By employing hydraulic control, a smooth movement is ensured and
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overloading can be prevented by using a safety valve. The prototype has a lifting height of 6 ft., but models will be available with a 14-ft. lift. The basis of the machine is a vehicle with small solid-tyred wheels and is powered by a Perkins P6 oil engine.
Of more direct interest to commercialvehicle operators is a new form of racking for drums' displayed by R. H. Corbett and Co., Ltd. The device is of the two-tier end-loading type with a special self-loading drum gate. Both tiers accommodate eight 40-gal. drums and are mounted at a slight slope so that, when a barrel is removed, it is automatically replaced by another, a stop being provided by the gate. The racks eliminate the need for passageways and provide a valuable saving in storage space.
New Tipping Trailer Last year a tipping trailer Was shown by Whitlock Bros., Ltd. It was of 6-ton capacity and designed to be hauled by an industrial or farm tractor. The model has been employed extensively by operators for tipping on sites which would be dangerous for rigid tippers, and this year a 3-ton trailer is shown. The two-stage ram mounted in front of the axle gives an angle of tip of 62', and positive control of body movement enables the vehicle to be employed for continuous spreading. Its low centre of gravity provides stability for roughsite work.
Most of the fork-truck manufacturers are awaiting the Mechanical Handling Cxhibition to show new models, a notable exception being Ransomes, Sims and Jefferies, Ltd., who are exhibiting the recently announced battery-electric, the T4 10-ton tractor, a 2,000-1b. forklift truck and a truck fitted with a load-stabilizer. These are in addition to their usual range of equipment.
The stabilizer is believed to be the first of its kind to be. produced and comprises a balanced guard, pivoted to the top of the post, the front of which automatically, tilts downwards to steady the load when travelling.
-Smaller Hydraulic Lift
Publicly demonstrated for the first time a few days before the 1955 Fair. the lorry-mounted hydraulic platform manufactured by Simon Engineering (Midlands), Ltd., created such demand that the makers decided to produce a smaller version with a 30-ft. lift and a working radius of 171 ft. One of these platforms is shown mounted on a trailer and another on a battery-electric chassis. With outrigger jacks in place, the maximum platform load is 500 lb.
The power-skip and the tipping transport box, : exhibited by the Hart Agricultural Engineering Co., Ltd., are new models and will be of interest to many farmers and industrialists. The attachments are mounted on Fordson Major tractors and are hydraulically n12 controlled_ a notable advantage of both types being the low-loading level_ The transport box has a tailboard to facilitate the tipping of loose material and is also suitable for carrying churns, bricks and so on. If required, it can be elevated to a height of about 2 ft.' 6 in., whereas the skip mounting frame is fixed. The hydraulic ram is arranged horizontally_ Built of Westwood concrete panels, the prefabricated bus shelters shown by " Prefabricated Concrete Builders, Ltd., include one of the cantilever type and an enclosed shelter equipped_with a seat. The shelters are available with any number of 4-ft. bays having con
crete panels or windows as required. The first of the cantilever shelters have been erected on the Birmingham—Wolverhampton New Road.
On an .adjoining stand, an associated Company, Cretablocks. Ltd., demonstrate (ht._ ease with which lightweight foam slag-concrete blocks can be laid for the building of garages, offices and so on. One block is equivalent to six bricks and building time is reduced.
Perspex lights in the front panel are a feature of the Harbilt battery-electric refuse collector which is shown with a light-alloy body having a forwardcontrol doorless cab with a step height of about 11 in. and a sloping canopy. The frame is of tubular construction and the two hydraulic lifting rams are mounted in front of the rear axle.
It has a capacity of 21. cu. yd., a normal range of 12-15 miles and a speed of 12-14 m.p.h. The controller is of the four-stage type with a latch between the second and third stages. A helical reduction gear is built into the motor and the drive is transmitted through a Hardy Spicer shaft to a hypoid-gear rear axle. The vehicle is shown by the Ha rborough Construction Co.. Ltd.