GOIN NTINENTAL By Ferry
Page 47
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With P. A. C. Brockington,
A.M.I.Mech.E.
Who Made a Trip from Manchester to Eschwege, Germany, in an Articulated Outfit to Glean the Facts About International Haulage
GALE-FORCE winds were blowing over the North Sea. The " Empire Baltic," ploughing through the heavy seas on the Transport Ferry Service from Tilbury to Antwerp with a cargo of vehicles, was forced to change direction three times. Down below, the larger vans were rocking to the full limit of their suspension systems, and the lurching of their bodies in the dim light emphasized the emptiness of the upper space above the smaller vehicles.
Users of the ferry must pay for this waste space. That is the bugbear of the direct-export system. A 10-ton articulated trailer with an 8-ton load of engines was dwarfed by the vans, but the freight charge based on floor area occupied was around £60, which was very little more than the charge for a nearby van that towered above it. There was sufficient CO space between the trailer and upper deck—over 12 ft—for a similar vehicle, and if double loading could have been employed, the charge per ton would have been reduced from £7 10s. to £3 5s.
Another trailer was loaded with a heavy machine that occupied about 60 per cent. of the platform area. Nearly £20 would have been saved on freight if a smaller trailer (of the correct carrying capacity) had been used, or one that could be contracted in length after it had been loaded on the vessel.
Costly Waste
Why waste so much space? Could an ideal direct export trailer be evolved with a collapsible suspension, extendible platform. jack-operated posts for mounting a superimposed load and a universal coupling? In this way freightage charges for many types of traffic would be cut by upwards of 30 per cent. No one would welcome such a cost-reducing measure more than the Transport Ferry Service, Developing the use of " flats " of a standard or specialized type to facilitate stack loading might offer greater advantages. Alternatively, vehicles could be modified to enable the platform to be used as a stillage, and this would provide a solution (subject to approval by the various Ministries) to the problem of backloading a British vehicle to a destination other than Great Britain. A vehicle from this country cannot now be used for this purpose, but it is probable that such stillage would not be classified as a vehicle.
I heard the heartening comment in Antwerp that British drivers of _C-licensed vehicles travelling long distances on the Continent, could be trusted to show great initiative in dealing with emergencies and with difficulties in the Customs offices.
They learn very quickly," I was told, and this compliment partly offset disparaging comments regarding the attitude of some British hauliers to the Continental operators' difficulties. Being on guard against sharp practice is a necessity in any country. Being solidly British may be commendable, but to claim that the British know hest about everything indi
cates the worst of anti-Continental fixation.
There is so much to learn about existing difficulties in the organization of direct-export traffic, and so much conjecture regarding its possible scope, with or without Great Britain as a full participant in a common European market, that British operators tend to be too hesitant in their approach to the subject or to make sweeping assumptions .based on
vain thinking. Overriding these considerations, however, is the importance of immediate action. The future of direct
export and the expansion of many industries in this country may well depend on what operatorS do now and on their plans for the near future.
In the early days of the ferry service, many Continental operators hoped that an international agreement could be arranged which Would allow a reasonable quota of hauliers' vehicles to carry goods to this country on a reciprocal basis. This hope has been frustrated by the complexities of the British licensing system, but the better-informed operators appreciate that the system does not represent an intentional restriction aimed at giving British hauliers an unfair advantage in organizing direct-export traffic.
Prejudice Against Britain
It is generally considered, however, that The system is a symptom of the British Government's intractability, and this prejudice is not helped by the apparent indifference of the Government to the 'advantages of the Camel T.I.R. scheme.
Before setting off from Antwerp at 4 a.rn..on a 360-mile -run to the other side of Germany in an articulated outfit. I had breakfast with friends at a café that was as clean and bright as any fashionable restaurant at lunch time. The rolls T took with me for a later breakfast on the way were neatly packaged with elastic bands. Moreover, they were fresh— deliveries from the baker arrive at fourhour intervals. This was not a transport cafe, but it was typical of the high standard of eating places catering for transport workers along routes I travelled. If visits of Continental hauliers to this -country become commonplace, there will be an outcry against the general standard of our cafes, and in particular about toilet facilities.
The trip was the fifth delivery run, arranged by the Howard Tenens Services Ltd., from the Newage factory in Manchester to the Massey-Harris-Ferguson combine works in Eschwege, carrying 28 B.M.C.-Newage engines. In Antwerp the trailer was collected by a tractor provided by the Van Gaever Company of Brussels.
Narrow pave roads of barely adequate width for two heavy vehicles, a 50-mile stretch of the Autobahn, twisting roads with heavy traffic, and a snowcovered section with steep gradients were included in the route. However. the Steyr 90b.h.p. tractor and a 10-ton trailer averaged more than 35 m.p.h. The trailer had been loaded with engines in Manchester on the Saturday and was driven on to the ferry early on the Monday morning.
Because of the rough sea passage it had not been possible to unload the vehicle in Antwerp until late on the Tuesday afternoon, which represented a delay of some eight hours. But despite the late start, we arrived at the Eschwege factory soon after 7 p.m. the next day, only an hour or two behind schedule.
Simple Packing
The engines were mounted on simple wooden cradles and were covered with a tarpaulin, whereas export in a conventional cargo boat would have necessitated the use of heavy packing cases. Packaging would have been performed at a special depot, which would have involved double handling and the employment of heavy cranes. Unpacking at the combine works was also simplified.
Although the Steyr tractor had adequate power for the load, the driver had to use the four-speed gearbox and the two-speed auxiliary gear skilfully to avoid unnecessary loss of speed on the gradients. On many of the hills he was changing gear with both hands, at intervals that could be measured in seconds rather than minutes. He would have welcomed an easy-change gearbox, or a fully automatic type, if it had provided more rapid engagement.
The run was an object lesson in the value of matching transmission characteristics to the power and torque output of the engine, particularly if the b.h.p. available is relatively low for the load carried. If the driver had not shown such skill in .manipulating the gears throughout the/full range of ratios, we might have lost an hour or more on the run.
Hazards on the narrow pave road in passing other vehicles gave substance to the general view that improvements in the handling characteristics of semitrailers on wet roads would be universally welcomed.