Design progress at Olympia
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by Ashley Taylor, AI RTE, Assoc lnst T.
ALTHOUGH they could hardly be classed as surprises, a number of new body designs appeared on Monday at the opening of the Public Works and Municipal Services Exhibition. Conscious no doubt of the challenge of changing techniques in refuse disposal the manufacturers of cleansing vehicles are intensifying the trend towards greater compaction and therefore more economic payloads. The show is being held at Olympia and closes tomorrow, Saturday, at 5 p.m.
Dennis Bros Ltd. (g.g., Guildford Surrey) has followed up its introduction of a new ambulance at the Commercial Motor Show with the launching on this occasion of the Paxit 70 refuse collection unit which is designed to give a high payload and has a horizontal ejection discharge system. In evolving its specification the manufacturer checked on the needs of over 1,000 local authorities as well as studying the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government's Working Party on Refuse Collection.
The Paxit 70, with an unladen weight of 7 ton lOcwt, and a gross of 15 tons, has a rated capacity of 70 cu.yd. of average loose domestic refuse. A two-stage continuous loading mechanism produces a 4:1 compression ratio which gives an extremely tight final load that makes power discharge a virtual necessity. Because of the fact that much Continental refuse is of greater density than that normally found in Britain advance testing of the new design was carried out in Spain, Portugal and Switzerland.
Fabricated steel sections are employed for the framework of both body and loading hopper, abrasion resistant steel is used for the body floor and the side panels are in aluminium alloy. The crew cab has three doors, a one-piece windscreen and salvage accommodation on the roof. Vehicles in the Paxit range are now equipped with cabs that have foundation, superstructure and doors in glass reinforced plastics.
The Paxit 70 is, of course, suitable for Dennis mechanical dustless loading and the enclosed discharge of standard containers. It will also deal with ordinary domestic bins and with paper or plastic sacks, optional equipment in the rear hopper enabling the sacks to be broken down or not as required. Exhibited for the first time by Dennis are sack dispensers, fitted at the rear of the vehicle, so that the correct number of sacks can be placed in position before leaving the depot and withdrawn without loss of time during the round. Polythene sacks of 34 cu.ft. capacity for use with the dispenser are also to be seen. Further vehicles on the Stand G9 are the Paxit Major IlIc, the Paxit a Paxit IIc and a tanker with street washing equipment.
A brief mention was made in the Commercial Motor preview last week of the Eagle Compressload 5. This is a 5-ton version of the Compressload 3 highcompression power ejection design that was introduced early in the year. Shown on a Land-Rover chassis is a small Eagle Chelsea-type sideloader intended for the export market and of obvious value for collecting from badly situated sites. The Cornpressload 3 is being demonstrated in the outside exhibition area.
In addition to being seen on the stand of Hanger Engineering Ltd. (G5 and F6 /Eagle Works, Warwick) the Compressload 5 figures in the display of Vauxhall Motors Ltd. (F22 /Luton, Bedfordshire), this stand also including an Eagle gully/cesspool emptier on a Bedford TK chassis. A 1,500 gal Yorkshire cesspool emptier is shown by Rootes' Dodge Division (F7 /Luton, Beds.) and a 1,000 gal. Yorkshire gully/cesspool emptier by the !Carrier Division (F14/Dunstable, Beds.) The latter stand displays a Musketeer 19 impellor loading collector. with crew cab, together with several of its stable companions.
The striking 40-ton gross Foden dumper (Fodens Ltd., Stand Cl/Sandbach, Cheshire) replaces the earlier 21-ton payload model. Dependent upon the specification chosen the payload of this latest design is up to 55,8201b, with a capacity of 204 cu.yd. heaped or 18 cu.yd. struck. Power steering is standard.
Sheppard Fabrications Ltd. (H14/Barnham, near Thetford, Norfolk) has available for inspection an outsize unit in the form of a Sheppard Meiller 14000 Mk H container handling unit which is carried on the new Foden 24 ton dumper chassis. This outfit bears the name of Waste Transport Services Ltd. of Bristol but is shown with an International 150 loader on a pallet. The lifting capacity of this model is 15 tons with a legal carrying capacity of 12 tons 14cwt.
Being exhibited for the first time outside Sweden, the BM Volvo BR860 six-wheel dumper has torque converter, four-wheel the Master 600 trailer sweeper which has a refuse hopper that can be discharged directly into the accompanying lorry. A fresh exhibitor for the major shows is Haulamatic Ltd. (K4 /Barker Gate, Ilkeston, Derbyshire)—which company is presenting a pair of rear dumpers, both of which have Allison automatic torque converter trans mission and Perkins 120 blip power units. They are designed for both road and site use and the g.v.w. rating is 16 tons.
A new example of versatility is provided by the General Descaling Co. Ltd.
(A10/Worksop, Nottinghamshire) in the form of a water pressure sewer cleansing unit which can speedily be removed from its parent vehicle so leaving the latter free for employment on other duties, an arrangement that offers considerable advantages to many local authorities.
Among the several Land-Rovers that are attracting attention is one fitted with an English Electric 400 cycles per sec. generat ing system, specially modified for quiet stationary running. The generator operates from a centre pto. Sound-absorbing material is employed in the engine compartment and on the generator to ensure that noise shall be kept to a.minimum.
Shown for the first time at a Public Works Exhibition is a tractor-drawn 4-ton tipping trailer by Warwick Bros. (Alresford) Ltd. (V4/Warwick Trailers, The Dean, Alresford, Hants). This is a company well known in the agricultural trailer market but it is stated that the present model is not an adaption, having been specifically planned for the difficult conditions that may be encountered in general constructional work.
A second trailer known as the Loadmaster, also of 4-ton capacity, has been designed for local authority duties such as refuse disposal and is fully equipped for the road with over-run brakes, parking brake, lights and mudguards. The price for either trailer is £230 complete.
Two further "firsts" are being offered by Messrs. William Bunce and Son (B1 and BVAshbury, Swindon, Wilts.), these being the Maxi tractor-mounted sweeper and a new Epoke bulk spreader trailer in which the feeder belt carries only the material in the process of ejection for spreading at the particular moment and does not bear the weight of the contents of the hopper.
Spreading width can be controlled from the driver's cab and is adjustable between 7ft.
and 26ft. The spreading disc is designed to permit its being placed close to the road surface so as to minimize-inconvenience to other road-users.
Accompanying the well-established New Era three-wheel street sweeper that is being
demonstrated by RGP Engineering Ltd.
(J3/Martha Street, Flathouse Road, Portsmouth) is the recently introduced Sweeperette, a pedestrian-controlled pave ment sweeper driven by a Petter oil engine. Tuke and Bell Ltd. (S2 /Lichfield, Stafford shire), a familiar name in local authority circles, is showing one of its trailer gritters, also a forward-mounted spreader. A new 4-ton trailer and a variety of trailer components and accessories are being presented by F. W. Wheatley (Trailers) Ltd. (Z7/Padholme Road, Peterborough).
An impressive 1,750gal. tar/bitumen distributor takes pride of place on the stand of Grant, Galloway and Gear Ltd. (03 /Lyndhurst Road, Ashurst, Southampton). The chassis is a 15ft. AEC Mercury and the equipment includes an Ashurst spray bar with hydraulic lifting and lowering mechanism and transverse movement gear. Working width is 7ft. 6in. but a twin spray bar is available which extends to 12ft. fin.
The Shark refuse collection unit from Ronald Perham Ltd. (G1 /88 Clapham Road, London, SW9), to which reference was made last week, is the first of this design actually to be manufactured in Britain. In this case compression is achieved by a rotating drum, the action being reversed with the rear door open when discharge is necessary, the process not requiring tipping.
A direct appeal to the transport world is made by Plastic Protections (Southgate) Ltd. (EE4 /Wood Green Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex) with Tarpalite polythene sheets for load protection. They are made in clear and black materials with reinforced eyelets. Anti-frost shields in the form of tin. thick glass-reinforced plastics mats, enclosed in polythene casings, are also being offered.
Steam generators for vehicle cleansing and other purposes come from Modern Devices Ltd. (M6/Woden Road, Wolverhampton). There are two sizes, one converting cold water into steam at 70gal. per hour and the other working at 120gal. The lOgal. water tank is fed from a mains connection. Heating is by an automatic oil-fired burner and the discharge by an electrically driven reciprocating piston pump. Full working pressure is built up in 3min. Detergent can be drip fed into the water by means of a needle valve.
Technical advice on the employment of high pressure hoses in the transportation sphere is being given by Tecalemit (Engineering) Ltd. (AA4 /Maidenhead, Berkshire). The stand of Mintex Ltd. (Q28 /Cteckheaton, Yorkshire) depicts some of the activities of the company's 22 UK depots. Problems relating to the use of brake and clutch facings for extra-heavy duties are being explained by experts on the stand of Small and Parkes Ltd. (N10 /Hendham Vale Works, Manchester).
Based on the Reliant three-wheeler, the Melford-Reliant S12/40 road sweeper has been designed for use in shopping precincts, car parks and similar areas. The manufacturers are Melford Engineering Ltd. (U20, Cottenham, Cambridge). Optional extras include wander hose, snow plough attachment and spreader attachment. The working gear is mounted forward of the single front wheel. Transport and auxiliary operating engines are identical 700 c.c. Reliant units.