WATER FOR STEAMERS : APPROVED SYSTEM.
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Brief Details of the Two Forms of Appliance.
,A T last there seems a possibility of a " uniform system being adopted, in the South-west Lancashire and Cheshire areas at least, whereby reasonable facilities will be provided for supplying water to steam wagons, at a fair charge, by the local water authorities, who in the the past, in many instances, have not been too sympathetic in their consideration of the needs of road users. Of course, the water authorities are not able to single out for preferential treatment one section of road users, and install underground tanks or stand-pipes at reasonable distances along main roads, at the expense of the ratepayers. That is hardly to he expected; but -when vehicle owners are prepared to pay for the service—and the water—they want, they are surely entitled to sympathetic consideration. ,
A scheme has now been evolved as the result of a conference representing the
Ministry of Transport, the Commercial Motor Users Association, the British Waterworks Association, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, and the Agricultural Engineers' Association, and it, is now recommended that. local authorities adopt an. automatic roadside supply apparatus, to which drivers will have access, by the use of a standard form of key issued by the water authority, and a token issued (rather one should say sold) by the Commercial Motor Users Association or at approved depots.
In some localities a preference is shown towards the underground tank from which the wagon obtains its water by means of the suction pipe with which it is equipped ; on the other hand, other authorities prefer stand pipes, and if a flexible hose is incorporated with these fittings the wagon owner is assured of his supplies. It matters little, however, what fittings find favour with the local councils, the lock mechanism which has now been officially approved by' the various organizations named can be installed with a reasonable certainty of withstanding rough usage and giving satisfaction to all parties. A demonstration of it was given a few days ago at Liverpool, where in Pall Mall the corporation has two sueh experimental water-supply service boxes —one worked by pressure from a steed pipe and the other by suction hose from an uuderground tank. Air. P. Cl. Bristow and Mr. C. R. Whitnall attended the demonstration on behalf of the C.M.U.A., and there were also present representatives of the following water, authorities : Warrington, West Cheshire, Abrom (near Wigan), Wigan, Wallasey, Bury, Bolton, Blackburn, Birkenhead, St. Helens, Stockport, Chester, Lathom, Burscough, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, and Runcorn.
The purpose of the demonstration was to familiarize the water engineers with the device upon which the conjoint. conference has been working so long, with a view to their adopting it in their own localities. At the present time there are only these two supply boxes in use at Liverpool, and 262 firms ot motor users have purchased keys -for 768 wagons, enabling them to draw supplies from these and similar mechanisms when provided.
The mechanism which formed the subject of the demonstration was based on the design of Mr. A. R. U. Heath, M.I.A.E„ of Bexley Heath, who was awarded a premium for the most suitable design submitted.
Access to the water-service box is by means of a T-shaped key, issued by the local water authority, which stamps it with the seal of the issuing office and the registered number of the vehicle by which it is to be carried. The token with which it is used to acquire a water supply is a circular disc, 1. in. in diameter, formed of hard, non-cornosible metal, and corrugated so as to prevent counterfeiting. These discs will be issued by the C.M.U.A. to wagon owners at '9d. each (2id. of which is paid to the water authority, and the other halfpenny retained for the cost of tokens and for administration), and repurchased from the water boards for
reissue to vehicle owners.
Now, to oPen the service box, the driver has to insert his key in the space provided in the service-box door, and by turning it in a clockwise direction he uncovers a slot for the insertion of the token. This really forms the last ward of the key, and enables the shutter latch to be rotated into the full open position.
If the service box is used in connection with a pressure feed, a length of protected hose, wound on a drum, may be pulled out, and while the driver depresses a lever water will flow. If he neglects this attention no supply will be fortHoming. After he has filled up, the hose is rewound automatically, but the driver, no matter how charitably dis. posed he might be, canna drive off with
his key and leave the service-box door open. It is impossible to extricate the key until the door is locked, and this is achieved by turning the key it, an anticlockwise direction. This causes the token behind to drop into a locked collecting receptacle, simultaneously closing
the slot for the token (thus preventing children pushing match-sticks, etc., through the aperture) and engaging the latch with the catch on the door frame.
With the underground tank the mechanism is similar and equally serviceable. The orifice for the insertion of the operator's hose can only be opened with the standard token and key, and the key cannot be removed until the shutter latch to the orifice has been closed and locked.
The cycle of operations is similar to the operations for the stand-pipe service box, described above, save that there is no box door to open and close. In this design, however, there is the same inability to extract the key until the driver's hose has been taken from the orifice and the shutter latch shut and locked.
By either of these systems motor wagons' tanks can be filled in three or four minutes.
The scheme is based on the principle that there should be a uniform price throughout thecountry per token (that is, per fill of water), without prejudice to the right of the C7M.U.A. to charge at a preferential rate for the sale of large quantities or for prompt payment. The price for the user and redemption of the token is open to revision every year at the instance of the Waterworks Association or the C.M.U.A. It is also recommended that every steam motet wagon, etc., be required to carry a key of the approved design as a condition of the licence, issued by the water authority.