Atkinson.
Page 14
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New Two-speed Gear for hilly districts. The Uniflow Engine.
STAND No, 85.
ALTHOUGH the complete vehicle is undeniably the most prominent exhibit on this stand, it is probable that much of the interest will be 'diverted to the chassis details which aecompany it. They comprise a rear axle, a boiler and an engine. The axle, aS was no doubt intended, typifies the firm's methods and standards of workmanship, as well as showing the excellent design of its brakes, of the accessible differential gear and of the wheel fastenings.
The mechanism of the rear-wheel brakes is notable for its simplicity. The cams—and, indeed, every part of them —are most substantial. They are of cast steel, integral with the operating levers, and are mounted on spindles fast in the brake arms on the spring Beets. One advantage of the arrangement is the ease of lubrication, which is effected by a grease gun through a nipple which is easily accessible between the spokes of the wheel, as may be verified by turning to the complete vehicle near by, The transmission brake, liVe the other, is of the internal expanding type, and its operating mechanism is similar in design, except that the lever and cam are separate, being keyed at opposite ends of a spindle which is supported in a bracket mounted on the axle, the torque reaction of the braking effect being assisted by a rod which takes hold of the bracket at the top end and is attached, at its forward end, to a frame cross-member.
The boiler is shown separated into its principal component parts, the outer casing and the fire-box, with its dosepacked nest of tubes, demonstrating the feature of the Atkinson, its side-firing chute, which elithinates the need for a central passage for fuel.
The other detail exhibited is the engine, and it exemplifies the simplicity of the valve gear which is required for • a uniflow engine, comparing, in this respect., with the two-stroke petrol engine as against the four-stroke unit. The complete vehicle is a wagon of the latest type, embodying the epi-. cyclic two-speed gear . en the engine shaft. Most of the mechanism of the latter is enclosed, but, as it was scribed• quite recently in these columns, all our regular readers will be able to recall its principal features. The bodywork is an example of the high-sided wagon, and has been made to the order of a north-country firm of cotton spinners.