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Cattle Truck Get a Quick Turn-round

30th June 1961, Page 96
30th June 1961
Page 96
Page 97
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Page 96, 30th June 1961 — Cattle Truck Get a Quick Turn-round
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

By A. C. Brockington,

SINCE the old Gloucester Corporation cattle market in Market Parade was closed down in October, 1958, and all livestock sales were concentrated at the new market in St. Oswald's Road on the outskirts of the city, the quicker turn-round of the cattle trucks has enabled hauliers engaged on local deliveries to increase vehicle utilization by about 50 per cent. Moreover, the modern facilities have substantially increased the volume of business and there is ample room for expansion.

Built on a 35-acre site on ground reclaimed by the Corporation for its refuse fleet, the market provides up-todate administrative offices and an extensive "shopping area." The site adjoins a combined abattoir and meat market, and separate vehicle parks are avilable to motorists and commercial-vehicle operators. A public house has been built near the entrance from the Gloucester ring road.

Built at a cost of £407,000, excluding expenditure on land reclamation, the annual cost of the market to the ratepayer is about £20,000. Future plans include the transference of the fruit market to the site and building a restaurant.

The expansion of trading afforded by the market is shown by a comparison of the throughput of stock last year with the throughput of the old market in 1957. This shows that the head of stock increased from 218,861 to 266,664, despite a four-week close-down period necessitated by foot-and-mouth restrictions and reduced trading over a longer period.

Fat cattle, fat and store calves, sheep and pigs are marketed on Mondays, dairy and store cattle and store calves on Thursdays, and store and barren cattle on Saturdays, when there is also a sale of hay, straw and root r.30 crops. Sales of farm implements, tractors and so on take place in May, and there are occasional sales of Irish store cattle.

The dairy section of the market is divided into two parts (to allow the auctioneers of the two market companies to operate simultaneously), and can accommodate a total of 640 animals. Accommodation for 1,575 fat and store cattle is provided, whilst the undercover space in the calf section caters for 700 animals. About 4,000 pigs can be housed in covered pens of the partitioned type and open sheep pens can accommodate 2,640 animals.

Whilst incoming livestock is normally collected by vehicle operators from an area within a radius of about 25 miles, deliveries are regularly made to many distant centres. Although the rapid turn-round of vehicles is of greatest benefit to short-distance operators, reducing delays to a minimum is also of particular importance to hauliers making long-distance deliveries, a pertinent factor in a typical example being the condition of the animals at the start of the journey. After a long delay in the market they may be unfit to travel more than a short distance.

In the interests of easy loading, the platforms of the cattle bays are built to a height of about 2 ft. and are ramped on the pen side. Calves, sheep and pigs are unloaded to floor level, but two special bays are provided with a platform at vehicle-deck height to cater for the handling of "difficult animals." This reduces the likelihood of injury if an animal is fractious.

Establishing the market remote from the congested area of the city has also been beneficial' to other road users and to traders. In addition to the long delays in clearing vehicles from the old market—which were an inevitable feature of a typical day's trading—waiting vehicles had frequently to be parked a considerable distance from the market. This increased congestion, and it was often extremely difficult for potential customers to locate the truck drivers. It was not unusual for vehicles visiting the old market to be kept waiting for more than two hours and for market clearance to extend the working day by as much as six hours.

Now vehicle delays as a result of congestion have virtually been eliminated, bays being provided for the unloading of more than 60 vehicles at one time. Bollards have been placed at strategic points to control vehicle movements and a 12-vehicle lorry wash-down site is of the most modern type. Lorry bays of reinforced concrete are arranged in echelon formation and raised platforms facilitate the removal of straw and waste material for later transfer to an incinerator. The vehicle is washed down without changing its position and falls are so arranged that the water tends to run to the back of the vehicle and thence to drain. A multi-centrifugal electric pump feeds a stand pipe in each bay, about 50 per cent. of the water being recirculated.

A parking fee of 2s. is charged for each vehicle, which includes the charge for wash-down facilities. Operators who are not obliged by the regulations to cleanse their vehicles are thus encouraged to make use of this amenity.

In the opinion of the majority of local livestock hauliers, the use of three-deck bodies based on standard four-wheel chassis is dangerous because of excessive vehicle sway on corners. It is generally agreed, however, that this type of body is satisfactory with regard to vehicle handling and animal welfare (given that the top is covered in and efficiently ventilated) if the chassis is a sixor eight-wheeler or has a reduced frame height.

Wood bodies are generally favoured in preference to the all-metal type, but a number of operators employ bodies with a timber frame and floor and aluminium panelling. In the case of F. Cook and Son, Frampton Cotterell, Bristol, a number of Drew Bros. wood-and-aluminium bodies of this type are employed which, it is claimed, provide a weight saving of 7-8 cwt. and a number of other advantages, including easier cleaning. A wood floor is considered essential for a firm footing for the animals.

In common with all the hauliers with whom I have discussed Gloucester Market, Mr. D. R. F. Cook, of this company, claims that the facilities it provides are exceptionally good. Mr. Cook particularly praised the unloading arrangements and the provision of covered-in pens for sheep and pigs. In Mr. Cook's opinion, criticism by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of various types of three-decker cattle trucks is fully justified.

The four vehicles in the Cook fleet engaged in livestock haulage comprise two A.E.C. Mercury 10-tonners capable of carrying 12-14 cows; a Commer two-stroke-engined truck with a capacity of 10-12 cows; and an Albion that is capable of carrying up to 10 cows. Whilst the A.E.C. averages 14 m.p.g., the average consumption of the D31 Commer and Albion are 16-18 m.p.g. and 18-20 m.p.g. respectively. Bodies are of the hinged-deck type.

Good ventilation is cited by R. H. Goulding and Son. Ltd., Newent, as an essential feature of a cattle-truck body, wood construction being preferred to aluminium. For this reason bodies with sliding decks are normally employed for long-distance work, whilst containers with folding decks are retained for short-distance runs. The livestock fleet of the company comprises eight Bedford 7-tonners and an Albion 9-tonner, the majority of containers being supplied by the J. W. Thorne company. Three petrol-engine vehicles will shortly be replaced by oilers.

Long-distance deliveries of livestock are regularly made by the vehicles, and in the interests of animal welfare the beasts are normally transferred to Newent for a night's rest before the main run is undertaken.

A leading livestock carrier in the area, Bowles Transport. Ltd., Ford, Temple Guitting, nr. Cheltenham, observes that good drivers are born and not made, and emphasizes the great importance of the drivers' regard for the welfare of the animals. Mr. A. R. Geden, market foreman of the company, pays tribute to the system of " back-penning " recently introduced by Bruton Knowles and Co., auctioneers, by which the animals are returned to the same pens after the sale. This is a valuable timesaving measure and reduces vehicle delays.

Praise is also given by Mr. Geden to the market police for their ready co-operation, combined with enforcement of the regulations without fear or favour. Of. the 22 vehicles in the Bowles fleet, 10 are regularly employed as cattle trucks, all the containers being of the timber container type, which are greatly preferred to metal bodies. The containers are mounted on Seddon, Bedford and 13,M.C. 7-ton chassis, one of the Seddon-based bodies being of the covered-in three-decker type. In this case a passenger chassis is employed which reduces the centre of gravity of a fully laden body by around 1 ft. and affords vehiclehandling stability. Use of the truck is, however, restricted to particular routes to avoid low bridges and will probably be discontinued when replacement becomes due.

Operation of the Bowles fleet is based on an accurate costing system and a detailed rates schedule, quotes for market traffic in a radius of 15-20 miles for any number of animals being immediately available to the customer. The costing system takes into account every aspect of operation, and its introduction has enabled many sources of uneconomic running to be pin-pointed. Last year the overall cost of running a vehicle averaged Is. Id. per mile, which represents a reduction of 44. per mile compared with the average of the previous year. This is mainly credited to the use of Michelin X tyres, which have nearly doubled the mileage obtained between replacements, the wear saving obtained being particularly evident when vehicles are running unladen on return journeys. Average annual mileage of the cattle trucks is about 35,000 and vehicles are replaced when a total mileage of around 200,000 has been covered. New piston rings, or pistons and liners, are fitted to the engine in the workshops after approximately 100,000 miles have been completed. Virtually all mechanical and bodywork repairs are performed on the premises.

An interesting aspect of the operational economy achieved by this company is that the majority of cattle trucks are based on the drivers" homes, which are conveniently scattered throughout the area. This reduces empty running to a minimum and in a typical case enables animals to be picked up in order of size (sheep and pigs first) without waste mileage.

Commendation for the petrol engine for livestock work comes from Vivian Young, Ltd., The Bourne, Brimscombe, whose fleet of 30 vehicles includes five cattle trucks based on Bedford 7-ton petrol-engined chassis. Petrol engines are preferred for short-distance livestock haulage because the driver can handle the vehicle in traffic without "power surge," .,which can be detrimental to the animals. A number of Bedfords have operated over 150,000 miles without major attention to the engine at an average of about 10 m.p.g. It is probable that a comparable oilengined vehicle would return about 15-17 m.p.g.

One of the few light-alloy bodies seen in the market is operated by E. Warner and Son, Ltd., Aston-on-Carrant. This is a Carmichael container and is mounted on a Seddon chassis, the vehicle being one of nine cattle trucks of 7-10-ton capacity operated by the company. The remaining vehicles are equipped with timber bodies.

In the opinion of Mr. E. Warner, the only drawback to an aluminium body is its high first cost, its operational advantages being indisputable. A number of vehicles in the fleet are engaged in pig traffic, around 540 pigs a week being collected in the area for delivery to London. Multiple partitions are, according to Mr. Warner, essential to animal welfare on long journeys. Mr. Warner observes that interworking by farmers running C-licensed vehicles creates extremely keen competition for short-distance market traffic.


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