OUR EYE-WITNESS IN GERMANY.
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Concluding Details of interesting Types of Vehicle—The Conceptions of German Designers—Which Are Now on the Commercial-vehicle Market. The Development in Light Parcelcars.
IN THE first part of this article, which we published last week, we gave our general impressions of trade and other conditions in Germany, and followed this by describing in detail some of the most interesting chassis and vehicles which we personally examined.
In this, the concluding, portion we treat with several more vehicles and a number of light parcelcars. Krupps have brought out a new 2i-toimer, with overhead valves, combined dynamo and starter, and coil ignition. Engine and ge&rbox form a unit three-point suspended, and the drive is through laminated steel
joints to a propeller shaft enclosed in the spherically mounted torque tube; final drive is by Spiral bevels in a vertical banjo axle, the front and rear castings of which are of aluminium or other light metal. The underslung rear springs are exceptionally wide, and the frame is inswept at the front and limbed over the rear axle. Cable operation is employed for the fourwheel brakes.
In the engine the impeller pump is connected to the fan, the two being driven by a V belt. Aluminium is employed for the pistons; each has four narrow rings and a deep oil groove. The cams bear on rocker-arm rollers, which in turn operate push rods and valve rockers. A neat feature is that the rear bolt holding down the rockers for one cylinder can be. unscrewed until the rockers are free; the cylinder then acts as a compressor, from which air is taken, via a needle valve in the cylinder wall, to a filter, and thence by a long length of tubing to any tyre.
In the Daimler three-way tipping wagon with threeram telescopic gear there is a three-cylinder air compressor driven by the engine and supplying air to a reservoir. This air serves to start the engine through the compressor when required.
An interesting rigid six-wheeler, which is new to us, is the Daimler-Benz. This resembles the standard Daimler-Benechassis, but is provided with a four-wheel bogie carrying Titan cord tyres 40 ins. by 8 ins. All six wheels are braked, and both the axles of the bogie are of the dual type with internal gear drive; the forward one has its differential at the front, whilst in the rear axle the differential is at the back. Projecting from the rearmost axle is a torque tube carried in a
spherical, bearing at the back of the forward axle of the bogie, and the drive is taken to the rear axle through this torque tube. All points on the bogie requiring lubricant are oiled via flexible tubes from a large well above each fulcrum. A low frame is obtained by humping the frame overrethe rear axles.
The Magdeburg chassis has a six-cylinder engine of very clean design, front-wheel brakes and a two-cylintiered air pump driven by a throw-in dog from the timing gear. The engine has tappet-operated overhead valves, and develops 70 b.h.p. On the dash is anoil reservoir for one week's supply to the spherical housing and the cardan joint. On this chassis is one of the few examples of the one-man bus with folding doors at each side, that at the right being driver-operated.
One of the largest commercial traveller's vehicles which we have yet seen is that built by the Vomag Co. This is a 3-tonner, constructed for the carrying of samples of lace curtains. These are mounted on swinging arms, the ends of which can slide in channels along the sides of the vehicle. When running, each hanger is slid along until its outer end rests on one of two special supports mounted at the two ends of the vehicle. A clerestory roof gives headroom and light, and there is a separate rear compartment with an upholstered cushion, which can be turned over to form a spriag mattress for the driver. Two folding tables are provided at the rear corners of the sample compartment, and two long seats cover the wheel arches. The interior is exhaust-heated.
The Vomag six-wheeler drives on the centre wheels only ; these are twin-tyred, whilst the wheels all round have single tyres. In addition, the rear wheels are steered together with the front wheels. The arrangement closely resembles that on the Paris bus.
In the 6-ton Vomag there is a very long torque tube ending in a spherical bearing formed in the gearbox, which is separate from the engine, but an unusual practice is found .in the taking of the torque only through the spherical bearing, the drive being taken by the springs. To prevent unequal stressing, a portion of the torque tube is arranged to telescope. The arrangement seems somewhat superfluous, particularly as the torque tube is about 10 ft. long. There is a doublereduction banjo axle and a drop sprag.
The comparatively high cost of the heavier classes of vehicle for goods-carrying has turned the attention of many German designers to the production of pareelcars, which, whilst having a fair load capacity, will be exceedingly cheap to run.
The biggest of these is, we believe, the Mabee°, which, at the front, closely resembles the Indian Motorcycle, but at the rear the framework has been extended to carry a capacious van-type body. The drive is taken from the gearbox through a roller chain to a countershaft, from which further chains drive the wheels. Low-pressure tyres, 715 mm. by 115 mm., are used throughout.
Most of the goods-carrying machines are of the type in which the driver sits at the front of the goods container, whereas, in England, in the few machines of this type which are made, the driver usually sits behind the container, as in the well-known Auto-carrier, which, we believe to the regret of many, is no longer manufactured.
One little machine, known as the Die Neue Transporette, is built in two types-24 ha). and 4 h.p. respectively. It is a three-wheeler with a box at the back, and the main feature is that the engine is mounted over B38 the front wheel and drives through the medium of roller, chains, a two-speed gearbox being introduced.
An unusual type of machine is the combination goods carrier and passenger vehicle known as the Lesshafft. This has a single-cylinder engine located close to the running board at the left of the machine. It is of about h.p. and drives the near-side rear wheel through the medium of a belt. As a goods vehicle a box is mounted at the back, but this can be replaced for passenger work by a wide armchair seat.
Another three-wheeler closely resembling this, but equipped for goods only, is the Transportmotor, but in this ease the engine is located under the seat of the driver. It is water-cooled, carries 4 cwt., and is provided with semi-elliptic rear springs. The hand starter gives five turns to the engine at each complete pull. The price of the complete machine in Berlin is approximately £85. The EBS three-wheeler can be changed from a goods carrier to a passenger model in five minutes. It has a tiny engine, but it is employed with trailers by the Post Office.
We examined one three-wheeler in which the box is carried at the front. This was the Eibach, in which the vertical engine is mounted behind the driver's seat and drives the single rear wheel through the medium of a chain. It develops 4 h.h.p. Lastly, there is the Universelle, in which there is a motorcycle front portion, but the frame is extended to take a box carried on semi-elliptic springs and mounted above two rear wheels. The drive is first to a countershaft and then by a single belt to one rear wheel.
Some of the bodywork employed on German vehicles presents features both of merit and interest. In one large coach with body by Fritz Gaubschat, the seats are arranged in pairs facing forward, in a similar manner to those in a bus, whilst extra seats, when not required, fold up into a division behind the driver and passengers. Therb is a large windscreen behind the driver, and in this is provided a port hole by which the conductor or passengers may communicate with him. A folding hood forms part of the equipment. Many of the vehicles are equipped with blue-glass shields above the windscreens proper, which assist in the prevention of sun glare.
Fire-fighting and life-saving appliances have always occupied a strong position in German design,_and some have been received very favourably by our own authorities. For instance, the name of Magirus is well known, and we saw several Magirus escapes and pumps being demonstrated. We also examined a Hansa-Lloyd 2-ton fire express wagon, which provides seating for seven and the driver, has reels for -hose, small escape ladders, and an emergency pump for one hose. Trailer fire pumps do not seem to have developed quite so rapidly as in England, but we examined one with a 6-24 h.p. Dixi motor driving a turbine pump.