Opinions from Others.
Page 11
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Deliberate Overloading.
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
l270] Sir,—However much Mr. Twemlow (Fodens) and others may regret the editorial remarks about deliberate overloading, I am afraid we had all better accept some editorial counsel which appeared in the a year or two ago, and struck home to me in a way I will not soon forget—that, however obnoxious and irksome the laws and by-laws may he, they must be obeyed. As to breaches of law, the number of cases
(in Lancashire especially) proves that of are common : for ivniv many drivers escape for each one ho is caught in the act?
As things are, those drivers who travel too fast, causing vibration and mod-splashing, bring public odium on the whole commercial motor movement. Overloading and excessive speed mean an unexpected tax upon a lorry, and undue wear upon many roads ; the tires and mechanism do not give the full guaranteed mileage, nor fulfil the promises of durability. All his means a growl at the manufacturers of the cars and of the tires, and not always with good reason.—
Yours faithfully, " YORKSHTRIMAN."
Are Tractors too Powerful? The Lesson
of the Tractor-drawn Plough.
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1271] am much interested in the correspon dence which has been going on in your columns on the question of " Are Tractors too Powerful? " I am very glad that you are affording space for its ventilation, as I think there is room for improvement in the matter of distributing the weight Of the tractor so as to obtain the maximum amount of tractive. effort under varying conditions. Furthermore, I strongly advocate the provision of an extraordinarily-low gear, so that, when the driving wheels are inclined to slip over greasy ground, the snatch of the piston, which only tends to cause the wheels to become more deeply embedded, is eliminated.
An interesting simile in the matter of distributing tractor load, so as to apportion as much as possible some of its effect to the driving wheels, is afforded in the method which builders of the self-contained tractor type of motor ploughs employ. In order to obtain the maximum burrowing effect of the plough, the frame is usually connected to the rear of the tractor by links inclined downwards towards the tractor. I think this is of important effect, as, if the connecting link, or its equivalent, the drawbar, lie inclined in the upward direction, the forward end of the plough is liable to Junin, which would show that the maximum amount of load or downward pull possible is not secured where most needed, i.e., as near to the driving wheels as nossible.—Yours faithfully, " SGRICOLA."
A Suggestion to Have Two Drawbar Brackets.
The Ed-dor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
112721 had been anxiously awaiting Mr.
Aveling's promised sketch, to see what he really meant, but now we have it • I Must say I 'am rather disappointed. In the first place, such a fitting as the one he shows would be a cumbersome nuisance ; secondly, the principle of pull direct from the main axle is quite wrong. What is required is the drawbar bracket high up on the tender, and plenty of useful weight; forward on the tractor, i.e.., a good, big belly-tank, etc,, together with a; very low speed for climbing with heavy leads. If there is -slip at the whee]s, or the front. end of the engine gets up, under the above conditions, at the weight required to be drawn, the next best thing is a
heavier tractor.
I have in mind an old engine of mine on which I made the alteration of drawbar pull having a rather low gear, and being long-bodied, it would pull a much heavier load than another engine I had which was 3. tons heavier. I tried it many a time. If I were building a new engine, amongst other improvements I should provide it with an apparently ridiculously-slow third-speed gear, as the snatches of the piston are the prime cause of slipping. Many of your readers have no doubt noticed that, when they have shut the throttle while slipping at a load, the engine before corning to rest has just got the load on the move, but that re-admitting steam to the piston with its sharp snatch has spoiled the tractive effort again. I would also have two drawbar brackets fitted—{See sketch, which we have had redrawn.—En]—and, when travelling down-hill, contrary to Mr. Aveling's sug
gestion to transfer the drawbar to the standard, i.e., the higher attachment, I should transfer it. to the lower one. The reason for this, to a practical man, should be obvious. To substantiate my argument, I give the following. I was coming up a very steep incline last week with my steam wagon, with only 5 cwt. of load (three large pedestals), when the smooth wagon wheels lost their grip on the greasy road. I promptly transferred my 5 cwt. load from the cab end to the rear end of the platform, and the result was a clean climb without any trouble. proving that a little in its proper place means a lot. My opinion is that tractors are not•too powerful, but that the power in many cases is wrongly applied.—Yours faithfully, ARTHUR WEDGWOOD. Cobridge, Staffs.
"Trespassers on Trailer Drawbars." Shall we Number the Flagman?
The Editor THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1273] Sir,—We., as owners and drivers, are going to be in a serious predicament if Coroner Brighouse could have his own way with the trailer, or with the men whose duty he thinks it is to attend to it. How can a driver see who is between the motor and the trailer, especially if he has high side-boards on the motor or a bulky load? Also, the steersman has plenty to do to keep looking ahead. The question becomes a more-difficult one to deal with when the steeringis on the off side., as when driving near the left kerb it is impossible for the driver and steersman to see who are silly enough to go between the two moving vehicles.
I have read with pleasure Letter No. 1263— " Wanted, a Man on the Trailer." Having been a flagman for a number of years, walking in front of the heavy-haulage engine, T fully endorse all your corre spondent says re this If the flagman is put right behind on the trailer, there need be no fear of ilia being rim over with the motor and trailer he is with, but another firm's may.catch-him, whereas, if he is put arnidshins, he is liable to go to sleep and fall under the wheels and get rim over, and then again if he fell off on a emintry road bow are we to find him? Shall we number him " M3527," or shall we have a special registration mark for him I—Yours.
faithfully, ALLEN KNIGHT. HoImfield, Linthwaite.