THE "AUTOHORSE."
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A One-wheeled Tractor which Works with Any Wagon. By Henry Sturmey AFEW MONTHS AGO we described an American tractor termed the " Truietor," which took the form of a single-wheeled outfit for hitching up to any horse wagon, and now we arc able to illustrate another on the same lines. The idea is an attractive one.
From the earliest days of motoring, the idea of a tractor which should practically. take the place of the horse, by being hitched Up into, or in place of, the shafts and used instead of a horse to draw any vehicle, has been held in mind, one of the earliest British patents -taken out in 1.895 being for what vvas termed a " motor horse," which consisted of a single-motorpropelled wheel, which it Was:then proposed to fasten to the -shafts of any horsed vehicle, the drawings reproduced in the patent specification showing it 'between the shafts ef .a hansom cab. --.
, But, -although inventors have,from time to time, giveri the matter their attention since that date, nothing of a practical or tangible character has been evolved, save the " Tractor"device already alluded to and the otitfit now deseribeel. During the past twe years, however, the development of the trailer idea in the States has-led to several introductions in the Shape of " fifth wheel" or -turntable devices, attachable above the rear axle of any chassis, to which the front end of a horsed vehicle cansbe fitted, thus converting it into a six-wheeled-Mita, which combination is now -recognized as & type in the States, under the term of the " Sernitractor." . . .
In these new ‘i motor horses,", or-one-wheeled tractors, however, we have a further development which brings us very much nearer te the idea originally con B34 eeived. For them it is claimed that all the good features of both tractor and truck are retained without their weak points, and that, in the result, a construction is furnished which is both better than a truck and better than a tractor. In regard to the question of having an outfit capable of drawing one or other of a number of vehicles and capable of handling them as easily as with a horse, the construction would appear to have well achieved its object. Starting with the recognition of one of the first principles of transportation work, in the fact that a horse can pull more than it can carry, and seeing also that this principle has been proved and recognized in the use of trailers and truck trains, there certainly seems ' no reason why, where single unit work is legislated for, any very elaborate, very heavy, or very high-powered outfits become necessary. It is the development of this reasoning which has led to the introduction of the " Autoleorse," which may be described as a small, high-powered switch engine, niounted on a single wheel and supported by a couple of trailing wheels , provided with turntable, on which the forecarriage of any wagon or other implement may be mounted, the front wheels and axle being removed for the purpose. Iii this form the outfit becomes a five-wheeled semitrailer.
Rut the great difference between the ordinary semitrailer type of arrangement and the " Autohorse" is that, whereas, with the semi trailer, the front portion, which is the tractor, requires the same amount of space to turn in as without the trailer, and the trailer portion can only fellow the tractor po;tion to which it is attached, in the " Autohoree" the actual power plant, that is to say, the wheel and the mechanism operating it, together with the driver, turn. independently of the remainder of the attachment.
It thus becomes the practical equivalent of the horse arid shafts of an ordinary horse-drawn wagon, whilst the engine with its single wheel, being mounted on what is the. equivalent to a central swivel, is able to turn in as short a space as, or even shorter than, a horse, even when the horse steps sideways, as it can be turned about on its own centre and, with the rear portion of the tractor frame still in direct line with the truck to which it is attached, call be turned at right angles to it.
It can even be -turned at less than a right angle if needed, so that, instead of the wagon, as with the semi-trailer, having to follow in the fairly large curve of the path made by the tractor, it can remain stationary, whilst the "Autoherse " wheel is turned about and the forward supporting wheels of the truck beneath the turntable turned at right angles beneath the stationary truck, which can then be moved off into a new direction in the smallest possible space.
Indeed, it is claimed—and this is a fairly legitimate claim—that 4 loaded wagon can be turned round in a road which is only just longer than its own length, . and, more than this, the " Autohorse " can do what no horse harnessed in the shafts of a wagon could accomplish. it can turn right round on its own centre (in the shafts, as it were), and face -the wagon, without moving the wagon at all, and then it can push instead of pull, and so manoeuvre the wagon backwards with great ease and nicety—and without any occupation of outside space in doing it—when backing up to a platform in a confined situation. When the " Autohorae " turns round and faces the wagon like this, it takes its driver with it, as, indeed, it does in all its movements, so that, in this position, the driver is at the extreme rear end of the combination, with the whole of his work in front of him, which is a very much better proposition for such work than when the driver has to manipulate his outfit with his head screwed round awkwardly over his shoulder.
Indeed, there is no limit to the range to which the front wheel, together with the power-plant and driver's cab, can be turned, and it is difficult to see how anything more absolutely complete in its possibility of operation and control could be devised.
In the "fifth wheel" or turntable device used, an arrangement of springs is provided in the connection, which takes up shocks when starting and stopping, and this is so constructed that the trailer can be connected and disconnected in the briefest possible time.
The engine employed is a four-cylinder Continental engine, 31-in. by 5-in, cylinders, with high-tension magneto, governor and rotary pump circulation through a cellular radiator, A Borg-Beck dry-plate clutch is embodied, and a Warner three-speed and reverse sliding gear is employed. The gears are of chrome nickel, heat treated, and S.K.F. self-aligning bearings are employed throughout. The single driving-steering wheel is 34 ins, in diameter, and is fitted with two 5-in, solid tyres.
Steering is effected by a -22-in, hand wheel. A powerful internal-expansion brake is furnished, operating on a drum inside the driving wheel, as well as an external contracting brake operating on the • cross shaft, and the whole of the power plant is enclosed as shown in the illustration. A driver's seat, 35 ins, wide, is furnished, enclosed in a cab with windshield in front. The weight of the " Autohorse " complete is under 3400 lb., whilst its capacity for work is rated at three tons.
In many respects, an outfit such as this presents to the multiple vehicle user substantial advantages over the employment of a single lorry. A lorrY would, of course, bedurnished with a single type of body, and the engine and driver would be idle during the whole period of loading and unloading, whereas, with an outfit such as this, several types of truck bodies could be provided, and as the wagon would not be altered in so far as the turntable fitting is concerned, the ordinary horse-drawn outfits could be used, and one or other of them could be worked with horses or with the tractor ; whilst, when the driver has brought his wagon into position for unloading, he can unhitch and be off with another Toad or wagon in another direction, just as he can with horses, and no time is lost whilst the load is being dealt with, either in or out.