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C.O.R.D. Warns A WARNING concerning Traders to Continue 1-1. the freeing of C-licensees to Fight Bill . from the 40-mile limit has been issued by the Council of Retail Distributors to its membership of 70,000. It points out that this does not mean that the struggle against transport nationalization should be terminated by traders. If, for instance, class C transport remained healthy and efficient whilst the service given by nationalized transport deteriorated, this might be interpreted by the Government as sabotage and restrictions reintroduced. Only by the cancellation of the whole Government plan in this respect can the danger be avoided.
American Vehicle THE sales director, Mr. L.
Makers Studying LoadI Rumley, of Electro ing Aids Hydraulics, Ltd., Warrington, recently paid a visit to the U.S.A. to survey that country's present methods of material handling, and to check claims of cost savings • in this direction. Road transport is, of course, intimately concerned, and an important step has been taken by the vehicle manufacturers there to assist in this matter. Lorry platforms and bodies have been made to accommodate material handled by other mechanical appliances, such as fork-lift and platform trucks and the employment of the unitloading principle. Unit-load dimensions are in course of being standardized at 4 ft. by 3 ft. 4 ins., and the vehicle platform is made to take two such loads in width. Where open-sided vehicles are used, the sills along the outside have been removed to facilitate loading from the floor by fork-lift machines. This applies particularly to special platforms made for carrying bricks and pre-cast concrete slabs, the platforms having an inwards tilt of 2 degrees for safety in transport. Also, with the advent of the fork-lift truck, the detachable, articulated boxvan has become increasingly popular, as this means that the truck can enter the van from the loading deck and deposit its unit load on the pallet. Mr. Rumley also visited the First National Materials Handling Exposition, held in Cleveland in January, and it was clear from the number of exhibits staged by lorry makers that they had allied themselves to what the chairman of the Exposition described as "the new material-handling era in history."
An Improved Form of A LL chassis leaving the Finish for Guy 2-1 Wolverhampton works of Chassis Guy Motors, Ltd., are now finished in aluminium paint, a technique inspired ,by the aircraft-industry practice. This has been facilitated by the Northern Aluminium Co., Ltd., which produces a special aluminium flake, and Titanine, Ltd., which turned it into a suitable finish. Apart from improved appearance, the advantages are greater preservative qualities, higher light reflection making for easier inspection and maintenance, and resistance to the adherence of mud. It was, we believe, Mr. A. Twidle, of B.E.T., who first adopted this technique. Captain Walton Dispp EFERRING to o u r satisfied with Prospects "editorial comment at the
for Methane, . . . conclusion of the article on alternative fuels by Captain Walton, M.IA.E., M.I.R.T.E., published in our issue dated April 4, the author considers that the cost of installing equirment for methane is likely to be so high that he feels it comes outside the range of practical politics in respect of the average operator. It is quite anothei matter where municipalities are involved. Captain Walton understands that the potential quantity of liquefied methane would be only 300,000 gallons per annum, which is not much in relation to our total requirements. He adds that. the whole question of employing alternative fuels is rather like trying to make bricks without straw.
Unpleasant Effects of I ITTLE-EXPECTED Great Freeze-up .1--a ravages of the great "ice Linger On . . . . age" are making themselves
apparent. Some people are just discovering cracked water jackets, bores, watercooled main bearings, and so on. Springs and other parts that have "taken a bashing" are here and there giving up the ghost now that it is all over. There is another matter that is causing serious concern. That is the great damage that has been done to road surfaces all over the country. Yeoman work was done in picking and hacking at iron-hard ice, but the pick proved truly a two-edged weapon, because there are now dreadful pockmarks and pickmarks everywhere, which are deepening every day they are left unrepafted.
Will Two-engined A' heavy vehicles Vehicle Gain in Popu1—k show a tendency towards larity adopting two engines; also, at
Geneva, a Swiss maker staged a bus with dual power units. The scheme permits normal travel on a single engine, the second one being available according to road and load conditions. This principle was applied, during the war to some steam locomotives in Qermany. In this case, foul V-type steam units were arranged alternately to right and left, each acting on a single ClCiving axle.
Who Has Built the IT would be interesting to World's Smallest Oil 'know who has produced the
Engine ? . . . . . smallest oil engine. 0 n e
recently constructed in Italy is of a size suitable for a model aeroplane with a wing span of only 2 ft. 6 ins., and it propels this at 50 m.p.h. Research with such models often brings more practicable results.