A TRAMWAY SERVICE ON GAS.
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Morecambe Tramway
System Makes a Success of
a Flexible Container.
The war has brought into prominence in many parts of the world the value of rail or tramway cars driven by internal-combustion engines of the motor lorry type. True, most of these wartime innovations, the majority in the hands of the military authorities, of course, have been adapted from any kind of spare parts which came to hand, -and were fitted with an engine built for an entirely different purpose from that to which it was being put, and often with a make-shift transmission.
Yet, even in these adverse circumstances, this form of transport has proved its worth, particularly in a country illsupplied with roads, and where either
rails were already laid or the laying of them was a more simple matter than the elabOrate preparations which have to be made for the construction of a road capable of withstanding the stresses of heavy and fast-moving traffic.
In the great development of the sources of raw materials nece sary for the process of reconstruction after the war and the extension of colonial enterprise which is expected, there will, doubtless, be an
• opportunity provided for the British makers who are prepared to take up this question and to produce a vehicle suitable for the need, having power unit, transmission and all working parts proportioned and balanced fe.;-. work under conditions which are not identical with any other form of service.
Already, before the war, one or two English concerns had seen the'posSibili. ties looming ahead, and although most of the work in this direction has been for export., there is, running in this country, a short length of tramwayworked on this system. The Morecambe Tramways Co., Ltd., a private concern, with powers In carry passengers over a length of line 1k miles long in the Heysham District Council's area deCided in 1012 to transfer from horse vehicles to power, and the suggestions of Leyland Motors, Ltd., that a petrel service be provided were adopted. The Leyland company, with their
experience in the manufacture of heavy transport, vehicles, by anticipating the difficulties which were likely to be met with in the novel circumstances, designed a vehicle which has given every satisfaction, and even now, when the petrol supply has been reduced very considerably and coal-gas has been -taken as a fuel, the service is carrying on without any war-time difficulties making themselves apparent.
Several departures from standard motorcar practice were adopted in designing the cars, but the power unit is practically identical with the 55 h.p. four-cylinder engine fitted to the Leyland fire-engine. The cooling system works from both ends of the car, a radiator beMg placed to face the front, which ever way the car is travelling. The transmission has naturally undergone revision, hut there are some points of resemblance with that of the five ton lorry. The gearbox is modified from standard to permit of the use of all four speeds in eisher direction, power being transmitted to one axle by-a double reduction spur gear enclosed in an oil-tight casing with a central, enclosed propeller shaft.Mere is also a heavy roller chain provided from axle to axle to distribute the drive, the chain performing the functions of the side connecting rods of the ordinary railway locomotive. As there is a straight run and return On the track, and the cars are reversed a the end of the journey, double controls are provided, but the control not required is thrown out of action by simply extracting a locking pin when the driver leaves one end.
Being so closely connected with a holiday resort, the service is liable to great fluctuations in the amount of traffic due to weather conditions and the time of the year. The four ears now in the possession of the company are all on the road together in busy times, and as each car has seating accommodation for 36 pasSeegers and standing room sefficient to bring the total passengers up to nearly double that number, the flexibility of the service can be judged. Even with these over-loads the engines were tnnnd to be over-poweacd at first. and their horse-power has been redueed to about 40 in order that fuel economies might result. As it has just been stated, all the cars are often ou the track together in the busy holiday months, but a system of working has been dopted whereby the number of cars in use is only just sufficient for the traffic at any particular time. In this connection will he seen the advantage of a service in which
it is only when the cars actually commence working that the power Oxpenses start Since war broke out it has been difficult to go an estimate of the running expenses which can be said to be reliable, but in the early days seven miles represented the average on a gallon of petrol and 8d. per mile the overall cost.",
With the beginning of this year, on the approach of the holiday season, and faced with the difficulty of not being able to keep the cars on the road when the rush of passengers presented itself, the directors of the company resolved to supplement their allowance of petrol by convertint three of the four ears to coal-gas. One car is of the open " toast-rack " pattern, and to fit a gas container to this would be a difficult matter. But, with. the three covered cars, a boxwork fitting has been erected on the roof, as will be seen from the illustrations on previous page. This extends practically the full length of the car and is of considerable depth. Inside, and with its flaps strapped to the woodwork, is the gas container of a capacity of nearly 900 cu. ft. The containers were manufactured by Messrs. John }Ina-pc and Sons, Ltd.; Burnley, and are among the largest gas containers in existence. When full they extend somewhat above the wooden framework, but when the charge of pa is partially exhausted the generous size of the Solid framework prevents flapping. Filling is done at the sheds, a speciallymade pipe of fabric,being run out of the depot and the car filled in the yard as a safeguard against fire. The filling pipe from the meter connects with a wrought. iron pipe with a screw connection, which comes out of the box portion of the container and finighes level with the canopy. Through this pipe gas is supplied to tfie container, and, when filling is completed, a valve is closed at the base.
Gas is drawn to the engine through a length of flexible metallic tubing which is connected to the filling pipe immediately above the valve, find carried clown to the carburetter. On the new fuel, with the engines being well up to their work, ample power is provided. There are no overhanging obstructions on the route, and, consequently, the additional height is no disadvantage. By an occasional use of petrol when the charge of gas is exhausted and a refill at convenient times—generally when the drivers are having meals during a quiet part of the day—an efficient service can now be maintained. Eight double journeys, 11 miles each way can be performed on one dharge of gas, and thus a service probably as cheap as any in the country is maintained.
In certain circumstances such a service has many points in its favour over a system of motor omnibuses, but it should 'be remembered that, in the operation of a tramway at a pleasure resort, the demands upon the system are not identical with those in, say, a busy industrial centre where the traffic is more utilitarian and confined to business needs. On the Heysham router for instance, the spice of novelty which is provided by vehicles of a somewhat unusual pattern is an attraction to holiday makers. The Morecambe Corporation still maintain horse vehicles cm the Promenade and though powers have been obtained recently for their substitution by electric buses, there are grave doubts in the minds of aorne that the newer and more business-like system projected will not be so attractive to the visitorsOn the other hand, in the case of the Heysham cars, the grounds of the objections raised against the new, Morecambe system has actually provided an attraction, which far outweighs any disadvantage it might have in other directions. On weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of the system already provided, the Morecaanbe Tramways Co. are satisfied with the results obtained and would recommend such a system in like circumstances.