THREE-PURPOSE APPLIANCE FOR TOWNS.
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A New Municipal Vehicle which, on a Capital Outlay for One Machine, will do the Work. of Three.
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4 choice of municipal vehicles for service in the smaller
urban areas has for many years constituted a difficult problem. No country community can afford to provide itself with—and maintain—a fleet so complete that there is a specialized machine for each of the several branches of work, an equipment of a full character that can only be acquired by the larger towns and cities.
In consequence, urban district councils have frequently found themselves in a serious dilemma. They are faced, perhaps, by evidence that, owing to the wear and tear of the roads and paths due to the increase of traffic, the gullies must be emptied far more thoroughly and frequently, which will necessitate a motor appliance for the purpose, while, simultaneously, there is an urgent demand for a method of sprinkling and washing the streets which is niore efficacious than the existing horse van. Above all, there is a limit to the permissible expenditure, which makes possible, perhaps, the purchase of a single machine only.
Those authorities who have been faced with situations such as this will be interested iu the latest municipal vehicle placed upon the market by Dennis Bros., Ltd., of Guildford, who make a speciality of public-service vehicles of all types. Their latest product is the combined gully-emptier, streetwatering machine, and street-washing machine, which is shown in the accompanying photograph, and which was designed specially for the Watford Urban District Council.
No Need to Change a Single Part. I,
The outstanding feature of this vehicle is that it may be used for any_of the three purposes mentioned at will, for— and this is a fact that must not be lost sight of—not a single part need be changed when it is desired to alter the duty. The enormous saving in time and labour that this effects can be appreciated only by those who have had experience of chassis designed to accommodate alternative bodies. The provision of a suitable hoist to effect the change is, in itself, a matter of some expense.
The cab provides accommodation for two men, the extra man having charge of the controls, which are all grouped conveniently at the left-hand side of the eab. With the exception of the gear-driven air pump, all the work (other than that entailed by the motion of the vehicle) is controlled independently of the driver.
Mounted immediately behind the cab is the tank, which has a capacity of 1,000 gallons, although a smaller model capable of holding 750 gallons may be alternatively used in conjunction with a 31-4-ton chassis. The door constitutes the whole of the rear of the tank, so that the sludge is unloaded without any difficulty, especially as the tipping gear will lift the tank to an angle of 40 degrees. At the forward end are a manhole for inspection and a glass gauge to indicate the level of the contents; whilst onthe near side are situated the suction pipe and its balancing gear.
Below the forward end of the tank is the air pump, driven from the gearbox. It is so arranged that it may be used B26
as either a compressor or exhauster. When engaged on the latter duty, an automatic valve cuts it out when the tank is nearly full, so that there is no passibility of any dirt reaching its moving parts. As the air withdrawn from the tank may be foul, it is passed into the silencer of the engine, where it is burnt by the exhaust gases before escaping to the open air.
At the front of the radiator is fitted a turbine pump, of the latest-type, fire-engine practice, capable of delivering water under considerable pressure, so that a high degree of efficiency is obtained when washing the streets, or a wide spread—up to 50 ft.—when sprinkling. This pump is coupled direct to the forward end of the engine crankshaft by means of a friction clutch operated by a lever in the cab, an arrangement that gives practically no loss of power. In order that a minimum of connections must be undone whea the tank is tipped, the delivery pipe to the pump is carried through the trunnion of its mounting an the near side.
Putting the Pump to Various Uses.
The arrangement of valves is such that the pump may be utilized (1) to fill the tank, (2) to deliver to the sprays, each of which is independently adjustable for width of spread, and (3) for supplying the patent washing heads which may be turned in any desired direction whilst travelling.
On the near side of the vehicle, below the cab, is located a pipe connected with the tank, which is used for flushing the near-side gutter, the copious flow of water obtainable being sufficient easily to remove such sediment as may have accumulated as the result of washing the crown of the road.
Another provision of great utility consists of a squeegee, in five sections, carried below the machine and arranged diagonally across it. Normally, this is carried clear of the ground, but by means of a lever in the cab it may be lowered, and ensures that all water and any mud that may remain are removed from the roadway, which is consequently left in as clean a condition as it is DOSSible to obtain.
A feature of additional interest is the feet that this machine may, in the event of emergency, be used as a fireengine, as the pump will give 175 gals, per minute at 100 lb. pressure, or 225 gals. per minute at 85 lb. pressure.