Good Ideas in Lincoln's £8,800 Bus-depot Extension
Page 42
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AT the invitation of Mr. George Rock, M.I.A.E., manager and engineer of Lincoln's municipal-transport undertaking, we paid a visit, last week, to the city's £8,800 extension to the bus depot in St. Marks.
The original building was opened in 1938 and, profiting by the experience then gained, Mr. Rock has seen to it that the new building and its equipment are up to modern standards in respect of time-saving features.
138 The area covered by the extension is 8,400 sq. ft. and is so designed that the space given over to the workshop is below the level of the main floor. Arranged on the high-level portion are the pits, with white glazed-tile walls, which terminate at the change in floor level, so that access to them is gained without the need for steps.
With a vehicle over a pit, and its radiator facing the workshop, engine removal is facilitated by an ingenious form of jib crane, two of which Mr. Rock has devised from old tram standards and parts of a back axle, complete with brake drums and hubs. A beam, which is welded to the brake drum, carries a Morris hoist, which, by reason of the construction of the bead of the crane, can be swung in a complete circle. After the engine has been lifted out of the chassis it is deposited on the floor of the workshop, after -which it is again lifted, by an overhead travelling crane, to be deposited where required.
Following the removal of the unit, the vehicle is placed over a pit in the paint shop, so that, while the engine is being reconditioned, painting and varnishing of the body can be proceeded with. The front end is dealt with first, so that immediately the engine is ready it can be installed while the body is being completed at the rear.
Considerable thought has been given to the heating arrangements, in both the old and new sections of the depot, and, in this connection, Mr. Rock has shown considerable ingenuity. In the old section, which is the garage proper, there is a system for keeping the water in the radiators of all buses at normal running temperature by means of low-pressure steam. Steam which condenses in the pipes is led back to a tank-and thus a useful supply of distilled water is obtained..
Two boilers are used in the new section to supply unit heaters, and there are means for cooling the atmosphere under conditions of unusual heat.
Full advantage is taken of the waste heat from the boilers. In one boilerhouse, there is a Stream-Line filter installed and the contents of a large oil tank, which is mounted above the boiler-house, is kept reasonably fluid during cold weather. In the other, communication is made to the paint and varnish store.
Refuelling of the buses is carried out through the agency of hose pipes taken to the roof, so that, as the machines enter the depot, they are speedily replenished and no space is wasted by providing a special refuelling island.
On March 31 last Lincoln's bus fleet consisted of 32 double-deckers, of which 22 have oil engines and 10 petrol units, and 18 petrol-driven singledeckers. The undertaking showed an increase in revenue of £4,872 for the year ended that date, with a net profit of o7,6-39, an increase of .44,167 on the previont-Nyeas's working.