From Our U.S.A. Correspondent.
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I was much struck, when in 'Chicago recently, with the number of uses to which motor wagons are put by the park commissioners. What is known as the South Park comprises some 90 miles of roadway, and includes all the best residential districts. The roads are all made with bituminous macadam, .and are really well kept ; in winter the snow is removed by means of ploughs, which are fastened in front of a four-ton chassis, and can
• be driven through 2 ft. of fresh snow, clearing a way 10 ft. in width down to the road surface. This .operation is performed at the rate of about six miles an hour, and twice up and down the street is sufficient to clear the road. I was given a demonstration of what the machine could do afterwards at the _garage, when it cleared a passage through some 18 in. of ashes without effort. In summer time the truck is used for watering the roads, and for that purpose it carries a tank holding four tons of water ; when used as a snow plough the tank is about half filled with sand to_give the necessary tractive force. The truck is kept in use the :greater part of the year, and is said to give economical results in the year's working.
Another excellent machine is a tower wagon which is used for attending to the electric arc lamps in the streets ; the wagon is mounted on a Buick pleasure-car chassis, and has a telescopic leg at each corner ; into these legs compressed air may be pumped by a small air compressor that is driven off by motor. A pressure of 80 lb. is used, and the legs, which are about a in. in diameter, act as pistons and raise a square platform together with a man and tool kit, to the required height. When the work is finished the air is let out and the platform returns to its original level, and forms the roof of the wagon. As the speed of the machine is at least 40 miles an hour, the whole equip
/scot is extremely handy, and can reach remote parts of the park system in a very short time.
From this it may be gathered that the engineer is a very progressive man ; he has been among the first to realize the possibilities of motor transport in municipal work. He has also built a machine for heating, mixing, and spreading asphalt macadam; this machine, as may be supposed, is a large affair, weighing over 20 tons, and is drawn by a petrol-driven traction engine.
I have recently had brought to my notice i novelty in the shape of a steel body for ordinary purposes, it is the patent of the Bauer Metal Body Co., of Detroit. lt is constructed entirely of steel, and is very light and strong, and of good appearance. From my experience in America with the bodies of pleasure cars, I can testify to the desirability of all metal construction, on account of the climatic effects,
and this metal body seems exactly to meet the case. I give here an illustration of the details of the construction : as may be seen, the frame is made of light steel angles riveted together with substantial gusset plates at the corners ; the panels are of thin sheet steel, and an interlining of corrugated steel is secured inside the frames. The floor is of corrugated steel as well, and the whole makes an exceedingly rigid structure, which looks well when painted, and will stand any amount of knocking about. A large number of these bodies are now in use, and are giving complete satisfaction. English builders of motor wagons for use in the Colonies and the tropics may find the idea a good one.
The subject of worm drives is now causing quite a flutter here, at least in the technical Press, and manufacturers seem to be turning serious attention to the matter. Messrs. Brown and Sharpe are now advertising that they are prepared to undertake the cutting of worms and wheels, and invite makers to send them designs for estimates ; it is likely that next year may see a number of models of various kinds. Naturally this new thing has brought a good deal of criticism, both favourable and otherwise, and it is still regarded by many as impracticable, in spite of the extent to which it has been employed in England. Oddly enough1 the old objection of irreversibility is the one most frequently urged against it and only an ocular demonstration will convinze the sceptical that this is a fallacy ; as, however, there will be a considerable number of trucks so fittei on the roads in the very near future, this prejudice will speedily pass away, and worm gearing will not cause any more excitement than it does in other places where it has proved itself satisfactory in hard use. If there is the same similarity between the trucks exhibited at the three huge shows, there is at least a refreshing change in the class of Lovers. Naturally when one has to spend some 12 hours a day for a v. hole week, in earnest attempts at being polite to scores of persons of all classes and kinds, one has considerable opportunities of forming some acquaintance with the characteristics of the inhabitants of each district, not only in the show itself but in the streets as well. The nay in which the traffic is managed is also a very instructive thing to note, and on the whole I suppose New York manages things the best, but inasmuch as that City has the widest and straightest streets, the problem of traffic regulation is simpler than Boston, for example, where the roads still show the same features that they do in an English country town. Never have I seen streets so narrow, or so crooked as in the more congested parts of that city, and in the busiest hours of the day, with two lines of street cars, it is impossible in many places for two vehicles to pass one another. Here, too, the police afford the most amusing example of good-natured camaraderie with all the users of the highway. One in particular, whom i often saw when I was living in Boston, eighteen months ago, is still there on point duty at the corner of Washington Street and Summer Street ; this portly guardian of the City's peace is the very embodiment of hillarious high spirits, and recalls the harlequinade at Drury Lane of my early years ; his repartee is only equalled by the fast disappearing London horse-omnibus driver. I was most anxious to obtain a picture of this worthy, and repaired, Kodak in hand, to his corner to take his portrait with his cheery face wearing its usual smile, alas he divined my purpose, and at sight of the camera he donned, I believe for the first time in his life, an expression of preternatural solemnity, stood at attention, and immediately held up a street ear; here is the picture [reproduced. on the previous page.—En. j, showing him in the act. Note how the unwonted sight has affected •young America in the foreground, who gazes, in awestruck wonder at the impressive spectacle. The American winter is drawing to a close, and after an exceedingly cold spell, rain has fallen in Buffalo in considerable quantities, and the snow is fast disappearing. 1 send a photograph showing the result of testing a Pierce-Arrow truck last week. [This also is reproduced at the foot of the preceding page.—En.] The driver had to pull to one side of the road to pass a farm wagon, and the snow concealing the edge of the ditch, which ran beside the road, the off hind wheel slid gracefully down into 3 it. of mud, and as the vehicle had a full test load of five tons in the shape of pig lead in boxes, the result was as shown. After unloading, however, the relief gang were able to haul it out, and in spite of the frame being twisted 18 in. out of line, thanks to the flexible construction employed, it resumed its normal condition on being placed on level ground and proceeded on its way uninjured. This is by no means an uncommon incident during the winter, but would be somewhat disconcerting were it to happen to a motor vehicle on an English road.
H.K.T.