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LMS. Maintenance Depot to Servio [,000 Motor Vehicles

25th January 1946
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Page 36, 25th January 1946 — LMS. Maintenance Depot to Servio [,000 Motor Vehicles
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Building Having 40,000 sq. ft. of Floor Space. Provides Maximum Comfort and Convenience for Operatives AS mentioned in our issue for last week, we recently visited Bradford, at the invitation of the L.M.S. Railway Co., to inspect the Manningham road-motor maintenance depot of the company. This building, which is about two miles from the centre of the city, was first occupied in November,

1945, its completion being a rather drawn out affair owing to material shortage, to say nothing of the scarcity of labour.

However, the final result is an achievement of which everyone concerned may justly feel proud. The vehicles which will be repaired and overhauled at this depot operate in the L.M.S. area embracing Maryport in the north, Mansfield in the south, Goole in the east and Barrow and Lancaster in the west.

The fleet concerned numbers about 1,000 machines, the equipment at present based on the district being 726 motor vehicles and industrial appliances, and 635 trailers. • To cater for so large a fleeLin respect of all major engine, chassis and body overhauls, and certain inspections and running repairs, calls for a high degree of organization, both in respect of running and time schedules and within the workshop. At present, the staff employed is obviously at almost the minimum, consisting as it does of the following: a district engineer and two assistants; two male and three female clerks, 40 artisans and 56 labourers, apprentices, etc.

Dealing first of all with the building, this has a total floor area of 40,000 sq. ft. In respect of its construction it is somewhat unique in that in the main workshop, which has an unrestricted floor area of 1,6,000 sq. ft., there is a complete absence of tie-rods, and as the various machine tools have self-contained drives, there is no overhead shafting.

Rigid channel-section strut beams are arranged at 20-ft. centres, and make a span of about 120 ft. At the eaves the height is about 18 ft., and to the crown of the frame 29 ft.

The main roof is covered with protected metal corrugated sheeting, having a lining-of insulated boarding. There are three stretches of patent glazing to each pitch, with additional lighting at the ridge over the area of the machine shop. The main source of natural lighting is via steel-framed windows, those on the west side, facing the inspection pits, being of greater depth than others in the building, so as to ensure adequate lighting of this area.

There is a fire-break running between the main workshop and the bodybuilding shop and painting booths_ The steel doors of this fire-break are fitted with fusible-link-type automatic closing gear, so that, should fire break out on either side of the wall, the steel doors would close over and so separate the two departments.

The ancillary buildings, both adjoining and detached from the main building, are of brick construction, with concrete floors and roofs. Comprised in this area are the office and messroom; heating chamber; lavatories; timber store; vehicle wash; sewage plant and electrical sub-station house.

The office block, which adjoins the main workshop, is a two-storied structure, the messroom, with direct access from the main workshop, being arranged on the ground floor.

As to the general layout, the plan accompanying this article shows the disposition of all departments and their relation one to the other.

Efficient lighting and heating are two of the most important considerations from the points of view of the comfort of the personnel and the well-being of the vehicles undergoing repair or overhaul, as good work cannot be expected from men who have cause to complain of their conditions.

The natural lighting is noticeably good, but, even so. on most classes of close work at an'.? appreciable distance from a main window good artificial lighting is a necessity. All supplies of electricity are obtained from

Bradford Corporation, the current being brought to a substation on the site. Apart from power .requirements, the total installed lighting load is 60 Kw.

Fluorescent lighting is adopted in the paint-spraying booths, of which there are five, and in the inspection pits. In the case of the latter the tubes are let in flush with the walls of the pits, being protected against accidental damage by armoured-glass fronts. High-intensity local lighting for benches and machines is provided by means of adjustable bracket lamps.

Heating arrangements are parti.:ularly thorough, and are carried out by a low-pressure hot-water installation on the two-pipe system, with accelerated circulation and automatic stoking. En the workshop 60 degrees F. is maintained with three air changes per hour, in the painting booths 65 degrees E. and 30 changes per hour, and in all offices 65 degrees F. and two change; an hour. Downstream units provide a flow of hot air in the shops. Passing into the workshop from the .main entrance we, first of all, come to the running-repair section, adjacent to which is a hydraulic-ram-type of vehicle lift, having a capacity of 7 tons, with a 3-ft. 6-in. lift. It is operated by compressed air from the main supply line, which runs right around the shop, with take-off points arranged where necessary.

The compressed-air line is fed from three compressors, two of which are located in the tyre-repair section, and the third, which is looked upon as a spare, in the dynamometer room. The three are so connected up that any one can be cut out without interrupting the supply, which is at a pressure of 150 lb. per sq. in.

Beyond the vehicle lift are the three Inspection pits, connected by a gallery pit in which suitable benches for the fitters are arranged. White-tile glazing, and the employment of fluorescent lighting, provide for the maximum degree of illumination.

Sumps are arranged at the end of the pits to take away radiator drainings, and exhaust fumes are carried outside the building via suitably arranged ducts.

The smiths' and welders' shop, tyrerepair, and electrical-equipment-repair sections, follow in that order. Immediately to the rear of the tyre-repair department come the pump-room, boiler house, and oil and fuel stores, the last-named facing on to a railway siding. Also fitting into this block of buildings is a department given over to battery charging and repairs, which, in due course, is to be considerably expanded in respect of its scope.

Returning to the main shop, the machine-tool and engine-overhaul sections are adjacent to each other, and are characterized by their clean layout, ample lighting, and absence of crowding. The present equipment in the machine shop comprises the following: Two lathes, radial and sensitive drilling machines, cylinder borer, cylinder sleeve press, 30-ton hand press, power hacksaw, brake refacer, pedestal grinder, and a crack detector.

So far as the engine-repair section is concerned, complete rebuilding is undertaken with the exception of crankshaft grinding, and units so reconditioned, or otherwise passed through, are bench tested on a Heenan and Froude hydraulic dynamometer. This apparatus is designed to be capable of absorbmg and measuring a power output up to 200 b.h.p., so that it covers all engines likely to be met with.

The water absorbing the power, and for cooling the dynamometer, is circulated by a centrifugal-type pump of 3 h.p., and it gets its supply from a tank having a capacity of 1,000 gallons.

Passing across the main shop we come to the main stores, the heavy-unit store, and the chassis-overhaul area, at the far end of which is the degreasing plant. It should be mentioned, at this stage, that there is no scarcity of lifting tackle, there being three 1-ton wall cranes on one side of the building, and five of the same type in the area covered by the chassis-overhaul section. So far as could be seen, no operative would be called upon to do any heavy lifting, in fact, from the viewpoint of the personnel in the various sections, every possible consideration has been paid to comfort and convenience.

The painting booths and bodybuilding and repair sections are cut off from the main workshop by a fireproof wall, as previously mentioned. The engine testroom is virtually in this section, although access to it is gained from the main shop.

The bodybuilding section has scarcely got going yet, but it is obvious that it has immense possibilities, of which full advantage will ultimately be taken.

In the majority of cases vehicles which come in for repair or overhaul do so under their own power, but whether they do so or not there is no difficulty as the railway siding, as mentioned before, runs alongside the rear of the premises. Here there is a loading dock and a 5-ton fixed gantry.

This new maintenance depot of the L.M.S. is, to our mind, a fine example of what such a place should be, and it should certainly pay good dividends in the form of vehicle availability.

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Organisations: US Federal Reserve
Locations: Barrow, Maryport, Lancaster

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