Disc Brakes, Air Springs on New Trailers
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TWO of the three trailers to be shown at Earls Court next month by R. A. Dyson and Co., Ltd., will have disc brakes and air suspension. The third exhibit will be a new 60-ton self-loading semi-trailer hauled by a Leyland Buffalo EFIB/5R tractor.
Another exhibit is to be a rubber-mounted suspension system for four
wheeled •trailers and single-axle semi-trailers. A hydraulically actuated landing gear, for manual or power operation, will be featured also. These are all developments of outstanding importance.
A . 15/17-ton Aeroride Haulmaster tandern-axle semi-trailer, 26 ft. long and 7 ft. 6 in. wide, will be featured with the air-suspension layout introduced earlier this year. This has Neoprene-covered air bags, which are resistant to oil, petrol, milk and so forth.
The suspension layout has been described before, but an innovation in the trailer specification is the use of disc brakes on both axles. These are actuated by diaphragm air Cylinders—the first instance of disc brakes being air operated '—and the braking system is a standard two-line installation; one pair of brakes is linked to the hand brake for parking.
New Exhibit
An entirely new exhibit will be an 8-ton four-wheeled trailer, 18 ft. long and 7 ft. 6 in. wide. Bellows-type air springs are fitted to both axles, the axles being located by rubber-bushed trailing arms and Panhard rods. Three levelling valves• are employed and telescopic dampers are installed at each wheel.
The designs incorporates a new anti-roll system based on the geometric layout of the assembly, and roll stiffness can be varied to suit specific conditions.
Disc, brakes, fitted to all wheels, are operated by an air-hydraulic system, with separate master cylinders at each axle to promote maximum safety and efficiency. Once again, new ground is being broken
by this installation, as air-hydraulic trailer braking is a completely new departure.
A hand lever actuates the parking brakes on the rear axle, and single 10.22.5-in. tubeless tyres are fitted to all wheels.
The 60-ton semi-trailer is 35 ft. 10 in. long and 10 ft. 6 in. wide, and its heavyduty frame is fabricated from welded rolled-steel sections. The all-steel platform has lashing shackles and stanchion sockets along each side, and a full-width 30-ton-capacity roller is carried at the rear on double-row roller bearings, which are arranged to cater for side thrust, together with four pairs of overload rollers.
Special Features
A tractor load reaction plate is built into the rear of the semi-trailer and is arranged to hinge to facilitate the servicing of the rear bogie and the removal of the inner wheels.
The front end of the semi-trailer is specially shaped to assist in ramping on to the tractor unit, which is fitted with fifth-wheel, power winch, tail roller and auxiliary ramp.
The semi-trailer bogie is of the unsprung walking-beam type, carrying four oscillating axles with eight single tyres. Drum brakes are employed, actuated by a two-line air-pressure system.
£1,370,000 to be Spent on Neu) Buses
=THE largest order for vehicles 'ever
• I placed by Scottish Omnibuses, Ltd., was announced by the group on Toes. day. They are to spend £1,370,000 next year buying 288 new Bristol, A.E.C., Guy and Leyland buses. This year their buying programme amounted to Item.
About half the money will be spent in. Scotland, where W. Alexander and Sons, Ltd., Stirling, have secured the bulk of the coach building order. Coachwork will also be carried out by Eastern Coachworks, Ltd., Park Royal Bodies, Ltd., and the Northern Counties Motor and Engineering Co., Ltd.
Mr. J. Amos, chairman and managing director, added in his statement that the group would spend £250,000 on new buildings during the coming year. •
PERKINS FOUR 99 ENGINE IN NEW TROJAN
ANEW chassis intended for rural bus and ambulance work, as well as for goods. carrying, will be exhibited . by Trojan, Ltd., at the Commercial Motbr Show next month. Though basically similar to the existing forward-control model, it is interesting in having the Perkins Four 99 1.6-litre oil engine as standard equipment.
This engine, when used in this application, produces 42.3 b.h.p. at its maximum governed speed of 3,600 r.p.m. and 73 lb./ft: torque at 2,250 r.p.m. It is fitted in unit with a Trojan four-speed gearbox. The new chassis is longer and wider than the previous one and has a
payload capacity of 25 cwt. It incorporates the Trojan independent trailingarm front suspension, now fitted to all this manufacturer's chassis.
As seen at Earls Court the chassis will have a large van body. For normal goodscarrying applications the Perkins P.3(v) three-cylindered 41 b.h.p, oil engine is used.
Douglas Introduce a New 30-tonner I NCORPORATING a Leyland. six
cylindered oil engine developing 220 . b.h.p., a six-wheeled chassis for 30-ton loads has been introduced by Douglas Equipment, Ltd., Kingsditch Lane, Tewkesbury Road, Cheltenham. The first model has been shipped to Autocomercial, Madrid, for operation in Spain.
The vehicle is a normal:control type with a wheelbase of 22 ft., and is 32 ft. long and 8 ft. 1 in. wide. Power is transmitted through a normal clutch to a main gearbox with six. forward-ratios and reverse, and a two-speed auxiliary gearbox. The rear bogie has twin axles with double-reduction gears. A sixwheel-drive version of the chassis is available.
The suspension is designed for crosscountry running. Steering is hydraulically assisted and the brakes are directly air-operated. The Michelin Metallic tyres are 12.00-24-in. 16-ply. Three men can be seated in the cab, which is of metal and plastics construction, and is easily removable for maintenance.
'Maximum tractive effort of the vehicle is 41,200 lb. and the steepest gradient it can climb is stated to be 1 in 2.5. Maximum speed is 39.2 m.p.h.
Simms electrical equipment is fitted to the vehicle, which is known as the type DH30/64. Two -12-v. batteries are mounted on the side of the chassis frame in a standard Douglas carrier. The tool kit includes an 8-ton hydraulic jack.
Douglas Equipment are supplying Tugmaster DC7Q aircraft tractors to Qantas Empire Airways, Ltd., Sydney, Australia, to handle Boeing 707 aircraft which Weigh more than 55 tons.
The tractors will feature hydraulic transmission. . The 230-b.h.p. engine provides a tractive effort of 32,000 lb.
Tugniasters' 7 ft. 10 in. wide and 4 ft. 9i in: high.. .
PROFIT ON PARTS CUT " IN the extremely competitive condi tions ruling today, profit margins have narrowed." says Mr. C. C. Griffith, chairman of Engineering Components, Ltd., in a statement to shareholders issued on Tuesday.
He states that in the six months to June 30, the output of cars and commercial vehicles greatly increased, but the demand for replacement parts remained fairly constant. Group sales during the period increased in value by just over 11 per cent., as compared with those in 1957.
ADAMANT WORKS CLOSING THE Luton factory of the Adamant Engineering Co., Ltd., is to close and the production of steering gear will be concentrated at their Reading works.
FUEL PRICES UP IN EIRE
PRICES of petrol and dery in Eire were increased by Id. a gallon on Wednesday. StiffOpposition to Clacton Tour Plan QEVEN excursion . operators joined I—) British Railways, on Tuesday, in opposing an application by W. Robinson and Sons (Great Harwood), Ltd. Robinson's asked the North Western Traffic Commissioners to grant them a new seven-day tour, to Clacton from Knutsford, which would replace a sevenday tour to London and Clacton.
For the company, Mr. A. Robinson said hotels were not prepared to book for less than a full week, which suited most passengers because they preferred to spend their seven days in:one place. The majority did not want to stay in London at all.
Answering Mr. W. Blackhurst, for the road objectors, he agreed that Robinson's catchment area extended throughout the north-west, where the objectors had many common points, and that there were feeder services into Knutsford. He said the present tour covering London and Clacton was originally granted for London and Felixstowe, but there were difficulties With hotels after only one season of operation.
Mr. Blackhurst represented Yelloway Motor Services, Ltd.; Scout Motor Services, Ltd.; W. C. Standerwick, Ltd.; Ribble Motor Services, Ltd.; Premier Travel, Ltd.; Batty-Holt Touring Services, Ltd.; and Smith's Tours (Wigan), Ltd. He said fantail tours providing fully organized holidays were a serious matter for people operating express services from Lancashire to Clacton via London. Mr. Robinson claimed that this sort of operation could never be direct competition, but the objectors did not accept his View.
Mr. J. Lainson, managing director of Premier Travel, said his company were developing an express service to Clacton which linked up with Yelloway's Lancashire services. It was one of their mainstays, subsidizing unremunerative stage operations, and they were apprehensive about any encroachment.
The hearing was continued on Wednesday.
L.T.E. EXPLAIN CUTS
NEW posters were issued by London Transport, on Wednesday, dealing with reductions in bus services. Headed "Your Bus Services," they explained why cuts were being made and pointed out that the money saved would help the L.T.E. to keep full services running where they were most needed.
"On some routes the demand for buses is steady or rising, on others it is falling," the posters stated. " It is the constant task of London Transport to gauge as accurately as possible its passengers' requirements."
RADIO FOR INVINCIBLES
SPECIALLY designed to suit the interior design of the new Invincible range, . an Ekco car radio has been approved as an optional extra by Guy Motors, Ltd. The set covers medium and long waves and costs £21. Two Bus Strikes are Called Off.
A THREATENED strike by 400 bus-' rA men employed by the Eastern National Omnibus Co., Ltd., has been called off now that one of their colleagues has paid a fine imposed by the local branch of the Transport and General Workers' Union. The man had been penalized for driving over the boundaries imposed by the Union during the London bus strike. but at first he refused to pay the fine.
Late last Friday night other busmen were persuaded by Union officials to keep working until Wednesday, which was the deadline for the money to be paid. Meanwhile, Union leaders talked to the driver and promised him a fair hearing if he would pay the fine and then appeal to a regional committee. He agreed and plans for the stoppage were scrapped.
At Southend, where corporation buses run many routes jointly with Eastern National, corporation busmen stopped work last Saturday after a midnight protest meeting over summer schedules. They threatened to strike every Saturday, but Union officials in London said this week that there would probably be no more trouble after a meeting with the general manager yesterday.
RURAL BUS OPERATOR GIVES UP BUSINESS
ARURAL bus service which has been operated in Northumberland for the past eight years by Mr. James Batty, Morpeth, is to be completely withdrawn. Mr. Batty had three vehicles, and his business was one of those mentioned in a report on rural transport in midNorthumberland which was compiled . last year and sent to the Minister of Transport.
The report said Mr. Batty covered several routes to the west of Morpeth but had lost money on an increasing scale since 1953. In that year he carried 89,999 passengers, but by 1956 this figure had dropped to 80.006. In the same period his stage mileage was reduced from 63,411 to 60,856. Although costs increased from ls. lfd. to Is. 30. a mile, revenue was static at 11d.
Mr. Batty claims that he has had to close his business because of the fuel tax and competition from private hire concerns. His decision will leave a wide area without public transport, for British Railways closed a branch line in the district five years ago.
IN U.S.A. FOR PERKINS
THE resident representative in Central America and the Caribbean for F. Perkins, Ltd., Mr. P. W. Percy, is to be based in future in the U.S.A. instead of Jamaica. He will then begin representing F. Perkins (Canada), Ltd., in the southern states of the U.S.A.
Mr.. Percy, who has been with the company for five years, leaves Britain this znonth after a holiday, and will first tour Toronto, the U.S.A. and Central America.