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Answers. to Queries.

25th January 1917
Page 24
Page 24, 25th January 1917 — Answers. to Queries.
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Help From Us for_a Local War Charity.

[4126] (Agricultural).—This journal cannot very well make appeals for other funds, in view of its being responsible for the COmforts Fund for the 141.T., A.-S.O.

Petrol for Two New Four.tonners.

• (4127j (Buyer).—Apply to the Secretary, Petrol Control Committee, W, Berkeley Street, London, W., for the necessary form of application. If you call,. ask to see Mr. Ford.

Wants to Join the Commercial Motor Users Asso

ciation. _

[4128] (Wagons).--We have requested Mr. Bristow, the Secretary of the Commercial Motor Users Association, to send on the 'desired information. The address is 83, Pall Mall, S.W. . The .entrance fee is 21 .1s.., and the annual subscription R1 12s. ad., except for owners of single vehicles with pneumatic tires on all wheels. They pay half rates.

Shall He Try Coal-gas as a Fuel?

[4129] (Worthing).—You have evidently overlooked the issue of Tim COMMERCIAL MOTOR dated the 2nd November. If you cannot gather from the two-page article in that issue, and from the illustration and sketch which accompany it, the information which you want, the only suggestion which we can make is that you should pay a visit to Beeston, and see one of the vehicles in use, by the original adapters, Messrs. Andrew Barton Bros. Alternatively, you might go to Aldershot and see a vehicle in use there at the garage of the Aldershot and District Traction

• Co., Ltd., by appointment.

Book-keeping for Commercial Motors.

[4130] (New Owner).—We have no specimen record sheets, such as those for which you inquire, but we . recommend you to cover separately the divisions which are shown on our pre-war cost sheet, of which we still have a few copies—one mailed direct to you. It is a good plan to open an account for any motor vehicle in the impersonal ledger, carrying to that account both outg-oings and earnings. The value of the particular piece of plant then becomes apparent, on balance. Messrs. Cassell and Co. publish, at the price of Es. 6d., a. book by Mr. G. W. Watson, dealing with commercial motors, in which a ,set of specimen log sheets, etc., is included. This is called the "Business. Motor Handbook." Costs and Delivery : the Quick Unloading of Coal or Lime.

[4131] (Sheffield).—We have posted to you direct one of our.pre-war standard sheets of working costs. This may help you. On the average, you must "in. crease the petrol figures by one-third, and those for . steam by one-fourth, to meet war conditions, You will net be able to get a new British-made vehicle at present, unless you are engaged On munitions or like work, in which event the MiniStry of •Munitions will give you a permit to buy a new vehicle. A certain number of second-hanti vehicles can be bought, from • time to time, and you might be able to find a good. one for your work. We doubt if you will find one with two compartments, and it may be necessary for you to-vary the bodywork yourself. You might possibly save labour by improvising a hopper-and-shoot discharging arrangement, through the floor of the compartment, and arrange to deliver sideways below the frame. See also pages 406a and 467, re Austins.

Costs for Our Opinion.

141321 (Millers).—We have looked into the vista which were submitted with Your inquiry. In the first place, we must point out that the incidence of maintenance charges may not be representative in • so short a period as the three months which are covered. The fluctuations which your costs exhibit prove this. Taking the results, as submitted to us, for your eight Dennis five-tonners, it may; interest you to know that our pre-war figure was 11.58d. per ' mile run, whilst your average, under war. conditions, comes out at I1.75d. per mile run. We observe that the lowest cost per mile run is for your No, 8 vehicle at. 10.70d. per mile run, and the highest for your No. 3 vehicle at 15.52d. per mile run. These extrerne costs, however, appear to be in relation to the mileage, the higher costs per mile naturally being in respect of the lower mileages. This particularly brings up the cost per ,mile for the wages and stands Mg charges. As regards depreciation, we consider that you are making. ample provision, in reckoning this at 15 per cent, on the first cbSt. You should find that, with careful maintenance, an average 'life of 125,000 raileS per vehicle is a safe basis for depreciation, as an alternative, because you will have, if you dispose of any vehicle before that running has been achieved, "a. residual value, representing so many

The costs for your Foclen wagon and trailer are only 0.88d. above our pre-war basis, which is also extremely good, having regard to the high price of coal more earticularly.

The difficulty of making comparisons between wagons on different classes of work, either on a trnmile basis or a vehicle-mile basis, has to he recognized. Where work is greatly divergent, one sometimes finds in commercial practice that the best control figure is "cost per ton "according to zones of distance. You might be able to .group the work of your different wagons in. that way, and you would naturally expect the cost per ton to be higher as the radius grew longer. An alternative control figure is the inclusive cost per working hour, thus eliminating both mileage and tonnage. You do not indicate, in the particulars of cost which you have submitted for our opinion, the average extremes of radius, but it is possible that wagon No. 3 works at the shortest average distance from the mill, and wagon No. 8 at the greatest average distance? If one assumes 700 working hours in the-three months ender review for each vehicle, the cost per hour for No: 3 is seen to be approximately 3s., whilst that for No. 8 approximates 5s. We have no basis_ for concluding that these costs per hour should he in exact ratio with the average radius of journey, but the point is one the bearing of which you may elect to consider.


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