Answers to Queries.
Page 18
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Bad Road Near Railway Bridge.
[1,642] " BADLY "USED " writes:—" Does a railway company have to keep the roads near its bridges in a good .state? The stationmaster here says ' no,' but I think he is wrong."
ANSWER. —Your question is in general terms. We answer it the same way. Railway companies are usually responsible for the maintenance in good repair of the approaches to bridges over their lines, and this liability is nearly always set out in the companies' special Acts of Parliament.
Hornsby's Chain-track (Caterpillar) Tractor.
[1,643] " NORTH EAST " writes :—" I shall esteem it a favour if you will give me the address of the makers of 'the caterpillar motor-transport car,' also information as to whether any authentic reports are published as to the reliability and efficiency of this form of locomotion?"
A.NswEn.—The caterpillar machine, or, as it is more correctly termed, the chain-track tractor, is made by Richard Hornsby and Sons, Ltd., of Grantham, to whom you should address all communications. We cannot speak to its economy or costs of working, but it certainly does cross-country and other difficult work in unique style.
To Splice a Steel-wire Cable.
1.1,644] " ROUMANIA " writes:—" I shall be greatly obliged if you will show in your columns the means to splice the steel rope of a motor-driven digging plough supporting heavy pulls of five tons, and sometimes more."
ANSWER.—Six-strand wire rope is the best for satisfactory splicing. A good splice should not be less than 20 ft. long, and not more than 50 ft. long: the exact length will vary with the size of the rope and with the class of work upon which it has to be employed. To commence the splice, the two ends of the rope should be drawn together so that they overlap by the amount of the length which
has been decided upon for the joint—say, 24 ft. The strands should next be unlaid to a distance of 10 ft. from each end, and the cores should be cut off short, so that they will butt together. One strand of one end of the
cable should now be unlaid a further 10 ft., and its place should he taken by the loose end of a convenient strand from the other end of the cable. There will now be 20 ft. loose of one strand and a short end only of the other; the long piece should now be cut off to about 24 in., and the two ends be tied in position temporarily; this same course must be pursued with a suitable pair of strands for the other end of the cable. The process must be repeated, alternately on each end of the cable, with the remaining unwrapped strands, in opposing pairs. Each succeeding joint must, however, be completed at, at least, 4 ft. distance from its neighbour. The next procedure is so to arrange the loose ends in the interior of the cable that they take the place of the original core, which has to be cut out. for the whole length of the splice. Each loose strandend must be lapped with tarred marline for about 12 in. of length from its end, in order that a good grip may be obtained. A marline spike is inserted at a point where two loose ends cross, and the core may then be cut away from this point. The loose ends which have previously been cut to a suitable length are tucked into place instead of the core. This is repeated for each pair of loose ends until the cable throughout the length of the splice has a continuous metal core. A good hammering with a wooden mallet will complete the job.
"Owner" or "User" of a Trailer ?
[1,645] "NORTH WALES" writes:—" I have to-day received a summons for not having unladen weight painted on the trailer drawn by my Foden wagon. It went to Birkenhead, with a van-load of furniture, and returned loaded with flour. On the way home a police constable followed the wagon on a bicycle, and after leaving Great Sutton he ordered the engine to be pulled up. He examined everything all round, and could find nothing, but he stated that the tare weight was not on the trailer. This van was not my own, but one which I had nired for the journey, so what I require your kind assistance for is this: have they not summoned me wrongly by stating being the owner of a certain trailer,' instead of being the, user of a certain trailer ?
"I may say that I have been with engines of all classes for the past nine years, my age now being only 23 years, and this is the first offence alleged. I should like very much to win this case."
ANSWER.—We think that you have a perfectly good defence, in that you are not the owner of the trailer. The summons appears to us to be bad on the face of it, and, if you were to write to the Clerk of the Great Sutton Court, pointing out that you are not the owner, and enclosing a pre-paid telegraph form for him to say whether you need attend, it might save you any further trouble. The summons is certainly not in. order, and it seems a hardship that you should be required to attend at the Court in the circumstances.