Expedition in Road Work.
Page 25
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
METEIODS of road destruction would appear to have made great progress in the United States during recent years. According to an American journal an excavating machine is at present in use in Florida for municipal purposes, sewer laying etc. which Is capable of cutting through asphalt and layers of stone, and digging a trench 7 ft.deep. The illustration of the machine on this page gives some idea of its immense size.
The machine is motor driven and travels on chain tracks. As. the earth is brought up by the scoops on the huge excevating wheel, it is dumped on to a belt conveyor, which carries it outwards and throws it clear of the skit, of the trench. Nothing is said about putting it back.
Londoners will always gather. in crowds to watch the puny efforts of our own municipal people to tear, up the pavement by man power. .What would they think, then, 'of a machine which would rip out a 7-ft. trench all round Piccadilly Circus inside of half an hour? Such an engine would undoubtedly increase the prestige of any municipal body employing it.
Another motor excavating machine de scribed by the, journal is said to have an overal length ofl 85 ft. and a width of 53 ft. This particular machine is not intended for pavement smashing, but for the more peaceful purPose of reclaiming .marshy land. It has rather large wheels, instead of chain tracks, to enable it to travel over bad ground. The • driving wheels are 20 ft. in diameter, and have a tread of 8 ft. each. The front wheels, however, are only 8 ft. in diameter by 7 ft. tread, This little runabout is surmoueted by a comfortable bungalow, which-serves as a permanent home for the crew. It is said to be driven by a 110 h.p. petrol engine.