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THE HOOD INDUSTRIAL TRACTOR.

18th July 1922, Page 14
18th July 1922
Page 14
Page 15
Page 14, 18th July 1922 — THE HOOD INDUSTRIAL TRACTOR.
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A Useful, Powerful,

Small Tractor for Dockside and Factory Use.

()ST PEOPLE are, by

now, familiar with th.e sight Of the small electric tractors WhiCh are usedi by the railwhY coMpanies to draw trains of baggage trucks on the railway plat forms these useful little equipments have also come into considerable use since the war in large production establishments. Every busi• ne,ss house, however, is not provided with ready means' for charging accumulators, and an alternative is now available in the Hood incleStrial tractor, which is driven by a petrol engine.

The Hood tractor is small, and compactly built, having a wheelbase of 43 ins, and a track of 36 Me. only, so that it can be operated in very congested situations and takes up very little room, as may be judged when we say that it will make a complete circle in a 12-ft. gangway with nutbacking, and can be driven close to a wall with ease. The frame • is of heavy 4-in, channel steel, carrying at the rear of the engine, which is protected by the 'meal bonnet, a seat for the driver, with feel tank beneath it, this frame being spring mounted on 11-in. semi elliptic springs, carried on 21in. round axles. The axle takes the pall, the coupler connection, which is operated by a pedal from the seat, being

cap

connected directly to the ax,le, with a heavy spring to take the, shock of starting interpeased, so that no pull is transmitted to the frame, which only ha a to carry the driver and the power plant.

The wheels are solid castiron discs, carrying Goodrich solid tyres, 20 ins. by 4ins. on the front and 20 ins. by 5 ins: on the back, and they run on Timken roller bearings, Hyatt's being employed for the countershaft. The drive from the engine is direct to a countershaft, and is taken from there by 1-in. pitch g-in. by 2-in. roller chains to the rear wheels.

The engine is Ford size, 22 h.p. by R.A.G. rating, and the gear ratio of the sprockets, as standard, is 18 teeth on the drive sprockets and 38 teeth on the driv en sprockets, other ratios being neutral.

The, engine is cooled by a specially designed pump and radiator, and the radiator is protected by a strong perfor. ated steel plat e mounted in front of it, which not only protects the front end Of the tractor, but also enables the tractor to push its load when required, instead of pulling it. This front bumper plate is made with specially flared corners, which protect the front wheels

'• when making' ex tremely short turns, , the bumper plate being made of steel boiler plate, and a similar plate of the same thickness is provided at the rear, the plate being flared to provide a comfortable seat, concerning which itmay be noted that the seat takes the form of a pneumatic and spring-supported cushion for the driver, who has to sit on it all day.

Tnc couutershaft is constructed With a differential of the usual type, which allows all short turns to be made, and the supporting arms are also specially constructed to provide very short turning radius, giving the wheels an abnormally large starting angle. The construction is complete with a hand-brake of the internal-expanding type, operating direct on the rear wheels, in addition to a service or foot brake on the transmission.

The weight of the tractor complete is a little over 11 tons, and it will pull 15 tons loaded on trailers and will go practically anywhere where a hand-truck will go. It is claimed that, as compared with handling goods by hand-truck, one of these trucks, with 110 trailers and on,3 Man in charge, will do the work of 20 men, and it is claimed that it will pull !arger loads at greater speed than any other tractor, whilst concerning speed, this, at normal revolutions, is 10 miles per hour.

The wheelbase of the tractor shown in our illustration on this page, which is of the type most commonly used by sawmilli throughout America, is 60 ins., the track being 36 ins., as in the other model. It is a direct evolution from the original Hood lumber tractor, which was introduced four years ago, and in it are incorporated various suggestions made by practical lumber men. It is an ideal vehicle for working in the gangways of a luiriber yard, which is generally a more impressive place in America than anything we are able to show on this side of the Atlantic. It. is easy to handle and it can be set to work for hours on end and day after, day without giving a moment's trouble.

. By the use of such equipment, freightage, both on docks and in factory, can be handled very much quicker, congestion can be relieved and cargo moved to ware. house, or vice 'versa, in one quick opera tion. In operating cost, it is claimed that it will do its work on a consumption of 4 to 5 gallons of fuel per day. The price is .£365, and the British representatives are Messrs. Bramco (1920), Ltd., who inform us that one of these trucks has -just been shipped to Messrs. Allen, Everett and Sons, Bin.' rningham. We believe that small tractors of this type will become popular.

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