British Oilers for Corsica
Page 34
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Four Sec!dons with Perkins Engines and Pilot Tipping Gear for Timber Haulage in Difficult Country
DESTINED for timber haulage in Corsica, the Seddon platform-bodied tipping lorry seen in the accompanying picture is one of four that have recently been supplied to the Soci6te des Tannins Corses, by their maker, Foster and Seddon, Ltd., Salford. They are equipped with hydraulic tipping gear built by Pilot Works, Ltd., Bolton.
In the transport of timber from forest to mill, they will be operated along rough tracks in mountainous country. The tracks, in some places, are cut in cliff sides, with sheer drops of several hundred feet There are no walls or fences and many hairpin bends. _ These four Seddons are to replace three heavy machines of first-class Swiss manufacture, which have been commandeered, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the relatively lightly constructed vehicles stand up under the exacting operating conditions as compared with machines designed with only a secondary regard for unladen weight.
Five-speed gearboxes, with overdrive top gears are incorporated in these models, and we understand that in conjunction with the Perkins oil engine standardized, these are resulting in excellent fuel consumptions on similar vehicles in the service of other opera, tors. A noteworthy feature of the transmission systems is the use of Layrub propeller shafts.
The timber commonly carried on this job consists largely of tree trunks sawn up into billets about 4 ft. long. These
are loaded in two rows from front to back. Their tendency to roll constitutes them rather an awkward load. For this reason the bodies were specially built. The entire framework of each is of steel channel, the floor is of ash and the loading board is specially strengthened. There are no chock rails.
Two small hand winches under the platform at the rear enable two steel cables, passed over the load, to be properly and equally tightened. For the sake of stability when tipping, the two hydraulic rams are mounted on the outside of the frame.
These vehicles have a 10-ft. wheelbase, and this and the track dimension apparently render them particularly suitable for the type of country they are to traverse in Corsica.