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New Motor Escape-wagon for West Ham.

29th July 1909, Page 2
29th July 1909
Page 2
Page 3
Page 2, 29th July 1909 — New Motor Escape-wagon for West Ham.
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A Workmanlike Chassis by Lloydfand Plaister, Ltd., Fitted with Allen-Liversidge Front-wheel Brakes.

At the beginning of this year, the Watch Committee of the Borough of West Ham awarded a contract to Lloyd and Plaister, Ltd., of Wood Green, for a motor vehicle which in all respects should fulfil the usual firebrigade requirements, and which should be capable of transporting a full-sized escape, five men, and a quantity of hose, stand-pipes, and other equipment at a speed of 15 m.p.h. on the flat, and 5 m.p.h. up any hill in West Ham. We are not familiar with anything that can properly he called a hill in any part of West Ham, but it is a fact that the new machine will

.safely and comfortably travel out the flat at 30 m.p.h., whilst it can do all that is necessary in the matter of billclimbing. On test, it has been stopped and started on a gradient of 1 in S. near Muswell Hill. That such an unwieldy wheel combination as the escape and its motor wagon call be lmndled, with the utmost ease and at a good speed, in crowded, tram-infested, East-end streets, says something for the skill of the driver, but it testifies still more to the practical design of the control details of the chassis, and to the wisdom shown in the embodiment of the Allen-Liversidge front-wheel brakes in the general scheme.

Chief Officer Smith was good enough, one day last week, to have the complete machine, which we illustrated on page 418 of our last issue and whose delivery last Tuesday week we also noted, specially turned out on an extended trip through typical parts of the borough, in order to demonstrate to a representative of THE

COMMERCIAL MOTOR the ease and confidence with which the wagon could be manipulated. Shortly, the district station at Plaistow will become the home of the Lloyd-and-Plaister machine, but, at present, while the men are busy training and practising on it, it stands at the headquarters in Stratford Broadway, next door to the Town Hall, One man can " ship " or " unship " the escape with facility, owing to the skilful disposal of the balancing arrangements. During the trip on Friday last. our representative, whose road experience with heavy vehicles is extensive, was enthusi

astic in his praise of the effectiveness of the Allen-Liversidge brake gear, as fitted to the front wheels of the West Ham machine. At. a speed which was well up to the legal limit, first on exceptionally-greasy wood pavement and then on greasier asphalt, moderate pressure was put upon the pedal for the front-wheel brakes, and, although. the wheels promptly lucked, absolutely no side-slip at all could be detected on the vehicle. As additional proof of his confidence in these interesting brakes, Mr. Plaister, who was driving with consummate skill, applied the front brakes hard, on a most treacherous patch of roadway, at the same time taking both his hands from the steering wheel ; nothing but a steady retardation, the vehicle continuing exactly in a forward direction, took place. When it is remembered that the overhang of the escape, both fore and aft, is between (3 ft. and 8 ft., this performance must be granted to possess convincing features: a side-slip might well have devastated that por

thin of the narrow main street in which the experiment was carried out.

We are interested to hear that Lloyd and Plaister, Ltd., has secured the contract from J. Liversidge and Son, Ltd., of 196, Old Street, E.C. for the manufacture of all these patented front-wheel brakes which re not actually made under licence by motorvehicle manufacturers for their own use. Our readers already know the high opinion we have formed about its practical merits.

Other characteristics of this new machine, which became evident &firing the test-run, were the comfortable springing of the chassis, the smoothness with which the " L. and P." clutch picked up its work, and the ease with which it was possible to steer a machine of such unusual dimensions ; at the full speed, a perfectly-straight track, over poor roads on Wanstead Flats, was maintainable while the steering wheel was only held between one finger and a thumb. The exceptionally-wide track, the long wheelbase, the low centre of gravity of the chassis, the inclined stub axles, and the excellent design of the steering gear all make for results such as this. It is important to note that the application of the front brakes does not in any way interfere with the movement of the steering wheel. Anyone who has ridden on a horsed escape-cart, at full gallop, will have noticed, not, perhaps, without a tremor of anxiety, the manner in which the escape will, on occasion, swing from side to side ; not so, however, with a well-designed motor-escape equipment, for its progress is quite steady, and free from objectionable swaying, even while travelling over an open space like Wanstead Flats when a high wind is blowing. The braking and steering gear of a. motor fire-engine must, of necessity, be entirely above suspicion, on account of the machine's considerable weight and its frequent highs speed in congested thoroughfares. The gross weight of the West Ham motor is 3 tons, 6 cwt., 3 qrs., and of this the escape itself weighs 11 cwt. This escape-wagon is a thoroughlyworkmanlike job, and it has the appearance of having been designed and built throughout for fire-brigade requirements. The 36-in. road wheels are shod with de Nevers tires—single on the front, and twin on the back wheels. The track is of unusual width (6 ft.) for two reasons to enable the wheels of the escape to rest within the gauge of the hind wheels of the motor wagon: and to ensure great stability on the road. This position of the escape reduces the danger of its disablement through collision.

There are no fewer than three sets of hra.ke te have already mentioned, in favourable terms, the behaviour of those fitted to the front wheels. They are of the internal-expanding type, and have gunmetal drums—of no less than 18 in. diameter, and 3i in. wide —inside which teel shoes are operated by a compensating wire from a brake pedal, according to the AllenT.iversidge patented method ; the guide pulleys for this wire are carried immediately below the centres of the stub axles. The arrangement of these brakes is sufficiently shown in the photograph which we reproduce of the front of the machine. Both the other brakes are operated by hand levers situated at the side of the driver's seat : that for the use of the driver actuates an internal brake; and the " third-man " brake is an external band brake, lined with Frood's patent lining. These brakes act on the same drums on the back wheels.

Both the front and back axles are of commendably-heavy design, and these parts, together with all the heavy forged components on the chassis, are made from various brands of Jossop's high-grade steel.

The engine and the two gearboxes are carried on a subsidiary frame, and are so arranged that each unit is independent of the others in the matter of alignment; special forms of muff couplings, which permit a certain amount of lateral displacement, are interposed between the clutch and the change-speed gearbox, and between this latter and the differential box. The four cylinders of the engine each have a 5 in. bore, and the piston stroke is also 5 in. All the valves are arranged on one side of the engine, and the camshaft which operates them is geared to a short vertical commutator-shaft, and to a cross-shaft which drives a high-tension magneto at one end and a gear type of water pump at the other, The arrangement of this and other of the engine details is clearly shown in the illustrations of the engine which =company this article_ The carburetter is of the welltried Krebs type, and is jacketed with a hot-water shunt from the radiatorsupply pipe. The ignition is in dupli

cate in every sense of the word; two sets of sparking plugs are fitted directly over the valves ; the alternative to the high-tension magneto, which has already been mentioned, is a battery-and-coil system with a wipe commntator, the coil of this latter installation being of the Vandervell four-unit, single-trembler type. The lubrication system includes an " Knots " eccentric driven pump mounted on the dashboard ; oil is fed either by this power pump or by a small auxiliary hand pump through sight-feed drip glasses to both ends of the crankcase; the engine is thereafter lubricated throughout by splash.

The drive from the engine is by means of a Lloyd-and-Plaister type of plate clutch, fitted with hardenedsteel plates. The clutch end of the first gearshaft is mounted in a ball bearing inside the clutch. Three gear ratios forward, of which the top is direct, give normal road speeds of 20, 13 and 6 m.p.h. The engine is governed to run at 850 r.p.m., but it can be accelerated with ease to such a speed as to propel the vehicle at 30 m.p.h. The final drive from the differential gearbox is by side chains, the radius rods for which are, as is by no means usual on even some of the best-known makes of vehicles, properly designed to give perfect articulation in all directions, independently of each other ; these rods are extended rearwise to form anchors for the hindwheel brakes.

The coach work and escape-support fittings are well designed and of attractive appearance. A large wire basket is carried on the hind part of the chassis ; this is found useful for the carrying of wet hose and other impedimenta. The hose-box is arranged in close without any mechanical lock, and a long brass roller is fitted to facilitate the rapid withdrawal of the hose.

As an instance of the thought which has been expended on the design of this machine, it is interesting to note that a special petrol tap is provided at the side of the coach work in order that the driver, when running to his seat, may turn on the petrol " en route." Acetylene headlamps are provided, in addition to the usual brigade lamps, and a small electric equipment is arranged whereby these headlamps may he readily ignited by the closing of a conveniently-placed switch.


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