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No Bore Wear in Five Years

23rd January 1953, Page 113
23rd January 1953
Page 113
Page 113, 23rd January 1953 — No Bore Wear in Five Years
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Keywords : Brakes, Railway Brake

The Highlights of Maintenance Procedure Employed with Fleet of 1,000 Vehicles V/E1-11CLE maintenance,as interpreted by Mr. J. W. Tayler, M.I.Mech.E., M.1.R.T.E., transport engineer of Hall and Co., Ltd., meant keeping a vehicle in a safe and economical condition in order that it could perform the work for which it was purchased. In the paper which he read before members of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers in London last week, Mr. Tayler summed up maintenance under four headings, these being safety, reliability, efficiency and appearance.

The fleet of about 1.000 vehicles with which the author had to deal, was comprised of machines ranging from 5-ton volume produced short wheelbase tippers and long-wheelbase trucks, to 7and 8-ton heavy oilers and 14-15-ton eight-wheelers.

Not on Mileage Basis None of these vehicles, he said, was dealt with on a mileage basis, as experience had shown that such a system was both misleading and expensive. This was due to the variation in the nature of the areas in which the vehicles operated and the various types of duty they performed.

All vehicles were inspected at least once every 21 days and twice a year by travelling inspectors attached to headquarters. After an inspection had been carried out, details were entered on a comprehensive inspection sheet.

A defective unit, which was first passed to stores and checked, was sent therefrom to the cleaning shop where it was dismantled and cleaned. The various parts were next placed in a wire basket and thereafter sent to the department which dealt with that type of unit.

After inspection by a charge-hand,

the sub-units,. such as cylinder head, water-pump, carburetter, dynamo, distributor and so on, in the case of an engine, were dispatched to their correct sections. The bare engine was then measured for crank-pin and bore • wear and if these were outside the limits laid down the crankshaft was sent away for regrinding.

Cylinder-bore wear said Mr. Tayler, was practically non-existent as, for the past five years, he had used chromed sleeves and it had not been necessary to remove one on account of wear. Piston life had been extended by introducing chromed spacer rings fitted in the top groove which was machined out to take them, plus a standard compression ring.

All engines after assembly were bench tested for from three to four hours, when final adjustments were made prior to the unit being tested on the brake. The operator's central works was in Surrey and in the area were 18 sub-workshops. These sub-workshops had been placed where there was a concentration of transport, and for normal purposes the author's company opened such a workshop wherever the fleet at any point reached from 12 to 15 vehicles.

The opening of a new shop, said Mr. Tayler, entailed a capital expenditure of from £5,000 to £6,000, the annual charge being at least £1,250. It had been found more economical to run a multiplicity of small shops staffed by, perhaps, only two fitters, than to run one large shop staffed by 10 or 12 men.

Emphasis was laid on steering assemblies, springs and brakes being above suspicion. In addition to the 21days' inspection already mentioned, headquarters inspectors would inspect any branch fleet after giving only two hours' notice. They were concerned with driver maintenance and mechanical condition.

Each driver was responsible for limited maintenance which included lubrication, cleanliness, tyre pressures, bolts and nuts, and keeping batteryand brake-fluid levels correct. Inspections of these items were marked and each depot competed for a six-monthly award which consisted of a vehicle badge and a cash sum for certain individual classifications.

Workshop Equipment In general, each workshop was equipped with overhead lifting tackle of 10-cwt. capacity, travelling 3-ton floor cranes, 8-ton high-lift hydraulic jacks, special items such as drawers, battery charger, air compressors and Sparking-plug cleaners and, in the more recently equipped shops, flush-fitting 8ton vehicle hoists.

Of the apprenticeship scheme run by his company, Mr. Tayler said that there were more applications than vacancies. All boys were started on three months' probation, during which time they had to attend a local technical college one day a week for classes in mathematics, mechanics and drawing.

After 18 months. if he had made the grade, an apprentice was transferred to Croydon Technical School for an advanced course in electricity and heat engines, finally sitting for the City and Guilds of London examinations.


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