REMOVAL TRANSPORT STORIES in Brief
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BIG GROWTH OF BOURNEMOUTH REMOVAL CONCERN.
I T was 52 years ago that J. J. Allen,
Ltd., The Quadrant, Bournemouth, was founded by the late Mr. J. J. Allen, and, in 1899, the business was incorporated as a public company, frorri" which time rapid strides have been made. The removal and warehousing business has been one of progress throughout. It started with three horsed pantechnicons and a small depository at Bournemouth, and now consists of a motor fleet •of over 40 vehicles, eight large furniture depositories in Bournemouth, London and Southampton, and a staff, nearly 100 engaged entirely in the removal and warehousing trade.
Up to the time of the Salter Report the main removal business was carried out with the aid of LeylandCarrimore six-wheeled articulated vehicles, in addition to Leyland lorries and trailers, but, by reason of the change in taxation, the company was compelled to reorganize its roadtransport arrangements, with a result that its fleet now consists of Gardner oil-engined lorries working in conjunction with trailers, and carrying large-capacity removable bodies, Garner rigid six-wheelers with bodies of 1,200 cubic ft. capacity, and Bedford and Garner 1,000-cubic-ft. vans, which are capable of high speed and fall in a low taxation class. This change-over has, we are told, effected great economies in overhead charges and running costs.
The company operates most of its vehicles under an A licence, in addition to the C licences which are held for the furnishing trade. The mileage per vehicle per annum is between 16,000 and 20,000. The concern carries out many long-distance removals, particularly from the North of England to Bournemouth and the South.
VARIED TYPES USED BY A LARGE LONDON STORE.
QEVENTEEN motor units are con
tinuously employed in carrying out removals by William Whiteley, Ltd., Queen's Road, London, W.2, the noted multiple .store. The fleet comprises three Leyland 54onners with trailers, two 1,000-cubic-ft. articulated outfits, one having a Morris-Commercial motive unit and the other a Star tractor, three Fordson tractors, a Harrier Bantam, five mechanical horses, four being of the Harrier Cob type and the other a Scammell, a Morris Commercial 1,000-cubic-ft. Luton-type van and a couple of Fordson 2-tonners.
The. mechanical horses, „.Fordson tractors and Harrier Bantam:. _haul pantechnicon vans (of the type—previously drawn -:by horses) „ as well as special:semi-trailers, of which the corn pally. has 24, each averaging 000 cubic ft. in capacity. Mr. S. J. Harris, ger of the removal and warehousing 2. department, states that this type of ontfut is invaluablefor the large; amount of, local work which his ccnn-:.:
pany is called 'upon to carry out. The Leylands are ..,used 'for the "
heavier removals, and, 9ofar a:s possible, are limited to a radius of about
130 miles. Long-distance work, up to approximately 200 miles, is effected by the articulated six-wheelers and • the Luton vans. The mechanical horses are, of course, engaged solely on local duty.
The Harrier Cobs and the Scammell, among others, have special saloon-type cabs, with comfortable accommodation for the foreman and three men. Incidentally, it is believed that Mr. Eggleton, transport manager of Selfridge and Co., Ltd., designed the first saloon cab of this special type to be seen in the South of England.
This pattern of cab is mounted upon the Morris-Commercial tractor unit of the latest articulated six-wheeler placed in service by William Whiteley, Ltd. With a capacity of 1,000 cubic ft., the vehicle is able to deal with the complete contents of the average modern house or fiat. In the event of goods being conveyed to the warehouse, the semi-trailer, can be detached from the tractor and left for unloading at the company's discretion, the tractor being sent away on another job.
All the company's drivers have, for several years past, received the "Safety First" award.
IMPORTANT STORES' 3,000 REMOVAL ESTIMATES YEARLY.
THE house of Chiesmans, Ltd., Lewisham, London, S.E.13, was founded in 1884, and acquired the oldestablished business of Messrs. Wickhams, of Maidstone, in 1932. A removal section is operated at both stores, the former having commenced with horse-drawn vehicles, until to-day
it employs over 30 petrol-driven machines. Three large warehouses at Lewisham and one at Maidstone provide facilities for the storage of furniture.
With present rates of taxation, the company has found the Bedford 2-24ton chassis most satisfactory, as it enables a body of 800 cubic It. to be accommodated and a speed of 30 m.p.h. to be enjoyed. For larger classes of removal, the Albion 31-ton chassis, carrying a type of body giving 1,100 cubic ft. of space, is favoured, but for smaller consignments Albion 30-cwt. vehicles and Morris-Commercial 1-tonners are used. All the larger vans are equipped with a well-type body, for easy loading.
As the removal department is operated as a means for encouraging new customers to the store, much attention is given to seeing that the right type of man is engaged.
Some 3,000 estimates are prepared yearly, and, in the case of people removing within a reasonable radius of either store, a slip is attached to the estimate which points out that the company will undertake, free of cost, to measure the rooms and to give advice on the best way of effecting economical alteratiens to curtains, carpets and linoleums.
The department is operated on the conditions laid down by the Furniture Warehousemen and Removers ASS0dation, of which the company has been a member for many years.
Removals by sea and rail are included in the company's activities, and, in these cases, lift vans are carried to the dock or depot on platform
lorries. Drivers receive a bonus if accident-free for a year. All repairs. to the vehicles are carried out in the company's Own well-equipped repair
50 YEARS REMOVAL WORK FROM CARDIFF.'
F"over half a century 'Webb' Re-, moval Service, Ltd., has been known in Cardiff. The company caters for all classes of removal, from the contents of a mansion to those of a few rooms. A part-load service is operated which embraces not only the valley towns from Cardiff, but most of the large centres in England and Wales.
This enables a customer to send a single piece of furniture at a reduced oast without any loss of expert packing and attention. The company runs a fleet of Fordson and Bedford vans fitted with large-capacity bodies.
Before quoting for a removal, the concern's estimator visits the address from which the furniture has to be transported and notes, in detail, the quantity and particulars of the service required, this being an important part of a remover's business. Upon his return, this information is carefully studied, and costs of packing, loading, standing charges, mileage, unloading, drivers' nights away, etc., are prepared. The concern makes it clear that it endeavours to quote a competitive and reasonable figure, but it does not, as it fears some furniture removers do, allow its competitors to fix the price.
The company has over 100,000 cubic ft. of dry storage accommodation.
LONDON COMPANY'S UNIQUE TRANSPORT EXPERIENCE.
I N these days of Belisha beacons, traffic lights, cross-roads, obstructions, etc., the privilege is not often given to one of being able to travel from Portsmouth to Piccadilly, London, without a single stop of any description. This unique distinction was
enjoyed some time ago by Bishop and Sons' Depositories, Ltd., on a special run from the Naval Dockyard to the Royal Academy, under protection of police escort, with a valuable cargo of Chinese exhibits. We publish a picture of the three lorries forming the convoy.
Taiey were escorted through Portsmouth to the outsldrts of the city, where the convoy was taken up by the Hants Constabular; 'whilst at Liphook, the SUrrey Constabulary provided a further escort to Guildford, where their duties were taken over by the Metropolitan Police, who escorted the vehicles through to the gates of the Acaderny.
From _start to finish a steady pace was maintained_ AU traffic lights were altereri and crossings arranged with the help of the police, so that no lorry was stopped on the way. This trip was undertaken by a trio of MorrisCommercial vehicles: In the everyday work of a removal contractor it is found that every job has different requirements in the matter of transport. The company is fully alive to this fact, and runs Leylands with platform bodies to take the largest-sized containers or lift vans, trailers to couple up to them, and tractors to draw pneumatic-tyred pantechnicons for town work.
INTERESTING FEATURES OF TRUNK-SERVICE OPERATION. I N addition to its normal removing business, which extends throughout the British Isles, Alfred Bell (Newcastle), Ltd., runs a trunk service, both night and day, between Newcastle and London. As the majority of vehicles employed on this long-distance work is limited to 20 m.p.h., the company has opened a depot and drivers' hostel at Tuxford, so that changes of drivers can be made in order to comply with the Road Traffic Acts. There is accommodation at this depot for some 80 men.
At the London terminus at 24, Friern Park, North Finchley, the company has extensive covered garage accommodation and a hostel, where' it can sleep and feed approximately 40 drivers. Vdhicles of a number of other concerns are also serviced at this terminus.
The company's fleet is made up of Albion, Garner and Bedford vehicles, although the latest vehicle to be added to the fleet is a Thornycroft, this having been purchased mainly because of its large carrying capacity. (1,500. cubic fit.). During the past year the trunk-service vehicles covered Over 800,000 miles.
The vehicles are serviced from the head depository at Higham Place, Newcastle, which has accommodation for 3,000 loads, and every vehicle, upon completion of a journey from Newcastle to London and back, passes through the, hands of the mechanics, who check over the reports handed in by the drivers. As each vehicle is in the hands of five drivers after leaving Neweaet e until its return from London and every driver is instructed to report on his log sheet any defeats or trouble that may arise, it is passible for the' mechanicsto maintain the fleet in first-class condition and practically to ensure an absence of breakdowns, PROGRESS OF IMPORTANT LANCASHIRE CONCERN.
STARTING, so it is said, with a handcart in the year 1838, the business of Walter Carter (Harrods, Ltd.), Manchester, has been one of steady progress resulting from advantage being taken of new facilities
whenever they have developed. Road motors were used soon after they became a commercial proposition, and now a fleet of modern Albion vehicles is being operated. The latest development is the introduction of 3-tonners with duralumin bodywork, and this has been followed by considerably improved loading figures. In furniture removal the prime consideration is space rather than weight, and the vehicles in question give a 750-cubicft. capacity, whilst when operated in conjunction with one of the latest Dyson trailers that are used, a total of 1,450 cubic ft, is available, Removals over any distance are undertaken, so that the mileage from week to week may vary considerably, but recently the average per vehicle has been the equivalent of about 17,000 miles annually.
To facilitate the operation of lift vans a special machine with a skeleB40 ton platform has been constructed, this bringing the total of Dennis vehicles to five.
At the depositories in Rusholme (Manchester) there is approximately 1,200,000 cubic ft. of storage space, a clear indication of the volume of business handled.
Goods that are forwarded to customers who have removed abroad require special attention, arad it is frequently necessary to pack not only for the immediate journey but with a view to transit by rail, water and, perhaps in the end, by native carriers!
Walter Carter is associated with Kendal, Milne and Co., Ltd., Manchester.
DIFFERENT MEDIA FOR FURNITURE REMOVAL.
THE well-known Portsmouth concern of Curtiss and Sons, Ltd., was formed into a public limited company in 1897, the business having commenced as a private concern in 1866, so that this year sees the completion of 70 years in the furniture-removal industry. Originally operating in Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, the company now has branches in London, Plymouth, Southampton, Chatham and Gillingham, in addition to the original headquarters. Its own motor boats are now employed for the Solent crossing, whilst use is also made of motor vehicles, horses and the railway.
On the road-transport side, about 40 vehicles are employed, ranging from the Dennis 21-tonner with a lightweight body of 1,000-cubic-ft. capacity to the A.E.C. Majestic for trailer work with removal lift vans. In addition to furniture removing, the company has a regular daily service for " light " general goods between London, Portsmouth, Chatham, Southampton and the Isle of Wight, and A.E.C. Mercury boxvans are often used for this work.
The company deals with a large number of loads of furniture each year, and its vehicles cover an aggregate of well over half-a-million miles annually.
The transport side is only part of The business, for there are large depositories at each town from which the company operates, and at each depot an experienced packing and loading service is available.
A STOCKPORT REMOVER'S GRATITUDE TO THE INDUSTRY.
I T is more than a century since tl'e grandfather of Mr. Thomas Ormesher, proprietor of Messrs. T. Ormesher and Sons, of Stockport, commenced business as a general carrier, and many changes have been wrought in that period. In pre-war days, the firm could, on the removal side, draw from the carrying side the number of horses and drivers necessary for the day's bookings of local removals, and for the haulage of lift vans to and from railway stations in connection with distant removals.
The firm's first motorvan was acquired in 1914, and it was followed by Leylands and Karriers with special bodywork. To-day, the firm maintain horses for purely local work, and have a fleet of Albion, Garner and Chevrolet vans and Dyson trailers, which meet their average requirements, but additional needs are met by satisfactory hiring arrangements for the haulage of their lift vans.
In the opinion of Mr. Ormesher, the remover has every reason to be grateful for the progress and development made by the commercial-motor industry, which provides him with vans which, in the matter of first cost, ease and economy of operation, speed, reliability and carrying capacity, represent phenomenal improvements on the last decade. With such vehicles in his own fleet and available for hire from hauliers, the removal specialist can count on his ability to keep moving" and to maintain his business "in the van."