A NOVEL MUNICIPAL TRACTOR-TANKER.
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An Interesting Type of Machine Employed by the Rangoon Municipality.
T UST as the motor vehicle and the
power-propelled appliance have given ample proof of their all-round utility in many classes of municipal service in this country, so have such machines exhibited their value to local authorities overseas, mid, moreover, in directions which do not always have their counterpart here. Many are the special types of machine introduced to meet a specific local need, and a ease in point is an interesting tractor-tanker which the Corporation of Rangoon has in use, although this type of vehicle may be equally well employed in many spheres of service.
The vehicle can be us6d; as certain of our pictures show, either for washing the streets or for spraying them, these operations being carried out under a pressure of 15 lb. per sq. in. It is possible for a road 65 ft. wide to be effectively sprayed in one operation. An air pump, which is located under the driver's seat and driven from the fly wheel of the chassis, is employed to force air into the top of the tank, thereby expelling the water. The cylindrical tank has a capacity of 1,300 gallons.
A particularly interesting feature of the outfit is the special form of attachment used for the semi-trailer. This was designed and patented by Mr. G. Lee Tuppen, A.M.I.C.E., M.I.Fire U., chief officer of the fire brigade and motor transport officer rif the Corporation of Rangoon. One of the outstanding merits of the device is that it enables the trailer part of the vehicle to be quickly disconnected from the prime-mover, which can then be put to other work.
A brief description of the arrangement will serve to make its method of operation clear. A channel-section girder is mounted across the top of the chassis, immediately in front of its rear wheels, and from this two semi-elliptic springs, carrying at their centre the bottom half of a turntable, extend rearwards. The rear ends of the springs are attached to the head of a hydraulic ram, whieh is carried. vertically behind the rear axle. The springs are pivoted both to the head of the ram and to the girder, whilst the turntable would appear to be universally jointed at the point where it is attached to the springs, so as to allow for inequalities in the road surface. A similar turnOhl° plate is rigidly fixed to the front end of the frame of the semi-trailer, and this carries a central pivot, which engages a Socket on the tnrntable of the tractor
For supporting the forward encl of the semi-trailer when it is detached from the prime-mover, a substantial jack having a leg below each framemember is used, and these legs are extended to make contact with the ground by means of a handle at the side of the frame.
When it is desired to uncouple the tractor and semi-trailer, the hydraulic ram is extended, thereby lifting the rear ends of the springs, which take the weight of the trailer portion and raising the front of the semi-trailer, as shown in one of our pictures. When the ram is fully extended the legs of the jack are lowered until they are able to support the weight of the semi-trailer. The hydraulic ram is then allowed to fall back into its normal position, carrying with it the lower half of the turntable. When this is completed the tractor is perfectly free and can be driven away independently.
The tractor is of Albion make.