Its Second Life—Still Assisting Transport.
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MHOSE of our readers who regularly Me their copies of this journal will find, by referring back to our issue dated November 0th, 1926, that we published a very interesting picture of the remnants of a Thornycroft steam wagon. supplied 25 years ago to the Belgian Government. The wreckage— for such it was--of this machine was discovered at Monona, near the source of the Nile. The vehicle was ono. of a fleet supplied for transport work between Pashoda and the _Belgian Congo territory.
One would have thought that the last might have been heard of this vehicle, but not so, however, for an interesting sequel has just come to light, following the visit of an official in charge of some of the vehicles now owned by the Sudan Government. These vehicles regularly have to traverse areas -Which are difficult of negotiation durin.,, the rainy season and, at one point, the obstacles were so great that it was decided to build a bridge, this being at the point shown in the accompanying pictures.
There was a considerable shortage of materials at the time, so the old steam
wagon was requisitioned—or rather what was left of it—and its chassis frame used as the bridge connection between two stone pillars. The way in which these members were employed is clearly shown in one of the pictures, where the chassis members are flanked on each side by odd lengths of rails. In one of the pictures, one of the Sudan Government's latest Thornycroft six-wheelers is to be seen passing over the completed structure formed of the skeleton of its 27-year-old prototype. This authority, by the way, runs a fleet of such vhicles for the transport of cotton.