Lessons from Railway Practice.
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Considering the similarity which exists between running t motor or service of motors on the road, and the running of rains on a railway, it is somewhat surprising that greater idvantage has not been taken of the experiences of the railvay companies. Their rules, regulations, and methods of wocedure are the result of experience covering 6o or 70 ,ears, and, although they may at first sight seem to be not deal in some respects, it is probable that in most instances hey are the outcome of that experience. Even iri design of letails. It may be taken that the present locomotives arc imply the survival of the many types tried, of which they re found to be the fittest. The same wih be found to be he case in the regulations which govern the methods of vork i g.
The Men's Knowledge of the Road.
In " THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR," lately, there was a short liscussion, started by a leading article in the issue of tbeoth October, as to the need of " route charts " for motoruses. One One writer suggested that this would not be of use, rwing to the frequent changes in the state of the roads, and o the failure of the drivers to report these as they should do. ['his, however, is only a question of discipline and arrangenent, and drivers would soon find that such a chart was of ouch use to them personally, and, if encouraged, they could give every assistance in keeping it up to date, whilst :very competent manager would soon find out, arid know row to deal with, a driver who neglected his duty in this lirection. A railway has the same difficulties, but meets he case by advising drivers of all changes in a small weekly 1:Jelk which calls attention to all special conditions of the Dad.
The Employer's Knowledge of the Man.
Every railway keeps a "pedigree " of each of its emiloyees in the mechanical department, and on this are regisered any reprimands, commendations, etc., with which a clan is debited or credited, and, as these are usually kept on :ards, it is an easy matter at Once IG have the life history of
man whose case has called in any way for consideration. The very existence of such a record is an incentive for a driver to keep as clean a sheet, as far as cautions and regulations go, as possible. Some motor companies have a similar method of registration, and the practice cannot be too largely employed : it should be adopted even in cases where only one or two men are engaged.
The Avoidance of "Casualties."
It is, however, chiefly with the mechanical side that railways may teach a lesson, and one of the first is in the necessity of keeping the stock in first-class condition. It is vital, if the large and ever-increasing business of transportation on a railway is to be carried on satisfactorily, that the whole of the roilingstock en the line itself he in a condition to fulfil absolutely the calls upon it. As everyone knows, a railway train has the advantage of running on a permanent and practically smooth road, but the -fact is often forgotten that this very road is a disadvantage in the case of a breakdown. The motor, in case of a failure, only inconveniences itself and its passengers or load, whilst a breakdown on a long railway line may disorganise the following trallic for hours afterwards, and its effects, owing to missed connections, etc., may be felt for hundreds of miles off. The result is that each locomotive is subjected to a thorough examination when in the cleaning shed, and every care is taken to prevent its going out into service in a state at all likely to cause a "casualty," as a mechanical breakdown is called. Much more attention is now undoubtedly paid to this and similar matters with the large motor companies in London, and, had such precautions been taken earlier, much of the trouble during the past two years would have been avoided. On a railway, a failure to perform the allotted journey, i.e., the occurrence of a " casualty," is looked upon as a most serious matter : the circumstances attendant and precedent are usually subjected to a very close scrutiny, in order to bring home the blame to the person at fault ; or, if there is a suspicion that it is a matter of design, everything is done to remedy this, not only in the particular case under investigation, but in all similar ones. Effect of User's Experience on Design.
This care and practice has resulted, as has been noted already, in a design of details which give very little trouble, and to this state the manufacturer of motor parts is approaching, but he would do so at a quicker rate if the matter were laid hold of more systematically, and if there were closer contact between maker and user. A railway company, as a rule at least, designs, if it does not build, the locomotives it uses, and is therefore in a position to benefit by its experiences_ Not only are " pedigrees " of the drivers and others on a railway kept, but similar records of many of the more important parts of the locomotives themselves are entered on cards. These include : the boiler ; the crank and other axles ; wheels; tires, etc. With motor vehicles, the detail which receives the greatest attention is the rubber tire, when this is fitted, but a system of cards such as is outlined above, but specially adapted to the local circumstances, would he, undoubtedly, of great use. The repairs and renewals to the engine, transmission gear, springs, etc., would be entered on these, and the management would be able to see at a glance how matters were going with each car. The mileage basis, or guarantee, for rubber tires has caused this part to receive a large amount of attention, and benefit has resulted, but, although some companies may have extended the principle somewhat along the lines indicated, the use of such a system is not general for motor work. The advantage previously mentioned, that a breakdown with a motor vehicle only affects the one car, unfortunately tends to tempt the garage to send out a machine which is known to have defective parts with the assurance that it will probably run one journey at all events. Even if it should do so, the damage or wear caused to the machinery may require a much greater cost to put right than if the matter had received immediate attention.
Proper Attention to the Repair Book.
One of the first means of obtaining satisfactory-running vehicles, which shall be as light on repairs as possible, is in making full use of a " repair book," which is entered up by the driver, and from which book the work done is signed for by the repairing fitter. Each driver, as he goes off duty, should sign off in this book, even if his vehicle requires no repairs, and in this manner the responsibility for most breakdowns can be readily traced. Systems on this basis are in use on all railway companies, and one of their great merits is that they allow advantage to be taken of the early notification of defects which can only be known to the driver who, if it is possible to keep him to one machine, will acquire a special knowledge of its peculiarities, for each variatioa of sound will convey some meaning. to him. All matters reported should receive immediate attention, for nothing discourages a driver more than to find that his complaints apparently pass unnoticed.
Small Parts : a Point of Difference.
In order, however, that repairs may receive the attention they require, a railway always possesses considerably more locomotives than are ever expected to be in service at one time. The percentage running will vary from 75 per cent. upwards, but will probably never reach the high proportion expected by motorbus companies with new cars. This is, perhaps, not to be wondered at, for many parts of a motor vehicle are so small that it is cheaper wholly to replace than to repair. If. however, repairs are to be carried out properly, a sufficient length of time should be available. so that no scampingof the work may result from the rushing through of these repairs, and this time can only be obtained by having a sufficient number of cars to allow a certain proportion to be off the road without crippling the service. One knows that, where there is only a single car or two, it is not possible to have a spare vehicle as a rule, but the owner should try and arrange so that any necessary repairs may receive immediate attention, in spite of the temptation to endeavour to be able to say that the car has run so many months without missing a trip.
Cleaning also a Branch of Inspection Duties.
It is hardly necessary to mention the question of the cleaning of the vehicles, as far as larger users are concerned, but, with small owners, and more particularly in the country, this regular habit of railway companies is not followed up as it should be. This is a matter that in both eases is carried out after the journey is completed, although it may at first seem to some to be an unnecessary expense when the dirty parts are not in sight, yet the cleaning is in itself a form of inspection and dirt and oil may easily hide defects which if not attended to will cause trouble.
Good water.
If there is one thing more than another to which railway companies pay special attention, it is to the water used in the boilers of their locomotives, and, as we have pointed out before, this is a question which all users of steam lorries should consider carefully. Unfortunately, on the road, where water is required by a steam lorry every 10-20 miles, things are not so easily arranged as on a railway where the tender may hold sufficient to last any distance up to moo miles, but, nevertheless, reasonable precautions, which will ensure the best available water to be procured, should be taken. Once in the boiler, its behaviour will depend upon its chemical properties, but these latter should be ascertained and steps taken to neutralise any harmful action as far as is possible. In all cases, a certain amount of water should be blown off each trip : this is not usually done on English railways, where-the ratio of the amount of water evaporated per trip to the boiler capacity is much lower than with motor boilers, but, in America, with the extremely bad waters used on many of their railroads, the practice is common in certain districts. In addition to " blowing off," the boiler should be washed out periodically.
High.class Stores and Materials.
Not only water, but lubricating oils and all other stores are carefully scrutinised on a railway, and, although, perhaps, the motor business is not, except in one or two instances, large enough to allow this to be carried out properly by a special staff, every care should be taken to see that articles are not bought from a consideration of first cost only. If false economy of this kind is attempted, trouble will be sure to arise from the employment of stores which are not properly fitted for the work they have to perform. Further, every large railway has a staff of inspectors, who test both mechanically and analytically the material of which their engines are to be composed, and whilst, at present, motorusing companies have too small a quantity of cars to render this necessary, and are content to leave such matters in the hands of the manufacturers, this may be a point which will require attention in the future. Enough has perhaps been said to show that a certain analogy exists between the two industries, and that profit may be derived by a study of the established methods and operations of the older one.