Railroad Tracks for Road Vehicles.
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I N certain parts of the bareinions and in other overseas countries where railway tracks exit, or can be easily laid, and where roads have not been constructed, there is an opening for a type of motor vehicle which can run on railway tracks in addition to being of use on roadways at the terminals, and from time to time appliances have been devised for this purpose.
There is a new appliance, which is . named the IVIotorailor, and which iS now being manufactured by John L T.hornycroft and Co., Ltd., for a 00111, pony known as The Motorailer Transport Co., Ltd. which bus recently been , foril with a capital of £.10,000 in 10,000 shares of £1. The directors are General Sir H. Capel Holden; F.B.S., M.I.E.E. (late Director of Mechanical Transport, War Office); the Hon. J. G. Jenkins (late Agent-General for South Australia); Brig.-General Sir Edward Belling-,harn, Bart., H.M.L., C.M.G., 0.5.0.; and Colonel Bbys Jenkins, 0.5.0., M. L C , the secretary being Mr. Arthur Culverwell, F.C.I.S., and the address of the concern 27, Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C. 4.
The Moterailers are of ftwo types, according to the gauge of the railways on which they are to be used. No Iea than 75 per cent of the railways of the world are of the. standard gauge of 4 ft. 8& ins., and for use on railways of this gauge a detachable rim, fitted with a flange which in secured by three halts to each wheel of the motor vehicle, is used. The track of all the Ford chassis and of a number of other makes exactly fits this gauge, so that the Motorailer attachment Mn be applied to these chassis with very little trouble.
For the Colonial gauge, which is 3 ft. 5,1ns. wide, alow travelling platform or railway truck is provided, on to which the _motor ;lorry is run, the power irons the driving wheels of the lorry being transmitted, by means of gearing, to the flanged wheels of the railway trucks.
• The lorries manufactured by the Four Wheel Drive Co., known as the F.w.p., have a track whicle suits the Colonial gauge, and the Motorailer Transport Co., Ltd., have now secured an agency agreement with the Four Wheel Drive Ca., and have obtained the offer of a number of F.W.D.s that have been obtained through the Disposal Board and reconditioned.
Directors of a number of overseas • railways, upon which it does not pay to run frequent trains, are very much interested in the new system which has been explained to them. "There are many
of these railways where trains run only three times is week, and they traverse long. distances. The economy of .transferring a road vehicle by a simple means to the railway, enabling it to fill the gaps, is, of course, apparent, and there should be no questiono,f danger from cars being permitted to run on railway lines, as it is easy to regulate the traffic. so as to render such .accidents impossible. The usual speed of Colonial express trains is not in excess of 28 miles per beer; The probable course of &aim will be for the railway companies to undertake to supply users of motor vehicles with Motorailers to enable them to run en the tails, a small charge being made for their hire and for the use oi the track. The company aregthe owners of a number of patents Mveriog the Motorailer, and also for an appliance called the Motorlifter, which. when fitted to a wheel, enables a vehicle to extricate itself • from soft ground. A number el: these,Motorlifters was used by the War Office during the war, and an excellent report upon their service has been received from the particular department concerned.
We hope shortly to be abJe. to give more detailed, iniarmation with regard to the Motorailer appliance itself.