New All-purpose 40-ton Trailer
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INCORPORATING readily detachable I. front and rear bogies and intended to operate at speeds up to 20 m.p.h., a new 40-ton trailer designed and built by Carrimore Six Wheelers, Ltd., North 1-inchley, London, N.I2, can be used as a full trailer or as a semi-trailer with the front bogie detached. It has been developed to the order of the India Office.
The rear bogie consists of eight single wheels, and the entire rear carriage assembly is fully oscillating. Two balance beams are employed, on each end of which is a pivoted member for attachment of the axles. The beams are hinged on to two separate crossmembers secured by three pegs beneath the side frames. Above the crossmembers are locking . bars which are located by a single peg registering in the upper flange of the side members.
The locking bars are actuated by
centrally mounted hand wheels which, when turned, raise the bars so that the chassis may be jacked up until it is freed from the pegs. The axles may then be withdrawn. In a recent demonstration, the halves of the rear carriage assembly were withdrawn in under five minutes by three men.
Vertical stops are welded inside the frame members so that to re-assemble the rear carriage, each four-wheel unit has only to be wheeled in between the side members until contact is made with the plates. Then the chassis is lowered on the jacks until the pegs are located, and the locking bar is screwed back into position. No tools are required and no parts are removed during the Operation.
The fore-carriage, consisting of four paired wheels, is equally easily detached, so that the unit may be used as a semitrailer, the frame being cranked ' to facilitate this application. Detachment of the fore-carriage is effected by means of a single nut protruding through the near side of the frame. This actuates a threaded rod which withdraws a fork locating the swivel pin of the forecarriage.
Two concentric rings are situated under the upper deck of the frame. The outer one is used when the outfit is operated as a full trailer, and the inner one can be superimposed on the turntable of the semi-trailer tractor unit.
Three Longitudinals The overall length of the vehicle is 40 ft. 4 ins, and the width is 9 ft. 6 ins. The frame consists of three parallel longitudinais, fabricated from twin 15-in. by 4-in, channel sections, welded together to form a box in the centre and a girder at the outsides.
' Full-depth gussets are used at every joint, those supporting the upper •deck being deep enough to house the two jacks with which the vehicle is equipped. Unladen weight of the complete outfit, fitted with 13.00 by 20 single rear and twin front tyres, is 16 tons. 14 cwt. It is to be used in Madras in conjunction with a Foden tractive unit.
A twin-pipe air-pressure braking system is fitted, a reservoir being situated at the front of the trailer. Hand wheels behind the rear wheels provide manual braking through rods and a compensating linkage. Plugs and sockets in the rearmost cross-member enable braking and lighting supply lines to be disconnected when loading or unloading without the rear bogie.