Opinions from Others.
Page 18
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Users' Experiences : Tarpaulin Maintenance.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR.
[1,044] Sir,—It is very difficult in these days to keep off controversial subjects, but there is always the weather to fall back upon, and, certainly, Jupiter Pluvius is still
" reigning " over us with a vengeance. It is a very anxious time for anyone who is carrying perishable goods, to sit and watch the torrential storms which are so much in evidence at present: one flaw in a sheet may mean a claim of substantial dimensions. Under these trying conditions, I am getting excellent results from the use of a bar, run over the length of the wagon platform, on which to hang the tarpaulin sheet. A defective sheet which, under ordinary circumstances, would prove useless, when laid directly on the load, will be quite waterproof when suspended above the load. In the first place, there is better provision for drainage of the water off the sheet, and, further, the sheet is not in contact with the top of the load, and there is not the same inducement for the water to penetrate to the inside. All this, I am aware, is very obvious, and has been recognized by horse-lorry owners for generations, but, at the same time, the practice is not general amongst motor-wagon users. The chief reason for this is, I believe, that the complications of motor wagons are already a by-word, and owners have been afraid to add to their number, but my experience, so far, is that this additional complication is well worth the small extra trouble involved. Its chief advantages, beyond the protection of the load, are that it. provides the means of drying the sheets, and also of keeping the berry's bottom dry when running light ; it prevents the drivers from putting coke on the top of their sheets; and also diminishes the danger of fire from sparks' lodging on the tarpaulin in hot weather. Should it be absolutely necessary to carry coke bags on the load, this can still be arranged, by placing an old sheet on top of the load, and the bags under the good tarpaulin which goes over the bar : this provides a means of keeping the coke dry, and the bar holding the sheet up adds to the accessibility of the coke. Provision should he made for the easy removing of the bar for specially-high loads. The back support should be in the form of an inverted "1.1-," to allow of loading from the back of the lurry, and, where trailers are used, the same rule applies to the back support, but the coke can in this case be put on the front part of the trailer load, instead of on top, to ensure accessibility.
There have been some nasty accidents lately, due to wagons' running away down hills, both backwards and forwards, which looks as if makers want to pay more • attention to their change-speed arrangements. T have one make specially in my mind, on which, in the dark, a driver can most easily mistake his change-speed for his reverse, and on a steep hill this might quickly spell disaster.
The wagons continue to do their work in excellent style; we are again starting to heat our lubricators with our exhaust steam, now that the weather is getting colder. I notice a driver writes that he is using live steam fm. this purpose, but this is wasteful, and requires the use of high-pressure fittings. Our log sheet for the week is as follows: earnings, £67; tonnage, 174; mileage, 883
percentage of work done, 93; coke used, 7 tons 10 cwt.; oil (gear), 12 gallons; and oil (cylinder), 6 gallons.— Yours faithfully, " MOTOB-WAGON CARRIER."
A Letter from Beyr out.
The Editor, THE COMMERCIAL MOTOR,
[1,045] Sir,—As promised to you when in London, I am writing this short note to keep in touch with you. Rave now got safely to Beyrout, and a nice picture my chars-abanes and the London motorbus make on the Customs Quay, surrounded by camels, the chief means of transport. Beyrout is an important town, right at the foot of Mount Lebanon. There are hundreds of big villages, in fact towns, all along this range. Within the last eight months, a new electric train service has been started, and it is successful; it is very extensive too. There are about 13 motorcars in this district, all French and Italian, and half are on public service, doing a roaring business, travelling some distance with passengers (the largest a Bernet carrying eight) and baggage to the mountain towns. The purchasers have made a mistake in buying the stereotyped catalogued car, good for European roads and general touring, but here they are shaken to pieces in a short time, and all have visited me and requested catalogues of British-made cars, and a specification suitable for a mountainous district, with some hills of even I. in 30. Roads are hard but irregular of surface, aucl, as long as the speed required is no more than 20 m.p.h. on the level, any British machine rightly specified would far outlast any machine now run in Syria. Commercial and pleasure tars are wanted badly, and there are buyers for same. A photograph of Beyrout Quay, with cars and camels, will be sent you, as soon as the photographer delivers it to me. am open to do business with any firm making special hard-wearing wheels, other than the pneumatic or solidrubber-tired class. Shock-resisting hubs, spring hubs, and any class of resilient wheel ought to be useful, as replacing tires out here is a disastrous proceeding the long time in getting goods causes the customer's patience to be exhausted, and then the price makes the whole thing tiresome and prohibitive. Therefore, if any firm can satisfy nie as to wearing qualities over any period competitively with the solid-rubber tire, etc., I would recommend such for all motor vehicles sold out here. There is a market here now for at least 100 vehicles on the Syrian coast line and the Island of Cyprus. A railway in many places cannot be made in this generation, although the need is pressing, and, if a service of cars (not fast, but hard wearing, of stout build, and exceedingly good climbing ability) were inaugurated, a good dividend would be paid after the first six months. There are many European chauffeurs to be had at reasonable rates.
shall be most happy to receive catalogues and good terms to my Baghdad address. Petrol, paraffin and steam vehicles and accessories.— -Yours faithfully,
F. W. ARMSTRONG. Beyrout (Syria).
P.S.--The Broom and Wade lorry, made suitable for passenger and goods transit, to carry 30 passengers at least 19 m.p.h., and climb a hill 1 in 20 at 10 m.p.h., is
a good ideal. F.W.A.