Five Mobile Schools to Train Oil-engine Mechanics
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WHEN the Commercial Motor Show VV ends tomorrow, a mobile school which has been demonstrated at Earls Court by F. Perkins, Ltd., Peterborough, will be sent to Canada to train Canadian mechanics in the essentials of oil-engine operation and maintenance. This unit, based on a lengthened Seddon passenger chassis, is the first of five. Three others will be dispatched to Australia, Africa and India. The fifth will be used in this country.
The near side of the Seddon body opens to form a platform and canopy. Two sectionalized Perkins P.6 engines, one for a tractor and the other for a vehicle, are pivolally mounted on the main floor and can be swung outward to take up convenient positions on the extended leaf, where they are locked.
The most outstanding item of equipment is the combined radio, recording and auto-change gramophone set, located on the near side at the rear. It is coupled to loudspeakers, one at each end of the vehicle, which have a range of 200 yds.
The recording apparatus uses a narrow paper strip, long enough to give a 35-minute repeat. One of its purposes is to allow messages from the directors of F. Perkins, Ltd., in Peterborough, to be dispatched by air mail and broadcast from the school in the language of the territory concerned.
In glass cases inside the workshop are the essential tools and a set of Perkins spare parts. Atomizer-testing equipment and sectionalized injection equipment are included in the exhibits.
A single-eilindered oil engine driving a 3-kW. generator provides current for a set of 110-volt storage batteries capable of supplying all lighting and electrical needs for 11 hours without recharging.
Lighting equipment is in duplicate. The main set embodies fluorescent tubes taking current from the mains. The mains can be switched off at night, as a supplementary set of lights is available, the current for which is taken off the 12-volt vehicle battery.
The frontal aspect of the vehicle is of a striking design, which, "The Commercial Motor." understands, will be used for all Seddon coaches. Behind the cab is a compartment with sleeping bunks for two, which in the day time can be folded to form a comfortable settee. Other furnishings include a built-in wash 'basin, wardrobe, literature cupboard, linen cupboard and other, cupboards.
Just inside the workshop at the front end is a refrigerator, Calor-gas stove and toilet. The vehicle is heated throughout by Calor gas and the bodywork is insulated against heat or cold.