Factory—shop test by Freightliner containers
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ATRANSPORT test has been launched by Lever Brothers and Associates Ltd and SPD Ltd., using specially designed containers and road vehicles in conjunction with Freightliner rail services to effect quick factory-to-shop deliveries of products over long distances.
The special containers are loaded each night at the soap and detergent factory at Port Sunlight, and carried overnight from the Freightliner terminal at Garston, Liverpool, for deliveries the following day to shops 200 miles away in the North London area.
The Freightliner service has so far been used principally for consignments of container loads to single delivery points. Lever Brothers had the idea of its potential use for the trunk haul of container loads, comprising 20 to 30 individual shop orders, the local delivery to shops being made by specially designed C-licensed vehicles. These vehicles are based near the York Way, Lo n, terminal and deliver tilt contents of the containers to wholesali and retail grocery outlets.
The containers themselves conform ti one of the standard sizes (20ft. X 8ft. > 8ft.), but have rear and side door acces to make them suitable for shop deliver work. Low access height was achieved b. converting the standard 5-ton BMC chassif cab to take a Primrose third axle and usin 17in. wheel equipment throughout. A lade: container fbior height of 3ft. 6in. is th result. Drivers from SPD, Unilever's distributio company, man the delivery vehicle: collecting their full containers each mornin from the terminal and returning the empt containers at the end of their day's W01 for overnight Freightliner transit Liverpool.
For the test, the new Lever Brothe vehicles have an attractive blue and whi livery recently adopted for their flet