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GOODS TRANSPORT STORIES IN BRIEF

A Medley of Narratives Indicating the Reliance Placed Upon Many Types of Road Motor by Important Operators Engaged in a Variety of Trades

TIME-TABLE BACON DELIVERIES BY FORDSONS.

THAT not only do its factory methods ensure high quality, but that its road-transport organization ensures that the product reaches, in perfect condition, the most remote grocer, and to a strict time-table, is a claim made by the Danish Bacon Co., Ltd. As bacon is easily spoiled by rough handling, and the company has over 30,000 grocers and provision merchants on its books, many requiring daily delivery, it will be seen that Mr. H. E. Kirkby, the transport manager, has some large-scale problems to solve.

A large part of the deliveries to retailers—as distinct from the collection of supplies from the docks—is carried out by a fleet of 57 Fordson eightcylinder 3-ton vans, operating from the company's 15 depots. The 157-in. chassis is employed with special insulated bodies carried out to the operators' own design.

These vans incorporate a method of roof ventilation which is claimed to be most successful in maintaining a con stant • interior temperature. The " bloom" on bacon is a big feature to the expert, and this is destroyed by bumps or falls after it is cured. Special care is, therefore, taken to maintain suspension efficiency, and tests of riding smoothness are carried out periodic.

ally. .

Delivery to time is regarded as second in importance only to the quality of the product itself, and the care with which delivery is organized may be judged by the service offered in the London area. Any retailer telephoning an order to the West Smithfield depot by 10 a.m. is guaranteed delivery the same day. Orders received after that time are usually handled by an auxiliary service of vans covering much the same routes in the afternoon. A time-table, resembling that of a network of bus services, is issued to custo c42 mess, who are accustomed to the van arriving almost to the minute.

The whole of England, Scotland and Wales is covered in similar fashion. Although a daily service is not required in all cases, practically every village is linked up and deliveries are made at a fixed day and .hour.

All the vans clock mileages averaging from 40,000 to 50,000 annually, and service is dealt with throughout by the company, well-equipped workshops being attached to each depot. Ford vehicles have figured largely • in the D.B.C. fleet since the organization changed over from horse-drawn transport, dnd particularly good results are being secured from the eight-cylinder models. Two of these vans, placed in service about two years ago, have now covered some 80,000 miles each with no attention to engine or Chassis beyond routine maintenance and decarbonizing.

The publicity value of attractive bodywork is appreciated, and all the vans have the same distinctive streamlined treatment, a novel feature being the use of rear-wheel shields. The colour scheme is blue and grey, and drivers and assistants wear uniforms similar to R.A.F. dungarees.

In addition to the vans, the transport manager has to supervise a car fleet, including 33 8 h.p. and 10 h.p. Fords, which are used by the company's representatives. These cover mileages averaging from 800 to 1.000 each per week.

L.C.S. MILK DISTRIBUTION MAINTAINED BY LEYLANDS. •

" GROWINGand extending because it meets a public need" is a slogan of the London Co-operative Society, Ltd., which in 1935 had 574,921 members and sold them £11,816,874 worth of goods. The same • slogan applies to the Society's Leyland fleet, which is used for delivering these commodities. Since March, 1934, it has ordered 61 Leyland vehicles, includ• ing Cubs, . Beavers and Badgers.

These machines help in maintaining three main links of the L.C.S. milk-distribution system, • which are as follow : (1) Collection of milk in churns from the farmers on platform machines, and delivering to one of three creameries in the country; (2) carriage of cleansed milk from the creameries to one of the four dairies in London—Beaver chassis with 1,350-gallon insulated glass-lined tanks are used for this work ; (3) delivery in bottles by means of Cub' tractor outfits from the dairies to 61 milk depots scattered over north, north-west, west and east London, from which a distribution is made twice daily by "perambulators."

Upwards of 11 Cub tractors and 23 van semi-trailers are utilized for the third stage. The idea behind their operation is that which influences the milk-transport system throughout, namely, to save time in order to bring the milk to the door in absolutely fresh condition_ As one semi-trailer is being loaded, the other allocated to a tractor is away on its journey, and two shifts are worked to keep them constantly operating_ .

Each Cub tractor hauls 52 tons of milk a day, Six tons constitute a single load, and the average daily mileage of the tractors is 7:1, the longest haul from a dairy to a depot being 18 miles, single journey.

As a result of the planning of the milk-transport system to avoid waste time and mileage, by the skilful arrangement of journeys, the dairy department's transport cost is below competitive rates obtainable outside the organization. Every depot is sufficiently large to take at least one full 6-ton load from a Cub tractor outfit ; each tractor goes out with a full load, and it returns with a full load, although this is made up only of empties.

In the past the London Co-operative Society, Ltd., utilized ordinary vans for the work, and still does so at one or two dairies where there are no facilities for the operation of the articulated system, but, says Mr. C. W. Gillmore, the company's transport manager, "we have found the new method far and away the most economical. It has been a great saving, and we will utilize it wherever we can."

GOOD SERVICE FROM A BREWER'S DENNIS FLEET.'

'THE distribution of its beers through1 out the south-eastern part of the country entails the use of an extensive transport system by Fremlins, Ltd., the well-known Kentish brewing concern.

Headquarters are at Maidstone, where the company was established soon after the middle of last century. Only seven vehicles--less than one-fifth of the Dennis fleet—are attached to the main brewery, the remainder serving an area bordered by Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

From a consideration. of the topography of these counties it will be apparent that both hilly and flat districts are covered, and the Dennis vehicles have stood up well to these varied conditions. Eight of the machines are six years old, five of them a.re seven-eight years of age, and cue veteran, a 2i-tonner built in 1920, still

continues to work at an economic figure, in spite of ayouth spent largely in the arduous Folkestone-Dover neighbourhood. I

Credit for this state of affairs must be shared between the manufacturer and operator, for only a combination of sound building and systematic maintenance could produce such excellent• residt. Fremlins, Ltd., employs a highly qualified stall of fitters to keep a cheek on mechanical requirements. Bodies for all its vehicles are built in a special department.

With a chain of depots extending throughout its territory, the company's fleet does not require to cover great distances. This is evidenced from figures relating to the Maidstone section. The 'seven vehicles stationed here record an average aggregate mile. age of 140,000 annually, representing a total ton-mileage of 431,000. The carrying capacity of the units throughout the fleet ranges from 30 cwt. to 0 tons.

SCOTTISH SOCIETY STANDARDIZES ON ALBIONS.

AFLEET of 55 motor vehicles (in addition to 21 horse-drawnvehicles) is used by Dumfries and MaxwelItown Co-operative Society in supplying its various commodities to about 11,000 members, The headquarters arc at Dumfries, but there are branches at six other towns in the South of Scotland, motors being sta

tioned at each. Of the vehicles in operation 50 per cent. are Albions, the remainder being light Austin, Ford and Marris vans.

When one considers that the area covered is approximately 22,000 sq. miles, and that the vehicles spend most of their working week off the beaten. track, so to speak, continually negotiating bad farm roads, one can readily realize that robust machines are necessary to ensure success. In this connection, the Society, after experimenting with various makes, is now standardizing on Albions for all work from 1-tou upwards. At the moment a new type of insideservice bread-delivery van body is being built, as an experiment, on a light Albion chassis, Its main feature is that the driver will not require to leave the vehicle and the customer will be able to enter the van while being served, thus reducing delivery time and avoiding waste of cakes, etc., due to adverse weather. Should this model prove successful we learn that the design will be the standard for all vehicles purchased in replacement of existing machines.

The types of body at present in use are built on orthodox lines, with the exception of that of a large Albion 5-ton bread van, which is kept solely for bulk bread and grocery delivery daily to the Dalbeattie, Castle Douglas and Kirkcudbright branches. It dies a capacity of 3,612 half loaves,' phis space at the bottom for small bread and space over the cab for parcels. A travelling-shop-type van is attached to the Kirkcudbright branch, servicing the remote villages and farmsteads in that area.

Generally speaking, weekly mileages are not unusually high, .because vehicles are stationed at all the branches, but road conditions are very bad, and call for considerable intermediate gear work, which must be accounted for in adequate maintenance. The main repairs and overhauls are carried out at the central garage, Dumfries. Vehicles are not withdrawn from service on a mileage basis, but as their behaviour demands.

Engine, gearbox and rear axle lubricant is renewed on a mileage basis, according to an oil-renewal chart on which the next renewal mileage. number is always given. Oil renewal is regarded as an important factor in the maintenance system, because on hawking and low-gear work the oil is subjected to excessive dilution and condensation due to the vehicles working for a large part of their life at the wrong temperature.

During the winter sessions lantern lectures are held for the drivers, on all subjects pertaining to the proper care of the vehicles and equipment under their charge.

At the end of each month drivers' daily report -forms are sent to the central garage, where mileages, petrol and oil used, and repairs are recorded, each vehicle being costed on a time and mileage basis.

Typical cost figures for two of the Albions are as follow:— Albion 5-ton bread van. bought 1/7/36. Mileage 360 per week. Running costs 2.25d. per mile. • Standing charges 3s. per hour, or, on above mileage, 4.9d, per mile. Total cost 4.9d. plus 2.25d. equals 7.15d. per mile. Petrol consumption equal to 84 m.p.g. Work—supplying branch shops only.

Albion 30-cwt, bread van, bought 30/4/35. Mileage 416 per week. Running costs 1.75d. per mile. Standing charges 2s. 11-el. per hour,or, on above mileage, 3.8d. per mile. Total cost 3.8d. plus 1.75d. equals 5.55d. per mile. Petrol consumption equal to 114 m.p.g. Work—country bread hawking.

c44 A.E.C.s PROMINENT IN BIG CONTRACTOR'S FLEET.

DREPARED and equipped to under.' take almost any road-transport contract, Currie and Co. (Newcastle), Ltd., the fleet of which includes a number of A.E.C. vehicles, regularly carries ships' boilers of all sizes, rudder frames, rudders, propellers, engine-room machinery, steel hawsers, etc. Boilers are often transported from their place of manufacture on Tyneside to the Clyde, where ships are refitting, or are in course of construction. After bad weather around the coast, it may be called upon to deliver propellers to Liverpool, Southampton, Hull or any of the principal ports where repairs are being executed.

Currie and Co, has been handling 'these" outsize" loads since the days of horsed transport, when teams of 50 or 60 horses, with a large number of men for braking purposes, were needed to convey a single big steam boiler from the place of manufacture to that of installation.

Although Currie and Co. specializes in the haulage of abnormal loads it also handles a laige amount of general transport, and uses for this purpose a number of A.E.C.s. The first vehicles of this make were put into commission in 1930, and in 1936 and during the present year 10 Matadors have been commissioned; these, with the vehicles previously purchased, represent the major part of that section of the fleet comprising units of approximately 12 tons gross weight.

The fleet ranges from trailers capable of supporting up to 100 tons, to articulated . six-tonners and fourdonners, whilst a fair number of horse-drawn vehicles is employed only within New castle-upon-Tyme. In this city alone, excluding a big furniture repOsitory, the company has no fewer than three warehouses, which are used for the storage and transfer of a wide variety of general goods. That at Mansion House, on the riverside, occupies some 2,700 sq. yds. and is never closed.

As well as its head office and the warehouses mentioned, the company also maintains depots at Doncaster, Birmingham, London, Sheffield and South Shields, of which, that at Doncaster, where shven A.E.C.s are stationed, was the first opened.

At the principal garage in Newcastleupon-Tyne there is equipment for all general maintenance work, including an I.C.I. degreasing tank, oxy-acetylene and electrical welding plants, a four ton overhead crane and 50-ton hydraulic jacks.

The company's vehicles run from 15,000 miles to 40,000 miles a year ; they are inspected after approximately 6,000 miles running, and are overhauled after about 30,000 miles.

INTERNATIONALS SHINE ON SAND AND BALLAST HAULAGE.

ALARGE sand and ballast merchant of Rickmanssvorth, HydeCrete, Ltd., attributes the flourishing condition of its business to the fact that builders and other customers know that if it makes a promise to deliver a load, it will arrive on time.'

A fleet of vehicles, amongst which are seven International steel-bodied tippers, is chiefly engaged on hauling sand and gravel from the company's pits at Rickmansworth to building sites in various parts of Southern England and the Midlands. In many cases the sites are far from metalled roads, and the lorries have to traverse rough cart tracks, the surfaces of which are pitted with large pot-holes and are inches deep in mud. Sometimes the vehicles have to be driven across fields and ploughed land. Great stress is thrown on the mechanism by differences in ground level, but the Internationals have stood up well to the roughest conditions, and although they have been in almost continuous service for the past 12 months, averaging approximately 800 miles per week, no serious trouble has arisen.

The day's work begins at 6.30 a.m., when lorries are loaded by a steamgrab. Usually this load is taken to building sites in the neighbourhood of

Leighton Buzzard. Special blasting sand is picked up there and taken, maybe, to Coventry or some other large industrial town in the Midlands. For the return journey coal or chippings—which are not obtainable locally —comprise the load.

"If a truck will stand up to the conditions of the sand and ballast trade, it will stand up to anything," is the glowing testimony given by the company in praise of its Internationals, which were supplied through Messrs. Brunt Motors, of Hendon, Middlesex, the local agents. THORNYCROF TS DO WELL ON TIMBER TRANSPORT.

A SSOCIATED with the Timber .ti Storage Co., Ltd., of London, the Star Haulage Co., Ltd., of Deptford, S.E.8, was registered as a separate limited company in 1925 for the transport of timber imported from America, Russia, Finland and Sweden. The timber store covers 31. acres of land adjacent to five wharves on the Surrey Canal, and here the timber is unloaded direct from barges into waiting lorries for delivery to customers.

The company's deliveries are made to builders within 100-miles radius of London, and over 40,000 tons are distributed by road annually. For the heavier loads Thomycroft vehicles have been standardized, the first unit of this make having been purchased 13 years ago. Since then several 5-ton and 7-ton machines have been acquired, the former being particularly suited for quick deliveries as they can be-operated at a legal speed of 30 m.p.h. Equipped with platform bodywork 16 ft. 4 ins.. bang and a detachable steel bolster, this type has been found to be most adaptable for transporting long runs of timber, supported over the driver's cab.

The Star Haulage Co., Ltd., claims that its maintenance costs are exceptionally low, since the services of one skilled fitter suffice to keep all the machines in satisfactory running order. Mechanical overhauls are entrusted to the maker's service branch in London.

BUSINESS BUILDING BY BEDFORD PETROL TANKERS.

SIXTEEN years ago a young man, aged twenty, opened a vulcanizing business in Blackburn. He had a capital of £26, and his "business premises " consisted of a cellar in Bolton Road. Life wasn't all plain sailing for Mr. George Gillibrand in those days. Nevertheless, his modest turnover began to grow slowly, and two years later he opened a petrol filling station in Blackburn. He has been doing it at intervals ever since, and George Gillibrand, Ltd., now controls 18 stations, is one of the best-known motorspirit distributing companies in Lancashire, and employs a staff of over 100.

.The company runs four tankers on petrol distribution, and the vulcanizing business has grown to be one of the biggest of its kind in the north of England, turning out upwards of 300 completely remoulded tyres every week. Only since January, 1936, has Mr. Gillibrand been running his own transport for the distribution of petrol, and this is what he says:— "I made up my mind to experiment with light vehicles, and dozens of people in the game told me I would lose money. ' They'll never stand up to the work,' I was told, but the streak of mule in my make-up decided me to go ahead, and I bought two Bedford articulated six-wheelers. In six months they had carried over a million gallons between them, without letting me down.

"Business went on growing—and to such an extent that the six-wheelers were soon doing a 15-hour day with relief drivers. I ordered another Bedford, this time a long-wheelbase threetonner with a 1,500-gallon tank. Before it was delivered I was forced to duplicate the order.

" The two three-tonners, both under 50-cwt. unladen, are painted aluminium and blue, and we can trace the acquisition of thousands of gallons of new business to their appearance and reliability."

A HAULIER'S COWER WITH A HUGE MILEAGE.

1" it were announced that a private car had completed a mileage equivalent to nearly nine times the circumference of the earth, what interest it would arouse. Yet, incredible as it may seem, this is the record, not of a private car, but of a Centaur two-ton lorry, built by Conamer Cars, Ltd., Luton, and put into service in January, 1934, by Mr. F. C. Bowyer, of Reading, since when it has covered no fewer than 218,000 miles.

The owner is a general haulier, and one of his contracts is to collect milk in Reading and district, on behalf of the Farmers Clean Milk Dairy, Ltd., and to deliver it to various parts of London. On this work the Commer makes two trips each way daily between Reading and London, the drivers working in relays a total of 20 hours per day for seven days a week.

A factor which has contributed to this vehicle being kept in constant service is the co-operation of Reading. Garages, Ltd., which, by the way, designed and built the body. This company has effected any necessary repair or carried out decarbonization, at night. During the period under review the cost of repairs and replacements has amounted to little over £50.

After completing one-eighth of a million miles, the cylinders were rebored, but the original valves and bearings arc still functioning, and the crankshaft has not yet needed regrinding.

The splendid performance of his first Commer naturally impressed Mr. Bowyer, and he has put two more into service. One of these relieves the original Centaur of some of its work, and as a result daily journeys now total only 150 miles.

ROTHERHAM HAULIERS BUY THE NEW SCAMMELLS. -rwo Scammell lorries have recently been delivered to Messrs. Geo. Pickin and Sons, of Rotherham. They

are rigid eight-wheelers having an unladen weight of 6 tons and a carrying capacity of 16 tons. The firm now have nine Scammell vehicles—seven heavy lorries and two mechanical horses.

The history of this firm of haulage contractors makes interesting reading, as it was established in 1850, when the founder started with a horse and cart at the time that the first Sheffield to Rotherham railway was being constructed. Gradually the business was built up until during the war no fewer than 150 horses and carts were being fully employed on local contract work..

The next step was the use of steam lorries and the firm were the first in

Sheffield to own this typePared lorries were acquired later, and again they were the first hauliers in the district to use the Scammell mechanical horse. The business gradually changed from being entirely local to include long-distance work, being chiefly concerned with Sheffield and district to Liverpool transport, although journeys

to all parts of the country are undertaken. The firm now have 30 A licences.

The management is in the hands of Messrs. George Pickin and Walter Pickin, who are joint owners of the business, and the head office is at Males. Rotherham, whilst a Liverpool office at 15, Fenwick Street, is maintained and run by a local manager, Mr. W. Benson. An efficient daily service is maintained between these two centres, and light lorries collect and distribute goods in every town and village within a 25-mile radius of Sheffield.

CARRIMORE SEMI-TRAILERS EXCEL ON TIMBER HAULAGE.

QNE of the problems with which '4,--/Messrs. Slater Brothers, Bridge Street, Brigg, were faced, three years ago, was whether they should buy a machine that would last for five years. have a 200,000-mile economical life, and cost £1,000, or purchase a cheaper vehicle lasting for two years, costing £500, and having a life of 100,000 miles._ The firm decided to compromise.

They have a varied fleet of 11 vehicles, transporting sugar beet, cement, sugar, timber from the docks machinery, etc. Restrictions On the docke in their area limit lorry and load to 10 tons weight and, as timber comprises the main commodity, it was neeeesary to obtain machines of low unladen weight with maximum carrying capacity. Timber haulage is gruelling work and is not a highly rated traffic, so that low maintenance and running costs are imperative. After much thought, it was decided that articulated vehicles would best meet the firm's requirements on timber transport. They confess that they were dubious when they bought a light vehicle with a Carrimore semi-trailer, costing about £500, thinking that, after 18 months' use, they would at any rate be able to sell it for £50. The firm are now replacing this first vehicle "after 120,000 miles. It was purchased in 1934, since when a number of Carrimore semi-trailer machines has been purchased, the most recent being coupled to a Leyland Cub chassis.

Last year, the firm's vehicles covered 330,000 miles, at a cost of 6.56d, per mile. Other vehicles in the fleet include Foden eight-wheelers with Gardner sixcylindered oil engines, and Leyland Beavers.

A feature of the articulated outfits which has impressed the firm is the retractable turntable, which renders the machine very mobile in timber yards.

VULCANS PLEASE A SHEFFIELD OPERATOR.

riVER a period of 11 years, the ‘.../ transport operations of Messrs. E. Middleton and Son, of Sheffield, have expanded considerably. The firm first started with .a coal merchant's business, then tackled local haulage (on

which 2-ton machines were employed), and subsequently entered long-distance haulage. Controlled by Messrs. Ernest Middleton and Eric Middleton, both 'cradled" in transport, the firm decided to purchase a Vulcan 3i-tanner with a body suitable for carrying long

steel bars, the class of work forming the principal part of their contracts. It was bought in July, 1936, and records show that it has averaged 1,000 miles per week.

With the need for greater mileages and the increasing cost of petrol, the firm examined the possibilities of the oiler, and decided to buy a Vulcan 5tonner with a Gardner 4LK engine, which has given every satisfaction. The firm's fleet of seven lorries is kept well occupied.

They express the view that there is no time for retrospect in a haulage business and, looking to the future, they are planning for the addition to their fleet of further British-built vehicles and, in particular, Vulcans. They think that recent legislation has cramped enterprise, but, on the whole, believe it has redeeming features. GARNERS DO GOOD WORK FOR BRISTOL GROUP

CONTROLLING a group. of companiespanies operating 450 vehicles, with capacities ranging from I-ton to 12tons, Bristol Industries, Ltd., 72-74, Feeder Road, Bristol, is also an agent in Gloucester for Garner vehicles. One of its associated organizations is Messrs. Brooke and Prudencio, who, established a century ago, are manufacturers of Neptune-brand mineral waters, fruit drinks and cordials. This firm have factories in Bristol and Portsmouth, and three in London, and a chain of depots in the southern part of the country. This extensive area is covered by their own fleet on door-to-door delivery work, and they have recently added a number of vehicles with bodies resembling the shape of a case of mineral waters, the tops of the bottles appearing through. the roof.

A group of cold-storage and ice concerns is linked up with the organization and it employs some 40 light vehicles. The Bristol Foundry Co. is another allied company which makes considerable use of road motors in connection with its business of making castings.

Then there is the Bristol Haulage Co., with headquarters in Bristol and London, which is engaged in general local and long-distance contracting and warehousing, and makes a speciality of operating vehicles under contract A licences, thus relieving the hirers of all maintenance responsibility.

In •the fleet of Bristol Industries, Ltd., is a number of Garner vehicles. They are behaving satisfactorily and have proved most economical on petrol, oil and tyres. The Garner has been found a useful type for general traffic, the low, loading-line being definitely advantageous.