55,000 sq. ft. for 10 Vehicles of North Eastern Haulier
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by Ashley Taylor, A.M.I.R.T.E.
Large Haulier in Newcastle upon Tyne Opens New Depot on 6!-acre Site in Middlesbrough to Cater for Increased Demands
S ' TEADILY developing traffic in the prosperous Tees-side industrial area has made it necessary for • R. Rankin and Sons, Ltd., the north eastern hauliers, to operate a new Middlesbrough depot, which was officially opened on Wednesday. The depot will be fully operational as from next Monday. A building of contemporary design has been erected on a 6i-acre site which, in addition to catering for present needs, will permit a considerable amount of extension should glis become desirable in the future.
The premises cover an area of approximately 55,000 sq. ft. and from them will operate the 40 vehicles with which the company provides its various services for the district. Rankins is an all-round transport organization, planned so as to deal readily with payloads ranging from 7 lb. to 30 tons, apart from handling large quantities of bulk liquids and livestock.
Much of the growth of the business must be attributed to the ability and willingness to handle small consignments, which are distributed by the fleet to any village in Northumberland or Durham, and to providing the same standard of service to all customers whether large or small. The new Middlesbrough depot will be in action 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Strong Connections
Despite the fact that the headquarters of the company are situated on the Tyne, the Rankin organization has always had strong connections with Tees-side, The business was established on Newcastle Quayside in 1899 and the present managing director, Mr. Robert Rankin, is the third generation of the family to be engaged in the enterprise. The other directors are Mr. Norman Rankin and Mr. William Rank in a36 Because of the comprehensive nature of the operations, nationalization brought only a partial acquisition, this move taking place in 1950. Although the State organization took over part of the fleet, an uninterrupted service to Middlesbrough has been maintained for the past 12 years and, following denationalization, a depot was opened at Fleet Street, North Ormesby, in 1955. At that time the present Middlesbrough area manager. Mr. A. B. Fox, was in charge.
The Fleet Street garage will, of course, be vacated when the new establishment, which has been erected in a readily acce3sible position at South Bank, gets into its stride. The company headquarters are at Cut Bank, Newcastle upon Tyne, and, at the other cud of what may be regarded as the fleet's main traffic artery, there is a further depot at Great Howard Street, Liverpool.
"General Goods" Hauliers
An examination of the traffic records shows that Rankins are well entitled to regard their scope as being covered by the term "general goods." However, the principal commodities transported comprise foodstuffs, bulk liquids and particularly chemicals, machinery including large indivisible loads, steel (some of it in long lengths) in addition to all types of packed lubricants and butane gas in containers.
Apart from pure transportation, the Rankin company holds merchandise in its warehouse from which the various commodities are distributed to customers' orders. The area of operation in the main covers the Northern, Yorkshire and North Western traffic areas, there being daily trunk services to Liverpool, regular runs to South Wales, and daily distribution throughout the Tyne-side, Tees-side and Wear areas. A fleet of 102 vehicles, including Commers, Leylands and Atkinsons, has been built up to deal with this considerable volume of work. The heavy units are predominantly Leyland, whilst all the four-wheelers are of Commer manufacture. In addition, five vans and one 25-ton low-loader are employed.
In order to deal with the considerable volume of bulk liquid transport there are 36 tankers, all of which are of high capacity, running up to 4,000 gallons. They include stainless-steel and glass-lined containers.
Most of the general haulage units are either of the drop-side or platform type, but also operated are several Commer-Scammell and Beaver-Dyson Aeroride articulated outfits, their capacities ranging up to 16 tons. An exception to the standard bodywork takes the form of high-slatted haulage units employed specially for the carriage of bottled 'gas and packed lubricants. Figures taken at random from the fleet records suggest that the average mileage per vehicle is in the region of 35,000 per annum.
Automatic Lubrication After a period of trial and careful assessment of the results, all the Rankin vehicles have now been fitted with automatic lubrication equipment. Maintenance is performed on a basis of time and inspection. A large proportion of this work on the Cornmer vehicles is placed in the hands of Minories Garages, Ltd., the local Rootes Group distributors, whilst the remainder is carried out by the Rankin engineering staff. A similar system is applied to the heavier machines, the Leyland Gateshead depot being used to a large extent, whilst the rest of the work is left to the fleet's own engineers at the Newcastle and Middlesbrough depots.
As previously indicated, the South Bank site for the new depot was chosen for its ready accessibility to the developing industrial areas of Tees-side, an additional factor of importance being that it is near roads where there is reasonable freedom of traffic movement. The contemporary-style premises are centrally situated on the plot, with a private driveway passing round the front and leading to the extensive-hard-standing area at the side and the rear.
Between the office frontage and the private road is a seeded grass plot and on the other side is a small tarred apron for the parking of visitors' cars. The inquiry, clerks' and management offices are on the first floor. The modern design of the building results in there being excellent natural lighting throughout.
On the ground floor is the traffic office, which is approached by an entrance direct from the vehicle park. This department is equipped with three hatchways, each of which will normally be used for a different type of traffic. Beyond it lies a mess-room for the drivers and an extensive stores department. A small boiler-house contains a Potterton automatic oil-fired boiler, and Nu-way heating equipment. This plant is used for warming the entire premises.
Maintenance Sections
On the same side of the main garage, behind the boilerhouse, are the maintenance shops. These are divided into two sections, one for drivers performing routine tasks and the other for the mechanical staff engaged in overhaul or repair. Grease and air lines are laid on, and a 30-ft. inspection pit is equipped with recessed lighting.
In the park at the rear of the main building is an overhead tank of 3,000-gal. capacity which will fuel the company's vehicles. Behind the maintenance shops are covered and open vehicle-washing areas. In order to facilitate speedy cleansing of vehicles, particularly the large tankers, it is the intention to install a steam cleaning plant at a later date.