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REPLACING SEVEN HORSE tTS BY A SINGLE MOTOR.

2nd March 1926, Page 16
2nd March 1926
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 16, 2nd March 1926 — REPLACING SEVEN HORSE tTS BY A SINGLE MOTOR.
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S"w'heavy horsed traffic is among the most important factors in road congestion, and one has only to pass through the City of London during the peak-load hours to realize what an immense influence it has in preventing other traffic, inherently more speedy, from employing its speed usefully. In some cities, such as Paris, where the congestion is certainly not greater than here, slow horsed traffic has been barred from the busier areas during the greater portion of the day, and it may be that eventually the same measure will have to be adopted here.

There are still a few misguided advocates of horsed transport work which can more efficiently be performed by motor vehicles. Such persons cannot possibly be possessed of any imagination whatever, and they can form no true conception of what would happen if motor vehicles were swept away and all the work which is at present done by them had to be performed by horsed transport. Not only would there be congestion, but this would be transformed into stagnation, for the average motor vehicle is easily capable of carrying out the same work as is performed by from three to seven horsed carts, according to the nature of the material to be transported and the duration of the terminal delays.

At the moment the last two entrenched positions of horsed transport are local delivery work, involving a large number of stops, and work in confined areas where the manceuvrability of the horsed vehicle presents an undoubted advantage.

This second class of work includes that in connection with lighterage, where the transport vehicles may have to work at narrow wharves and similar places, often including building sites, where, again, manceuvrability.is a most desirable feature.

One of the best-known wharfage companies, who handle very large quantities of ballast and other materials of a like nature, realized some time ago that the horsed vehicles were merely adding to the existing traffic congestion. Much of the work has to be done in the narrow confines of the City and its immediate environs, and with a view to reducing such trouble and of speeding up their work, they designed a special type of haulage unit intended to supplant the horsed vehicle in its own sphere of utility.

This vehicle was termed the Tritractor. It was a curious type of machine, with a lorry-type rear axle mounted at the front end and small wheels running close together and carried at the rear on a vertical pivot, springing being effected by a spring of the coil type. The driver's cab was situated at the back and the driver looked forward over the body, which was equipped with a Wood under-body-type hydraulic tipping gear supplied by the Hydraulic Hoist Co., 182, Lord Street, Southport.

This vehicle carried 41 tons of ballast—i.e., 3 cate

yards—but there were certain objections to it. The range of vision of the driver was restricted by the body, the load had to be carefully levelled off so that this should not be rendered worse, and, being steered from the rear by the small wheels, the control was not quite so easy as might be wished ; but in spite of these defects the vehicle gave such excellent service and proved so efficient that it was decided to develop it still farther, and the type which we illustrate on these pages is the result.

Originally built for employment by themselves, it was soon' realized by the originators that, if success ful in their work, it would probably be required by others desiring transport media of a similar class. 'Therefore, a separate company, Tritractors, Ltd., 29, Gresham House, Old Broad Street, London, E.C.2, was formed to exploit it. • • In the first model the power unit was a Continental, the gearbox was also of an American make, whilst a Kirkstall driving axle was employed, and this machine has now covered some 30,000 miles carrying ballast, etc., between wharves and building sites.

• The new model has been built for Tritractors, Ltd., by arrangement with the 'Associated Equipment Co., Ltd., and practically standard A.E.C. units have been embodied, so that their reliability is ensured and interchangeability obtained. The design is, of course, pro. tected, and all machines of this type will be supplied through Tritractors, Ltd., or their authorized -agents. The trade mark, incidentally, is "Helix."

For the handling of ballast, etc., which is usually delivered from hoppers, the loading height is not a matter of great importance, and in this 6i-ton model it is approximately 7 ft. from the ground, but in future typed it will probably be reduced by something like foot.

It is claimed that this vehicle can go anywhere open to a horsed •cart, and that it will comfortably do the work of seven such vehicles, These would cost about 18s. per day each at contract price, and for casual work approximately £1. Now, a hydraulic tipping lorry of the. ordinary type costs about £3 10s. per day • to hire. The new vehicle is worth about the same from the haulage point of view, but when used in places where the lorry cannot go, it becomes worth the equivalent of the seven horsed vehicles—i.e., £6 Os. Incidentally, the price of the Tritractor will be in the region of £850, complete with body.

A horsed cart will do about four journeys during the clay as compared with the Tritractor's eight, these figures being computed on transport work being conducted between Waterloo Bridge and Lime Street, but at night-time the Tritractor has done as many as 22 journeys.

The turning circle of such a vehicle as this is, of course, of the greatest importance. In the Tritractor it is 23 ft. (outside diameter), and we have seen the vehicle turn completely round in one sweep in a fairly narrow road.

Many improvements have been effected in the latest model, and, whilst still presenting a most unusual appearance, it is really far more normal in construction than its prototype. The cab is at the off side of the engine, and is of the forward-dash -type. The drive is now effected from the rear—in other words, the original design has been reversed—and the small twin steering wheels are at the front, where they are mounted on a reversed T member, run independently, and are steered by rotating the member to which they are attached through the medium of a drop arm moving across the chassis and a hall-jointed drag link.

The springing of these front wheels is also unusual, and is effected by a semi-elliptic spring shackled at each end and secured at its centre to a vertical sliding member, into which the wheel bracket is spigoted. The bearing for this member is much longer than before. _ To avoid the front-wheel support, the starting-handle shaft is carried past it at an angle, a universal joint being employed to connect it with the starting dog. Three-point suspension is employed for the 28 four-eylindered monobloc engine, which has a bore of 100 mm. and a stroke of 140 mm. The cylinder head is detachable, and there are also renewable cylinder liners. All the valves are at the near side, and the valve tappets are mounted in a detachable carrier. Ignition is effected by a Delco-Remy outfit. Current for lighting is afforded by a 6-volt C.A.V. dynamo, and carburation is attended to by a Zenith instrument. The cooling water is circulated thermo-siphonically, and cooling is assisted by a four-bladed cast-aluminium fan, driven by a link belt. There is a hot-spot between the inlet pipe and the exhaust manifold, and warm air Is supplied through a flexible metallic pipe from a muff around the exhaust pipe.

The clutch is of the internal cone-type faced with Ferodo, and there is a Hardy joint on the shaft between the clutch and the gearbox. The last-named gives ratios of 5.05, 2.79 and 1.70 to 1, with direct drive on fourth gear and a reverse of 6.32 to 1, the change-speed mechanism being of the selector gate type.

A power take-off from the gearbox drives the oil 'Amp for the tipping gear.

From the gearbox a short open cardan shaft with Spicer joints takes the drive to a standard A.E.C. heavy lorry-type axle with overhead-worm drive and cast-steel casing.

All the wheels are also of cast-steel, the driving ones having twin tyres of 135 ram. width for 850 mm. diameter rims. They are of the Parker Sectomatic type made by the St. Helens Cable and Rubber Co., Ltd., whilst the front wheels have 22-in by 3i-in. solid tyres mounted on 17i-in. rims. carried on roller bearings.

The all-steel body is 7 ft. 6 ins. long, 6 ft. wide and 2 ft. 10 ins. deep. It has a tail door hinged from the top and released by a lever mounted at the front of the body and controlled by the driver thiough a sliding panel at the back of his cab. So far as the complete vehicle is concerned, the overall length is 16 ft. and the wheelbase 11 ft. 6 ins.

Both brakes operate direct on independent rear-wheel drums.

Between the engine bonnet and tipping body is a steel casing containing the petrol tank and, at the off side, the accumulator.

Although not shown in opr photograpbs, another improvement is being fitted. This is a plate along the front of the body which will prevent the ballast, etc., falling on to the petrol tank during loading.

The springing at tke rear is particularly good, the springs being long mid deep and provided with the well-known A.E.C. double-coned rubber auxiliary springs. To prevent injury through vibration, the radiator, which is of the built-up type, is carried on thick, soft rubber cushions. Incidentally, it has lamp brackets bolted to its side brackets, following A.E.C. practice.

In our view, this vehicle represents a very creditable and practicable effort on the part of its designers to solve a problem the difficulties of which must actually be encountered to be appreciated ; it appears to be remarkably easy to handle and quite stable, despite its high appearance, which is, of course, accentuatel by its short length.

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Locations: Southport, London, Paris

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