The Motor Drivers News.
Page 19
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Jointing Material for Steam-Wagon Work.
" FLB." (Gravesend) writes :—" Some time ago, I noticed an enquiry in the News ' as to the best jointing for steam wagons. I think, if your correspondent will try Beldamite,' he will have no further trouble. This jointing is sold by the Beldam Packing Co., Ltd., of Gracechurch Street, London, E.C. Care should be taken to cut out the joint properly, by cutting the outside line with a hammer while the material is laid upon the cover ; for the stud holes, it is better to cut joints out with a belting punch of the correct size. The position of the holes should be obtained by pressing the jointing over each one in the cover, and this will make their positions clear when working the punch. If the completed joint is placed in position while the cylinders are cold, you should be ready with a spanner, directly the steam is turned on, to tighten up each nut without loss of time; also, see that the nuts are screwed up equally. Let the engine run free ' for a short time, and then give it some hard work, going round the nuts again to tighten them up where it is necessary. You will then have a joint which will stand any amount of hard work without giving out. This jointing also does well for boiler fittings, but care must be taken to see that every trace of old jointing is first removed. The nut-tightening process must be gone through in the same way as when one does the cylinder covers, as this material gets very soft when it is warmed, and it can be squeezed into any inequalities in the faces of the joints. I have had experience with the above-named material for about five years and have found it excellent."
A Week's Work.
" W.S." (Redruth) writes to us with reference to his steam wagon as follows :—" I have frequently seen accounts of runs, and figures relating to the week's work, published in these columns, SO I am sure the table which I have drawn up at the end of this letter will be of interest to others. My wagon is one of a type which is acknowledged to be one of the most successful, and I have very little trouble with it at any time. The wagon has to transport a load of six tons on each of its journeys, so the work is pretty hard and continuous, as we have to run it six days a week. " I had a little bad luck at the beginning of last week. I left home to make a trip of 36 miles in length, and had not gone far upon the route when I found that the injector had struck work for some unknown reason.. It took me some time to ascertain the ca-use of the stoppage, and I could see nothing the matter with the injector at all. in a rather despondent frame of mind, I removed the man-hole on the water tank and, in a moment, saw what had caused the trouble. A small portion of flax had been sucked round the strainer rose at the end of the feed pipe, and this, naturally, made it impossible for the injector to do its work. I knew at once how this tlax had got into the tank, because we had had to do a slight repair to it on account of a small leakage. When clearing the tank, the led must have left the flax in by mistake. The worst part of the whole affair was that both my mate and myself were too big to get through the manhole, so we had to send back a distance of almost two miles for a thin apprentice to come and unscrew the rose and clean it out. When I stopped the wagon T had sufficient water in the boiler to last for some time, but the tank had to be replenished. As a matter of fact, the wagon was standing by a running stream, but the water in this was being pumped Out of a mine near by, and I knew it was much too hot for the injector to use efficiently. However, I took a little of the hot water on board just to tarry me to a pond about a mile ahead. When I arrived at this pond I found that the water in it was very bad indeed, so I was still in trouble. I managed toget on a further six miles where I found an abundance of clean water and I had no other trouble after that.
" The figures at the end of my letter are for one week's work, and as I do the same journeys each week, it will be understood that the table is not selected, but represents an ordinary six-days' running. The owners of the vehicle are brewers, and I have to get the maximum load of six tons on the platform every trip, and bring home a corresponding number of ' empties.' if I do not get a full load on any morning to take to one of the depots, I have to make it up by carrying small orders for houses which lie along the particular route which I happen to be going on.
The boiler is thoroughly washed out once every week, and this, of course, is done on a Sunday morning as it is the only day available. Small running adjustments are also done upon the same day as the boiler is cleaned out, and also any little repair that is required. I am glad to say that I have only had to stop for one day for any serious reason, and this was to replete the back wheels, which took the whole of the day. Considering the heavy roads in this part of Cornwall, I think the wagon does its work well."
A Change from Steam to Petrol Wanted. "
M. N'' (Bristol) sends the following letter :—" I shall be glad if some driver will tell me how to learn to drive a ' petrol ' lorry. I have been a steam ' wagon driver now for some years, and before that time I had a long experience with steam traction engines and steam rollers. Now after all these years, I want to get a job as a driver on a petrol lorry, but I cannot quite see how to set about getting the situation I want. Of course I cannot afford to resign my present position without having something else in view. The only plan which I can think of is to go to some garage and offer to put in some work each Saturday afternoon if they will let me clean down ' for a week or two, and subsequently get on to learning how to drive. I have, as a matter of fact, approached one firm here but it did not seem to like the idea, although I pointed out that I always have Saturday afternoon to myself, and that I did not want to receive any wages for the work which I should do. Perhaps some others have been in the same predicament as myself and can help me. My only reason for wishing to learn to drive a petrol ' lorry or van is because now-a-days the man who knows how to drive different types of self-propelled vehicles, stands a much better chance of getting a good berth than the man who can only do one thing. I am of the opinion that, looking at the question from all points of view, steam wagons are much superior to any other form of mechanical transport for heavy loads. Compare a steamer and a petrol lorry each carrying three tons, why there is absolutely all the difference between the proverbial chalk and cheese."