obtain dates, places and times for the tests of their vehicles.
The intention is to have one central test booking office for the whole of the UK; operators will be able to specify the station at which they wish to have their vehicles tested, but it has not yet been decided by the Ministry whether they will have to be presented loaded or empty. This is of considerable importance to operators, who will not want to run a lot of dead mileage with empty vehicles.
On each test lane there will be four main stations. At the first there will be a thorough external examination of cab, bodywork, tyres, wings, suspension and items such as electrical wiring and spare wheel carrier.
The vehicle will then be driven forward over the standard pit which has been developed at Hendon after months of experiment with different designs. The pit is 45ft. long and 2ft. 81n. wide and since it is an inspection pit and not a working pit it differs from common practice in being 4ft. 8in. deep and in having only handlamps and one built-in lamp which can be slid from end to end of the pit: experiments have suggested that more general illumination can be too dazzling for this kind of work.