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PHASES OF MUNICIPAL WORK IN LIVERPOOL.

18th November 1924
Page 23
Page 23, 18th November 1924 — PHASES OF MUNICIPAL WORK IN LIVERPOOL.
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The Activities of Some of the Vehicles Employed by an Enterprising Local Authority.

TIIE LIVERPOOL Corporation, through its various departments, opera Les a fleet of motor vehicles—petrol, steam and electric—of very considerable dimensions. An idea of the work some -of these machines are required to perform will be obvious when it is mentioned that the work of the cleansing staff consists in the cleansing and watering of 576 miles of streets within the city, together with their back passages, the periodical emptying of ash-bins, street gullies, street and court-bins and ashpits, and the disposal of refuse collected therefrom.

During the past municipal year the quantity of refuse collected and disposed of by the Liverpool authorities amounted to 331,000 tons—apart from 57,000 tons cf clinker, residue and flue dust--the mem-. tity removed per working day 'averaging 1,261 tons. A proportion of the vehicles engaged in this work are Pagefields, with narrow wheelbases, as well as a number of electric vehicles and miscellaneous petrol machines.

Three motor sweeping machines are regularly employed, and sweep approxi, mately 30 miles of roadway nightly. In connection with street watering work in Liverpool, upon which motor sprinklers are employed, 15,000,000 gallons of water art, distributed on the roads in the ..ity during the season.

The tramways and electricity department has also a very mixed fleet of vehicles in service and at the present time work is proceeding at the Lambeth Road works of the corporation on the construction of a new and interesting type of tower wagon. It consists of an electric battery driven vehicle fitted with grooved steel wheels which will run on the tramcar rails and alternatively on rubber-shod wheels which can be brought into operation when the vehicle is intended to travel over an or&nary road surface. We hope to be in a position to describe this machine at an early date.

The tramways committee has recently put two electric tower wagons nit° service to supplement its existing fleet of petrol-driven machines. Some of these vehicles are in constant service, but a number is always kept in reserve to deal with emergency repairs. The two new Walker electrics are equipped with Exide batteries, having 54 cells and 15 plates per. cell. The capacity is 2.5 volts per cell or 135 volts in all. The batteries are charged each day at the tramways garage in HattonGardens, Liverpool, after the vehicles return from inspection work in the afternoon.

The mileage covered by the tower wagons is never very great, as so much waiting time has to he spent whilst repairs are in the Course of execution. At the same time, however, the Liverpool tramways services are being extended outward from the centre of the city, and this necessitates longer journeys by these vehicles. One of the electrics has on occasions travelled as many as 50 miles without the need for recharging the batteries.

The electrics can travel up to a speed of 20 miles per hour on the level, and on the average gradients of Liverpool from 12 to 15 miles per hour. Owing to the cheap rates existing for the supply of electric current, i.e., 1d. per unit plus 20 per cent., power costs are obviously low and, reckoned on the mileage basis, the writer is given to understand that they are only one-third to one-quarter of those for the petrol wagons.

In the electric vehicle illustrated on this page the raising and lowering of the tower platform is effected by means of a small auxiliary electric motor which is fitted to the chassis; the tower has a maximum extension of about 25 ft. So soon as the bottom limit is reached when the tower is being lowered, the auxiliary motor is put out of action by means of a ,hort-circuiting device. These electrics are fitted with emergency brakes of a type designed by the general manager, Mr. P. Priestley. They are operated by foot, and the controls remain out of action until the brake is released.

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People: P. Priestley
Locations: LIVERPOOL

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