GETTING THE BEST OUT OF THE STEAM WAGON.
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The Limitations in the Use of the Steamer, its Garaging and the Best Mode of Employment to Secure Economical Working.
IN THE course of his paper dealing with the use and limitations of the steam wagon, • read before the members of the Institute of Automobile Engineers • en Wednesday last, Mr. C. Le M. Gosselin named certain conditions Which are required for the economical use of the steam wagon.
First, the laws of the country must permit of it being used to commercial advantage, and, in this respect, it was only on. the advent of the petrol vehicle that the absurdity of compelling the employment of a man in front of the vehicle • with the red flag was removed, whilst,even to-day, the steam wagon, to be of real commercial utility, must 'defy the law in stopping to pick up water on the highway, in exceeding 5 na.p.h, when
i drawing a trailer, and n showing visible vapour which it is not always possible to avoid.
Secondly, the climate must be temperate, because the vehicle is dependent upon water supplies from streams which it passes, and once these become unobtainable, through either extreme heat or cold, the vehicle goes out of service.
Thirdly, it must have properly constructed roads to enable it to carry heavy weights. Fourthly, the water supply must not only be reliable throughout the year, but the water must be of reasonable purity. A tank full of water will carry a steam wagon and trailer over give-and-take roads about 15 miles, and, sometimes, less.
The fifth point to which attention was drawn by Mr. Gosselin was the need for skilled labour, the men handling it having a sense of responsibility and being able. todetect, at any rate, the more obvious warnings of failure in the mechanism they control.
The last point to which attention was drawn was the need for a sufficient flow of traffic over short distances to Warrant the use of such heavy units of transport, otherwise it is not Possible to attract skilled responsible labour to a vocation that only offers intermittent occupation, and it is always desirable to keep the same driver upon a vehicle and to avoid cfianges wherever possible. The steam wagon, being liable to considerable depreciation owing to the internal rusting of working parts (including the boiler) when not in use, renders it extremely desirable that it be kept in constant use. The steam wagon carries a load of from 8 to 10 tons. With straightforward loading, this takes one and a half hours to load, rope and sheet up, and at least one hour to unload. Where •a wagon handles two loads a day in and out, the time occupied in handling the load is probably four to five hours of a working day, and in an eight-hour day this leaves only three to four hours' running time, during which alone it may be said to be performing useful work as a trans port unit. Hence, in selecting loads for steam wagons and trailers, regard should be had to the facilities for prompt collection and delivery of goods, to the condition that the load does not contain too many small packages which would absorb excessive time in handling, and to the fact that the number of deliveries must be strictly limited.
There are certain classes of goods for the transport of which a steam wagon is not altogether, or at all Suitable.
With regard to the use of the steam wagon, it should be properly garaged, the building being constructed and equipped with due regard to the height and weight of the vehicle, and to the presence of sulphuric acid which would cause corrosion in a damp atmosphere, funnels being provided to go over the wagon chimneys, whilst they should preferably be made of non-corrosive material. Provision should be made for proper cleaning, and it is highly important that there should be ample accommodation for the working stores. Coke for fuel must be kept dry and must be bagged. Storage must be arranged for ashes, and, where fires are drawn nightly, the half-burnt fuel so removed may be used in the heating apparatus for the garage. There should he accommodation for firewood for stearn-raising, whilst the firewood should be cut in suitable lengths and uniform sizes.
Storage of oil requires far more consideration than it usually receives.
Coverings for the loads have to perform the double function of protecting the loads from the weather and from the falling hot cinders, and provision should be made for these wagon covers to be inspected and repaired without delay.
Lastly, under the head of garage requirements must be set the provision of a stores for spare parts and of facilities for repairs and replacements.
With regard to the performance of steam wagons, the number of useful days of work per annum may roughly be put at 250, which allows for 52 Sundays, 62 shed days (for washing out boilers and cleaning down), and 11 days for special repairs and holidays. Roughly, it may be said that a minimum of five and a maximum of 35 to 40 miles represent the economic limit of a steam vehicle's journey.
The consumption of fuel varies according to the nature of the roads and the weight carried, but, nowadays, it is not uncommon to get for each cwt, of gas coke 10 miles' running, and for each cwt, of good Welsh steam coal about 20 miles' running.
Boiler repairs are still troublesome, for, whilst an engine will last from two to three years without serious overhaul, many boilers hardly give 12 months' continuous service. Boiler fittings and pipe joints areparticuIarly troublesome. One of the greatest i calls s for some form of filter suitable for attachment to the end of the suction hose pipe.
Beyond the items mentioned, there is nothing about a steam wagon which calls for special attention. Springs brea.k under great overloading, and wheels run hot when deprived of lubrication, but these are matters of abuse rather than use. On a fleet of Leyland steam wagons, Mr. Gosselin finds that the boilers will go 18,000 to 20,000 miles before retubing is necessary ; the engines will run from 25,000 to 30,000 miles before calling for overhaul ; chains and chain sprockets require renewing after • 20,000 to 30,000 miles.; tyres will give from 16,000 to 20,000 miles' service, whilst those on trailers will give from 20,000 to 30,000 miles' service. With regard to gears, he finds that many have been in use from eight to
ten years and still appear excellent, whilst the total useful life of a boiler can be estimated at from six to ten years, -according to the nature of the work and the water used. Thus, the useful working life of a steam wagon is something well over 10 years, and examples are known of vehicles twice that age which are still doing good service. In view of the possibilities of improvements in design or of superior types being evolved it is wise to calculate depreciation on a life of 10 years at the outside, and, preferably, on seven years.
Mr. Gosselin proceeded to describe the methods which he has adopted fn the management of a fleet of steam wagens. He has a tally board for the wagons and /trailers and the drivers and stokers, showing what and who. are at work or oil the road. Prior to the installation of this tally board, trailers have been absolutely lost for days together through want of a system for checking their whereabouts. A daily repair sheet is in use, on which drivers record, each night, repairs which they noted during the day to be required to be done. These repairs are completed during the night arid the sheet is initialled by the night fitter before the wagon resumes work.
A coke sheet is in use recording the stock in and Out daily and the issues to each vehicle, the stoker's signature being required for each issue. There are otter sheets on which issues of oil are recorded, and on which the record in connection with the wagon covers are kept. A set of operating costs was given for two separate fleets of vehicles, one composed almost entirely of steam wagons and the other consisting as to three parts of petrol vehicles carrying a total useful load of eight tons. The cost for the fleet containing mostly steam wagons is very slightly higher per ton or per mile than of the fleet which consists in the main of petrol vehicles. With regard to the ultimate development of the steam wagon, there is a good deal of speculation upon the matter, but recent practice pointed to the use of poppet valves and cam motion to replace Joy valve motion or Stephenson link motion, whilst Leylands have for some years run a single-acting highspeed engine which relieves the driver of packing worries. But developments all pointed to the fact that the present-day limitations to the use of. the steam wagon may have vanished in the course of a few years, so that it is not uninteresting to considerthe limitations as they exist to-day.