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VERY firm ideas are held by Westminster City 'Council's Public Cleansing and Transport Department regarding the vehicles most suited to its needs. This fact is not surprising when it is remembered that some of its rounds are one long succession of what are commonly called prestige establishments. Electric vehicles handle more than half the weight of refuse collected, their share amounting to over 800 tons weekly. One typical collection journey includes the Royal Automobile Club.and the Savoy, the Ritz and the Mayfair hotels. Much of the work must be performed outside normal business hours so the quietness of the electric is a decided advantage, but another important requirement is ease of -manceuvre.
What Westminster wanted when a dozen of its 22 battery-operated units became due for renewal after 30 years' service was a large articulated electric. Thus, about a couple of years ago, the council had a prototype tractive unit constructed by Seddon Diesel Vehicles Ltd., this being designed for use with a 7/8-ton semi-trailer. As a result of the experience then gained 12 special new Dennis machines have been supplied, six destined for container refusecollection, four for water sprinkling and two for gully emptying. They are, however, to be powered by the motors from the original electrics which despite their long service are still in sound condition.
• After delivery of the chassis and body the department undertakes the responsibility for fitting the motors and control gear. The power for each of the converted units is supplied by a 44-cell 445 a.h. Kathanode traction battery made by the D.P. Battery Co. Ltd., suppliers of the batteries for the original fleet.
Ambassadors for Cleansing
CONSCIOUSNESS of the need for improved public cleansing services is growing apace in many areas of Africa, Asia, and elsewhere. This situation has led the Institute of Public Cleansing to make available training facilities that will enable overseas students at least to gain a foothold in the profession. The government of any country or any major local authority can apply to the 1.P.C. to send a staff member to Britain for B46 either a shortor long-term visit. The authority concerned is expected to pay the expenses of the trainee whilst the Institute provides the tuition by means of attaching the candidate to specially chosen officers in various big cities.
Overseas representatives may come for, say, six months in order to gain background knowledge but, if they are aiming to take the I.P.C. examinations, they are
expected to spend two or three years in study in this country and to have three years' practical experience in a cleansing department. Such visitors have already been received from Jamaica, Ghana, Nigeria, Malaya, Burma, Hong Kong and India. Before they arrive .many have never had the opportunity of making a close examination of a variety of modern cleansing appliances. In such cases works visits are arranged so that the trainees shall know something of the background to the manufacture of British units.
Grand Prix Driver
FOLLOWING the appearance of my recent paragraph commending the value of cleansing vehicle parades, a correspondent reminds me that the possibility of running a council lorry-driver-of-theyear contest was quite widely discussed a year or so ago. He contends that a competitive event of this nature, with perhaps regional rounds, would greatly stimulate interest on the part of the general public.
The national lorry-driver-of-the-year competition suffered from quite a few growing pains in the course of its early career, probably because of its compre
hensive character, but has emerged into a contest the final phase of which is followed by millions of people apart from those associated with road transport. The establishment of suitable tests for local authority driver's of different classes of vehicles, with district rounds, semi-finals, and a national final to decide the destination of a Municipal Grand Prix, would be no light task. But there are plenty who believe there are immense possibilities in the idea.
Assuming entry to be on a purely voluntary basis such a plan should have every attraction for the drivers. At the same time it would form a most desirable reminder to the citizens of the skill and equipment necessary to provide the facilities that many members of the public take very much for granted.
Giant Dustpan
ALTHOUGH Cardiff Public Works Department spent some £5,000 last December in acquiring a Dempster Dumpster collection vehicle equipped with 13 containers of 6 cu. yd. capacity,
understand that it is expecting to make an annual saving of £2,000 on the deal. It is the first vehicle of this design to go into service for a local authority in this country and is to be used for the collection and disposal of highway sweepings in an area covering a third of the city. Mounted on an Austin 7-ton shortwheelbase chassis, the LFW.303-C Dumpster appliance drops empty containers at strategic points for filling, picking up those already loaded and carrying them to the disposal area.