'CUM.' ESSAY CONTE'S
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NINNERS
IN motor vehicle manufacture, what is our position in Europe? What will our position be 10 years hence? To answer this first question, we must try to ascertain what Europe's position is today and then we may be able to judge our position in relation to that of Europe. There can be no doubt that Germany, Italy and France, in that order, have established a motor industry of long standing and have the reputation of being go-ahead, inventive and highly competitive engineers.
We make little impression in this field; some of our best engineers tend to be old fashioned, conservative, and at best unwilling rivals. We prefer to go our own way. Germany is forging ahead with amazing speed and confidence; so is Italy, although her economics are not sound and, because of past internal strife, her confidence in herself is undermined. France is erratic in all she attempts, and not even Frenchmen can quite foresee what political or social madness may seize the country—and when. Nevertheless, she cannot be overlooked, and I would say that the signs are that her transport industry is not likely to run into any whirlpools—industrial, political or social—at least within the near future.
Where do we stand? We are leaving our field of competition and drifting, somewhat aimlessly, challenging no one except ourselves and ignoring all others. This is a dangerous attitude.
Looking back at the post-war years, everyone—that is the people, the Government, the financiers, the engineers—have concentrated on one type of vehicle, the passenger-carrying one. Of course, we have made some startling progress in that direction; but racing cars, which are really prototype passenger cars, have never been the source of our triumphs nor the field in which we have consistently led not only Europe but • the world.
I feel sure that in the years ahead vehicle design in Europe will undergo certain changes. The transmission, braking and suspension systems are sure to occupy their best engineering brains for a long time to come. Also, some advances in carburation and petrol injection may be expected. Apart from the latter, we have not much to worry about, as our own developments in these fields are enough to keep a warm place for us in the world of passenger car manufacturer, It would
For simplicity, both passenger and goods vehicles are joined together in this essay. Also no reference as to which class of vehicle has changes of design, the whole being treated generally.
The conventional in-line diesel engine, in my opinion; is past further substantial development, and its place is strongly challenged by three leading manufacturers. First, by the Perkins differentially supercharged diesel engine. Secondly, by the advent of the gas turbine, and lastly by Cummins, the American engine manufacturers, with their vee-configuration engines.
In simple terms, what Perkins have done is to apply a supercharger to a standard diesel engine, driving the blower through 2 differential gear train so that the usable torque is increased by 60 per cent and is greatest at about 1,400 r.p.m., being about half this value at maximum speed. The engine has automatic, two-pedal transmission made possible by a torque converter, two-speed gearbox and lock-up clutch. In this way a relatively small engine like the Perkins 5-8-litre unit can cope quite ably with nearly 25 tons.
The gas turbine is quite likely to achieve more prominence than can be visualized at the present moment. There is already a gas turbine for heavies. This is rated at 280 b.h.p. and has maximum torque near stall speed. It is claimed to occupy one-third less space, and also to weigh less than half of an equivalent diesel engine, so allowing more tare weight. To add to all this the price is more than favourable for its power/ weight ratio.
Chrysler/Cummins are building factories at Darlington, in anticipation of the future, to make their V engines. These engines are reputed to be of a high degree of perfection and teething troubles have been ironed out. They are said to meet
all requirements. , The Channel tunnel will undoubtedly be open within 10 years, and then motor vehicles will have to travel more and more miles. To reduce the fatigue in driving, automatic transmission will be essential. The drum brake is also, in my view, past development and disc brakes (air-assisted for heavies) seem the logical conclusion. Wiring, especially that of trailers, will have to be the Continental seven-pin plug in order to achieve a quick changeover. Loads could be Customs sealed at the operator's yard, and broken at the customer's yard in any country. This method ensures that loads can quickly be delivered, thus' saving time as well as money. Road transport in 10 years' time will have grown beyond all expectations and I think that the gross weights in England will rise still further. These vehicles must have a maximum speed of 50 to 60 m.p.h. A low profile tyre will replace twin wheels to give a lower unladen weight, therefore more tare weight, which in turn will help the designer with brake cooling as one tyre would leave plenty of space for air circulation.
INTER-COUNTRIES DIFFICULTIES There must he some standard laws to apply to all countries when quoting b.h.p.lton. In England the general figure quoted is 6 b.h.p../ton. In Germany. however, this figure is relevant only when towing a trailer and 12 b.h.p./ton is normal for a rigid vehicle. In Switzerland there are very similar laws, but they require 10 b.h.p./ton without trailers. These are only two cases. An extreme case where confusion could arise is that of what, until recently, was the French Equatorial Territory. Now we have 26 different and separate countries, all self-governing, which means there are 26 different sets of traffic laws—no doubt with varying requirements.
Our double-decker buses, I think, will still be with us in 10 years' time with an increased number of passengers per vehicle, making more economical travel possible. The future of road transport looks extremely prosperous, and the Government evidently realize this as they are pushing the education authorities, knowing that the demand for qualified engineers has increased greatly in the last 10 years, and there is every likelihood that it will rise even higher during the next 10 years.
SECOND PLACE in this class went to a very young student, Christopher Mayes, of Birkenhead, who is just 15 years old. He is a student at Birkenhead School and has for many years been interested in road and rail transport, particularly the former. Christopher hopes, when he leaves school, to become a traffic engineer. This is his entry:—
THE motor bus has played a growing part in the everyday life of the British people for more than half a century. Although the vehicles may now be considerably altered in appearance the methods of operation have shown little change. If the present traffic situation is to he improved, research in this field may prove to be the most fruitful.
The present bus has difficulty in coping with rush-hour traffic. In and around towns and cities one sees excessive queues at bus stops. Buses stream past with upper and lower decks filled, often with more than the legal number of standing passengers. In some cases conditions have been eased slightly by the introduction of the larger 78-seater Atlantean and Fleetline rearengined buses, but evenwith these the improvements are minimal.
INCREASE DIMENSIONS No doubt a further increase in legal dimensions will soon prove essential and I see no reason why any of the dimensions of the double-deck bus should be less than the corresponding dimensions of a single-deck vehicle. In my view it would not be unreasonable to see double-deck buses introduced with a length of 36 ft. and a width of 8 ft. 3 in. These may well have rear engines, and have a front entrance and central exit. During the peak periods this type of vehicle could operate as a normal two-deck bus carrying a conductor. At all other times it would 3perate as a pay-as-you-enter, single-deck bus with the upper ieck not in use. This vehicle would cope much more effectively with the traffic conditions met with on most town and city routes, yet permit greater standardization of vehicle types in operation, Many people may think that a vehicle of such size might present added dangers during manceuvring and braking. but these, I am sure, would be negligible with power-assisted steering, automatic transmission and air or disc brakes.
If inter-city transport is to be made more efficient we must further develop the growing network of motorways, stretching from Land's End to John o' Groats, and capable of accommodating wide, high-speed vehicles. With this network even a modernized and streamlined railway system may prove obsolete and uneconomic. These motorways would be used not only for the carriage of assorted commodities but by longdistance, double-deck coaches, These, perhaps similar to the Ribble Gay Hostess express service buses, would be at least 30 ft, long and 8 ft. 3 in, wide. They would be equipped with toilet compartment. canteen servery and coach-type seating. They might carry a three-man crew, including driver, relief driver and steward or stewardess. The relief driver could, of course, be trained to act as conductor, courier and chef stewad, thus ensuring not only a non-stop inter-city service but also enhancing the provisions for passenger comfort.
There could well be considerable experimentation in the field of double-deck coaches with the control cabin on the upper deck. At first thought many people would immediately consider this position to be highly impractical; but if they knew the history of the bus they would remember that this system worked perfectly on a converted horse bus with electric power in May, 1894, at Liverpool. If it worked effectively 70 years ago, why should it not do so .now, with all the present-day techniques of remote control available? There may be many problems to be overcome, but it has many advantages. For instance, on any motorway or traffic route, if the driver can see any obstruction before nearing it he is much better able to take evasive act;on.
CLOSE STEERING To deal with some of the problems, the first that comes to mind is that of close steering. The solutiOn of this might well lie in the provision of "radar close steering guidance equipment." This could be operated by using highly sensitive photo-electric cells placed in shock-proof containers on each side of the vehicle. Another alternative could be the introduction of radar scanners to give visible warning of obstructions in the vicinity of the vehicle, which might also be supplemented with an audible signal according to proximity. This would be especially useful in fog or darkness. Such a vehicle may well have a rear or underfloor engine; but it is obvious that for the general comfort of passengers all the main services (such as engine, toilet servery, luggage compartment, and so on) should be placed at the rear of the vehicle below the upper deck. The forward half of the lower deck would then be used as a first-class compartment with observation lounge-type accommodation, whilst the upper deck would house the control cabin and provide a substantial amount of normal coach-type accommodation.
Whilst the stability of double-deck public service vehicles is always a matter of vital concern to designers, the •limitations of height have largely beert dictated by tunnels through which, and bridges under which, they must pass. In most d:stricts, however, these handicaps are now rapidly disappearing and with them the discomforts imposed on passengers by abnormally restricted headroom. Simplicity of design and manufacture (consistent with stability, power, economy of operation and passenger comfort) will, however, continue to dictate the general form of the vehicle.
The use of underfloor engines imposes severe restrictions upon the overall dimensions of the power units and leads to difficulty in maintaining them. The use of an externally accessible power unit coupled to the wheels by means of a suitable electric, hydraulic or pneumatic transmission must still be an attractive proposition and research along these lines will continue.
To refer now to the goods vehicle side of road haulage, longer, higher and wider loads will be transported. Vehicles n17
will often consist of an articulated vehicle; a tractor/trailer with a bogie at the end of the trailer onto which a further similar trailer could be attached. These trailers may be so designed as to be alternatively transported by rail. Such vehicles could operate mainly on the inter-city motorways already mentioned. Trailers would only be permitted for certain classes of load or veh:cle. Inflammable or otherwise dangerous liquids (such as petrol or acid) are unlikely to be carried in " flexible " or articulated vehicles owing to the possible consequences because of the snaking of the units and the surging of the liquid, particularly when travelling at speed.
OVER 21
WINNER in this class is D. E. Lysons, who will be 22 next month and is a student apprentice with Fodens Ltd. This is his essay:— SINCE the mid-1950s road transport has experienced a great redevelopment in both vehicle design and production technique. With the introduction of higher speed limits and open limits on motorways more powerful engines, and therefore, redesigned transmission systems, were necessary to cope with the output of these larger engines. New materials were also introduced, giving a lower tare weight and a more aesthetic appearance, and so in 1964 we are witnessing the results of
this redevelopment. .
As for the next decade two points seem clear. We can expect our commercials to be cruising on the motorways now being built in the 60 to 65 m.p.h. region. We can also expect greater gross train weights, bringing with them redesigned tractor-trailer units.
To enable these higher gross train weights new legislation regarding licensing, overall dimensions, maximum axle loading and noise needs approving. This is being looked into by the respective Government departments at present.
With the advent of this new legislation, designers will have to produce power units to cater for the new load conditions, the prime factors being torque and horsepower. As most of our existing larger engines are of 10to 11-litre capacity, this being the largest-sized engine that can be accommodated in our forward-control cabs, means of obtaining more powerful engines within the same overall dimensions need considering. The alternative of fitting larger engines into normal-control vehicles is not practical for this country, as, firstly, the overall vehicle size is increased (which is not desirable) and, secondly, a larger engine reduces the vehicle's economy.
HOW TO INCREASE POWER
Increased power for a given general overall size can be achieved in different ways:— (1) By turbocharging, a power increase of 40 per cent or more on a naturally aspirated engine can be obtained, providing the engine initially is able to stand up to the more extreme conditions turbocharging brings. These include rapid valve and cylinder wear if the cylinder head or block is not adequately stiffened, higher cylinder pressures, more heat flow through the various engine parts, making for water circulation problems; these higher temperatures make the working conditions of the lubricating oil more difficult, therefore frequent changing is necessary. This is a very acceptable means of obtaining a required power output as it increases engine efficiency, power, and torque characteristics, and also tends to give a cleaner exhaust condition on load.
(2) By using the loop-scavenge two-stroke principle. It is compact, light, powerful and economical, and for a given power output a smaller capacity engine than the conventional fourstroke can be used. Conversely, for a given capacity, a much higher power output is obtained, making for a high power-toweight ratio. The disadvantages with this principle are a sacrifice in engine life and low torque at low engine speed; but a good torque is produced at high engine speed, making it very suitable for hill-climbing and high-speed cruising rather than heavy-duty haulage or stop-and-start passenger running.
B1R (3) By using a Vee engine. This also offers possibilities, but not quite of the same degree as the two engines mentioned previously because of the extra width involved, although ultimately we may see a turbocharged two-stroke Vee engine.
(4) The differential diesel engine. This idea is to create steam engine characteristics of constant horse-power and maximum torque at initial engine speed with a diesel engine. This type of unit would seem to be more suitable to dumper vehicles and tractors used on heavy-duty haulage, where the gross train weight is higher than that of normal haulage.
For passenger transport the in-line four-stroke in the naturally aspirated or turbocharged forms will be most suitable for the development of these vehicles, because the gross weight will not be as high as that of the larger haulage units although two-stroke engines could well be used on motorway runs. One of the main features regarding these engines will be the transverse mounting of them at the rear, reducing internal noise and permitting a lower floor height because of the absence of transmission components down the length of the vehicle.
As for gearboxes and transmissions, perhaps a small number of automatic boxes and/or torque converters may be employed; but the manual-control multi-speed gearbox will remain with us for some time to come as far as haulage is concerned. However, for passenger transport, particularly in towns where constant gear changing is necessary, automatic boxes will be used, considerably reducing driver fatigue.
Bevel drive rather than worm drive axles will be preferred for both singleand double-drive bogies, single-drives being used more for motorway operation. Third-axle conversions, load transfer devices and third differentials will be used to some extent; but as the tendency will be towards tractor and semitrailer units rather than rigid vehicles there will not be much demand for these accessories.
Compressed air should be used a good deal, mainly for brakes, but also for auxiliaries such as windscreen wipers, washers, horns, doors, assisted handbrake and possibly assisted steering. The main problem with the application of air to brakes is the delay period; once this has been cut down the advantages over fluid brakes will be appreciable.
The brakes themselves need to be improved, particularly as far as fading is concerned. Disc brakes, as an alternative, may well be used as problems of heat dissipation. and pad wear could be overcome sufficiently to make them practical in the near future. Air, for suspension purposes, is ,still to be developed and, except on certain passenger applications where air suspension is used, the semi-elliptic spring and solid-beam axle will be with us for some time yet as independent suspension within the next few years is unlikely.
Glass-fibre will be used extensively in both types of transport and the tilt cab idea should become very widely adopted as one of the main features in engine accessibility.
In conclusion the next 10 years will see much faster, more reliable vehicles with quieter engines and smoke-free exhausts. More attention will be paid to serviceability, lighting requirements and general safety. Greater comfort will be provided for passengers and driver, particularly haulage drivers. From a business aspect the vehicles will be more economical and, to the general public, much more acceptable.
THE LAST ESSAY to be featured is that written by a 21-year-old employee of B.R.S. (Parcels) Ltd. He is Christopher R. Salaman, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, who works at the Coppetts Road, London, depot. He is a first-year graduate of the Institute of Transport. He was awarded second place in this class with the following entry:— THE next 10 years will, I believe, prove to bring about the greatest advance ever shown in road transport history, from both the aspect of new vehicle designs and new operating techniques.
First then, let us look at the design of propulsion units for use in commercial vehicles. At present the diesel engine is by far the most popular means of propulsion for goods and passenger vehicles; but with the ever increasing amount of diesel fuel being consumed by compression-ignition powered engines, there is becoming an increase in the amount of surplus petrol. This naturally increases the cost of the former while decreasing the cost of the latter. Thus there is going to he a need for manufacturers to produce more multi-fuel diesel engines capable of consuming both diesel oil and petrol spirit. Some manufacturersare even producing heavy commercial vehicles with petrol engines as opposed to diesel in the hope of trying to overcome this difficulty.
At the same time 1 foresee something coming about in the next few years to lessen the problem of noise and eliminate the factor of emitting exhaust fumes by putting them to some other use. This would, in fact, be a great advantage in favour of the diesel engine if these couple of disadvantages could be overcome. But even so, somewhere in the next decade I think we shall see the introduction of a new means of propulsion whether it be by gas-turbine or some other innovation.
So far as transmission is concerned, I think we can assume that more and more models will be fitted with semi-automatic transmission (if not completely automatic), the idea being to make driving for the heavy goods vehicle driver as easy as possible, as will also be the standard fitting of power-assisted steering. By the end of the next decade I am sure that all the maximum-gross-weight vehicles will be required to have at least three different means of braking, especially as we are lo have our gross weights increased with the provision that a dual braking system is fitted, and that our rival manufacturers on the Continent are already fitting the triple system as standard.
LOWER BODIES As the Years progress the loading heights of goods vehicles become lower and lower, here again to facilitate work for he driver, by fitting smaller-diameter wheels. At the same ime there is now a tendency to mount the cab lower by placing it in front of the front axle, thereby making entering and slighting from the cab far less tiresome. This also encourages he design of tilt cabs for easier access to the engines, although inly one British manufacturer is at present producing this as a ;tandard item. On the whole, bodies in general will become 'ar lower and streamlined in design for greater stability that vill be needed with greater speeds.
In the passenger vehicle field there should also be important :hanges from the past 20 or 30 years' policy in that with the :ver increasing amount of people and traffic in congested urban ireas, buses must be used to a certain extent to try to overcome his difficulty. Policy in this country has always been to try o provide a seat for every passenger who travels on a bus; nit in the next 10 years we shall see buses entering service n busily congested areas with only a limited number of seats.
o make more room for the majority of passengers to stand, specially where short-stage work prevails.
By the end of the next decade the length of public service vehicles will probably be. within the 40 ft. region. This will mean that buses will have at least one entry-door and ane exit-door each. Conductors may be seated at the entry-doors, which would need to be automatically operated by either air or hydraulic pressure. Whether these methods can be adapted for use with double-deck buses remains to be seen.
So far as the rear-engined bus is concerned, I definitely think that is the position for the propulsion unit for buses of the future. More and more buses and coaches will turn to air suspension in future years, in order to give their passengers a far more comfortable ride than is experienced on the original leaf-spring system. Coil suspension may also be competitive on certain buses; but. on the whole, air suspension will probably be favoured most.
The general design of coaches will become smarter and smarter by various streamlining techniques, such as the fitting of larger panoramic windows and more luxurious seating arrangements, ample heating and ventilating requirements, toilet facilities, all of which are provided to try and gain the general public's confidence that travel by road is as comfortable as any other means of transport.
Depending on future Government policy, so far as the nationalized road concerns are affected, I can foresee integration between road and rail with the coming of full-scale container services which the railways intend to operate. Container traffic is fast becoming more and mole popular with hauliers, for use with both general goods and parcels traffic, especially where inter-rail and water services are predominant. At the same time •there should be a substantial increase in the amount of cross-Channel traffic for, with our new increased weights and measures that are soon to come into force, we will be on a par with Continental hauliers. The future of the private enterprise haulier remains to be seen on the outcome of I the future General Election_ which may well alter circumstances for him in the next 10 years.
Even so, transport must continue to develop in future years as it always has done. One thing that I think we will retain for some time yet is the wheel; although the standard of tyres will become higher and even more efficlent, I do not think that we shall see any change in the form of enabling movement for road vehicles in the next decade, as this would most likely make a vast difference to our road-making policy and possible breakaway from the conventional road vehicle as we now it today. The hovercraft-type vehicle may well be the commercial vehicle of the future; but whether it will take the place of the bus and lorry remains to be seen later, after the next 10 years, perhaps.