Raw deal for road transport at Essen Show
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Little support by motor industry
by Bill Godwin
ALTHOUGH the original title of last week's "Road and Rail" show at Essen was subsequently changed to Transport Exhibition '75, mainly to accommodate an extension to air and inland water carriers, the venture proved almost conclusively that a mix of trade interests and public spectacle will not work. Spreading the event over 10 large halls of the Gruga complex and two large outdoor display areas with dismal gaps between widely dispersed exhibits — was perhaps one of the biggest mistakes. But the German public apparently feel cheated if an event of this kind is concentrated into a smaller area. In the incredible hotch-potch of displays ranging from road safety cycling tests to palletising machines road transport came off badly. Shunned by most of the big names in the German motor industry — in the current economic climate participation in a show of this nature is considered money down the drain -bus exhibits were reduced to those provided by some operators and a couple of bodybuilders, Ludewig of Essen and Vetter, of Fellbach.
Transport service equipment on show included vehicle washers and mobile lifts of the type now widely used by German operators. In a large display by the German Post Office the section devoted to the part played by the organisation's 80,000 road vehicles showed the latest addition to the mail collection and delivery fleet a specially adapted Volkswagen Golf. In one postal region alone, Dusseldorf, there are already 30 of these cars in use on rural routes where removal of the front and rear passenger seats provided adequate capacity for parcels and bags.
Of increasing importance to those city transport undertakings now turning to sub-surface tram routes is the need for dual purpose overhead maintenance units suitable for road and rail running. One such vehicle, shown at Essen, differed from the equipment normally supplied with rail drive effected through the rear wheels — by having a complete rail bogie underslung on a poweroperated frame within the wheelbase. This is lowered by cab-mounted controls for use in tunnels or when working over sleepered sections of track. The flanged wheels are powered by a second prop shaft from a splitter box. Full sanding gear is fitted to the Schorling-built vehicle based on a Mercedes-Benz LPK 1113 chassis.
Palletising gas deliveries
To rationalise the handling of bottled gas in deliveries to industrial users hospitals etc AGA Gas 13.V., of Amsterdam has now introduced the first of six DA. F. distribution vehicles with special bodywork. It had been found that in the past drivers had spent up to 30 per cent of their working /driving day in handling the gas containers during deliveries. As each cylinder can weigh up to 75kg some mechanical assistance was considered essential.
The new method now being introduced is reducing the time used in making deliveries to around ten per cent of the drivers' total working time. The system chosen by AGS includes the use of pre-loaded steel carrier frames each holding up to 16 gas bottles. These bottle pallets are fork lift loaded at the gas point on to the special flat deck body which has locating spigots to hold the load securely.
For use at customers' premises a special fork lift truck (carried on the vehicle in a support mount at the rear of the chassis) is provided. The fork lift is the Dutch-built Kooi-Aap which has a special track configuration to allow it to straddle the rear wheels of the delivery vehicle. Capacity of the unit is 1500 kg and it is fitted with a small petrol engine coupled to the hydraulic pump supplying drive and lift power. Another valuable feature is a side shift facility providing left and right travel up to 45cm from the centre line to reduce the need for spot-on positioning. The travelling fork lift truck imposes a weight penalty of around 850kg. On completion of the delivery the unit draws itself up on the rear carrier frame where it is then secured for transit.