For DRIVERS, MECHANICS & FOREMEN.
Page 21
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A PRIZE OF TEN SIIILLINGS is awarded each week to the sender of the best letter which we publish on this page ; all others are paid for at the rate of a penny a line, with an allowance far photographs. All notes are edited before being published. Mention your employer's name, in confidence, as evidence of good faith. Address: D., M. and F, "The Com..nercial Motor," 7-15, Rosebery Avenue, London, E.G. 1.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday, July 19th, light your lamps at 9.36 in' London, 10.45 in Edinburgh, 9.52 in Newcastle, 10.0 in Liverpool, 9.50 in Birmingham, 9.46 in Bristol, and 10.43' in Dublin.
Two Long-disiance Journeys.
. The sender of the following communication has been awarded the 108. prize this week..
[1994] " W.G.H." (Victoria) writes :—" You• may be interested in the following particulars oftwo long runs which I recently accomplished on Burford ch assis.
"The first took place six or seven weeks ago on top. of a fairly long stretch of demonstrating. I was in Stafford, when one evening—Wednesday, May. 21st—I received telegraphic instructions to run out to Woodhall Spa, there to deliver some goods, and thereafter to proceed with all speed to London.
"AS part of my load was to be a tractor and selflift plough which, at that moment was still at work in the •fields, it was clear that a start that night was. out of the question. I set about at once, however, on the preparations for my journey, the first job being, of course, that of getting the tractor and its implement from the field, cleaning it, oiling it, and loading it on the lorry. This completed, I -turned my atten, tion to the lorry itself, oiling up, greasing up, filling petrel tank and oil reservoir, with a final look round to see that•everything was tight and fit for a prompt start next day. "Next morning I was up betimes, round to the garage by five o'clock, and at a quarter past the hour left on the first stage of my long journey to town. My route lay through Uttoxet-er, Derby, Nottingham, Newark.and Sleaford to Woodhall Spa, and as I knew that there were one or two stiff inclines in the first stretch of the way, which would undoubtedly involve rise in a good deal of low gear running, I decided to try a detour, through rather narrow country lanes, so 'as to save myself' from that work. As a matter of fact, although I lengthened my journey by about 15 miles—I on reached the main road again just before getting to Uttoxeter. I have no doubt, having in mind previous occasions on which I had taken the more direct, if hilly route, that .I saved quite a considerable amount of time by making this .det-our. A word in Season here to other drivers who may be going the same way. The detour is only advisable in the early morning, when the roads-, which are narrow and twisting, not wide enough; in many parts, for two vehicles abreast, are free from traffic. Later in the day, when they are largely used by farm carts, and
other slow-moving i traffic, t would be impossible to traverse them at anything like the speed at which I was able to travel on that occasion, and the time lost in negotiating the traffic', would more than outweigh the saving due to the level going. By starting in the early morning I-was able to snake good time.
"I ran through toNottinghim without a. stop, reaching there at 9.45, when I had breakfa.st, getting away again at 10.30, and reaching my intermediate place of call; Woodhall Spa, at twenty minutes past two, having in that time travelled 147 miles. Here I delivered my goods and discovered, to my considerable disappointment, that the customer whom I wished, if pasible, to see before I continued • my journey, was out, and not expected back until-half-past fiveor six in the evening.
"However,. I had clearly to make the best of a bad job, so 1 got something to eat and drink, and then turned my attention to the wagon, saw to the petrol and oil supplies,,gave a turn to one or two essential greasers, and had another look round it, to be sure that everything was in readiness for me to continue my journey. Thus employed, I found time pass very quickly, and five-thirty soon came, then six, but no customer. Finally, at six-thirty, I had to set out for home without seeing him. "I got away in good style, and, including brief stops in Peterborough and Biggleswade, had a glorious run, arriving at Victoria, S.W. 1, at half past four next morning, having completed a journey ef_295i miles at an average speed (reckoning running time only, of course) of 10 miles per hour. I had no trouble of any kind, not a single involuntary stop, and all on a three year-old lorry, with 33,000 miles to its credit, and only one new set of bi,g-end brasses on the debit—repairs—side !
"I set out on the other journey which I have in mind with much less pleasant anticipation. A motor agent in Newark had purchased, in Lon don, a secoacl-hand :Bur
ford lorry. It had origin
ally been delivered' in
1914, had been converted forduty as a Red Cross van, seen service in France, dud finally dumped back again in this country as an-old crock. Having purchased the machine as a crock; -the; buyer decided to have it rebuilt, for, which:purpose he dumped it on H. G. Burford and Co., Ltd., whiehoeompany duly repaired it, and requested me to snake delivery in Newark, the load being a tractor and plough.
"Now, I have every respect for the repair staff at Burford's and for the work they do, but I must confess that I made my preparations for that journey with considerable misgivings, and I . took particularcare over my selection of tools and spares on that occasion. However, I started at 5.15 p.m. on a journey of 132 miles, My route was as follows . Barnet, Hatfield, Welwyn, Biggleswacle, Norman's Cross, Stamford, Grantham and Newark. To my surprise and delight the lorry ran like a clock, ding-dong, dingdong, firststop Stamford, at a quarter-past ten.
• "Next morning, at five o'clock, I was up and away, and continued in the same style as before, arriving at my destination, Newark, at half-past seven prompt-132 miles in 71 hours, nearly 18 miles per hour for 132 miles on an old crock ! "