Scammell.
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A 2,000 Gallon Tank Wagon. A Pantechnicon and an End Tipper.
STAND No. 36. "
MUCH of the credit which has attended the success of the tractortrailer type of machine must be placed to the credit of the pioneer efforts cf
• Scammell Lorries, Ltd., as, before this company commenced building their well)rnown machine, the Knox was the only make available, and this in not so advanced a form.
Unta the Scammell tractor-lorry was developed the potentialities of this method of transporting huge loads at a minimum cost had received little consideration.
Few Alterations have been made in the essential details of the Scammell machine; the engine has been made con.. siderably more efficient, and the design of the turntable has been simplified by
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the use of steel. pressings, which have made it even 'stronger than formerly, but the principle of carrying the weight of the front portion of the trailer direct on the tractor axle by means of springs has been retained throughout.
The three exhibits staged are representative of the latest practice in Scammell design. Perhaps the most strikiog is the immense tank wagon built for carrying Shell spirit, and equipped with two Steel Barrel tanks, the smaller mounted above the upswept frame over the turntable. The total capacity is 2,000 gallons, of which the large tank takes 1,500, gallons.
It will be remembered that, until the tractor-tank wagon came into existence, the amount of petrol which could be carried on one vehicle was limited to one half of this quantity.
Another vary striking machine is a furniture pantechnicon with detachable tilt cover, built for a firm of haulage contractors who run long-distance transport to the coast.
The third machine is a. 12-ton end. tipping type with steel body. This is built 'for carrying road materials, and is one which will be supplied to Southern Roadways Ltd.
The braking on these machines is very powerful. There is a foot brake operating on a drum in front of the jackshaft, a hand brake operating on the driving wheels of the tractor portion, and a second hand brake actuating shoes in the large drums of the trailer wheels.
The engine has its four cylinders cast in pairs, the valves being of the overhead type, the power' developed being 47 b.b.p. at 1,000 r.p.m. There are several improvements in the engine, including the use of bronze shells lined with white metal in place of the die-east bearings formerly employed. Aluminium pistons of special design are also used, and these enable a higher compression pressure to be adopted. An important feature of the Scammell
turntable is the method by which it is prevented from rocking or twisting, to an excessive extent. • This is effected by the use of snubbers, consisting of loops of wire rope.