It's essential to drive the 01000 by ear
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By IAIN SHERRIFF
'HILL'S (Haulage) Ltd., of Swindon, has " just bought a Ford D1000, 24-ton gross tractive unit with a BTC trailer. And as all D1000 customers are being offered free tuition for their drivers 1 went along to Hill's South-east London depot to watch.
As the machine was an artic the tuition period lasted four hours. Although the driver, Mr. John Best, has only been with Hill's for a year he has been trunking with artics for over 12 years and Mr. K. Mansfield, the BSM instructor, began by giving him a complete rundown on the "electrics" and braking system.
The D1000, fitted with the Cununins V8 engine, is faster running than anything the average heavy-haulage driver has previously handled and it is essential that his ear is tuned in to detect the correct engine note. This became apparent when he drove the 42 ft. outfit without looking at the rev. counter.
The four hours were mostly taken up with driving in varying traffic conditions between Bermondsey, A2, A20, Gravesend and Greenwich. With the instruction that "revs, must not drop below 1,900" clearly fixed in his mind, the driver at the start tended to fix his eye on the rev. counter. After an hour he was able to judge by ear, sometimes glancing at the panel.
This unit was fitted with an Eaton twospeed axle which was new to the pupil. He found gear-selection difficult at the beginning but mastered it by the end.
The D1000 is now operating between London and Bristol on a night trunking service and I have been invited back to Bermondsey to mark the improvement in Mr. Best's handling of the outfit after a few weeks' work.