FROM 4 TO 74 VEHICLES IN 4 YEARS.
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The Remarkable Growth of the Fleet of Road Transport Vehicles Owned by a South Wales Concern. Road versus Rail Costs.
rr 0 HAVE achieved a success with road transport for multiple haulage services that has warranted, in under 4 years, an extension of this fleet from 4 to 74 vehicles has been the experience of Thomas and Evans, Ltd., of Perth (Rhondda Valley), manufacturers of mineral waters, who are also bakers, confectioners and general caterers on a large scale.
The present fleet of 74 machines is of a composite nature, including Daimler V-type, 3-4-tonners, Daimler (older pattern), Maudslay, Leyland, Wolseley,
Napier and Garrett heavy types and Garford, Ford and .Baico-Ford ton and 30-cwt. vehicles. The company have, however, decided upon standardization, and have selected Daimler vehicles for this purpose. When it is stated that each vehicle is said to replace from two to three horses, it will readily be understood why ease of control is written down by the company as one of the assets of a motor fleet as against the old form of transport. The vehicles, which have a daily average mileage of 30 each, are used in the whole of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire for distributing the manufactured articles of the company, and for importing raw materials to the centres of production. They are wholly controlled from the Porth headquarters, but are located in the 16 branch centres of the company, from each of which daily, weekly and monthly returns are made to Mr. Edwin Ilibbert, manager of the engineering department at Forth, and a director of the concern, who compiles for each department of the business a monthly cost. of distribution sheet, and keeps a history sheet of each vehicle, which shows its daily mileage loads, petrol and oil consumption and repair costs to the most minute particular.
All vehicle repairs are carried out in the engineering department at Forth,'
and in most cases chassis have been fitted with types of bodies which have, been found by experience to be best suited to the work upon which each vehicle is engaged. The records of running costs kept by the company are unusually comprehensive. Running costs are kept down by an intensive system that never admits of an empty lorry being on the road. Journeys are planned so that redelivery of raw material is always the sequence to delivery of the manufactured article. A few instances of the proved superiority of petrol over steam and horse transport, as experienced by this South Wales concern with important figures in one case, should prove of interest.
Until recently the flour used at the company's Forth bakery Was de livered from Cardiff, a distance of some 16 miles, by rail. Experiments with motor haulage of that article, however, showed clearly that, although flour ranks as one of the cheapest of railfreighted commodities, a huge saving could be effected by importing by road. The detailed costs of transporting in one lorry 32 tons of flour per week as against the rail charges for a simi
lar consignment are given below. When the railway was used it was necessary -to
employ a man at a weekly wage of 23 to help with the packing of consignnients at railhead, etc. This service has now entirely been dispensed with. The following are the figures :— Weekly cost of transporting 32 tons of flour from Cardiff to Perth :— By rail— s. d.
32 tons at 10s. per ton ... 16 0 0 Wage of packer at railhead... 3 0 0
It will be noted that in the case of the running coats for the motor vehicle outside figures have been taken; in reality, the cost is considerably lower. However, a clear saving of over 25, more than 25 per cent, of the rail charge, is thus effected in addition to a more prompt and satisfactory service being obtained.
The distribution of mineral waters has been dealt with recently in all its aspects by The Commercial Motor. In this phase of the business of Messrs. Thomas and Evans it is, therefore, adequate to say that the advantage of being able to supply any demand from a given locality in one day by a few vehicles making several out and home journeys is, in the opinion of the company, a sufficient justification for the substitution of motor for any other form of transport in the-mineral-water business.
In the horse-distribution period the number of journeys that could be made at any distance from the source of supply were so few that retailers had often to take what they could get rather than the quantity they could sell. This was especially the case in the hot weather, when the demand for mineral waters was great. Both manufacturer and retailer suffered a loss. South Wales affords many examples of the advantages of the operation of motor
vehicles in hilly districts. The populous mining centres are all situated in' difficult ground. With horse transport the handicap of hills is often insuperable, and invariably the use of horses is much more restricted than in places with less severe gradients. Valleys, with hill road connections but a mile or two apart, have also interconnecting roads that wind six or eight miles round on a lower level; these long roads have inevitably to be used by horse vehicles. For instance, at Maestog, until recently, Messrs. Thomas and Evans had, in order to deliver to an adjoining colliery valley, to deliver by horse and cart to railhead, and send the empty vehicles over the hill to collect for local delivery at, the other side. Now a Daim
ler 3-tonner crosses the Cwmmer mountain fully loaded, and makes daily deliveries, abolishing the use of railway for partial transport and effecting a reduction in cost. This vehicle has in the past nine months made journeys amounting to some 12,000 miles over this hilly region, and, apart from tyre renewals, has cost, nothing for repairs.
Every care is taken by the company to encourage diligence in respect of engine cleaning, etc., by the transport staff. Their first annual parade of vehicles was recently held at Cardiff, when money prizes were distributed for the best-preserved vehicles. An instructive address was given to the drivers on this occasion by Mr. A. Gray, joint managing director of South Wales Commercial Motors, Ltd. Keenness in the welfare of the vehicles-an essential to
efficiency-has thus been promoted.
The company have had experience of steamers, but state that for their particular business r petrol vehicles are generally preferable. For special usos, however, a steamer is retained in service, and some horses for retail bread delivery. The repair shops at Porth are thoroughly complete in equipment, anc all engineering, body-building and paint ing can be carried out there. The corn panv, of which Mr. William Evans, JP., is the managing director, are by no means satisfied with the fleet's dimensions; considerable additions have yet to be made. Altogether the concern are well pleased with the result of their change of transport methods, and they claim that the uses to which the vehicles may be put have not yet been exhausted.