TIPS FOR STEAM WAGON DRIVERS.
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Some Useful Suggestions which will be of Value to Other Readers.
IT IS a custom, and a wise one, too, wherever a fleet of steam wagons is kept, to maintain spare axles in stock for immediate use in case of accident. As a rule, the demand for these comes from some vehicle which is held up on the road, with an axle broken, and unable to move without either a new axle, or a towing vehicle: If a spare be in stock, the problem is simplified to a considerable extent, but not, as " C.E.P.," of Congleton, says, simplified out of existence altogether, as there
still remains a difficulty. It is one thing, he writes, to hoist a spare axle on to a lorry in the garage, where there are all the necessary facilities for the operation, such as lifting tackle, labour, and other aids. It is quite another to remove that axle from the lorry, get it safely on the ground, and under the broken vehicle. He has accordingly designed and made a suitable tow-bar, by the aid of which an axle can actually be towed to the breakdown, arriving there complete with the necessary aid, in the shape of this same tow-bar, to get it easily into position in place of the broken one. Thereds, as may be seen from the
sketch, very little in this device, either of metal, or of expense in the form of labour. A piece of plain, flat bar, about 2 ins. by 4 in., is bent to the shape
shown. An eye is fitted at the front, and a pair of pins the right size to accommodate the forward ends of the radius rods of the aide are secured by nuts. Another piece of the same material is needed as a strut near the back, to prevent the tow-bar going out, of shape under load, and two pairs of ears are necessary at the extreme rear ends of the bar, to act as additional support for the radius rods, preventing them from oscillating up and down as the journey is made. The springs are secured to the bar by means of a strap, so that the axle will not tip to the rear. This will be quite a useful accessory in any garage where there are several steamers, and we are awarding " C.E.P." the 15s. prize this week for his suggestion.
R is usual, when a steams-wagon driver . sets out on a long journey, for him to take an extra half-ton or so of coal over and above that which he can carry in the bunkers. In some eases this is put on top of the load; in others it is placed on the cab. Neither of these places is to be recommended, according to R..," of Luton. The load is, as likely as not, one which will suffer from contact with coal, however well it may be bagged. Flour, for example, will not improve either in appearance or in quality from such contact. The top of the cab is not so much open to objection itself as on account of the fact that the coal breaks up while en route and forms a certain amount of dust, which, from the tbp of the cab, is likely to get down to the engine and into the bearings.
On some wagons a coal-box is fitted underneath the wagon at the back, and this is convenient enough until the axle has to he removed, when, as a rule, the box has to be taken to pieces in order to allow of access to the axle for that purpose.
To get over all these difficulties " R.I.." has made a coal-box of his own, as shown in the accompanying sketches. Of thsse (a) is a hanger. Four of them are required, bent to fit the side frames of the chassis. They are to be made from 3-in. by S-in. flat bar. The box itself must be made as large as required, so long as it will go inside the chassis. The sketch (b) shows roughly how it is made. Timber of suitable thickness is
the material, but the straps are of 3-in. by 1-in. bar.
Mount the hangers on the frame, and put the box in place, with hangers and straps disposed as shown in (c), supporting it on packing for the tint° being, while 1-in. bars are passed through both hangers and straps. A piece of piping over the bar, of a length to fit the space between the inner hanger and the inner strap will prevent the box from moving, whilst the bars, which should have heads on one end, , may be kept in place by cotters.
At the back of the box a door should be fitted, and this should have hinges as shown in (d), which will allow of the door being removed entirely if required. The fastenings for the door , are the some as thoee on the tailboard of a lorry, as detailed in sketch (e). Finally, the back of the door may be made to serve as a number plate, and should also carry the regulation bracket for the tail lamp.
The engine of the steam wagon which " E.J.," of Sandbach, was driving developed a curious knock, which, on investigation, proved to be due to the displacement of the H.P. valve. On its spindle. On making a close examination, he found that the nuts which secured the valve in place were 1-16 in clear of the split pin. They had slacked back that amount, as shown in the accompanying sketch, thus allowing the valve to move to and fro on the spindle as the engine ran. The driver removed the nuts, packed them out by means of a wisher, and had no further trouble.
"J.A.M.," ef South Elmsall, mended a leak in a firebox in a very simple
manner indeed The leak; he tells us, was traced, after a deal of trouble, to one of the copper stay bolts, or so it appeared, until that part of the box was thoroughly cleaned, when it was found that, as a matter of fact., the real trouble was a very small hole, underneath the bolt, and looking very like an incipient. crack. Thera was not enough metal to allow of caulking, and eventually the cure was effected by means of a piece of copper wire, only k-in. long, and tapered throughout its length, driven tightly into the hole and riveted over. .