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MUNICIPAL SERVICES ON TYNESIDE.

15th June 1926, Page 25
15th June 1926
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 25, 15th June 1926 — MUNICIPAL SERVICES ON TYNESIDE.
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Some Aspects of Problems in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where the Authorities make Considerable Use of Motor Vehicles and Appliances.

Mall: extensive replacement of horSe transport by mechanically propelled units by the Newcastle Corporation about four years ago, and the great saving in the cost of performing numerous essential services which was immediately effected and has since been maintained, provides a striking example of the greater efficiency, lower charges, and general superiority of motor vehicles engaged in carrying out work devolving upon local authorities. The present large fleet embraces steamers, petrol vehicles and electrics, although horses are still employed in a limited field, the outcome of the use of these different types being a thorough and detailed system of refuse collection, street cleansing and sweeping and general municipal haulage.

Some idea of the necessity for finding the mode of transport providing the lowest figure of operation consistent with efficiency will be apparent when It is stated that Newcastle's annual bill for an adequate cleansing service borders on the £100,000 mark. But for the employment of motor vehicles and the resultant economies which have been effected in all directions, the total, at the present time, would have been much greater. The figure undoubtedly appears a large one at first glance, but it is, nevertheless, very gratifying when considered in relation to the work to which it refers. As may be known. Newcastle is the sixth largest centre a population in the United Kingdom, and the work of the 17 vehicles constituting the municipal fleet is carried out in a district which has a total area of 4.452 acres, a population of 284,000, and no fewer than 261 miles of streets,

It was in 1922 that the use of motors instead of horses was first mooted. The . outcome of exhaustive experiments under actual working conditions in all 'parts of the city with the four classes • of transport now employed was responsible for providing concrete evidence in statistical form that mechanically propelled vehicles were able to effect

• economies in practically all directions. Before these tests were made, the city engineer (Major W. J. Steele) procured information showing the comparative costs of steamers, petrol, vehicles, eketries and horses, exclusive of loading charges, in order to form a basis for future calculations. The costs obtained covered repayment of loan and interest charges, fuel, oil, repairs, registration, garaging, driver's wages, insurance and sundries, and the total costs for each class of transport were as follow:— Steam wagons, £637 per annum, or 12 18s. 10d. per week; electric vehicles, 038 per annum, or £10 6s. 11d, per week • petrol vehicles, 1677 per annum, or £3 Os. 4d. per week. Compared with these figures the weekly cost when using horses for an equivalent service was 20 13s. 3d,

Having secured this useful information, the next step was to discover the costs of each class of transport under working conditions, and to this end, in order to make the experiments complete and fair in every way, the authorities divided the municipal area into 36 districts, each of which was operated in turn by the various types of vehicle. The actual difference in the comparative

costs obtained varied, of course, according to the conditions pertaining in each distiict, but in each instance horses were found to be more costly.

In cases where steersmen were employed in assisting in loading duties, steam wagons were found to be most economical. The average cost per bin emptied under these conditions was found to be only 1.05d. as compared with 2.31d. when horses were used—a saving of about 20 per cent., whilst petrol vehicles were able to perform the same task at 2.03d. per bin. These figures were based upon an average journey of 2.4 miles from the point of collection to the disposal centres, this mileage approximating to those in many cities and towns.

Electric vehicles, whilst scoring in many instances on the question of cost, were not considered suitable for many of the districts and, accordingly, the issue was narrowed down to steamers and petrol vehicles for the purpose of augmenting the mechanical fleet. The following table shows very clearly the big savings made possible by the two methods as compared with horses:— In the tests from which these figures were compiled the number of bins emptied per week by each class of vehicle was :—Steamers (in each case), 2,831 bins ; petrol vehicles, 3,172 bins ; horse vehicles, 3,232 bins.

Similar experiments were conducted in connection with general haulage, and immediately proof of the benefits likely to result from the extended use of motors was available, steps were taken to reconstitute the transport facilities. Up to that time the mechanical fleet had consisted of two steam wagons, two petrol vehicles, four electric units and two sweepers. A stud of 140 horses was also in use, and these were frequently augmented by kb-log vehicles.

The rapid supersession of horses by • motors which followed the experiments has resulted in the fleet being very materially extended. It now comprises eight 31-ton Yorkshire refuse-collecting steam wagons with specially constructed bodies ; two 23-ton Edison electric endtippers, two 2-ton Edison end-tipping wagons, two 30-cwt. Vulcan lorries (reserved for general haulage duties) ; two Lailly street-sweeping machines, and a 6-ton Yorkshire gully emptier.

Costs, it is gathered, have not varied to any noticeable degree since the preparation of the carefully compiled figures given above, and these may, therefore, be taken as applying to the operation of the vehicles at the present time.

The Yorkshire tipping wagons, purchased in 1923 at a cost of about £12,000, have displaced 33 horses, and have been built to the corporation's re, quirements in order to facilitate loading and unloading operations. The c44 bodies have a.loading height of 4 ft. 8 ins. and enable bins to be emptied direct from the Street level, thereby eliminating the need for ladders. All of them are fitted with detachable covers to prevent the escape of obnoxious odours, etc. They are used, generally speaking, or journeys from 13 to 31 or 4 miles from the point of disposal. Horses and electric vehicles are employed in the main for runs of up to 13 miles, with a qualification so far as electrics are concerned that they are within easy reach of the charging station for the purpose of recharging batteries.

The refuse is disposed of by three means. One is by pulverization, by

which means it -can be turned into source of revenue. The refuse is converted in special plant into fine ash with a high manurial value and is afterwards sold to farmers in the neighbourhood. Small profits are also macie by the salvage and subsequent sale of old tins, etc., at the destructors, which form the second method of disposal. The third method is by tipping' unsuitable material for either of these purposes into quarries in different parts of the city.

In all, between 130,000 arid 150,000 tons of refuse are collected per year in Newcastle, and about .one-half is tipped at the quarries. On the haulage side, petrol vehicles average from is. 2d. to

is. 11d, per ton-mile of materials conveyed, according to the nature of the district covered and the journey distance per load. Each unit averages 120 to 180 miles per week, as compared with about 80 to 100 miles for horse vehicles.

The Yorkshire gully emptier, which is a comparatively recent purchase, is proving of much advantage, both from the economic and the hygienic standpoints. It has replaced two horse vehicles and is performing the work much more efficiently ; it deals with an average of about 200 gullies daily. The value of the machine from the health point of view is particularly pronounced, for it pick's up the contents of gullies emptied immediately, whereas in the days of horses the deposit was left on the carriageway and subsequently collected by carts, with an inevitable residue.

Orian average 720 miles of streets are cleansed each week by the two Laffiy sweepers, which work in co-operation with a gang of men and boys. This means of working enables 45 brushmiles to be swept daily, at a cost of

6.15d. per mile, a very considerable saving by comparison with the results obtained in the days when horse rotary sweepers were "employed. Since the purchase of the machines the Newcastle Corporation has put into operation a system whereby a continuous cleansing process is carried out over 14/ miles of_ leading thoroughfares in the heart of the Tyneside metropolis, whilst 371 miles are swept once per day and 82-} miles twice per week, thus providing the city with a very thorough wash and brush up.

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People: W. J. Steele
Locations: Newcastle

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